Nerd Nite XIV: The Occult Edition
Friday the 13th of December, will appropriately be the setting of an occult bonanza. Join Steije Hofhuis to learn about how witch-hunts came into existence and Martijn Loth & Ton Siedsma will preach on protecting bits.
Steije Hofhuis– “How to explain witch-hunting? A Darwinian attempt”.
From the late fifteenth century until the early eighteenth century many Europeans did something quite strange. They killed 
thousands of people for being witches. While actually, as we now know, witches don’t exist. So why on earth did people do it? Historians, but also sociologists and anthropologists, have found all kinds of explanations, but none, so far, have been convincing. Therefore, historians now often believe that we should better be giving up on the whole project of finding an explanation. Steije, however, is foolhardy enough to still give it a try and comes up with something new. Something Darwinian.
Steije is a historian with the firm belief that we can understand a whole lot more of history if we apply Darwinian theory. He is also sort of the only historian who believes this. And that could be the beginning of a heroic scientific epic! Or of an early career flop, as happens in most cases when people believe to have found something new. Which is very Darwinian by the way. You see, the theory works!
Martijn Loth & Ton Siedsma- “Protecting Internet Freedom – One bit at a time”.
We all love the way technology makes our lives easier and connects us with friends and family. This admiration has allowed technology to permeate our daily life in ways previously unimaginable, allowing us to process massive quantities of information wherever we are. But all capabilities come at a price and it’s no wonder that governments are
battling for control over our personal information. They want to be able to intercept communication for reasons of national security, to prevent crimes or just because it *could* be useful in future scenario’s. They claim that encryption is endangering the effectiveness of interception. To tackle this issue, governments are seeking out other means. One of these 
proposals includes allowing officials to hack your computers. The Dutch Secret Service, the AIVD, has had the authority to do so since 2002, but the Dutch law enforcement agencies aren’t allowed to do so yet. But this is about to change if the Minister of Justice, Ivo Opstelten, gets his way. We strongly oppose this – and we will explain to you why. And while the police wants to play with the toys the AIVD already has, the AIVD is pushing the limits of their own capabilities and are striving towards the tapping of cable bound communication. We will tell you why this endangers the internet as we know it. Protecting ourselves online is still possible and we will share some suggestions as how to increase your privacy-superpowers.
Martijn is a geek trapped in a law student’s body. He has contributed to several open source projects and continues to preach the FLOSS-gospel. Working at Bits of Freedom has made it possible to combine his love for all things tech with his passion for IT/IP law. When he’s not reading up on the latest legal scoops or defending civil rights online, Martijn likes to work out religiously and perfect the lost art of straight razor shaving.
After years of denying, Ton finally gave in and let his inner nerd out. He now works for Bits of Freedom, mostly on cybercrime and cyber security. In the evening, he experiments with his raspberry pi. He also recently bought a Yubikey, but lost it on the same day he got it. Since this nearly fatal security flaw, he has been rethinking the whole
concept of external security devices. Ton has a very latent ambition to boost the beautiful art of curling. He cycles vigorously. He recently purchased a far too sophisticated Tacx, which allows him to bike indoors while virtually ascending the Mont Ventoux.
And like on any good Friday, there’s drinks and music. Bring your black cats!
Nerd Nite XIV
Friday, 13th December, 2013
CREA Muziekzaal
Music by Jordi Bouman
Door 20:00 – First talk 20:30
Admission Free
Nieuwe Achtergracht 170, Amsterdam
amsterdam.nerdnite.com
facebook.com/NerdNiteAmsterdam
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