PubSci (Science in the Pub)

Well done to Colin Beveridge for spotting the #AnagramOfTheYear:
Sarina Wiegman = 'I win as manager'

Demystifying AI with Dr. Ruth Stalker-Firth Should we fear AI? Should we embrace it? Perhaps both? PubSci examines the surprisingly long history of AI and lays to rest a few myths.

Does artificial intelligence confuse you? Scare you? Bore you with hyperbolic claims?
🧪
Come to PubSci on Wednesday 20th August and let us demystify AI for you.

august2025.eventbrite.co.uk/

Excellent talk by @adamjkucharski.bsky.social at last week's @pubsci.bsky.social event on the science of certainty- including a great graph on a *correlation* between college alcohol spend and 1st class degree awards!

At PubSci you can enjoy great 🧪 science talks with a drink in your hand, and last night we packed out the Old King's Head to hear @adamjkucharski.bsky.social on how scientific consensus is built. Many thanks to Adam and all who came.

Do take a look at his latest book
profilebooks.com/work/proof

Are you ready to dive into the history and reasoning of Proof next Wednesday?
Have you booked your ticket yet?
With over 50% of places gone, you'll need to hurry!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/16th-july-...

(Not quite sure how the word "high" crept in there!)

@openpetase.bsky.social recently captured the spirit of science-with-beer on a trip to the Eagle in Cambridge.

Learn about their initiative to make high home plastic recycling a reality through enzymic decomposition of PET.

And don't forget to book your tickets for next week's PubSci.

Cheers!

EPA employees go public with opposition to Trump policies A group of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees is speaking out against the policies of the Trump administration.  A mix of current and retired employees published a letter to EPA A…

"A mix of current and retired employees published a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, saying the Trump White House’s efforts “undermine the EPA mission of protecting human health and the environment.”

Read the letter here ➡️zurl.co/4yMWs

Sign your support here ➡️ zurl.co/roVbP

zurl.co/4yMWs

July Blog Post: Asteroids, Astronomy, Science Photography and Poetry plus July’s PubSci and discount tickets to a talk on the Northern Lights In this issue: An exclusive discount for a talk on the Northern Lights, details of July’s PubSci, astronomy news, art, poetry and other great science-things to do, and an interview the bloke …

🧪 In July's PubSci 🍺 blog I preview our event with @adamjkucharski.bsky.social on Weds 16th, share other science news and events, reflect on last month's talk, dip into the world of science poetry, and share an exclusive discount code for a talk this coming weekend.

tinyurl.com/PubSci-Blog-...

Review of PROOF @thelancet.com by @philipcball.bsky.social
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

16th July: Proof? (The Uncertain Science of Certainty) Bestselling author of 'The Rules of Contagion' explores how scientific opinion is formed — and how best to convince others of the facts?

July's PubSci is live on Eventbrite, and we're delighted to be joined by @adamjkucharski.bsky.social to explore the ideas behind his book, "Proof – The Uncertain Science of Certainty".
🧪
Join us on 16 July for your monthly helping of Sipping • Supping • Science
🧪
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1428254269...

Gunpowder, Sonnets and Quantum Gravity A Poetic Way to Look at the Protein Folding Problem, Jim Gates explores how visualisation can propel the search for quantum gravity on 8th Feb, and news of PubSci’s February talk

The event I did in the Old King's Head now has a lovely write-up on the PubSci blog! I can't explain how much I enjoyed doing this - I found my milieu - sipping, supping, science - hope to do lots more of it... pubsci.info/2025/02/05/g...

PubSci Sipping • Supping • Science

Thank you Rivka for a fabulous talk and for sharing the blog. I've only just seen your post but I'm so glad you enjoyed it as much as we did – and thank you for sharing the PubSci blog. Next one due out by tomorrow.
Sign up on any page at pubsci.info
or follow our feed on your preferred RSS reader

Many thanks to Dr Stuart Eves for a super talk last Wednesday that had us looking up at the sky as we considered the many ways the universe has been trying to kill life on Earth through the ages.
We're back on Weds 18th July with a talk on how we can know anything at all! tinyurl.com/PubSciCal-Ju...

Glad you enjoyed it, Andy

FYI: The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Democratic Staff, is trying to get more info on the impact of recent research grant terminations.

If your award has been canceled since Jan 20, you can fill out this survey: democrats-science.house.gov/grantcancela...

🧪 Just a handful of places remain for Wednesday's PubSci event... it's the hottest science talk ticket in town.

Bring something to fan yourself with, if not for the June heat, then for the (literally) Earth-shattering topic!

18th June: How the Universe is Trying to Kill Us – and How We Can Stop It! Join PubSci on a rollercoaster ride of astronomical observations, global mass extinctions, galactic coincidences and astronomical heroics!

June's PubSci is only 8 days away... a mere 3 days before the summer solstice. Luckily space engineer Dr Stuart Eves is on hand to explore why the universe seems determined to kill off life on Earth, and how we might prevent humans going the way of the dinosaurs. 🧪

pubsci-june2025.eventbrite.co.uk

Finding science in unlikely places: In conversation with Richard Marshall Almost every third Wednesday of the month, a group of people gather in a room on the first floor of a lively pub in London, pints in hand and an order of scampi and chips on the way from the kitche…

Read my recent interview with Richard Marshall, science communicator and current facilitator of an event series in London known as PubSci (@pubsci.bsky.social) or Science in the Pub, on how he runs the event and his views on public engagement with science.

#SciComm

ushashibasu.com/2025/05/18/f...

Stand up for science 🧪

bsky.app/profile/stan...

Scientific conferences are leaving the US amid border fears Some meetings have been put on hold in response to foreign researchers’ travel concerns.

US conferences are being cancelled or relocated as speakers decline, science discourse is limited and others not allowed to attend. Certainly I would avoid going under the current regime

🧪 The good news: IanVisits lists tonight's PubSci as one the three "Top things to do in London today" 🤩

⚠️ The bad news (for some): We're sold out.

🍺 But don't despair, Booking for June's PubSci goes live at noon today, and it's going to be sensational. Book at pubsci-june2025.eventbrite.co.uk

#Excited
🧪 I just got a preview of the live science demos Michael Cutts and colleagues are bringing to PubSci this Wednesday... 🤗 💥🍺 You will not be disappointed!

Only a handful of tickets remain, so don't hesitate to grab yours from Eventbrite.

21st May: Science Goes Pop! Two centuries of Live Science Demonstrations Discover why audiences have flocked to the Royal Institution for 200 years to watch live science - and witness a demo suitable for the pub!

PubSci's May event is just 3 weeks away and 30% of tickets have already been snapped up!

Don't miss this unique chance to discover 200 years of live science demonstrations stretching back to Michael Faraday himself.

🧪 Join us at the Old King's Head on 21st May

pubsci-may2025.eventbrite.co.uk

🚀 BlueSky’s soaring—and X might be a dead parrot? 🦜 Altmetric data shows a dramatic shift in where academic links are shared.
👉https://www.altmetric.com/blog/blueskys-ahead-but-is-x-a-dead-parrot/
#Altmetrics #Twitter #BlueSky 🧪

Many thanks to Snezana Lawrence for speaking about A Little History of Mathematics (Yale University Press).
40 short chapters packed with stories from 32,000 years of mathematical history, it's also beautifully illustrated by Kat Flint.

May's PubSci is already booking on Eventbrite
lnkd.in/eMTRueTZ

Ig Nobel Awards Tour Show 2025 Join Ig Nobel founder Marc Abrahams alongside Ig Nobel laureates to celebrate the awards which make you laugh, then think.

Here's something else you won't want to miss out on: The IgNobel tour is coming to London next weekend. Founder of the Ig Nobel ceremony, Marc Abrahams, tells the story of the Igs and introduces some hilarious laureates. 🧪
Tickets here: www.rigb.org/whats-on/ig-...

Half the the tickets for April's PubSci have been snapped up already! 🧪 + 📐 + 🍺 + 💬

A little History of Mathematics (London Book Launch) - Snezana Lawrence Snezana Lawrence, takes us on a fascinating journey through the lesser-known history of maths.

Many thanks to Jenny Poulton for last month's talk.
On Weds 16th April, Snezana Lawrence introduces her Little History of Mathematics (Yale University Press, April 2025). 
Read all about it and book tickets on Eventbrite - but hurry 50% are already taken!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-little-h...

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