Nerd Nite Pittsburgh is a lecture series that’s a mix between a TED talk, a comedy show, and a networking mixer! Speakers present for 15 minutes on a variety of topics related to science and technology, popular culture, history, and other nerdery with a vibe that’s as entertaining as it is academic! Audience members can ask questions, and beforehand there is an entirely optional networking game. If you like alcohol, learning about random and interesting things, and meeting other nerds this is for you! Networking game starts at 6:30, Doors open for the show at 7:30, show starts at 7:45. If you have a topic you are passionate about and you’d like to be a speaker at a later event get in touch at pittsburgh@nerdnite.com! June 16th will show the following presentations:
“Maggot Therapy or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bugs”
What’s the most disgusting thing I see too often in the ER? Maggots. In this lecture, we explore the fascinating science and history of maggot infections and the surprising ways in which they may be just what the doctor ordered.
Avir Mitra is an ER doctor and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He moonlights as a contributing editor at Radiolab and has also written and produced stories for Vice, The Pulse and Here and Now.
“Laura Secord: What Canada’s Paul Revere taught me about Wikipedia and gender”
Raymond Bowman grew up in the Pittsburgh area, worked to become a licensed architect, and is now attempting to apply those skills to nonprofit community development. Lucky for you, he’s not here to talk about any of that. Back in 2015 (at a different nerdy night), Ray presented a humorous comparison between two historical figures with parallel stories, Paul Revere and a lesser-known Canadian woman named Laura Secord. Tonight, he’s here to revisit the story of Laura Secord and explore how gender bias on Wikipedia informs (and deforms) our knowledge and perception of female historical figures.
“New Shit Has Come to Light: The Big Lebowski and Historical Revisionism”
“Historical revisionism” and “revisionist history” have a bad rep, usually from people who don’t know what these terms mean. This talk uses The Dude’s insight that “new shit has come to light,” which is the real reason why history needs to be revised frequently. Dr. Coohill uses important examples from the past to show how our knowledge of them is only based on what was presented to us when we were young. Historians constantly discover new things in archives, come up with new methods of analysis, and explain the complicated “ins, outs, and what-have-you’s” of historical events that we think we already understand. After this talk, you’ll hear “historical revisionism” and “revisionist history” with an open and fresh mind. You’ll be “privy to all the new shit”!
Dr. Joseph Coohill is an Oxford-educated history professor and media personality who overturns widely-held, but incorrect, assumptions and beliefs about the past. The public knows him as the host and producer of the wildly popular Professor Buzzkill History Podcast. He has spoken at Nerd Nites in Denver, New York, and Pittsburgh.
Networking game:
Our Networking game will take place before the show from 6:30-7:30. Similar to ‘Speed Dating’ or ‘Speed Networking’ our game is ‘Speed Friending’! Whether you are new to the city and hoping to make friends, trying to expand your professional network with other nerds, or are single and looking to mingle, the game is just about meeting new people! We have a system in place to rotate everyone around to meet someone new every 5 minutes, then you can fill out an online form with which conversations you enjoyed and we’ll email you your matches! You are welcome to join late, but if you want to get the most of it arrive at 6:15 to register and the first round will start at 6:30.
If you haven’t been here before, check what this is about with videos from our YouTube channel
This event is 21+ and requires ID. The venue has limited space and there may not be door sales if we sell out, which happens regularly. Be sure to get a ticket before heading over.
Tickets: Facebook, Eventbrite