Nerd Nite East Bay #41: Fake Fish, Cyborgs, and Warming

April's Nerd Nite East Bay includes one of our funkier line-ups to date. First, Stuart Gripman will teach you about the fake fish concocted by the notable naturalist John James Audubon. Then, Kara Platoni will speak about some of the ways people are hacking their perception abilities. Finally, the Exploratorium's Lori Lambertson will give a light-hearted look at some of the grim repercussions of global warming.

As usual, doors/bar/food are at 7. Grilled Cheese Guy will be slinging delicious sammies. Ann-Marie Benz may run Nerd Nite Detention again (more details to come).

Oh. And fan (and boss) favorite Matthew "Herbie" Harman returns as a guest MC!

Herbie, Rick, DJ Ion the Prize, and the Oakland Public Library will (still) be the April Fools.
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Audubon's Phony Fish by Stuart Gripman

The story of how naturalist Constantine Rafinesque, a self-described "odd fish" was goaded by John James Audubon (yes, that Audubon) into publishing descriptions of fantastical and wholly fabricated fish.
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Perception Hacking for Cyborgs (That Means You) by Kara Platoni

Humanity has never been closer to machine than we are now - and it's only about to get weirder as we increasingly bring technologies onto, and into, our bodies in our eternal quest to alter our perceptual experiences, give ourselves superpowers and (maybe) hack ourselves a sixth sense. From the bionic eye to the thought-controlled robotic limb; from augmented and virtual reality gadgets to biohacker implants, it's time to consider what comes next in human evolution, and whether we can do it ourselves.
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We're All F***ed: A Cool Look at the Warm Future by Lori Lambertson

Welcome to the Anthropocene, the proposed name for our current epoch, which is characterized by the impacts of human activities on earth's geology and ecosystems. Come find out how we have fucked with the carbon cycle, which is changing our atmosphere and so much more.

$8 in advance; $10 at the door.