Nerd Nite is back for May, and ready for you to have a drink and learn things in it! If you haven’t been before, Nerd Nite is a monthly social event where nerds of all disciplines give 18-21 minute funny and informative talks while the audience drinks along and asks questions.
The line-up this month:
Adventures in Programming: Lessons from a Computer on How to Be Human, Erika Carlson
“Technology catalyzes changes not only in what we do, but in how we think.” -Sherry Turkle
Why learn to program if you don’t want to become a professional software developer?
Programming teaches a set of skills that are invaluable for much more than the building of software (although that’s pretty cool, too). Programming is about logic and problem-solving, but it’s also about creativity, play, curiosity, possibility, thinking outside the box, learning to see things differently, and –if you’re doing it right– joy. It’s a little bit magical, and a lot of fun.
Erika accidentally became a programmer in 2011 and has been learning software development ever since. With a background in psychology, she’s interested in people and problem-solving, and is passionate about the potential of technology to create positive change in the world. Erika is a software developer and president of the enthusiasm committee at Pillar Technology, and co-founded the Detroit chapter of Girl Develop It in 2012. She also gives introductory programming presentations at elementary and middle schools, and is working to create more opportunities for technology education in Detroit.
SCUBA Diving, Brian Bondy
The joys, misconceptions, worlds best diving destinations, shipwrecks and sharks! All condensed of course 🙂
Brian started his career in a skilled trade, not knowing what he wanted to be when he grew up. Brian realized early in his career that he wasn’t wired to work for someone else and needed to find a way to get out on my own. Huron Scuba presented an opportunity to move towards his goal of working for himself. Brian bought Huron Scuba in July 2010 and has owned and operated a PADI 5 Star dive operation since. He also managed a successful Handicap Scuba Association program built in 2012 and made it available to all who may benefit with a focus on the men and women who have served in the armed forces.
A New Kind of (Citizen) Science, Greg Austic
This talk comes in 2 parts: Part 1 (5 minutes) – all about the local non-profit A2Geeks, what we do, what we’d like to do, and how we can help you! Part 2 (15 minutes) Citizen Science isn’t just a fun way to educate people about science, or even a just cool way to get people to do some of science’s dirty work (like identifying planetary wobbles, decoding ancient Greek papyrus, or identifying protein structures. It’s going to change the scientific questions we can answer, the methods we use for answering them, and the structure and motivations of the lives of professional researchers. This will give a brief background of citizen science, what’s happening in the field now, and painting a picture of where we could end up.
After 2 years in the Peace Corps in Moldova, Greg worked his way through a small biodiesel startup from collecting grease to running a research and development department. After becoming frustrated with the limitations of the traditional patent/profit/protect model, he left biodiesel all together and spent a year working on mozilla open badges and creating an open source board game called The City. Now Greg works at Michigan State University, where he’s developing a low-cost handheld device for taking non-destructive photosynthesis measurements. In the long term, Greg is interested in how we can develop sustainable organizations and business models for open commercialization (no IP, patents, etc.) of a wider range of products and services.
When: Thursday, May 16
Where: LIVE 102 S. First St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
When: Doors at 6:30 Event at 7
Fee: $5 cover, drinks as you like
Stuff: T-Shirts $15 , Buttons for a recommended donation
Buy your tickets early or RSVP on Facebook!