Nerd Nite Pittsburgh is a lecture series that’s a mix between a comedy show, TED talk, and a social 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 social game. If you like alcohol, learning about random and interesting things, and meeting other humans this is for you! Social 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 ! Feb 1st will show the following presentations:
Making Sense of Your Mental Breakdown(s) with the Theory of Positive Disintegration:
Alexis Obernauer is a seminary student, strategy consultant, and coach with good news for gifted humans who struggle with procrastination, existential dread, and/or light substance abuse disorder. It’s called “The Theory of Positive Disintegration,” and suggests that inner conflict is a vital part of the path to becoming an authentic, actualized, and altruistic person. By overviewing the little-known framework for personality development, Alexis’s talk will provide long-awaited answers for those prone to Google searching “Why doesn’t anyone see how f*ucked everything is?!!?!”
When not running or editing articles about TPD, the Pittsburgh native and boomeranger can be found arranging paint samples in her arts and crafts room.
Robots Gone WIld: Mistakes and Lessons Learned in Field Robotics:
“Making robots is really difficult. If you think Honda Asimo falling down the stairs or the Mars Climate Orbiter dying a fiery death due to a unit conversion error are signs of gross incompetence, think again. Those robots were pushing the limits of what was possible at the time and consequently necessitated a high degree of complexity and risk. Things don’t always go as planned when you’re pushing the technological envelope to that extreme.
Spencer Krause has spent over 22 years of his life building robots for a variety of purposes. He hasn’t worked on Asimo or the Mars Climate Orbiter but he has seen (and caused) a lot of mistakes and learned something from every one of them. Every mistake presents an opportunity for growth and this talk aims to explain and solidify that philosophy while divulging war stories and showing the audience some epic robot fails. In his spare time Spencer records a Podcast – “Collaborative with Spencer Krause” where he drinks heavily and talks to people doing interesting things in technology, research, and entrepreneurship. Check it out on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform today! “
The Scientific(?) Revolution:
Science in the past was straightforward and clean, totally unlike the science of today, right? No! Obviously not! That would be crazy! If you think about it, what are scientists but nerds who went pro? And you know that nerdom is never simple. So join me in looking back at some of history’s most famous astronomy nerds and how their nerdery helped lead us to today.
It’s only science fiction if they do science on screen; otherwise it’s just sparkling space opera. Rafi Segal has been a space and robotics nerd since childhood. He was the beta tester for Scratch, founded an intern rocket team at SpaceX, and has presented a robot to the World Economic Forum as part of Red Whittaker’s lab. CMU SCS ’15.
Social game:
Our social 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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flOg5cRkceg&list=PLcx6pXs_8CRUItElXY8Cvs5vhXtZN_j9w
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.