Tonight, back with London Science Events at the Royal Institution - this time, it was Synthetic Intelligence. Last week's organiser couldn't make it - someone else volunteered to do the honours, but asked people to confirm they're coming - and I was the only one who did! Typical of this group, actually.
I left straight after a meeting (skipping my last one), so made it in time. Roughly. I still wasn't in time for the bus, so took the Tube. Ah jeez, it was hot.. not too crowded on the Northern Line, but I actually couldn't get on the first Jubilee Line to come, it was so packed. At least I was first in line for the next train. And it felt so long, that journey of four stops in sweltering heat - the Jubilee Line is always like this, I can always feel the sweat pouring off of me. I can't really say it was a relief to get off - it was just as hot outside!
Made my way as quickly as I could, and got there just after 6, when we were supposed to meet. No sign of anyone - although it was cooler inside, I was still roasting, so headed to the downstairs cafe for a cold drink. Bought a glass of wine, said on the Meetup page that I was sitting in the downstairs cafe. Got a message to say he was sitting inside the front door.. No sign of him coming down, and I didn't think I could take my drink upstairs, so messaged back to say I was having a glass of wine, and would be back up when it was finished.
And so I was. He turned out to be someone I'd seen earlier, but he was with a friend who wasn't in the group, so I hadn't thought it was him. Anyway, the friend was looking for another friend, so there we stayed and chatted, before the doors opened and we went up. Lordy, what a difference from last week, when as soon as I arrived, I started to queue on the stairs - tonight, the doors opened promptly at 6.30, and up we went, and straight in. And this time, I ended up with a more central seat, which was nice. As was the aircon.
It filled mostly, but not completely - unlike last week. And this time, with only one person speaking, they brought out the desk, behind which the chair stood while he introduced her, his shirt drenched with sweat. She remarked that the temperature outside was impressive - even for an Australian! Now, she started off keen to make the distinction between artificial and synthetic intelligence - she wasn't just trying to get computers to act clever. Nope, she's trying to build a synthetic brain. That learns for itself.
Someone in the Q+A afterwards, predictably, brought up Frankenstein.. it is an absolutely fascinating subject. She's trying to facilitate the replication of thought processes by replicating the response of the synapses. IBM got a couple of mentions for its neuromorphic nanotechnology, which replicates the way that biological systems behave. Well, they do put a high value on invention. So, what she's doing is building teeny tiny systems that look just like neurons, in a messy pattern that looks like a microscopic view of the brain, only made out of silver. The chair did actually ask her, at the end, why she didn't just make the thing out of biological material.. she said it was literally too messy! (I think she meant "difficult".)
As someone else pointed out afterwards, synaptic plasticity is necessary if you want the system to be capable of learning new information. And wouldn't you know it, her teeny system has a teeny amount of plasticity.. and yes, when they shoot a current through it, they've observed that ions shoot across the gaps between synapses in exactly the same way as molecules are transmitted across the gaps between synapses in biological systems! Yes, it does indeed look as though they're getting somewhere.
A couple of people in the Q+A brought up the idea of emotional intelligence, and whether you could teach the system to hear, or appreciate music. She ain't really there yet, so all those questions were pretty hypothetical. However, she was more certain when the talk turned to quantum computing, which - as she pointed out - uses up far too much power. The brain doesn't, and that's what they're trying to reproduce. She did point out, though, that quantum tunnelling does seem to play a role in synaptic transmission..
Truly fascinating, and I was glad I came. After it was all over, the pair I'd met made themselves scarce almost immediately! They did make excuses - one wanted a glass of water and then to shoot off, the other wanted to photograph the library. Not exactly the most sociable of exits, but at least they took the time to excuse themselves, I guess. Yep, scientific types were never really social experts, in my experience. Me, I got the bus back, glad it was a bit cooler. Just a bit, at 28 degrees.
Tomorrow, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) again, for Pity, at the Royal Court - which I missed last week, when the same group was doing it with another organiser. Delighted to make this - also delighted to avail of a terrific Time Out offer of £12 tickets for Band B seats - the official price for Band D is £14, so this was great value! Sadly, now sold out. There was a mixed reaction to it on Tuesday, among those who'd seen it.. well, time will tell.
On Saturday, back with them again, for the very last performance of Spun, at the Arcola. Second in a row with a theme of terrorism - this one is about the London bombings. Beforehand, we're headed for dinner at the Stone Cave, a Turkish place - and afterwards, to the Aqua 7 wine bar.
On Sunday, back with Walking in London, and Katie of Look Up London! Delighted she has a new walk - Smithfield & Clerkenwell: Guts & Glory. It's actually cheaper on her own site than on Funzing - unless you're getting one of those common 10% discounts!
On Monday, I'm taking myself to the Proms, at the Albert Hall, for the first time in ages. This one is An Alpine Symphony.
On Tuesday, I'm finally back with North London Friends, for Give My Regards to Broadway, Upstairs at the Gatehouse. Completely sold out now, I believe.
On Wednesday - London Literary Walks is taking a break! That was the day I was looking at films for - but what was coming top was Teefa in Trouble. A Bollywood film - fine: except when I watched the trailer, the jokes weren't quite as funny to me as I think they were to the makers, and there was a bit too much exaggerated action - think slo-mo, and people balancing motorbikes on their fingertips. And 2.5 hours of all that was, I thought, a bit much - so no thanks. Which left Sanju again. Not so much.. so I then thought about heading, with UITCS, to Julie, again at the National. Huh! Only tickets left were £50, when I checked! I then checked again.. they had two tickets for £26! Gone again now. Anyway, I've booked for a Heroism & Villainy Walking Tour (with Real Magic!), via Walking in London.
Next Thursday, I was also booked with them - for The Summer Ghost Walk. I've been with this guide before - found him very good. And then.. Ryanair announced another bloody strike!! Yes, for the next day. Yes, when I was to go to Ireland for the weekend. So now I'm flying next Thursday, instead - happily, it was Funzing, so I'll get a refund. And they've even refunded me the credits that I used to book it! And I retain the record of bookings that'll earn me more credits. And at least I found out earlier this time, so booked an alternative flight earlier, so it was a bit cheaper.
On the 6th, Anthony's Cultural Events and Walking Activities Group is off to Westferry Circus again, for The Importance of Being Earnest. Must remember to bring supplies, this time. And a hat.
On the 7th, UITCS is off to When Midnight Strikes, Upstairs at the Gatehouse.
On the 8th, London Literary Walks is back with Brook Green - another area near where I used to live! Actually, the first medical practice that I registered with, in London. Nice nurse - one very narky doctor.
On the 9th, UITCS is back to the Camden Fringe, with How to Be a Londoner in an Hour, at the Hen & Chickens Theatre. Then I'm down to Helen's for the weekend, for a party..
And on the 13th, back with Anthony's Cultural Events and Walking Activities Group, back to Westferry Circus.. this time it's for A Woman of No Importance.
Showing posts with label Royal Institution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Royal Institution. Show all posts
Thursday, 26 July 2018
Wednesday, 18 July 2018
Talk: Moon, Mars and Beyond
Last night, I was with London Science Events for a talk on Moon, Mars and Beyond at The Royal Institution. Tickets from Eventbrite. And there was to be an astronaut there, and - something I hadn't heard of before - if you wanted his autograph, it'd cost you £20! (discount prices for members of the Institution). I figured I could live without.
I left as early as I could - doors were to open at 6.30, and although I got a bus earlier than recommended by Google Maps, traffic on Oxford Street was like treacle.. so, in the end, it was slightly after 6.30 when I got there. Where I joined the Very Long Queue. Doors not open yet. And then, because the queue was so very, very long, we were moved to queue in the library - cue a scrum, in which I ended up being shoved further back in the queue than I had been. Never mind, we were soon moving - and people eventually came around handing out 3D glasses! which I returned unopened - they give me a headache.
Inside, the theatre just absorbed us all easily. I got a seat pretty close to where I was last time.. there wasn't really a chance to sync up with the rest of the group, sadly. This turned out to be a panel discussion with two scientists and the aforementioned astronaut, each stating the case for humanity, if it has to leave the Earth, moving to one of the stated destinations. So, the first, armed with a little light-up moon, argued for the Moon; the second was for Mars, the astronaut wanted us to aim further.
The mc could have worked on her diction - she wasn't the easiest to understand. However, as an ex-academic myself, I can say that it was a joy to listen to such entertaining talks! Each of the speakers was not only passionate about his subject, but knew how to engage and hold the audience's attention, and all the talks were peppered with humour. (Of course, they were helped by having such a fascinating subject.) Essentially, the Moon was proposed as the nearest and "easiest" to get to, Mars as simply being more interesting, and also feasible to reach - although they did point out that that would be a one-way mission, as it'd be too difficult to bring people back. The astronaut was gung-ho for exploring farther afield, to find somewhere more Earth-like. He did concede, however, that this was a (very) longterm ambition.
Obviously, the argument for the Moon was the most sensible. The Mars talk was the one that the 3D glasses were planned for - we were shown images that would display in 3D. And the astronaut's talk was absolutely riveting - he explained how the Moon flights were cancelled after his trip, so he only got to do it once.. but it was obvious how much he regretted that. And wow, to hear him talk about how day and night were defined by whether the shades were up or down.. and how many stars you could see from the dark side of the Moon.. jeez, we were up there with him.
At the end, they had a live audience vote as to which of the three options we should go with - after an early lead from Mars, the natural order of Earth, then Mars, then beyond emerged. But it was great to be able to see the votes developing in real time! A terrific night was had. And although I missed the rest of the group, it was nice of the organiser to come over in the lobby afterwards (while they were queueing for autographs upstairs), and we chatted briefly. And so home, on a horrendously packed bus! I was keeping my film list up to date though, so didn't have time to blog last night - ironically, I'm not going to a film now!
Tonight, back with London Literary Walks (but of course!) for The Belgravia Walk.
Tomorrow, I RSVPed with North London Friends, for the first time in ages, for End of Term Moors Bar Blues Jam and Drinks. And then, wouldn't you know it, Ryanair announced another pilots' strike - for Friday, when I was to go back to Ireland for the weekend! Nothing about it on their website, of course - and you know, if it affected me, I'd just find out at the last possible minute. Like all of those delayed flights that they only email you about - with the option to cancel or reschedule - when they're already in the air! (when it's actually legally too late to cancel, even if you don't go). I know from personal experience how hard it is to get last-minute flights - and how expensive. So, for safety's sake, I'm now flying tomorrow.. damnit, I'll never get to that Blues bar! And this group will think I'm avoiding them.. And, of course, now it turns out my Friday flight isn't cancelled at all. But you can't take the risk.
On Monday, with nothing on Meetup, my £3.60 club finally came up with something I fancied doing - so I'm headed to a play called Reading Gaol, at Theatre N16. There's a lot of interest in Oscar Wilde at the moment, for some reason. Speaking of the club that can't be named.. I had my account suspended by them (again!) yesterday - got one of those useless emails asking me to email to discuss, while not bothering to tell me what the problem was. Turned out they were miffed that I didn't have a UK phone number! When I suggested that they could just discuss this stuff with me, rather than resorting to suspending my account all the time, I got the rather snippy response that they found they got a quicker response this way! I see their customer service is still bottom of the barrel.. anyway, account now reactivated, with a note to say they won't be getting in touch in the event of last-minute availability or cancellations!
On Tuesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS), for Exit the King, at the National.
Next Wednesday, London Literary Walks again - this time it's Little Italy. Now, I've done this area before - but I bet he'll come up with something new.
On the 26th, back with London Science Events at the Royal Institution - this time, it's Synthetic Intelligence. Last night's organiser can't make it now - so I guess none of us will be meeting.
On the 27th, back with UITCS again, for Pity, at the Royal Court - which I missed on Saturday, when the same group was doing it with another organiser. Delighted to make this - also delighted to avail of a terrific Time Out offer of £12 tickets for Band B seats - the official price for Band D is £14, so this was great value! Sadly, now sold out.
On the 28th, back with them again, for the very last performance of Spun, at the Arcola. Second in a row with a theme of terrorism - this one is about the London bombings.
On the 29th, back with Walking in London, and Katie of Look Up London! Delighted she has a new walk - Smithfield & Clerkenwell: Guts & Glory. It's actually cheaper on her own site than on Funzing - unless you're getting one of those common 10% discounts!
On the 30th, I'm taking myself to the Proms, at the Albert Hall, for the first time in ages. This one is An Alpine Symphony.
And finishing off the month, I'm finally back with North London Friends, for Give My Regards to Broadway, Upstairs at the Gatehouse.
I left as early as I could - doors were to open at 6.30, and although I got a bus earlier than recommended by Google Maps, traffic on Oxford Street was like treacle.. so, in the end, it was slightly after 6.30 when I got there. Where I joined the Very Long Queue. Doors not open yet. And then, because the queue was so very, very long, we were moved to queue in the library - cue a scrum, in which I ended up being shoved further back in the queue than I had been. Never mind, we were soon moving - and people eventually came around handing out 3D glasses! which I returned unopened - they give me a headache.
Inside, the theatre just absorbed us all easily. I got a seat pretty close to where I was last time.. there wasn't really a chance to sync up with the rest of the group, sadly. This turned out to be a panel discussion with two scientists and the aforementioned astronaut, each stating the case for humanity, if it has to leave the Earth, moving to one of the stated destinations. So, the first, armed with a little light-up moon, argued for the Moon; the second was for Mars, the astronaut wanted us to aim further.
The mc could have worked on her diction - she wasn't the easiest to understand. However, as an ex-academic myself, I can say that it was a joy to listen to such entertaining talks! Each of the speakers was not only passionate about his subject, but knew how to engage and hold the audience's attention, and all the talks were peppered with humour. (Of course, they were helped by having such a fascinating subject.) Essentially, the Moon was proposed as the nearest and "easiest" to get to, Mars as simply being more interesting, and also feasible to reach - although they did point out that that would be a one-way mission, as it'd be too difficult to bring people back. The astronaut was gung-ho for exploring farther afield, to find somewhere more Earth-like. He did concede, however, that this was a (very) longterm ambition.
Obviously, the argument for the Moon was the most sensible. The Mars talk was the one that the 3D glasses were planned for - we were shown images that would display in 3D. And the astronaut's talk was absolutely riveting - he explained how the Moon flights were cancelled after his trip, so he only got to do it once.. but it was obvious how much he regretted that. And wow, to hear him talk about how day and night were defined by whether the shades were up or down.. and how many stars you could see from the dark side of the Moon.. jeez, we were up there with him.
At the end, they had a live audience vote as to which of the three options we should go with - after an early lead from Mars, the natural order of Earth, then Mars, then beyond emerged. But it was great to be able to see the votes developing in real time! A terrific night was had. And although I missed the rest of the group, it was nice of the organiser to come over in the lobby afterwards (while they were queueing for autographs upstairs), and we chatted briefly. And so home, on a horrendously packed bus! I was keeping my film list up to date though, so didn't have time to blog last night - ironically, I'm not going to a film now!
Tonight, back with London Literary Walks (but of course!) for The Belgravia Walk.
Tomorrow, I RSVPed with North London Friends, for the first time in ages, for End of Term Moors Bar Blues Jam and Drinks. And then, wouldn't you know it, Ryanair announced another pilots' strike - for Friday, when I was to go back to Ireland for the weekend! Nothing about it on their website, of course - and you know, if it affected me, I'd just find out at the last possible minute. Like all of those delayed flights that they only email you about - with the option to cancel or reschedule - when they're already in the air! (when it's actually legally too late to cancel, even if you don't go). I know from personal experience how hard it is to get last-minute flights - and how expensive. So, for safety's sake, I'm now flying tomorrow.. damnit, I'll never get to that Blues bar! And this group will think I'm avoiding them.. And, of course, now it turns out my Friday flight isn't cancelled at all. But you can't take the risk.
On Monday, with nothing on Meetup, my £3.60 club finally came up with something I fancied doing - so I'm headed to a play called Reading Gaol, at Theatre N16. There's a lot of interest in Oscar Wilde at the moment, for some reason. Speaking of the club that can't be named.. I had my account suspended by them (again!) yesterday - got one of those useless emails asking me to email to discuss, while not bothering to tell me what the problem was. Turned out they were miffed that I didn't have a UK phone number! When I suggested that they could just discuss this stuff with me, rather than resorting to suspending my account all the time, I got the rather snippy response that they found they got a quicker response this way! I see their customer service is still bottom of the barrel.. anyway, account now reactivated, with a note to say they won't be getting in touch in the event of last-minute availability or cancellations!
On Tuesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS), for Exit the King, at the National.
Next Wednesday, London Literary Walks again - this time it's Little Italy. Now, I've done this area before - but I bet he'll come up with something new.
On the 26th, back with London Science Events at the Royal Institution - this time, it's Synthetic Intelligence. Last night's organiser can't make it now - so I guess none of us will be meeting.
On the 27th, back with UITCS again, for Pity, at the Royal Court - which I missed on Saturday, when the same group was doing it with another organiser. Delighted to make this - also delighted to avail of a terrific Time Out offer of £12 tickets for Band B seats - the official price for Band D is £14, so this was great value! Sadly, now sold out.
On the 28th, back with them again, for the very last performance of Spun, at the Arcola. Second in a row with a theme of terrorism - this one is about the London bombings.
On the 29th, back with Walking in London, and Katie of Look Up London! Delighted she has a new walk - Smithfield & Clerkenwell: Guts & Glory. It's actually cheaper on her own site than on Funzing - unless you're getting one of those common 10% discounts!
On the 30th, I'm taking myself to the Proms, at the Albert Hall, for the first time in ages. This one is An Alpine Symphony.
And finishing off the month, I'm finally back with North London Friends, for Give My Regards to Broadway, Upstairs at the Gatehouse.
Tuesday, 17 April 2018
Talk: Gravitational Waves and Beyond
Tonight, went with London Science Events for a talk on Gravitational Waves and Beyond, at the Royal Institution. Tickets from Eventbrite. During the afternoon, the organiser messaged us that he'd be there from around 6:45, which gave me something to aim for.
I'd just missed my bus, frustratingly - but another was along in about five minutes. Which I nearly dropped asleep on, after continually waking during the night to cough, and then having one of those tiring days at work. It dropped me off, vexingly, one stop short of where Google Maps said it'd go to - quite common for buses terminating in the West End, as I discovered last year, when I was living there. Never mind, I'd be in plenty of time for the talk - and it wasn't too far to walk, just at a kind of angle to Google maps' suggested route. Once I'd passed through busy Oxford Street (where the nearby Tube entrance was closed, probably due to overcrowding) and almost-as-busy Regent Street, I was in quiet streets, last traversed on some walk where we were looking at designer goods.
On Albemarle Street, the venue was easy to spot, with its name on the awning over the door. The lobby was packed - but soon cleared out once the theatre opened for the talk, upstairs. At which point I thought I saw someone I recognised from the list of attendees.. well, I commented on the event page that I was there, then introduced myself, and sure enough, she was one of us. In due course, the organiser messaged back that he was in the cafe downstairs, and would be up shortly. To be fair, I don't think he necessarily expected anyone at all - indeed, we two were the only ones from the group who joined him! Now, I understand if people can't make it - and there were a couple who commented on the page that they wouldn't be - but I still maintain that it's bad form to say you're coming to something, then just not show up, without a bye or leave. Sadly, very common - and very bad manners.
Well, we headed upstairs and had our tickets scanned - by phone, which made it interesting if the ticket was on another phone. Phone-to-phone action! We took our seats - it wasn't quite sold out, but nearly, and if you want a good seat, it's advisable to claim it early. Speaking of seats: what interesting, pink upholstery they have! We had a decent view, somewhat to the side.
It started a little late - only to be expected. Participating were the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland, who'd been intimately involved with the recent detection of gravitational waves - and her interviewer, from Nature journal. I'd been expecting it to be a presentation, rather than an interview - and while the story of her personal journey to this point was interesting, I actually thought there wasn't enough science in this! I was rather happier near the end, when diagrams and videos started to appear, representing how these waves are created: and there were some very interesting questions from the audience, in the strictly timed Q+A afterwards.
To summarise - gravitational waves are created when massive bodies move, given that mass affects the curvature of spacetime. They're predicted by the Theory of General Relativity - another prediction that's taken forever to prove. It took until 2016 for them actually to be detected - simply because they're so very faint. And after they'd made massive improvements in the measuring equipment - and taken account of all environmental phenomena that might account for any movement detected - they were astonished when they got a reading, right after turning the thing on! Truly, a landmark day. It was astounding to hear about the number of contributors cited on the relevant paper, with so many astronomers worldwide looking for the signals.. jeez, how would all their names fit?!
And so home, nice and early a coughing fit waited until I was on the bus, mercifully. A nice bunch of folks, and it was good to meet them. Hope I can make another of their events. Tomorrow, Funzing again (courtesy of London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night), for The Strangest Feeling: Déjà Vu - the code "crazy_fun" typically gets 10% off Funzing events. Taking place at Gabeto, in Camden Market. Eh, you're joking! Jeez, at least I should know how to get to this one, after getting lost on my way there on Monday night - happily, they're crediting me with a free talk for my trouble. And I know to arrive in time! Presented by Anthony Peake, whom I spent a long time researching to make sure he's not a sceptic, as I have extensive personal experience of precognitive experiences.
On Thursday, back with London Literary Walks - he's only doing them fortnightly now, it seems. Well, he's covered half of London at this rate! This one is called Guitar Bands Are on the Way Out, Mr. Epstein.
On Friday, I got the very last ticket to The Phlebotomist, downstairs at Hampstead Theatre. I'm going with Up in the Cheap Seats - North London Friends saw it in preview, but it was already sold out for that night when I looked.
On Saturday, Helen is in town and we're headed for food. Somewhere. In the evening, I'm back with London Discovery Walks for yet another ghost tour - this one is called Ghosts of the Old City - just like my last Funzing walk!
On Sunday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats.. all day, as it happens. See, one of the organisers went crazy booking things today - it seems there's a day of free events at the V&A, with the theme of censorship. The day starts with Decorum X: Brunch with Bite.. tickets required. This is followed by a talk on Censorship on the Elizabethan Stage, then finally comes a performance by Belarus Free Theatre (the only theatre company in Europe banned by its government on political grounds, it seems), with Artists Fighting Oppression. Sold out now, but he had tickets for us, if we were in quick. In the evening, we're off to a film music gala at the Albert Hall. What the hey, the V&A is on the way there!
On Monday, another Funzing talk - An Introduction to the Dark Net. At Sink.. For which I earned a loyalty discount, on account of all I booked recently!
Next Tuesday and on the 25th, back again with Up in the Cheap Seats: Tuesday is for An Ideal Husband - part of the Oscar Wilde Season, at the Vaudeville. Stars father and son, Edward and Freddie Fox. And Susan Hampshire. The 25th is for Mood Music, at the Old Vic, with Ben Chaplin.
On the 26th, the London European Club is attending a lecture at the LSE, on Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration. Then I'm back to the highly non-Eurosceptic Ireland again, for the weekend.
On the 30th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for A Gym Thing - got a fright when I saw that, but no, it's a play - in the Pleasaunce.
On the 1st, I am back with North London Friends - to the Theatre Royal, Stratford East for Our Country's Good.
On the 2nd, Up in the Cheap Seats is off to The Writer, at the Almeida.
And on the 3rd, London Literary Walks is doing - ahem - Stalin's Doss House. Meeting at Starbucks, naturally!
I'd just missed my bus, frustratingly - but another was along in about five minutes. Which I nearly dropped asleep on, after continually waking during the night to cough, and then having one of those tiring days at work. It dropped me off, vexingly, one stop short of where Google Maps said it'd go to - quite common for buses terminating in the West End, as I discovered last year, when I was living there. Never mind, I'd be in plenty of time for the talk - and it wasn't too far to walk, just at a kind of angle to Google maps' suggested route. Once I'd passed through busy Oxford Street (where the nearby Tube entrance was closed, probably due to overcrowding) and almost-as-busy Regent Street, I was in quiet streets, last traversed on some walk where we were looking at designer goods.
On Albemarle Street, the venue was easy to spot, with its name on the awning over the door. The lobby was packed - but soon cleared out once the theatre opened for the talk, upstairs. At which point I thought I saw someone I recognised from the list of attendees.. well, I commented on the event page that I was there, then introduced myself, and sure enough, she was one of us. In due course, the organiser messaged back that he was in the cafe downstairs, and would be up shortly. To be fair, I don't think he necessarily expected anyone at all - indeed, we two were the only ones from the group who joined him! Now, I understand if people can't make it - and there were a couple who commented on the page that they wouldn't be - but I still maintain that it's bad form to say you're coming to something, then just not show up, without a bye or leave. Sadly, very common - and very bad manners.
Well, we headed upstairs and had our tickets scanned - by phone, which made it interesting if the ticket was on another phone. Phone-to-phone action! We took our seats - it wasn't quite sold out, but nearly, and if you want a good seat, it's advisable to claim it early. Speaking of seats: what interesting, pink upholstery they have! We had a decent view, somewhat to the side.
It started a little late - only to be expected. Participating were the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland, who'd been intimately involved with the recent detection of gravitational waves - and her interviewer, from Nature journal. I'd been expecting it to be a presentation, rather than an interview - and while the story of her personal journey to this point was interesting, I actually thought there wasn't enough science in this! I was rather happier near the end, when diagrams and videos started to appear, representing how these waves are created: and there were some very interesting questions from the audience, in the strictly timed Q+A afterwards.
To summarise - gravitational waves are created when massive bodies move, given that mass affects the curvature of spacetime. They're predicted by the Theory of General Relativity - another prediction that's taken forever to prove. It took until 2016 for them actually to be detected - simply because they're so very faint. And after they'd made massive improvements in the measuring equipment - and taken account of all environmental phenomena that might account for any movement detected - they were astonished when they got a reading, right after turning the thing on! Truly, a landmark day. It was astounding to hear about the number of contributors cited on the relevant paper, with so many astronomers worldwide looking for the signals.. jeez, how would all their names fit?!
And so home, nice and early a coughing fit waited until I was on the bus, mercifully. A nice bunch of folks, and it was good to meet them. Hope I can make another of their events. Tomorrow, Funzing again (courtesy of London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night), for The Strangest Feeling: Déjà Vu - the code "crazy_fun" typically gets 10% off Funzing events. Taking place at Gabeto, in Camden Market. Eh, you're joking! Jeez, at least I should know how to get to this one, after getting lost on my way there on Monday night - happily, they're crediting me with a free talk for my trouble. And I know to arrive in time! Presented by Anthony Peake, whom I spent a long time researching to make sure he's not a sceptic, as I have extensive personal experience of precognitive experiences.
On Thursday, back with London Literary Walks - he's only doing them fortnightly now, it seems. Well, he's covered half of London at this rate! This one is called Guitar Bands Are on the Way Out, Mr. Epstein.
On Friday, I got the very last ticket to The Phlebotomist, downstairs at Hampstead Theatre. I'm going with Up in the Cheap Seats - North London Friends saw it in preview, but it was already sold out for that night when I looked.
On Saturday, Helen is in town and we're headed for food. Somewhere. In the evening, I'm back with London Discovery Walks for yet another ghost tour - this one is called Ghosts of the Old City - just like my last Funzing walk!
On Sunday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats.. all day, as it happens. See, one of the organisers went crazy booking things today - it seems there's a day of free events at the V&A, with the theme of censorship. The day starts with Decorum X: Brunch with Bite.. tickets required. This is followed by a talk on Censorship on the Elizabethan Stage, then finally comes a performance by Belarus Free Theatre (the only theatre company in Europe banned by its government on political grounds, it seems), with Artists Fighting Oppression. Sold out now, but he had tickets for us, if we were in quick. In the evening, we're off to a film music gala at the Albert Hall. What the hey, the V&A is on the way there!
On Monday, another Funzing talk - An Introduction to the Dark Net. At Sink.. For which I earned a loyalty discount, on account of all I booked recently!
Next Tuesday and on the 25th, back again with Up in the Cheap Seats: Tuesday is for An Ideal Husband - part of the Oscar Wilde Season, at the Vaudeville. Stars father and son, Edward and Freddie Fox. And Susan Hampshire. The 25th is for Mood Music, at the Old Vic, with Ben Chaplin.
On the 26th, the London European Club is attending a lecture at the LSE, on Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration. Then I'm back to the highly non-Eurosceptic Ireland again, for the weekend.
On the 30th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for A Gym Thing - got a fright when I saw that, but no, it's a play - in the Pleasaunce.
On the 1st, I am back with North London Friends - to the Theatre Royal, Stratford East for Our Country's Good.
On the 2nd, Up in the Cheap Seats is off to The Writer, at the Almeida.
And on the 3rd, London Literary Walks is doing - ahem - Stalin's Doss House. Meeting at Starbucks, naturally!
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