Nerd Nite NYC is back again at Caveat NYC in Manhattan on April 30, 2024 featuring three fun-yet-informative presentations about lost subways of North America (how do you lose a subway?), misophonia (the rage you feel someone makes a common noise like crunching on potato chips), and the sci-fi of Middle Earth and other Tolkein writings.
Tuesday April 30, 2024 at 7pm
$16 in advance, $21 days the 7 days before the show
Caveat NYC: 21 A Clinton St, New York, NY 10002 (Lower East Side)
Tickets here: https://www.caveat.nyc/events/nerd-nite-4-30-2024
Back to the Lectures At-Hand:
*Presentation #1
It’s Not You, It’s Misophonia
by Dr. Jane Gregory
Description: If you’ve ever taken batteries out of a clock so you could concentrate, or wanted to stab your friend in the eye with the corn chips they are eating, or experienced growing resentment over the very sounds keeping your partner alive, this talk is for you. Misophonia is very real and very weird. Everyday sounds that most people ignore can drive some of us mad. Is there a survival function for pure rage at the sound of someone eating porridge? Is there a survival function for not being able to keep your mouth shut and your saliva silent while you eat porridge?
Bio: Dr Jane Gregory is a clinical psychologist researching misophonia at the University of Oxford. After decades of glaring at strangers for daring to eat crisps in public, she felt vindicated to find out there was an actual name for her special breed of intolerance. She has since dedicated her career to finding more reasons why she is, categorically, not the A**hole here. @drjanegregory
*Presentation #2
Lost Subways of North America
by Jake Berman
Description: Every driver in North America shares one miserable, soul-sucking universal experience—being stuck in traffic. Why is it that the mass transit systems of most cities in the United States are now utterly inadequate compared to the great cities of Europe or Asia? Jake Berman discusses how we got here, and how America went from having world-beating public transport to some of the worst.
*Presentation #3
The Science Fiction of Middle-earth: Aliens, Time Travel, the Multiverse and More
by Matt Theriault
Description: Let’s explore presence in Tolkien’s writings of scientific concepts not traditionally associated with classical fantasy: biological evolution, atomic decay and radiation, extraterrestrial life, time travel, the multiverse, etc.
Bio: Matthew J. Thériault is a writer and researcher who’s worked for various edutainment channels over the years, such as Today I Found Out and Highlight History. At Wisecrack he served as the resident Comic Book and Superhero Movie Expert and made multiple appearances on their “Show Me the Meaning” podcast. He’s currently a Tolkien lore-master for In Deep Geek.
