By Katrina Velez
Staff Writer
Thursday, March 12 gave rise to a group of Miami inhabitants who seem to roam the Wynwood streets unnoticed – nerds.
With trivia questions to challenge your nerd knowledge, Nerds Rope candy and all things punny, the monthly Nerd Nite at Gramps Bar is a place for geeks to interact with people of niche passions and style.
Exploring unexpected connections between math and humanities, artist-turned-mathematician Chelsey Hoff spoke on notable math personalities in a dim-lighted room with projected powerpoint slides, crammed chairs and plenty of beer.
Hoff took the audience by storm, discussing the relationship between art and mathematics and how that fits into her way of viewing the disciplines.
“Art is more similar to math than to any other science, because math is not an empirical science. You just need some good ideas, some textbooks, a pencil and paper; so the idea of individuality and freedom to do your work is similar to that of artists,” said Hoff.
Hoff explained how the visual appeal of math can be seen as an artistic quality rather than a body of knowledge bogged down by an esoteric abyss of terminology.
“In the most purest forms of math, there’s an aesthetic quality. It’s judged on the merits of its simplicity, its structure and beauty – the way a good piece of art would be judged.” Hoff said.
Nerd Nite also featured fitness coach Dre Baldwin, who explained the globalization of basketball and attorney Roy Altman, with his riveting and sobering talk about possibly the biggest federal case on human trafficking in the United States.
If sports history or federal court cases don’t jive with your classic nerd strings, trivia questions on film, physics and famous people opened the floor intermittently between each talk, giving nerds the chance to flaunt their intellectual prowess.
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