Posts Tagged ‘symmetry’

Nerd Nite No. 27, July 10, 2013

Nerds! The July Nerd Nite will seek to resolve the following questions: 1) what is the difference between a nerd and a geek?  2) does symmetry matter?  3) what shenanigans did astronomer Tycho Brahe get up to? The details:

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

doors at 7:00, show at 7:30 sharp

Frankford Hall at Frankford and Girard

$5 cover gets you a night of nerdy fun, plus food and drink specials

  And – don’t forget the July 11th fundraiser to send Rocky Parker up to the Nerd Nite Global Fest this August!   The lectures at hand:

“Nerd vs. Geek Movie Night” by Stephanie Yuhas Stephanie will present some clips from her work, including an episode of, Nerd vs. Geek, a comedy where a MENSA chapter, a gaming circle, and a drama club collide when their leaders become Craigslist roommates. She will answer questions about her work, as well as briefly discuss her experience as a filmmaker in Philadelphia, and work with Project Twenty1 to help aspiring artists get their first break.

Bio: Stephanie Yuhas is a writer and producer at Cinevore Studios, a Philadelphia-area production company that specializes in off-beat narrative fiction content. Her current projects include Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie,American Goulash, Nerd vs. Geek, and a series of gamer-genre shorts for the creators of the FireFall. Stephanie is also the co-founder of Project Twenty1, a 501(c)3 non-profit that runs the 21-Day Filmmaking Competition (Aug. 3-24) and the annual Philadelphia Film & Animation Festival (Sept 27-29).

“Why Symmetry Matters” by Dave GoldbergDespite appearances to the contrary, the universe is a very orderly, and surprisingly elegant place. But at some level, the order of the universe is a broken one.  Why does time run one way and not the other? Why are you made of matter and not antimatter? Why is Spiderman such an ill-conceived premise?  Symmetry (and symmetry breaking) lie at the heart of it all.
Bio: Dave Goldberg is a theoretical cosmologist and professor of Physics at Drexel University.  He is the author of “A User’s Guide to the Universe: Surviving the Perils of Black Holes, Time Paradoxes, and Quantum Uncertainty” and the forthcoming “The Universe in the Rearview Mirror: How Hidden Symmetries Shape Reality.”  Dr. Goldberg is very interested in the interface between science and pop culture and is especially prone to nerdly excess of sci-fi references.  He writes an “Ask a Physicist” column for io9.com, has been featured on NPR’s Studio 360, and has contributed to Slate.com and the L.A. Times.
“Tycho Brahe: The Science of Gossip” by Alex PearlmanTycho Brahe is one of the top 5 Astronomers in the history of the western world, but so few know anything about him.  Comedian Alex Pearlman wants the American public to learn more about this great man.  How is he going to do this you might ask?  Surely he’ll just recite all of Tycho Brahe’s great discoveries, inventions and the historical implications of his work. NOPE!  Americans don’t care about scientific accomplishment, they want personal stories, rumors and wild accusations about a rockstars lifestyle.  So that is the details of Tycho Brahe’s life that Alex Pearlman drags before people’s eyes for all to see. Astronomy, Dueling, Wild Parties, dead elks, harlots, gambling and more! Once an audience learns of the Life and Death of Tycho Brahe, they run to the internet to learn about his work!  One audience member named his dog Tycho, after hearing this story and then reading Tycho Brahe’s wikipedia entry. So grab your best gold nose, and run head first into history to learn about a Dutchman. Bio: Alex Pearlman is an 11 yr veteran of the Philadelphia Comedy Scene, and an avid fan of history. Host of the Pearlmania Podcast, and Something Witty at The Dive Bar, former mall security guard, highschool library aide, assistant Karate Instructor, and occasional panel guest on the Anime convention circuit.
And featuring music by songster Carol Cleveland Sings!