March 24, 2011

The Secret Science Club presents a Brain-Boggling Evening with Neuroscientist and Author Paul Glimcher, Sunday, April 3, 8 pm @ the Bell House, FREE!

Think fast! Every waking moment involves choice. Android or iPhone? Pancakes or waffles? Boxers or briefs? Time to call it quits, or time for another drink? My place or yours? What exactly goes on in our brains when we’re confronted with so many options?

A leading pioneer in the new field of neuroeconomics, scientist and author Paul Glimcher uses the latest technology to uncover how brain biology controls decision-making. He asks: Why do wrong decisions sometimes feel so right? Are other animals ever irrational? Is money an outgrowth of our neural circuitry? What happens inside the brain when we choose to take risks?

The author of Foundations of Neuroeconomic Analysis and Neuroeconomics: Decision Making and the Brain, Dr. Glimcher is professor of Neural Science, Economics and Psychology at New York University and director of NYU’s Center for Neuroeconomics.

Before & After
--Groove to synapse-stimulating sounds
--Stick around for the cerebral Q&A
--Try our dopamine-spiked cocktail of the night, the "Brainstorm"
--Snag a signed copy of Paul Glimcher's mind-blowing new book!

JUST ADDED! This brain-boggling evening will feature a special performance by theremin player Jen Rondeau. Eerie and ethereal, the theremin is one of the earliest electronic instruments—and one that is mysteriously played without touching. (Jen Rondeau will also be performing April 7 at the Knitting Factory Brooklyn with her band Changing Modes and April 20 - 23 as part of the upcoming Ensemble Studio Theatre workshop production of Pidgeon, the new play about physicist Leon Theremin, the instrument’s inventor.)

This brainy edition of the Secret Science Club meets Sunday, April 3 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510. Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th.
 
Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+
Free! Just bring your smart self!

March 4, 2011

The Secret Science Club presents Theoretical High-Energy Physicist Matthew Strassler, Wednesday, March 16, 8 pm @ the Bell House, FREE!

Kick it into warp drive! The Secret Science Club is heading out—way out. The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, a ginormous subterranean machine that sends subatomic particles smashing into each other at incomprehensible speeds. The resulting explosions mimic conditions just moments after the Big Bang. Theoretical physicist Matthew Strassler of Rutgers University lectures on how this phenomenal new experiment could unveil the fundamental building blocks of the universe and transform our understanding of matter, space and time, and the cosmos.

Before & After
--Groove to high-energy tunes
--Stick around for the quantum Q&A
--Try our quarky cocktail of the night, the elusive Dark Matter
--Plus! Science rapper Zach Charlop-Powers live. Oh, yeah!

The Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, March 16 @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+  Free!

The Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment is on the hunt for Dark Matter;
 photo courtesy of CERN