London events for people with curious minds.
Tuesday 6 November
MATHS: Anyone who got a kick out of A Level maths (anyone?) might want to check out a Gresham College talk at the Museum of London, where Raymond Flood talks polynomials. Free, just turn up, 1pm
INVISIBILITY: Professor Sir John Pendry speaks at Imperial College about the promise of metamaterials. The talk will be followed, Harry Potter style, by "demonstrations of invisibility". Free, prebook, 5.30pm
TORTURED GENIUS: Another Gresham lecture at the Museum of London looks at the connections between creative talent and mental illness. Free, just turn up, 6pm
GEEK SHOWOFF: The team behind Science Showoff (see tomorrow) try something a little different with a Geek Showoff at Wilmington Arms. Speakers include an opera geek, a knitting nerd and someone who apparently 'studies geeks socially'. Free, but £5 donation suggested, 7pm
FEAR: Four speakers at the Royal Institution speculate on what goes on in the brain when we experience fear. £10, 7pm
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Fun and games at the Dana Centre, where you can take part in a Turing test to see if the person you're flirting with is a human or a computer. Free, prebook, 7pm
Wednesday 7 November
ASTRONOMY: Learn about the X-ray universe at another Museum of London Gresham lecture from Carolin Crawford. Free, just turn up, 1pm
ENLIGHTENMENT: Justin Champion fronts yet another Gresham lecture (Museum of London) about why the Enlightenment still matters. Free, just turn up, 6pm
SCIENCE SHOWOFF: Some of London's best science communicators take to the Bloomsbury Theatre stage for this month's Science Showoff. And what a line-up: former Royal Institution Christmas Lecturer Mark Miodownik heads the bill, and is joined by Londonist favourites Andrea Sella, Helen Arney, Jenny Rohn, Martin Austwick and others. £10 (proceeds donated to The Calthorpe Project, 7pm
DIAMONDS: Science London's latest event looks at the many potential uses of diamonds. This one's upstairs at The Lamb, Lamb's Conduit Street. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm
Thursday 8 November
BLACK HOLES: Caleb Scharf speaks at the Royal Institution about those big dark sucky things known as black holes. £10, 7pm
Friday 9 November
WEB: This year's Mozilla Festival at Ravensbourne College, North Greenwich — a big old get-together of technologists, gamers, educators and general webby creative types — is an official sell-out, with over 1,000 people attending. The web site suggests that tickets will be available on the door. Continues through Sunday. Free, #MozFest, 6-9pm EDIT: This is now completely full, with no tickets on the door.
LANGUAGE: A talk at the Royal Society examines an early effort to teach spoken language to deaf children, and the almighty dispute it ignited between 17th Century philosophers. Free, just turn up, 1pm
SCI-FI: Fans of science fiction films should check out the programme for the Sci Fi London East festival, which starts today and runs through Sunday. Screenings, quizzes and more, at the Stratford Picturehouse. Costs and times vary.
Booking Ahead
Helen Keen's Spacetacular!, in partnership with Londonist and supported by the UK Space Agency, takes place at the Leicester Square Theatre on 27 January. Space scientists, comedians, musicians and others share an enthusiasm for space exploration, with the audience dressed in tin foil. Earlybird tickets are now on sale for £7.50. Book now. Follow Spacetacular! on Facebook.