Throw horns for history and rush the stage* for statistics riffs at the bar show where the nerds are the rock stars and smart is punk af.
Cue it up: Three experts. Dozens of cheeky slides. A bar full of former gifted kids gone feral who love special interest deep dives. This is Nerd Nite DC.
*okay maybe just do this in spirit. Nerds are wild creatures who can be easily spooked by sudden movements.
Nerd Nite DC has been DC’s favorite irreverent lecture series since 2009.
DATE CHANGE NOTE!!! This month, the show is on a FRIDAY and it starts at 8 PM with doors at 7:30. You can have both happy hour and dinner at DC9 as we regale and delight you with edutainment and nerding out about niche special interests!
Your host this month is Nerd Nite DC icon Rae Pendergrass, joined by our three wildly entertaining and wickedly smart speakers with three must-see talks:
- Dr. Kelsey Jenkins, “Fossils Can HEAR?!”
When animals evolved to live on land, they had to make a lot of anatomical adjustments in order to survive and thrive. In this talk, we’ll explore the early evolution of an incredibly important sense (hearing) in the coolest of all groups (reptiles).
Dr. Jenkins is the Cajun paleontologist who loves everything from gator wrangling to fossil collecting to a lazy night in with wine and a video game. If you want the fancy stuff, she did a bachelor’s degree at Louisiana State University in Geology, a Master’s degree at Sam Houston State University in Texas, and a PhD at Yale University.
- Dr. Kinga Dobolyi, “Quips, Barbs, and Em Dashes: Is AI Banter Witty or Shitty?”
LLMs are fantastic at hoping this email finds you well, but are they actually capable of understanding — and generating — things humans find funny? In this talk we’ll give a brief overview of how these models are trained to “think,” and their limitations at emulating rich cognitive tasks like humor.
Dr. Dobolyi is a data scientist and professor of computer science who currently researches topics related to the literary publishing landscape. Recently, she has been begging her students at George Washington University to stop using ChatGPT to solve all their homework.
- Diva Darling, “The Kitten Distribution System Chose You, Now What?”
Our own Diva Darling is an experienced neonatal (“bottle baby”) kitten foster who’s ready to show you how to assess their needs and ensure they’re safe, and give you a crash course in neonatal kitten development and care in case you decide to raise them. It’s the Nerd Nite talk that’s wall to wall tiny kitten pictures, so everyone wins– especially the stray kitten about to cross your path!
Diva Darling is one of Nerd Nite DC’s co-producers and was a frequent speaker before that. She also produces the spicy storytelling open mic Smut Slam in DC, Baltimore, and Greater Philly. She’s a nightlife producer, popular local femme-cee, burlesque performer, seggs educator, and absolutely-obsessed foster kitten mama with MCASAC who can nerd out about ear wiggles and healthy poops way longer than is probably good for anyone.
DOORS 7:30PM | 21+
Nerd Nite DC
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Doors open at 7:30, show at 8. Talks are 15 minutes with a 5 minute Q&A, and during the breaks, you can play along in our “alternate talk titles” competition to try to win a free drink on us. It’s rowdy, interactive, and the most fun you’ll have learning something all month.
The show is on the second floor of DC9 and is mostly standing room with limited seating available on a first-come, first served basis.
Nerd Nite DC is produced by Rae Pendergrass, Navi, and Diva Darling.
