A global phenomenon with local flavour: welcome to Nerd Nite Edmonton’s eighth season! Our summer off has our batteries recharged, our thinking caps and nerd glasses donned, and a series of shows that will leave you feeling informed, inspired, and entertained.
We’ve changed our format a bit this season: we’ll do a little pre-show (science demos + trivia) from doors until 8pm, when we’ll start our main show. Be there AND be square!
When: Tuesday, September 3, 2019 (doors and pre-show @ 7:30pm | main event @ 8pm)
Where: Westbury Theatre, ATB Financial Arts Barns (10330 84 Ave NW)
Tickets: $20 in advance (plus fees + GST)
No minors.
Our line-up of talks includes:
The Science of Rock, Paper, Scissors
Ben Dyson
Rock, Paper, Scissors is an excellent way of resolving deadlock when there are dishes to be done, hedges to be trimmed, taxes to be filed. The game is also interesting from a psychological point-of-view, as it can help us to understand how impulses from our evolutionary past conflict with optimal strategies during competition. I’ll talk about the origins of the game, what research tells us about changes in the quality of decision-making under pressure, and give you a fool-proof way to win every game (not really).
Ben Dyson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Alberta. He moved to Edmonton and the U of A in the summer of 2018 from previous positions in Brighton (UK) and Toronto. Working at a University makes you nerdy by osmosis.
The blackest sheep: stigma and Borderline Personality Disorder
Zanne Cunningham
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is often one of the most stigmatized mental health diagnosis, not just with the general public but also health care professional. What the heck is BPD? How might it manifest? How does it affect the individual? And why is it so stigmatized? These questions and more will be answered to help promote an understanding of how an individual with BPD navigates the world. Interwoven with the educational material, Zanne will also speak candidly about her own lived experience with a diagnosis of BPD.
Since discovering a path to wellness, Zanne has become a passionate mental health advocate. Never shying away from opportunities to question conventional thinking about mental illness and sharing her own lived experience, Zanne is part of the systemic change in health care as a Peer Support Worker with Alberta Health Services. After doing a lot of heavy lifting and donating most of her spoons at work, Zanne supports her wellness by engaging her nerd girl. She surrounds herself with graphic novels, watches Star Trek daily, and one day hopes Chewbacca will become her zombie space boyfriend.
Kick out the jams: how punk changed (and still changes) the world
Dylan Richards
What is Punk? Is it Mohawks and leather jackets? Three-chord songs and greasy hair? Or is it something more? Punk was (and continues to be) more than just a musical genre; it’s about doing your own thing, making something out of nothing, and in the words of Frank Turner, “not sitting ’round waiting for the light to go green.” Grab your Doc Martins and your favourite old T-shirt, because tonight we’re going to take a look at how Punk music changed—and keeps on changing—the world as we know it.
Storyteller, activist, sex educator, and all around nerdiholic, Dylan Richards has brought his passion for helping people discover what makes them shine to classrooms, boardrooms, and gatherings all around the globe. Dylan loves to bring his stories and experience to every topic he tackles, from sexuality to songs to spaghetti (well, cooking in general but then it wouldn’t be as poetic).