The holidays are over and the breaking of resolutions is well underway. So what better time to talk about the science of responsibility, marijuana, and dead bodies. Wait…what? Join us January 22 for a new year with new speakers and the same ol’ rowdy nerdery!
Plus we’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with Sexpot Comedy! These hilarious, Denver-based wunderkinds are the masters of all things entertaining in the Mile High City and look forward to bringing you the science of comedy throughout Nerd Nite in 2015. Keep an eye on our Nerd About Town calendar for other exciting Sexpot shows around town.
When: Thursday, January 22 – doors at 6:30pm, show at 7:00pm
The Responsibility Process is a model that explains how your brain responds to a problem. In an effort to allow you to cope with problems and move on quickly, your brain does a lot of work to give you someone or something else to pin your problem on. The process includes steps such as Blame (someone did this to me), Justify (the world/environment/situation did this to me), Shame (blame myself), and Obligation (the world/environment/situation I created is doing this to me). In our lives we spend a lot of time in Shame and Obligation. The issue with all of these responses is that they are coping, not growing and learning spaces. Only when we move to responsibility can we move beyond the problem. Rachel teaches us how to get there.
Speaker creds: Rachel did her undergrad and graduate work at UC Berkeley and CU Boulder respectively in communication and linguistics and now works for Rally Software in Boulder investigating what’s next for the ever-challenging work of building Lean and Agile teams. When she isn’t transforming engineering and business practices, Rachel does improv at the Bovine Metropolis Theater in Denver and volunteers for Code for America through the Code for Denver Brigade. That is, when she isn’t enjoying her very own at home hilarity: her husband and 3 year old daughter.
A Complete Guide to Marijuana
by Jake Browne
We all have an endocannabinoid system, but what is it and how did it get there? Why do some marijuana smell like a dead skunk and why do some people actually like that? Jake Browne, marijuana critic for the Denver Post, breaks down everything you never knew about marijuana, from the gene level to Cheech and Chong sized joints.
Speaker creds: Jake Browne is a Denver-based comedian, writer, and co-host of the Whiskey and Cigarettes podcast. He founded the HempBox, a subscription box focused on hemp consumer goods, in 2014; is co-host of Comics Against Civility, a Cards Against Humanity themed game show that runs monthly in Denver; and is a writer for CULTURE Magazine. He also happens to be a pot critic for The Denver Post. Check him out on Facebook and Twitter!
Inside the Mind of a Coroner
by Lora Thomas
We’ve all seen intense, case-solving, music montage scenes with coroners on CSI or The X-Files but what does a coroner actually do? Do you even want to know? We do! Lora explains the real world of dead bodies and how a hyper-sucessful cop becomes a coroner.
Speaker creds: Lora Thomas was elected Douglas County Coroner in 2010 and served until January 13, 2015. The county coroner is responsible for determining the cause and manner of death. Lora’s term was nothing if not eventful. She cut the budget by 33% while the caseload increased 45% and two former employees are now convicted felons! Wha?
Before being elected coroner, Lora Thomas worked with the Colorado State Patrol for 26 years, becoming the first woman captain and major in the organization. She has earned an MBA, finance, and criminal justices degrees.
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See you soon!
p.s. Want to be a Nerd Nite speaker? Or know someone who should be? Let us know!
Huge thanks to everyone who joined us at July’s Nerd Nite! For a recap of the evening, the amazing Girls of Geek 12 have written up a review. Check it out!
And for those who want to watch the first talk in its entirety, a video of Sexy Science can be found by clicking on the image below.
Watch now! Sexy Science: The Evolution of Sexual Norms
Humans. We’re fragile, flawed, and wonderful.
Nerd Nite – July 24, 2014
And we’re biologically designed to survive — whether through reproduction, stealing resources, or just not dying from disease. This month, we talk about all the wonderful (and sometimes controversial) ways that we humans interact with the world around us. Ooooh it’s going to be a saucy one!
When: Thursday, July 24, 2014 – doors at 6:30pm, show at 7:00pm (come early to mingle and drink with us)
* Sexy Science: The Evolution of Sexual Norms…and How You Can Ditch Them
by Kayla Knopp, Rachel Miller, and Lane Nesbitt
DESCRIPTION: Have you ever wondered why our culture’s sexual attitudes and practices are the way they are? In this Sexy Science presentation, we will present research on the biological and social influences on the evolution of sex throughout human history, focusing on how we ended up with modern American sexual norms. We will open your eyes to the broad range of desires that encompass human sexuality, and highlight how narrow the range of sexuality that is considered “normal” actually is. In this talk on sex outside the bounds of cultural norms, you will get a taste of the sexual possibilities that await you, with a promise of more to come. Prepare to open your mind, your heart, and possibly your bedroom, to sex as you’ve never thought of it before.
SPEAKER BIOS: Kayla, Rachel, and Lane are clinical psychology Ph.D. students at the University of Denver. They conduct research on romantic and sexual relationships. They are interested in working with populations that are not traditionally studied, and seek to explore uncommon perspectives on topics for which a single perspective presently dominates the field. They also engage in clinical work with couples and individuals, and particularly enjoy working with clients on issues related to romantic and sexual involvement.
* Red Team Testing: Lying, picking, and stealing
by Ryan Jones
DESCRIPTION: “Red Team” is a term originated within the military to describe a team whose purpose is to penetrate the security of “friendly” installations, and thus test the effectiveness of their security measures. Over the last several years, this practice has become increasingly common in the private sector. This talk will show the reasons companies use these tests, the techniques and tools used by the teams to conduct the tests, and hopefully get you thinking in a way that makes you slightly more aware of your surroundings when it comes to the everyday security of the world around you.
SPEAKER BIO: Ryan has been working in the information security arena for 20 years, with a focus on penetration testing and red team testing. He is currently a Senior Consultant at Lares, an information security company out of Denver. In his free time, Ryan enjoys piña coladas, and getting caught in the rain. His rarely posted to twitter is @lizborden and you can yell at him after the presentation via email at
* Natural Selection and Your Health: Can I have a different evolutionary history, please?
by Dr. James DeGregori
DESCRIPTION: Most medical schools do not significantly cover evolutionary biology, and yet we cannot understand human health and illnesses without appreciating how evolution has shaped disease susceptibility and the potential nastiness of pathogens. We will discuss really depressing subjects like why we get old and sick, and why modern living (despite niceties like a longer healthier life) has come with a few side effects. Finally, we will learn about our crazy new theory on why we get cancer (and more importantly, why we don’t).
SPEAKER BIO: James DeGregori received a B.A. in Microbiology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987, where he learned to piss people off, and a Ph.D. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge in 1993, where he learned enough to piss people off intelligently. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Duke from 1993-97, where he learned that pissing people off can get you in trouble. In 1997 he managed to get a real job in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where he is currently (and hopefully futuristically) a Professor. He is also currently the Associate Director for Basic Science at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
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Don’t miss these amazing presentations (and the accompanying drinks). Tickets are $5 online and $7 at the door. So grab your tix now!
Before you go, be sure to take a minute to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates and fun facts, and be the first to know event details by signing up for our email list (in the bar to the right).
ary 22 for a new year with new speakers and the same ol’ rowdy nerdery!
