Join us for the last Nerd Nite ChCh of 2024! We will resume on 5 Feb 2025.
Next event is 6 November at A Rolling Stone (Note the venue!)
6 November Speakers
“Travels to Kenya: An Eight-legged Adventure”
by Fiona Cross aka Dr. Spider
Why would a person travel all the way to Kenya to work with spiders? In this talk, you will meet Dr. Fiona Cross (AKA Dr Spider) and her eight-legged friends, the latter with a special penchant for mosquitoes and the blood inside of them.
Fiona is based in the School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing at the University of Canterbury, where she investigates what spiders can do with their tiny brains. She used to be terrified of spiders, but these creatures have since taken her on journeys around the world full of adventure and discovery.
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“Algae: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”
by Paul Broady
You know them as slimes and toxic blooms. But surely they can’t all be bad. Let’s put them on trial and then see how we feel.
Paul Broady tried to inspire interest in algae amongst the paying clients at University of Canterbury for more years than he cares to remember. Over that time, they seem to have gained an even worse reputation. He feels some pushback is called for.
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“City Glitter: Hidden in Plain Sight”
by Teethlikescrewdrivers aka Nat
Not all art is for sale on the walls of galleries. Across the globe, artists share their work in the streets with no fanfare, often without us realising – hidden in plain sight. Learn about the sticker art community and the hows and whys behind graffiti’s younger, slightly more annoying sibling.
Teethlikescrewdrivers makes stickers – a lot of them. His iconic pencil has graced the walls of galleries across the globe, as well as lamposts, abandoned buildings, and boarded-up windows.
Nerd Nite ChCh is teaming up with Extra Lives for a special one-off event on Wednesday, October 23 at Little Andromeda! Join us for an evening where we’ll kick things off with an engaging and nerdy speaker before diving into Extra Lives: Interactive Video Game Concert!
Extra Lives: Interactive Video Game Concert
Extra Lives is the world’s first Audience RPG: a fully narrated, inclusive choose-your-own-adventure game where you are the main character. Plunge into an exciting story with visuals, music, sound effects and footage drawn from the legendary console games of the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s… and a live score provided by the lovable nerds of Extra Lives.
At key junctures you’ll get to vote on how the character proceeds, leading to special story branches. With multiple endings and 60+ possible variations depending on the audience’s in-game choices, this immersive feast for the imagination will transport you back to your childhood. To the next level!
Speaker
“From Pixels to Paradigms: The Evolution of Video Games”
by Maia Traforti
Explore the history of video games, tracing their journey from simple beginnings to today’s immersive experiences. Understand how technological advancements and cultural changes have shaped the gaming industry and the way we play.
Maia is in the last semester of her degree in pure mathematics and is a life-long lover of video games. When she’s not playing games or exploring maths, Maia is an intrepid traveller with a love of the mountains and multi-day tramps. Maia’s dream is to communicate cool pure math concepts through cosplay and fantasy games.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 2 October at A Rolling Stone (Note the venue!)
2 October Speakers
“Volcanodad”
by Ben Kennedy
Ben the volcanologist will give you his origin story, as illustrated by an internet Artificial intelligence image generator. Expect the weird and wonderful as AI struggles with what volcano science actually looks like.
Ben is a Professor in Volcanology at UC and won this years prime ministers science communication prize. He has had all sorts of volcano adventures including pogosticking on top of an erupting volcano in Vanuatu with a Japanese film crew.
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“The scandals behind nursery rhymes”
by Dr Rie Natalenko
Nursery rhymes may seem innocent, but these twisted and bizarre stories show how harmless rhymes often had their origins in violence and scandal. This is the story behind two of them…
Dr Rie Natalenko has a doctorate in Creative Arts (screenwriting), and has won awards for fiction, poetry and screenwriting. She is also a passionate textile artisan. She has taught all her life in schools, college, university and in the community, and has written books on running craft workshops (Share your Skills) and family history (The Family Memory Project and The Family Message Book). She also loves speaking on cruise ships and teaching writing and yarn crafts. She is now a full-time writer, speaker, and educator, and is the editor of Yarn magazine.
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“Better Together: The Art and Science of Belonging”
by Natasha Zimmerman
Weaving together the compelling psychology research on belonging with her own stories of (dis)connection, Natasha will convince you that meaningful relationships are the secret to a longer, happier life. By the end of this talk, you’ll want to call your mother, hug a friend, and talk to strangers.
Natasha is a connection enthusiast, belongingness researcher, and seasoned facilitator. She completed her PhD in organisational psychology at University of Canterbury and she loves finding the juicy intersection of science, humanism, and practical application. Natasha is also the founder and creative force behind Unchatter, an organisation focused on bringing meaningful connection to the world. When she’s not lost in a deep conversation, you might find Natasha looking at the moon, organising things for fun, tramping gleefully, reading poetry, or baking a ridiculous cake.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 4 September at Little Andromeda (Note the venue!)
4 September Speakers
“Shifting Paradigms”
by Dan Burgess-Milne
What are paradigms and how do they alter our understanding of the world? We will explore the paradigmatic transition from Billiard ball mechanics to relativity, and the mysterious world that was revealed. We will then explore the next frontier in epistemological evolution and how we might be able to challenge outdated paradigms and embrace new ways of understanding reality.
Dan has been studying and teaching meditative contemplation for 12 years. He holds a degree in Leadership for Change and works in various ways to support people to investigate and question the nature of reality.
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“Defeating Dr Evil with Self-Locating Belief”
by Doug Campbell
Dr Evil is ensconced in an impregnable battle station on the moon. He is about to press a big red button to launch missiles that will blow up the Earth. The poor people of Earth appeal to the Philosophical Defence Force (PDF) to stop him. Will the PDF be able to save the day? If so, how? Come to this gripping talk to find out!
Doug Campbell is a father of three, the owner of two badly behaved dogs, two badly behaved love birds, and a quite well behaved rabbit, and a senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Canterbury where the topics he teaches include the existential threat to humanity posed by certain emerging technologies.
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“New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme: a climate change solution, or just hot air?”
by Tom Mohammed
As the nations of the world attempt to reduce emissions within the confines of established economic systems, “carbon markets” have emerged as a market-based tool intended to incentivise emissions reductions while applying principles and concepts from the capitalist rulebook. In New Zealand, the result of this is the Emissions Trading Scheme, which has been in place since 2008 and which continues to change in scope and effect as Governments come and go. In this talk we will talk about how what the Emissions Trading Scheme is intended to do, how it works, and whether it is achieving its purposes.
Tom Mohammed is a lawyer at Anderson Lloyd who specialises in regulation and who advises both emitters and carbon sequester-ers on their obligations (and opportunities) under the Climate Change Response Act 2002 and the Emissions Trading Scheme. As someone who is personally passionate about the earth remaining habitable, he is more than happy to talk your ear off on New Zealand’s regulatory response to the climate crisis and the issues that New Zealand (and the world) continue to grapple with in this space.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 7 August at A Rolling Stone (Note the venue!)
7 August Speakers
“What a Time to be Alive! (Seriously)”
by John “the Robert” Rynearson
Housing crisis, inflation, war, ram raids, climate change – it’s getting a bit intense out there. But despite the world’s very real problems and the challenges inherent to our human condition, there has never been a better time to be alive than RIGHT NOW.
John “the Robert” Rynearson was a high school history teacher, guitarist in a ska band, landscaper, and community theatre actor in the last century. Since then he’s lived in Japan, met a girl from Dunedin, moved to New Zealand, cleaned out the Eastgate and Palms Farmers stores after the earthquakes, helped to create two children, and now works by day as an HR Tech Consulting Manager and by night as a standup comedian in Christchurch. John has at times felt down about the state of the world, but between reading Steven Pinker, viewing the WWI exhibit at the Canterbury Museum, and rocking out to 220k minutes of Spotify last year – he is on a mission to turn your frown upside down.
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“My Life in Trash – 2002-2022”
by Sharon McIver
Sharon never planned to become an expert in waste reduction, but when she set out to research Aotearoa outdoor electronic dance parties (raves) in 2002, you could say the trash found her, and picking up litter both informed her research and broke her heart. Post doctorate, she worked in the Sustainability Office at the University of Canterbury where she undertook a waste audit and upgraded the recycling system which led in 2012 to the establishment of Our Daily Waste, a waste minimisation consultancy specialising in events, signage, and waste audits. Sharon ran ODW until 2022 – when broken by a decade of sorting other people’s trash – she gave up trying to save humans from extinction and went back to teaching. This is that story.
Dr Sharon McIver is an aquarian earth monkey with a busy brain that has tried on many vocations – care worker, banker, hospo, nanny, music retail, music journalism, eco warrior, and lecturer – but who is currently making a comfortable living out of her twin passions: writing and teaching. Also loves dancing and knitting.
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“Riding the Rollercoaster of Polyamory: Research on the Highs and Lows”
by Patrick Boudreau
Thinking of having your Kate and Edith too? Let’s dive into the latest polyamory research.
Patrick has a PhD in advennture psychology. He is a senior lecturer in spot psychology, a qualified firefighter, skydiver, and pagalider. He gets bored easily, so he has analysed data from a recent study on the disadvantages of polyamory with Dr. Amy Moors, a researcher from the Kinsey Institute.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 3 July at Little Andromeda (Note the venue!)
3 July Speakers
“How America Gets its Presidents”
by Peter Field
Everything you might and might not want to know about Americans electing presidents in 2024 and for 200 years before that.
Peter heads up Humanities at Varsity and has just returned from the USA.
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“Cold homes are not a curse, they are by design… so let’s change it!”
by Julie Villard, Registered architect (OA / NZIA / ADNZ / NZGBC)
Come and find out how a French architect finally cracked down on the curse of cold NZ homes with the unexpected help of Kate Winslet. With a mix of building sciences, modern technology, and sustainability, this sweet yarn will help you to make smart choices about your house and lifestyle, how to feel warmer and dryer at home tonight and how to be better prepared for the future.
NZ Awards winning architect and eco-friendly specialist, Julie Villard has a passion for design, sustainability & technology, she built her skills and knowledge in France, Canada, Switzerland and for the past 12 years, here in New Zealand. She is now the welcoming face of the Christchurch City Council’s Eco Design Advisor service, advocating for smarter, healthier and more energy-efficient homes. She provides support and free independent advice for new homes & retrofits, to homeowners, designers, and manufacturers. Her main drive is to debunk building myths and encourage everyone to do better now. With a strong scientific background, she explains among other things, what she calls ‘’the physics of the building’’ and the various principles of what constitutes an eco-build. Remember: Knowledge is power…. But only if it is shared. So come and nerd out with her!
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“The Night The Sky Caught Fire – the Great Aurora of 2024”
by Matthew Bridle
The aurora is a magical phenomenon that has been enthralling civilisations since the beginning of time. This talk will uncover some of the many mysteries of the aurora and will give you some pointers on how to see one for yourself. It’ll cover the May 2024 geomagnetic storm, and how you too can get amazing aurora photos.
By day Matthew is a software engineer, and by night he’s a keen aurora chaser. He’s been fascinated by space weather and its many effects on Earth since he was a teenager and loves driving to remote locations to watch the night sky, and hopefully get some pictures of the Southern Lights!
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 1 May at Little Andromeda.
1 May Speakers
“Digital interfaces so bad that they’re good: a case study of parking meters”
by Tim Bell
Have you ever been frustrated using a digital device? Perhaps even had violent thoughts about it? Have you ever wondered why something that is pitched as “user friendly” isn’t? The technical name for interfaces that suck is “poor usability”. In this talk we’ll look at a particular case that provides a goldmine of usability problems: paying for car parking.
Tim is a computer scientist who is kept away from society by being allowed to teach at the University of Canterbury. When teaching about digital interfaces, his philosophy is ‘don’t get mad, get even’; the worst interfaces he comes across are photographed and reported in his teaching. When he’s not computer sciencing, he sometimes manages to get out in public by playing in a band.
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“A brief tour of the Universe over all space and time (in 15 mins)”
by Karen Pollard
As they say in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: “Space is big, really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist, but that’s just peanuts to space.” In this talk, we’ll take a quick tour of the universe in space (which is big) and in time (which is also big) in 15 minutes (which is small). We’ll see how we go…
Karen grew up in Christchurch wanting to find out more about space, particularly the stuff in space, …. which can be hard to study, because space is big, really big. Karen actually wanted to be an astronaut when she was small, but she suffered from terrible motion sickness, so she decided looking at stuff in space using a telescope was a much better idea. She is currently the Director of the University of Canterbury Mt John Observatory in at Tekapo, which houses the largest optical telescopes in New Zealand, so she doesn’t have to buy her own.
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“Parenting: the single greatest blockage to sustainability“
by Mr. G
Despite growing pressure from global communities and decades of scientific arguments for sustainability and climate change, very little has been done to progress humanity on environmental and social progress. Why then, should we turn to parenting to unblock positive change?
Mr. G is a Sustainability and Change Management Coach improving the sustainability journeys of companies, NGOs and Governments from Cambodia to Poland and now at home in New Zealand. His mahi has won him the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation’s Green Business Awards in Cambodia and helped push the sustainable business agenda for organizations such as the United Nations to the Royal Government of Cambodia. Recently he’s helped the Crusaders to the Christchurch Town Hall improve their waste diversion to above 80% averages.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 3 April at A Rolling Stone.
Note: We have increased ticket prices by $5 so we can provide you with even more great nerdy content. As a thank you, all attendees on 3 April will be entered to win some of the nerdy new merchandise launching in a couple of months.
3 April Speakers
“Life Lessons from a Sentient Twig”
by Dr Morgane Merien
For animals, your appearance can make or break your survival. As renowned masters of camouflage, stick insects use their outward form to hide and deceive their predators. However, their deceiving looks are not their only trick. Stick insects have a range of adaptations which have allowed them to flourish throughout the world. In this talk, Morgane will help you learn why stick insects are amazing, and why they are now your favourite insect.
Dr Morgane Merien has spent the past 8 years of her life looking for these sentient twigs in the New Zealand bush. After earning her doctorate in biology trying to answer the question of whether stick insects actually look like sticks, she moved to Christchurch to work at Canterbury Museum as a science communicator. Her love for the smaller, often-neglected critters of our world knows no bounds, and she strongly believes in trying to turn anyone who meets her into lover of bugs.
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“How Garden Gnomes and Creativity Can Save Our Planet”
by Henry Sunderland
Think garden gnomes are just tacky lawn ornaments? Think again. Henry Sunderland is here to change your mind and explain why garden gnomes are the unsung heroes of environmental protection. In fact, the word “gnome” means “to know,” embodying the spirit of Earth stewardship.
Henry is a gnomologist, the world’s leading expert on garden gnomes. He has travelled the world with these diminutive figures, spreading their message of environmental guardianship. He even coined the term GNOME (Guarding Naturally Over Mother Earth) to describe their role. A creative thinker and community artist, Henry has a predilection for the iconic and kitsch. With a collection of over 80 gnomes, he’s known in Christchurch for his initiative in starting the flowers in road cones campaign.
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“Trash Talk: Demystifying Christchurch’s Green Bin and Recycling Rules!”
by Maria Lamb
Maria is here to tell us all about the recent changes to the green bin and recycling requirements. She will debunk common recycling myths and walk us through the journey our rubbish takes once it leaves our homes.
Maria Lamb is the Waste Minimisation Advisor on the Transport and Waste Unit of the Christchurch City Council Resource Recovery Team. Maria is a nerd about all things waste and recycling.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 6 March at A Rolling Stone (note: new venue).
6 March Speakers
“Stayin’ alive with chest pain – why Christchurch is the best place to be”
by John Pickering
In the noughties when you had sudden onset chest pain you went to the emergency department and got to spend a night in hospital – but chances were that you weren’t having a heart attack. Now, thanks to work in Christchurch, if you’re not having a heart attack you will be out of the ED within a couple of hours – no angst, no problem, no cross infection. This is the remarkable story of how science and innovations in Christchurch ED have changed the lives of millions.
John’s wife calls him a doctor, but not the kind that helps people. He counters that he is the kind that tells the kind that helps people what to do. Specifically, he reads the numbers to help design and monitor diagnostic pathways for emergency medicine physicians. Once called a physicist, now more often a biostatistician, but he prefers Skrymaster (looking into silvered objects – aka his computer screen – to predict the future). He has a Research Professor title from the University of Otago, but most of his time is with the Christchurch ED and funding from the Emergency Care Foundation charity.
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“Is the North Island Really a Giant Fish?”
by Bernard Darnton
We’ve been telling each other stories for thousands of years, far longer than we’ve been writing things down. How many of these stories were once BREAKING NEWS!!!? Geomythology attempts to tease eye-witness accounts of geological events from their protective cloak of myth. With examples from New Zealand and elsewhere, we’ll look at what kind of stories get mythologised and how well we can match up myth with history.
Bernard Darnton is New Zealand’s leading amateur geomythologist, which goes to show that if you define a niche narrow enough, you can always be number one. As a child in London, his grandmother would take him to the Geological Museum. His interest was physical and scientific. Hers was more esoteric. In New Zealand, the floor really is lava. Both the geology and the mythology are fascinating, and sometimes they overlap.
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“Ten Minutes to Millionaire: Unveiling the Hidden Fortune You Never Knew You Had!”
by Dan Lewis
In this talk, we’ll explore a paradigm shift in how we perceive value, think about money and the way we behave. By leveraging evidence-based research, we’ll propose a formula that could help quantify the worth of enhanced wellbeing and productivity, demonstrating how small, incremental changes can compound into significant wealth. Not only will you see yourself differently, you may even become filthy rich too!
As a licensed Financial Planner with a couple of degrees and a knack for understanding human behaviour, Dan is on a mission to decode the mysteries of our money psychology. Dan may not be the “top dog” in financial advising or psychology, but his journey has taken him around the globe, working with people from all walks of life. Every day brings a new adventure in exploring the fascinating world of money, values, and how we can live our best lives.
New year, new Nerd Nites! We’re back on the first Wednesday of every month!
Starting 7 February at Little Andromeda.
7 February Speakers
“Don’t Hate the Player – A Board Game Designer’s Journey”
by Andy Bell
Andy has always loved playing board games, but a couple of years ago he had the crazy idea that he might be able to actually make one. Last year, his card game Ulterior Design was released into the wild. Through the process of designing, playtesting and publishing his game he got to see firsthand how a game goes from idea to product. In this talk, he will share some of the lessons he learned along the way, and some of the tools he uses for both creating his own game designs and analysing the games he plays.
Andy lives in Mairehau with his wife, his son, a cat and two chickens. As of writing this he has 73 board games in his collection, which isn’t that many really… His favourite games are Paladins of the West Kingdom and Gloomhaven, but some of his favourite games to introduce to non-gamers (ie.”gateway games”) are Splendor, Cascadia and Ticket to Ride. Andy is the designer of the game “Ulterior Design”, which is a quick, puzzly card game about competitive interior design that was released in 2023.
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“Is Earth Just a Prep for Life on Mars?”
by Jack Heinemann
Humanity is terraforming Earth into a planet that can even make Mars look desirable as a potential new home. But what’s in it for Mars?
Jack is a university academic lifer; a molecular biology professor of poo, antibiotic resistance, and techno-utopian dreams. There is some bullshit he’d like to share with you.
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“Nature for Nurture”
by Dr Bex Dollery
Ever wondered why everyone suddenly started walking your favourite park in lockdown or why posh shops have bird song rather than blaring out Taylor Swift? Let’s check out why sometimes it’s (scientifically) cool to be a hippy.
Over the years Bex has collected as many certificates in ecology, psychology, and natural health as she could manage, gaining the Nerd status. A lifelong love of all things natural, an intense interest in connections and relationships, a 25-year career in ecology and a need to practice some serious self-care means that she has delved deep into the world of using nature to bolster her own sense of peace.