The Ig Nobel Awards Tour Show and BAHfest London 2023

The saddest part of today was realising that it had been FIVE YEARS since I last attended The Festival of Bad Ad Hoc Hypotheses, and I never knew I missed it as much as I did until I sat down for both it and its double heading Ig Nobel Awards Tour.

Thankfully not much had changed, firstly with the Ig Nobels talking about weird and wonderful "real" science (including that to do with repeating words, anchovies having sex, the science of boredom, the behaviour of short referees and why we should all lick rocks).

BAHfest on the other hand was a masterclass in blag and sounding clever, which anyone who uses the internet should be able to relate to. Today we heard how to use live (as in flying) kestrels as a building material, how beauty of a population was directly correlated to naval power, how partying (hard) can be an effective treatment for infection control in a world of antibiotic resistance, how to choose (or perhaps predict?) who gets to use a lifeboat based on a genetic score, the reversing the Earth's spin as a solution to climate change and finally how hardened unwashed cereal could be used as a replacement for steel.

Five years is a long time and as such I didn't recognise any of the speakers, although Matt Parker was still in full swing as the MC. The whole thing was so easy, so quick and so hilarious I cannot imagine not attending in the future.

BAHfest London 2019

So here we are, at the fourth (but my third) annual celebration of all things bad science-y. Tonight was so much fun that it's more than easy for me to say it was better than last year's. It was bigger, longer and just all round funnier.

Three out of the seven were repeat presenters, which is again a shame (are the rest of us really that boring?) but despite the repeat appearances their stuff was fresh enough. Which brings us to the line up:

• How cheetahs were a necessary factor in Savannah tree control
• The use of sewer systems as a mass transit system
• How childbirth pains and issues were a direct consequence of a belief in a vengeful God
• How dark matter was largely made up of vampires
• The use of Dad Jokes to eject offspring from the nest
• How to make global overview a viable mass cause of social change
• How bipedalism was a direct consequence of social anxiety

Oh and there was an excellent keynote about the how the power of economists was rooted in their understanding of incentives.

Honestly, the BAHfest really has become one of the few things I genuinely look forward to and I can't wait till 2020.

The Ig Nobel Awards Tour Show

In a brilliant example of genius and as a special one off treat, the clever people at Improbable Research and the SMBC webcomic brought both of their respective tours and live events to the same day and venue resulting in almost a FULL DAY of nerdy science fun. First up was the Ig Nobel Awards Tour Show, which was basically just a bunch of funny science lectures. In contrast to the following BAHfest, the Ig Nobels are actually rooted in real, albeit funny, science... and as a result generated a different kind of joy and laughter in the audience.

I wasn't too familiar with the Ig Nobels before today, so from an educational perspective it was well worth it too - at the very least it made me feel envious that I probably won't get to see the actual awards show live. And as its an event based in real science I also got more of an appreciation of its value (vs the BAHfest which, lets face it, is just for laughs).

Of course it's unlikely that today's double billing will be a regular occurrence (I don't think the tour is intended to be a regular thing) so I'm glad I caught it when I did.

BAHfest London 2018

I attended this year's BAHfest in during a period where I've actually been pretty hermit-like, thus is the allure of the nerdy fun event hosted by Imperial one a year. This is the third time it's been in London, and has cemented itself as a must-date in my diary. Today's show was of no disappointment.

Tonight we were told of how setting of a nuke might be the best way to combat global warming, how the black death is directly responsible for how bad we are at romantic relationships, why and how we should prevent attacks on sharks, why the moon is so obnoxious (and how to remedy that), the importance of thinning the atmosphere (via mass and gravity reduction) in order to reduce the greenhouse effect and finally why symmetry is so important in evolution (which is actually probably true but not in the way it was presented tonight). Oh and also why cuteness is a genealogical disease.

There were a few repeat presenters (no bad thing), and the quality of the laughs and presentations were clearly on an upward trend. I'm not sure how I feel about that - for me part of the charm of BAHfest is the grassroots amateurishness of it all - but so far there's no sign of any of the geekiness dumbing down.

On to next year then!

BAHfest London 2017

I've linked to a few SMBC comics from here on this blog, and I still maintain it's the comic XKCD thinks it was. Since I'm such a fan, it probably comes as no surprise how eager I was to attend one of the annually held BAHfests hosted by the maker of the comic in various cities around the world, none of which were London... until last year. Imagine my disappointment then when I realised I was going to be away from the city during the inaugural festival, and that I was travel to the USA which was making me miss it.

But my historical angst aside, I did mange to grab the second annual BAHfest here in London this year, and it was just as fabulous and funny as I expected it to be. Perhaps this cements my nerdy status (I never denied it) but I laughed more and harder than I would have at other "themed" comedy nights (you know, the Asian or Muslim ones for example), the level of humour defeating even my most cynical of minds.

We had DNA hard drives, Earth defense shields (or really, escape barriers), renewable energy derived from ranting twitterers, and a theory on why natural selection has ensured why we're all so unattractive. Such fun.

And I think that was it really - it was the intelligence of the comedy, the not quite right logic and rigour, all presented with a straight face (well, most of the time anyway). That it was hosted by Imperial College was a bonus which added a few percentage to my perceived nerdy joy.

So yes, a definite hit and one which I'll be sure to attend every year.

Rebel Muzik

Am I really writing this post? I have to say it seems pretty surreal - after all it's been over six years since the last Rebel Muzik and most regular attendees had made their peace with its transiency: in fact that was almost what made it all so so good. I didn't even really believe that it was back at first: perhaps some hipster upstart was trying to be original or something... after all it was being hosted at the Rich Mix. They were even selling tickets in advance for heaven's sake.

But no, it turns out that this was the Rebel Muzik we all knew and loved... and yet it was also very different. The new location was the most visible difference, with the more grand stage and space losing some of the intimacy you'd have found way back in the Inn On The Green. Most of the old faces we all knew and loved were there, but joined with a more fresh crowd - a show of hands put us who had previously attended Rebel in a clear minority. The stalls were more elaborate and varied - but it was criminal to have no halal chicken pies. So yes, different but the same.

But it was the performances that immediately threw us back to the old times. The proceedings opened up with a screening of Hip Hop Hijabis, a mini documentary that provided an insight into the life of Poetic Pilgrimage. This was followed by the open mic, which as always both impressed (with the sheer talent of this so called amateurs) and depressed (with the realisation of exactly how talentless I am myself).

And then it was the featured artists.

First up was the both-inside-and-out-beautiful Rukeia who blew us away with her acoustic soul haunting sound. We were then treated to some classic yet still relevant spoken word courtesy of Amen Noir. Amen was followed by a set by Poetic Pilgrimage themselves (accompanied by the adhoc band "Soul Brothers", because, well, that's how Rebel Muzik rolls) which as always was worth the entry fee alone - and this was when I finally accepted that Rebel Muzik was back. I'm grinning just writing about them.

The evening was rounded up by the most wonderful Son of Ee whose effortless performance honestly left me wondering how the heck talent shows like the X-Factor even exist. Liza Garza was up next for some more spoken word and then finally we (well, those of us who remained anyway - the Rebel Muzik crowd obviously need warming up before the next event) were treated to a few hip hop tracks by Shay D.

All in all it was a brilliant night out, in vibe and effect if not scope and exposure. To be frank in a landscape of pretty safe and totally unradical (DYSWIDT?) corporate sponsored cultural roadshows it's equally refreshing and vital to have a deeper level of conversation when it comes to the almost hijacked and agenda laden topics of Islam, the environment, spirituality and social commentary. I'm so glad that Rebel Muzik is back and I look forward to all the shows, support and engagement to come.

Link of the Day

The pursuit of happiness makes life shallow

I've read this article a few times and still don't know if I agree or disagree. On the one hand I genuinely think having a stress free and peaceful life is the way to go and I'm always thankful how easy it is for me to achieve those things. On the other hand my best times do (and I hope, will) include those I spend fulfilling duties towards others - I especially relate to Penelope's point about choosing to have kids even though they technically don't bring happiness (don't fool yourselves, they don't).

But on the third hand still, I always cringe at how so many of my peers and colleagues seem to find this meaning through their careers - most will agree with the article in that sense I think. Of course that just means what we already know: that these things are subjective and what gives one person meaning may not provide anything to another. But in the hierarchy of things we can spend our time on I do think that some things can be more objectively meaningful than others (taking care of your family over evil banking for example) and I do think that that landscape is changing for the worse. Perhaps "meaning" has now just become a commodity that is conditioned, cultivated and marketed to us.

Thanks to Farah for the link. Oh and yes, I still love Penelope Trunk.

SMBC

It's like inception dating!

 

Except, of course, what real world scenario ever stops at just the two levels? Navel gazing FTW.

Abstruse Goose

This is so funny! I'm always amused by people who think in this way! HA HA HA!



But more amusing that that are those who don't realise when irony is deliberate.

SMBC

I know this is supposed to be metaphorical... but it did actually happen each time I've climbed a mountain too:

Be happy with what you have folks, and stop chasing stuff that has no end to it. YES, YES I KNOW.

SMBC

I don't get the humour in today's SMBC comic:

Sounds obvious to me.

SMBC

Here's a quick guide to figuring out if you're interesting, boring or intolerable.

Please go ahead and self assess. Now now, be honest.

SMBC

Another great tip from the folks at SMBC:

Remember: it's not them, it's you.

SMBC

A great tip from SMBC for those too... polite to do the right thing:

Of course it won't work if the other person is way smarter than you are. As is usually the case, of course.

SMBC

It seems the world is waking up to cynicism and curmudgeonry:

Ahhh when did contentment, self worth and security become so boring?

Link of the Day

How to pick a wife if you want to have kids

Purely for completion of course. You can read my thoughts on Penelope's corresponding post here, and what I said then still applies to the above too.

Indexed

A warning to all those still looking for chairs:

But what about the sunken cost?

SMBC

I know many reading will nod in agreement to this:

But seriously folks, for me it's simply just the left hand side. No lies.

Video of the Day

Ah, but we all knew this already, right?



And yes, I did laugh out loud at the last line. Ta to Mash for the link.

Link of the Day

How to pick a husband if you want to have kids

Yes yes, I know I promised never to post articles like these any more - and to be fair there have been at least ten of Penelope's articles that I've forced myself not to link to lest I be mistakenly taken for a misogynist brute who has nothing but criticism for his fellow sisters. And anyway, with women like Penelope saying the same thing in a much better way (read: with a woman's voice) I don't really need to.

But I just had to refer to one of her most recent posts, since it's such a big theme in my own interactions with women (read: rishta - please excuse the euphemism this one time). Now don't get me wrong - I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am fully and unequivocally behind the right of a woman to choose what they want from life, perhaps even more so than that of a man. It's just that my need of a certain type of wife stems from who I happen to be; and I certainly hope that who I happen to be fulfils the needs of the certain type of wife I marry. There are no universal answers here.

However there is also a need for a lot of people (women, men and yes possibly even me) to be aware of who they are and what they want. Now it's easy to dismiss Penelope as loon who applies theoretical statistics to the incompatible science of relationships, but (at the most) anecdotally and (at the very least) in terms of fairness and justice and simply what makes sense, I would say there's a bit of weight in what she says.

Perhaps once we acknowledge that we can't have it all, we might actually realise that we don't actually want it anyway?