Announcement: ErrantScience goes to the Fringe

This year you can go see me (Matthew) be irreverent about science, live! On the 22nd of August I will be performing a 1 hour show called “Fibre Optic Sensors Can Save The World” as part of the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas and the Edingburgh Fringe 2017.

The Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas is a series of event organised by the Beltane Public Engagement Network and is based on promoting discussions about science with the public. Which, as a person who blogs every week about science, is absolutely in the realm of things I agree with and want to support.

The show will be 1 hour long and the format is simple: 15-20mins of me talking at you about some interesting bit of science, then 40-45mins of discussion. Now the discussion part doesn’t really work if I finish the 15 minute intro with “So, any questions?” and hope for the best – that is going to be 40mins of awkward silence and coughing.

My show will be different!

Firstly, if you come along I’m going to explain to you why fibre optics are interesting, how they work and why they are amazing at what they do. This bit will involve a Nerf gun, some discussion about the CIA and the use of a woggle.

Then the discussion bit is simple. I’m going to ask the audience to think up real world problems which I have to fix using one of the million different things fibre optics can do.

Want to know the proper way to irrigate your lower fields? I will explain how fibre optic sensors can tell you exactly what you need to do.

Worried about successive governments underfunding the NHS? I will go into all the details required to build a politician-seeking fibre optic death ray.

Need a solution to the giant space spider that is attacking the earth? I can explain why smacking it with a giant fibre optic is much better than a giant rolled up newspaper.

Any problem you can think of, I’ll do my best to come up with a solution using fibre optics, so you can all hopefully understand just now amazing they are.

So if that sounds like fun, then BOOK NOW and come and see me at 20:20 on the 22nd of August. Also, there’ll be free cartoon badges, stickers and maybe a cake.