Monday
Skeptics in the Pub inexplicably hasn’t been mentioned on this blog for a while, but meet this week in Camden with an event entitled “you can’t count on a rational NHS”. Dr Edward Presswood is a hospital doctor in North London and will look at irrationality in the NHS and calls for a society which appreciates science. 7:30pm; free.
Tuesday
Another good title from UCL: Spooklights – Things That Go Flash in the Dark An evening event with Dr Andrea Sella, hosted by UCL’s Chemical and Physical society, it promises demonstrations with flashes and bangs and a doughnut beforehand. 6pm; free.
Wednesday
The next of the events curated by New Scientist Editor Roger Highfield at the RI looks at IQ. In 2010 New Scientist ran an experiment in which 100,000 people took part in a new test to measure intelligence. Dr Highfield and neurologist discuss the results, including the impact of gender, age and computer games. £10; book now.
Alternatively if you’re feeling rather more pessimistic, join Steve Jones and A. S. Byatt at the Dana Centre for the End of the World Can fiction help us avoid it? 7pm: Free, but book.
Thursday
Supermassive Black Holes are under the spotlight at the Royal Observatory tonight, with Dr Omar Almaini investigating how they are found and their role in formation and evolution of galaxies. 6:30pm; £5, book now.
From diamond and graphite, known throughout history, to nanotubes and graphene, the development of nanotechnology means carbon is still changing the world. What next for the humblest of elements? Engineer and FREng Professor S Ravi P Silva FREng will discuss it in the Royal Society’s annual Clifford Paterson lecture. Doors at 5:45pm; fre, no booking, also webcast.
On the chemistry theme, over at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Dr Hywel Jones is asking What’s in my stuff? He will look at the finite supply of chemical elements being called on for modern technologies and the need to reduce, reuse and recycle objects like mobile phones. 6:30pm, free, also webcast.
Friday
One more of interest from a History and Philosophy of Science point of view at the British Museum tonight: the annual Eva Lorant Memorial Lecture. Given by Jean MacIntosh Turfa, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, presenting the first English translation of an Etruscan book of thunder-omens, topics covered will include cosmic rays, Mesopotamian astrology, epidemics. The website is currently giving an error, but you can find the details at the ever interesting IanVisits site
Sunday
The third in the CineSci series which shows films with a scientific bent at the Clapham Picturehouse. This month’s offering is Forbidden Planet: 2:30pm start, followed by a discussion with Simon Frantz.
You can follow the Nature Network London Google calendar of events in London at https://blogs.nature.com/london/2011/05/17/scientific-events-calendar. Updated daily.