If you’ve read the About Geek and Banter post on this blog, then you’ll know that one thing that I wanted to achieve with GaB was to actually document some of the things that we spoke about. I know there’s beer addled genius in some of our conversations but 6 pints down the track that genius is hard commit to memory. So with the benefit of a commitment to record and the excellent app Evernote (get it if you haven’t already) I managed to store a few pointers to the first GaB conversation.
Unfortunately, I have to caveat this amazing feat of commitment with the fact that I only remembered to start tapping stuff into my phone half way through the evening and I’ve also left it four days before attempting to write anything up from the very mediocre pointers that I did store. So, this might not be the most accurate or complete record of our conversation. Anyway, from small acorns and all that…
I’d picked the first GaB location due to the fact that the pub we were meeting in used to be a Coffee House Coffee House frequented by Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Edmund Halley a few hundred years previously. This was all tied into the clues that I wrote to introduce the first event. So, it was natural that the conversation began on the subject of our location and some interesting facts about it.
The place that we met used to be called The Grecian. It’s located just off of Strand (geek fact: apparently it should just be “Strand” and shouldn’t have a “the” when being referenced) in London and is now a pub called the Devereux. The location is steeped in history. It is right next to the gated walls of Temple Bar, the home of the Knights Templar and the church that has a starring role in the Da Vinci Code. Unfortunately, by the time we’d had a few drinks those gates had been closed so we never got to have a wander around Temple Bar. Next time, maybe. Anyway, if you’re looking for some authentic London pubs then I can recommend the Devereux and the four or five other pubs that are dotted around these cobbled streets.
Over the road from the Devereux stands the Royal Courts of Justice. Well worth having a look at from the outside. You can also go into the public gallery, you know? And no, none of us ever had but one day I’ll get around to it.
Opposite the Royal Courts of Justice stands St. Clement Dane’s church. I shared some hazily remembered facts about it. If you want real facts then of course Wikipedia is the place to go. Later in the evening we walked back past the church. If you’re in the area, it’s worth having a quick look at its north-eastern walls where you can see some World War II shrapnel damage. It’s one of those things that can vividly transport you to another time.
Another notable landmark, particularly given the theme of our evening, is St Mary le Strand church, which sits a bit further west up Strand. A feature of this church is the small courtyard, which looks somewhat incongruous in its current traffic surrounded position. In the courtyard there is a flagpole that has been a feature for several hundred years. The geeky fact that I love is that back in 1717 Isaac Newton himself bought the flagpole off the church because he needed it to prop up one of his telescopes! (link through to "history")
There were a fair few other location based snippets of conversation but I’ll move on at this point. If you’ve got any more facts about the area then please do let us know.
Once we’d moved on from the location based fact trading we spoke a bit about the shareholder letter that Jeff Bezos of Amazon wrote back in 1997. It’s just recently been re-introduced to thousands via Twitter. I think the world is clearly doing what it can to find someone to fill the Steve Jobs shaped hole in the tech industry (RIP Mr J). Regardless of whether Jeff Bezos is the new king of technology, his letter and this related article are well worth a read. For anyone who spends any time thinking about how businesses work, it’s a remarkable piece of strategic place setting.
From that Amazon thinking we got to talking about how vision and strategy can really make a good company great. One of the other companies that we referenced was Boeing. Boeing are well documented for their steadfast approach to their principles that were tested to the limit when they committed to building the 747. They’re not looking back now but at the time it really was make or break. One of our number told us about the incredible spectacle that is their aircraft construction facility in Seattle. It’s apparently a must-see if you’re in that neck of the woods.
Another good topic of conversation that we moved onto was Small World Network Theory. I have to confess to not being an expert in this field and also not remembering the detail of much that was discussed. Thankfully, a link was emailed the next day for the book that’ll tell you all you need to know: Linked: The New Science of Networks. I’ve downloaded my copy already.
Whatever we talked about with the small networks, it eventually led onto a discussion about game theory. Game theory is a fascinating subject, particularly for us geeks. We all shared a love of the way it puts maths behind what can sometimes seem like emotional or illogical behaviours. If you want to know more about it then I recommend that you follow @gamethry. One of the key elements of game theory is the Nash equilibrium. We weren’t able to remember a good definition of it in the pub and for some reason none of us reached for our phones to find the definition.
On the subject of networks, we talked about the work of Tim Hwang, who I had recently heard speaking at a conference. He talked about the fascinating subject of computerised social bots – another step towards solving the Turing Test. The bit that most fascinated me about the subject was how these bots could infiltrate more than one distinct network and actually then be used to bring these two networks together by being the network lynchpin. They could be an important tool in our social networked future. Inevitably, the “dark side” of this concept was discussed too. Could they be used to disrupt a network? They probably already are doing that.
Speaking of neworks, there’s the Freecycle community. I have to be honest and say that I can’t remember too much of what we spoke about with regard to this. I think the main thrust of the conversation was it’s crazy that in today’s society where thrift and eco-credentials should be valued that freecycling is not a more well known activity with some really well known digital tools making it possible. I think we all agreed it’s almost certainly an area for growth.
Somewhere around this time we switched pubs in search of food. We walked up Fleet Street and went into the Old Bank of England. An Ale and Pie House, no less. Having got our drinks and selected our pies we were informed that they didn’t serve the fabled pies after 9pm. In London! I ask you.
Still, the Old Bank of England is probably worth a visit for its high decorated ceiling and gallery surround. All the more so if you get there whilst it’s still serving food, I expect. We found some comfy chairs and had a nice pint each. We found out that the window in the gents’ toilet is positioned so that you can give a special surprise to those on the top deck of the buses outside if you’re not careful.
By this point it was getting late and we really did need food so we headed to the Thai Square. We can heartily recommend the Weeping Tiger steak dish and also the excellent service.
The last subjects of conversation are somewhat hazy. I wrote down a quote, which I like but can’t remember who it was from (help me..?): “It’s hard to predict things, especially about the future.” It’s nice. It reminds me of the old joke about the meeting of clairvoyants being cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
The last thing I wrote in my notes was “the work isomorphism.” I’d like to pretend that I remember in what context we were discussing it or even that I remembered what isomorphism meant. Having just looked it up I now know that “the isomorphic theorems are three theorems that describe the relationship between quotients, homomorphisms and subobjects.” I’m glad I’ve clarified that. I hope that one of my fellow GaBers will step in and remind me what on earth this was about.
So, there concludes the write up of GaB1. Stay tuned for future instalments. :)
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