Being a nerd is cool again. When tragic Shoreditch types are aping your thick-rimmed glasses, too-short trousers and hairy cardigans, you know you’ve made it. I like to imagine that the last time this happened was when Newton joined the Royal Society, prompting scores of desperates of the period to strut about loudly dissing geocentrism and claiming that they too grew up in Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth. But I digress.
Proud geeks are everywhere, albeit many of them a bit slicker and more aesthetically pleasing than in the old days – such as the Jose Mourinho of physics, Professor Brian Cox. Mainstream performers such as Tim Minchin and Dave Gorman are making sciency jokes about sciency things on TV. Uncaged Monkeys, a spin-off of a popular Radio 4 science show, was filling up the Hammersmith Apollo last week.
The upshot of all this for pre-existing nerds, is a pretty busy social calendar. Events, lectures, meetups, exhibitions and shows on science and tech are proliferating – both on and offline. I thought I’d share a few of my favourite places to geek out.
Science Museum, London - one of my all-time favourite places. It’s free to enter and there are always cool exhibitions in addition to the more permanent pieces. For tech freaks, the Listening Post brings together fragments of text from across the internet into one piece of art; the Cosmos and Culture exhibition caters to novice stargazers with a look at the history of the human race’s relationship with space and the skies; for those who prefer science without kids (and with beer) the Science Museum Lates are a great way to explore the museum in peace.
International Robot Exhibition, Tokyo – Sadly, this only occurs every other year and the 2011 event just passed. I went in 2009 and was totally blown away. Firstly, the exhibition is housed in Tokyo’s International Exhibition Center, which looks like a spaceship that’s just touched down. Secondly, there are robots! Lots of robots in fact, from precise industrial machines, to kids’ toys to service bots. There are even demos of bleeding edge technology, such as the no-glasses 3D TV I saw there in 2009.
Science Blogs – The nerd’s spiritual home, the Science Blogs cover everything from cosmology to technology. The reason it’s so good is that not just anyone can blog – the site has selected some 80 bloggers based on their knowledge, insight and originality. This acts as natural quality control and results in a huge range of entertaining and insightful blogs. My personal favourite is Ethan Siegel’s Starts with a Bang – highly recommended.
Digital Shoreditch Festival, London – 2011’s inaugural event was a huge success, bringing together geeks of all varieties – creative technologists, designers, coders and performers. The 2012 event is set to be even bigger and as it runs right up to the Olympics, looks like taking advantage of plenty of international visitors. Expect leading geek companies from the Shoreditch area and beyond to be present with their latest ideas.
Wellcome Institute, London – I don’t get here nearly as much as I’d like to but the exhibitions, events and tours at the Wellcome institute are usually brilliant. Covering subjects such as medicine and psychology through art and artifacts, the current theme is faith, hope and chance and features Mexican miracle paintings.
While putting together this list, I’ve thought of loads of other events and websites but rather than bore you with more, what are your favourite geek hangouts?
image (c) @bengoldacre
Science Museum Late Nights are fantastic. Don’t miss out on the silent disco and the amazingly fun cockroach tour!
I’m really into the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe podcast at the moment too – total geekfest and funny.
The permanent exhibition at the Wellcome Collection is awesome. One man’s lifetime accumulation of random stuff, from surgical instruments through to victorian sex toys. An absolute must !