Thursday 18 February 2010

Today's idea - Brighton Zine Festival and Science Festival




Two events today you lucky people - both very good but different: one part of the Brighton Zine Fest and one of the Brighton Science Festival.

The Zine Fest is is a 4 day celebration of zines and D.I.Y. which starts today and runs until this Sunday. Today sees a Swap Shop for crafty types: "Bring zines, crafts, mix tapes, and anything else you feel like trading for a cash free swap shop. There will be a pot luck veggie dinner, beer and music." It sounds nice, simple, and fun - and pot luck veggie dinner (om nom nom), beer and music tick every box. Entry's free, and for those attending, head to Coachwerks Art Space, 19 Hollingdean Terrace, BN1 7HB.

The grandly named Café Scientifique, for people who like Science, is presented by the Brighton Science Festival who are holding a nice-sounding talk about Polymaths. I went to one of these last year with a Chemistry friend. As a media type who likes science of the entertaining king only, I thought it fun. It was about Synesthesia, shortly after which i discovered a friend with it, and thus had lots of information-based questions to pepper them with. It was very nice (the event, not the pepping).

Today's talk by Alasdair Beal is called “Polymaths – who needs them?”. The blurb is below. Admission is free, and with the festival only lasting another week it's worth a visit. Events tend to be fun, intelligent, and entertaining. Take a friend.

"Polymaths – those brilliant people who range across all kinds of subjects – can be very entertaining but what have they done for science? Are they just dilettanti, ‘jacks of all trades but masters of none’? The orthodox view is that real progress comes from the sustained efforts of specialists who concentrate their efforts on a limited area of research in order to make breakthroughs.

Alasdair Beal challenges this view and discusses the achievements of some of history’s great polymaths, including the Italian Leonardo da Vinci and the Englishman Thomas Young.

Alasdair Beal is a consulting civil and structural engineer and also former journals editor for the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies."



It starts at 7.30pm at the

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