Nerd Nite 34
Let’s get animalistic at Nerd Nite 34! Elmar will tell us all about breeding challenges in zoos and aquaria. Our speaker specializes in helping save populations from extinction and letting them fornicate (almost) like rabbits. This is however not as easy as it sounds but don’t worry, some of the unforeseen challenges encountered will be revealed! Our second speaker Juan will blow our minds by literally keeping our ears busy with psychoacoustics. It is one of the sweet spots where physics meets psychology. Does our personality modify what we hear? Or vice-versa? Come the 24th of November to Nerd Nite 34 to learn more about it! Oh, and don’t forget to wear your Nerdy T to be admission free! Be there and be square!
DETAILS:
Friday 24 November
Doors open at 20:00
First talk at 20:30
at CREA Muziekzaal
Nieuwe Achtergracht 170
1018 WV Amsterdam
Psychoacoustics: Perception cannot be measured in decibels
By Juan Manuel Perafán
What feeling do you get when you hear nails scratching on a chalkboard? Horrible, right? This is actually simply due to a particular frequency our body would like to avoid hearing. But why do we like a song so much but cannot stand the one our neighbor cannot stop listening to? This is where it gets even more interesting! 
Hearing sounds is not just a pure mechanical process which can be fully described with physics. Your expectation, social context and personality are as important in your perception of sound. In his talk, Juan will elaborate on this sweet spot where physics meets perception. Come to the next Nerd Nite, open your ears and listen carefully!
Bio: Juan Manuel Perafan has always been intrigued by the effect that external influences have on behavior. He has a Master’s in Applied Social Psychology and he currently works as a Marketing Intelligence Specialist. Besides from psychology, his professional interests include data, statistics, graphic design, user research, and linguistics. His hobbies include Toastmasters, cooking, online courses, and playing tennis.
Population management in zoos and aquaria
By Elmar Fienieg
Did you ever “like” a video of a cute baby animal or an exciting reintroduction project on Facebook? Chances are, that some of these were 
a result of one of the 400 breeding programmes, cooperatively run by many different zoos and aquariums under the umbrella of the European Association
of Zoos and Aquaria. Come to this talk to learn about animal Tinder; matching on genetics, taxonomy (to hybridise or not to hybridise) and differences in ethics (to cull or not to cull). Let Elmar tell you how the answers do not always come easily!
Bio: From an early age, Elmar was intrigued by evolution, not knowing that one day he would be putting evolution on pause in zoos and aquarium populations. As a population biologist working for the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), he helps coordinators of breeding programmes in different zoos maintaining genetically diverse populations for the future and many other challenges. Who wouldn’t love to analyse the genetics of different population every week, while traveling all over Europe? Clearly, he’s living the dream! When not saving animals from extinction, he likes to run away from it all by participating in half marathons.
Posted in Uncategorized