Our First Event
We’re launching our very first event on 24th Feb, 2010 at hackerspace.sg, 70A Bussorah Street. We have a great evening lined up with three amazing speakers. Drinking and pre-talk mingling begins at 7:00 PM. The first speaker goes on at 7:30 PM.
Talk 1: Of Mice and Men (and Ants and Fish): Learning About Human Brains by Studying Animals
by Ajay Mathuru
Description: Attempts to understand the human brain have had a long and rich history. In recent times, neuroscientists have begun to explore simpler brains as a way to build up to complexity, akin to reverse engineering. Remarkably, simple wiring doesn’t appear limiting to generate complex behavior and emotions normally associated with higher order processing, such as empathy, altruism and building complex social strata. So, fish may not be just food and ants may be much more than bugs!
Speaker: Ajay dabbled in genetics and micro-biology before pursuing a doctorate in neuroscience at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bangalore, India. His current work at the Neuroscience Research Partnership, A-STAR focuses on understanding the connection between neural circuits and behavior.
Talk 2: Like Ball Golf but Better: A Short History of Disc Golf
by Luke Johnson
Description: It’s been forty years since someone replaced balls with frisbees (technically, flying discs) and holes with metal baskets to make a sport that’s just as fun as ball golf but without the expense, land requirements and bad pants. After years of impressive growth, disc golf now boasts 6,000 courses world wide, a professional tour, and a rabid base of players. There’s even a course right here in Singapore, hand crafted by tonight’s speaker on the grounds of a former cemetery!
Speaker: Luke is an American journalist who has lived in Canada, China and now Singapore, where he crafts stories for the Foreign Desk at the Straits Times. In his spare time he writes about politics, sports and other international obsessions for various publications and on his blog.
Talk 3: How to Live Forever: Ancestor Worship in the Modern Age
by Chew Lin Kay
Description: Rituals and traditions adapt as our surroundings and circumstances change. And yet, lucky numbers notwithstanding, Singaporean Chinese customs surrounding the internment and interaction with ancestors remain resolutely one-way. What will tomorrow’s columbaria look like in an age of web-cams, webs sites, miniaturised technology and whatever comes next? And how will these technologies affect our understanding of death, ancestor propitiation and the nature of personal legacy?
Speaker: Chew Lin is an intellectual magpie and lover of stimulating conversation. Her specific interests include chocolate, heritage and inter-faith dialoging.
