#13 Nerd Nite Hamilton – September 9th, 2024
Get ready for a wild Nerd Nite! First up, actor Jessica Clement reveals how to cry on cue without needing therapy afterward. Then, Brad Pilon teaches us how skipping meals (strategically) can help you drop pounds without ditching your favorite foods. Finally, Cam Murray shows how tiny moments can spark huge changes in healthcare, making it fairer for all. Three talks, zero boredom. Don’t miss it!
Talk 1: Empathy vs Catharsis in Acting
As a child actor, figuring out how NOT to take on a character’s trauma was a real-life quest that felt more like a never-ending side mission. The challenge? Immersing yourself so deeply in a role that you connect with your character’s emotions—without ending up needing extra therapy yourself! In this talk, I’ll explore the fine line between empathy and catharsis in acting. How can you connect authentically with a character’s struggles while keeping your own emotional health in check.
Speaker: Jessica Clement in a Hamilton-based actor with over 20 years of experience…despite still playing 16 year olds. She began her acting journey on the stage of Theatre Aquarius at 7 as young Cosette in Les Mis. Since then she has made leaps in her field as a film actor. After landing her first series regular in CBC’s Pure, she climbed her way through guest stars on series including “V.C. Andrews’ Casteel Family”, “So Help me Todd”, “Good Sam”, “Surrealestate”, and “CROSS”. Eventually securing leading roles alongside Nicolas Cage in A24’s “Dream Scenario”, Richard Gere in “Longing”, and Bryan Cranston & Allison Janney in “Everything’s Going to be Great”. She is currently working on season 2 of Amazon Prime’s spin off of “The Boys” series, titled “GEN V”. Jess owns and runs an acting studio in Hamilton (Hamont Acting Studio) where she helps aspiring actors nurture their careers.
Talk 2: Eat Stop Eat: The Science and Simplicity of Intermittent Fasting
Ever wonder if there’s a way to achieve lasting health benefits without complex dieting rules or sacrificing your favorite foods? Join Brad Pilon, author of the groundbreaking book Eat Stop Eat, as he dives into the science behind intermittent fasting. In this talk, Brad will break down the latest research on how fasting works, why it’s effective for weight loss, and how it can boost your overall health without all the confusing diet fads. Whether you’re new to intermittent fasting or looking to refine your approach, this talk will leave you with practical tools for living a healthier, more balanced life.
Speaker: Brad Pilon is a pioneer in the field of intermittent fasting and the author of the bestselling book Eat Stop Eat. With a background in applied human nutrition and extensive experience in the fitness industry, Brad has spent years researching the science of fasting and weight loss. His work challenges conventional dieting wisdom by advocating a simple, effective, and sustainable approach to health. When he’s not writing or speaking, Brad continues to explore the latest findings in nutrition and fitness, helping people lead healthier lives without overcomplicating things.
Talk 3: Puncta and Heterotopia: Privileging the Mundane and Decentering the Expert to Design More Equitable and Hyperlocal Healthcare Futures”
This paper explores my obsession with seemingly insignificant moments that have pushed my work as a community-based anthropologist and design researcher down profound and unexpected paths. Each of these moments of fieldwork minutiae represent what I call, following French literary theorist and philosopher Roland Barthes, an ethnographic “punctum.” For Barthes, the punctum is a simultaneously mundane, yet visceral and haunting feature that unexpectedly draws someone into a photographic image. As he puts it, “[v]ery often the punctum is a ‘detail,’ i.e., a partial object. Hence to give examples of punctum is, in a certain fashion, to give myself up.” As Barthes suggests, a punctum has the potential for a kind of expansion that generates a productive paradox: “while remaining a ‘detail,’ it fills the whole picture.” The same is true of my ethnographic puncta. In my case, the “whole picture” of my work concerns whether and how we might better and more equitably embrace and make productive the inherent indeterminacy of biomedical future(s), especially in vulnerable, underserved urban neighbourhoods. How, most importantly, can we design better and healthier futures for equity-deprived communities that decenter my academic expertise and elevate the collective, mundane experiences of living, working and playing in hyperlocal community contexts?
Speaker: Cam Murray is a community-based medical anthropologist and design researcher currently working as a postdoctoral fellow in McMaster’s School of Interdisciplinary Science. He is also teaching the design component of this year’s CityLAB Semester in Residence program through McMaster’s Office of Community Engagement. In addition to his academic work, Cam has spent the last six years working as a researcher, design consultant and strategist for hospitals, healthcare networks, biomedical companies and community health organizations around the world. His latest research project is a partnership with The Neighbourhood Organization, a multi-service agency providing for some of the densest, most diverse and underserved communities in Toronto. The focus of this project is on helping immigrant, newcomer and low-income seniors develop skills to better advocate for their unique healthcare, wellness and social service needs. In his free time, Cam likes to watch weird old movies, mess around with music and video production and make increasingly elaborate stocks, stews and sauces.