Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas 2015 – the shows at the Edinburgh Fringe

Where: The Stand in the square (The Yurt in St Andrew’s Square)

When: 3-4pm daily

How much: £8.00 (£7.00 concession)

Date

The Performers

Friday 7 August

Soak up the sun and to hell with skin cancer! We are all advised to take care in the sun, because it causes skin cancer, but is it really bad for us? Following on from his TED talk and appearance on Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, Edinburgh Dermatologist Richard Weller sheds some light on how the health benefits of sunlight may well outweigh its risks. Should we ditch the factor 50 and get out a bit more?

Dr Richard Weller, Dermatologist Department of Dermatology, The University of Edinburgh

Saturday 8 August

Hearing loss or deaf gain? Imagine we are creating an encyclopaedia for extra-terrestrials. An argument breaks out over how we describe deaf people: some say hearing loss and others say it's deaf gain. Help us to decide! In this engaging debate presenters will describe arguments from each side, drawing from research in the field of deaf studies. 'Deaf gain is defined as a reframing of “deaf” as a form of sensory and cognitive diversity that has the potential to contribute to the greater good of humanity' (Baumann and Murray, 2009). The audience will be invited to take part and vote.

Dr Jemina Napier & Dr Noel O’Connell, Centre for Translation & Interpreting Studies in Scotland, Heriot-Watt University

Sunday 9 August

GM bacteria could save your life! GM Bacteria? Noooo! But what if I told you that GM Salmonella might save your life one day? Most people remember Salmonella because of the controversy with eggs, and many know that salmonella can cause food poisoning. In fact, Salmonella causes around a billion infections every year. In my lab, we study salmonella to try to understand more about how it causes infections, but we’d like to do something with our bacteria that you might find surprising… We think we can use GM Salmonella to deliver medical treatments. Join me to find out more…

Dr Clare Taylor, Biomedical

Science & Microbiology, Edinburgh Napier University

Monday 10 August

Cervical cancer – you’re history! Cervical cancer only affects women but is caused by a virus (HPV) very common in both sexes. HPV causes cervical cancer if not cleared by the immune system. We now have great weapons against cervical cancer but it still kills women every year. Cervical screening detects the effects of HPV before cancer develops. Vaccination against HPV before infection occurs is even more powerful at preventing cancer. Screening and vaccination for girls are free through the NHS. So why do too many women not avail themselves of these fantastic services? How can we improve the message?

Professor Sarah Howie, MRC & The University of Edinburgh Centre for Inflammation Research & Professor Heather Cubie, Global Health Academy, The University of Edinburgh

Tuesday 11 August

Scotland in six swallies A river of drink runs through Scotland’s history – plague, murder, temperance and social reform are drenched in six iconic drinks (swallies, as the locals say). Alcohol is involved. Dangerous ideas and Susan Morrison lurk everywhere. This will not be entirely serious. Tea reviving Suffragettes and temperance women, coffee fuelling late night Enlightenment argy-bargy, burgundy spilling from goblets dropped by murdered royalty, whisky pouring into Prohibition America, Irn Bru baffling tourists trying to work out what that taste actually is, and water, the suspect carrier of disease and bringer of massive change to our cities.

Susan Morrison, Stand Up Comedienne and Compere of the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas

Wednesday 12 August

Stop brushing your teeth! The common phrase 'an apple a day, keeps the doctor away' sounds quite sensible in promoting healthy living, doesn’t it? However, a quick internet search suggests that eating an apple a day will: keep the doctor away if you’re a woman, over 50; not keep the doctor away; send you running to the dentist. So we’re surrounded by a lot of contradictory and confusing information. Join Professor Jan Clarkson, one of the world’s leading experts on oral health, as she discusses what we actually know about looking after your teeth and what’s nothing more than pseudoscience.

Professor Janet Clarkson, Co-Director Dental Health Services Research Unit (DHSRU), School of Dentistry, University of Dundee

Thursday 13 August

Women! Science is still not for you! The UK desperately needs more scientists and engineers, yet highly qualified, talented and ambitious women are still deserting science. Reasons such as unconscious bias and lack of confidence are only the tip of the iceberg. What’s really going on? Could the answers be found in role models, mentors and male support, or do women simply lack ability in science? Dr Clare Taylor (Edinburgh Napier University) and Dr Pam Cameron (Novo Science) have returned to discuss what, if anything, we should do about this loss to science.

Dr Pam Cameron, Novo Science & Dr Clare Taylor, Biomedical

Science & Microbiology, Edinburgh Napier University

Friday 14 August

Let’s turn on the smart light How can light bulbs be smart? Could LED light bulbs really be used for wireless data communication? Here at the Li-Fi Centre at the University of Edinburgh, we are developing the electronics to make this happen. We will show you how Li-Fi will complement existing Wi-Fi networks to give you better service. Li-Fi will be a central part of future hybrid networks in homes, schools, offices and smart cities, and there will be new Li-Fi networks for aeroplanes, hospitals, even for

Yunlu Wang & Aravind Venugopalan, Li-Fi Research and Development Centre

communication underwater. We will also explain how it is highly energy efficient.

Institute for Digital Communications (IDCom) The University of Edinburgh

Saturday 15 August

Not so native now Learning a language? Sounding like a native speaker is good, right? What if we said that maintaining native-level perfection in your own language might stall your second language learning? People living abroad often make mistakes in their mother tongue; the same mistakes as second-language learners. Why? The more your brain adapts to accommodate another language, the better you’ll speak the second language, but the less native-like you’ll seem in your own. Join Professor Antonella Sorace to explore how languages affect each other in the brain, and why the key to multilingualism might lie in making more mistakes.

Professor Antonella Sorace, Developmental Linguistics, The University of Edinburgh

Sunday 16 August

Alas, poor Darwin..? If Darwin was alive today he’d be very, very angry about what we’ve done with his idea. Evolutionary theory can be used to explain pretty much any human behaviour, but that doesn’t mean it should be. Is it natural for married men to have affairs? Are good novelists more evolutionary? Does the pill make you more attracted to your brother? Psychologist Kate Cross and biologist Lewis Dean will use sketches, debate and game shows to explore the data behind the headlines and help decide: evolutionary just-so story, or evolutionary just-right?

Dr Kate Cross and Dr Lewis Dean, School of Psychology & Neuroscience University of St Andrews

Monday 17 August

Fashion and the selfie Mal Burkinshaw, Programme Director of Fashion at Edinburgh College of Art and Director of the Diversity Network discusses and debates the role that fashion plays in stereotyping ideals of beauty – when are we ever good enough? With the rise of the me, me, me selfie culture – why do we succumb to pressure to present an image of ourselves to the world that is not the image we see in the mirror, or the image beneath the skin? This show asks whether empathy can ever change the strict doctrines of current beauty codes.

Mal Burkinshaw, Programme

Director of Fashion at The Edinburgh College of Art and Director of the Diversity Network

Tuesday 18 August

Whose face is it anyway? Surgery to change facial appearance is increasingly common, for both reconstructive and cosmetic reasons. Surgical advances allow us to perform previously impossible operations, including face transplants. What does the future hold? Many patients undergo a series of multiple operations; where should we stop? Meanwhile, increasing numbers of adults and children are turning to cosmetic surgery. What drives this? Should we blame the media and glossy magazines? How do you think about disfigurement? Might you, unwittingly, push people to accept risks of appearance-changing surgery? Share your views, discuss ethics and explore prejudice with Surgeon Felicity Mehendale.

Professor Felicity Mehendale, Consultant Cleft & Plastic Surgeon, Royal Hospital for Sick Children & Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, The University of Edinburgh

Wednesday 19 August

The hidden world of functional disorders How would you feel if you were paralysed or had blackouts, only to be told you were imagining it, hysterical, or making it up? This is still the experience of some patients with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a very real but misunderstood condition that affects 15% of UK neurology outpatients. In spite of being relatively common, FND is remarkably hidden from public view. Dr Jon Stone, consultant neurologist at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital, brings this illness out of the shadows. Hear the science and lift the stigma.

Dr Jon Stone, Consultant

Neurologist at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital & Honorary Senior Lecturer in Neurology, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences,

The University of Edinburgh

Thursday 20 August

Wild, Scottish and free A culinary conundrum. Six-thousand years of farming and improving crops and livestock and we still pay a premium for wild food. Our neighbours in Scandinavia are developing a new Nordic cuisine based on local, seasonal and native ingredients. Is there a Scottish equivalent? From Jokkmokk to Adelaide, fine restaurants serve wild meat, fish and foraged vegetables. What nutritional benefits or ecological consequences stem from eating on the wild side and is it really sustainable? Chefs, gourmets, nutritionists and ethnobotanists are challenged to create a genuine Scottish cuisine based on indigenous and iconic plants, animals and fungi.

Ian Edwards, Head of Exhibitions and Events, The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Friday 21 August

Skating on thin ice Why don't we just let the Arctic melt? What will the Arctic look like in 50 years’ time? Will your children be the last generation to learn that the Arctic seas are covered by ice all year round? Why are governments across the world so interested in what is happening up North? The Arctic climate is warming more quickly than anywhere else on the planet. We already see the effects on land, as well as at sea. Discover how the Arctic helps to keep the planet cool, and why its changing state could affect us all.

Dr Lorna Street, Project HYDRA, part of the NERC Arctic Research Programme & Professor Phil Wookey, Ecosystem Science, to Heriot-Watt University

Saturday 22 August

Swords into ploughshares Transforming arms into art. How far can dangerous memories, toxic religion, intractable conflicts and gender violence be transformed? Professor Jolyon Mitchell (the University of Edinburgh and former BBC World Service Journalist and Producer) and Dr Lesley Orr (the University of Edinburgh and the Iona Community) investigate how different media and arts can be used to build peace. Drawing on a range of international, national and domestic examples they explore both whether and how ‘swords can become ploughshares’ and weapons can be transformed into art.

Professor Jolyon Mitchell Prof of Communications, Arts & Religions, School of Divinity & & Dr Lesley Orr, Fellow, The University of Edinburgh

Sunday 23 August

The cocaine conspiracy The cocaine trade has enormous social and ecological consequences on both global and local scales. The production of cocaine involves large scale deforestation and pollution as a result of the discarding of the reagents used to process from leaf to final product. Western governments have been pursuing the so-called war on drugs for many years at a cost of billions of dollars. But how successful has this approach been? Is a hard line approach the only solution? In this forum we will discuss this and alternative approaches to tackling the problem.

Dr James Richardson, Julieth Serrano & Maria Fernanda Torres, The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Monday 24 August

The war on drugs is harmful President Nixon declared war on public enemy number one in 1971. By 1994, drug laws resulted in the incarceration of one million Americans each year. The US now spends $50 billion annually on the war on drugs, mainly focussed on reducing supply – often through military aid. Comparatively little is spent on treatments for addicts. It was recently estimated that the legalisation of drugs would bring annual savings on enforcement and incarceration of about $41 billion, and also raise $47 billion in tax. So who, if anyone, is benefitting from the war on drugs?

Professor Stephen Lawrie, Head of the Division of Psychiatry, Professor of Psychiatry & Neuro-Imaging and Director of PsySTAR, The University of Edinburgh

Tuesday 25 August

Hug a thug Do you think the criminal justice system is a soft touch? Do you think that prisons make life too easy for criminals? Would you like to bring back hanging? Then this show is for you! During the show you will hear the stories of prisoners and victims, many of whom committed crimes from a young age. You will also have the chance to design your ideal prison. Academics at the University of Edinburgh will challenge your preconceptions about crime and punishment. You’ll leave wanting to hug a thug, or your money back!

Professor Lesley McAra, Chair of Penology & Professor Susan McVie, Quantitative Criminology, School of Law, The University of Edinburgh

Wednesday 26 August

Back to the statistical future! How different is Scotland in 2015, to Scotland in 1835? As good education is increasingly costly and inaccessible to the poor, are we seeing our modern 'lords and gentlemen' believing we will be 'more obedient and dutiful, were [we] more ignorant, and had no education'? Might our poor potentially be 'corrupted, by being taught to read and write'? Might we be returning to a time when libraries are only sustained by subscriptions? Join us for a whistle stop hover-board ride through the bizarre parallels between modern Scotland and the 'New' Statistical Accounts of Scotland (1834-1845).

Nicola Osborne & Dr Helen Aiton, EDINA, Centre for Digital Expertise and Online Service Delivery, The University of Edinburgh

Thursday 27 August

The Great British Brain Off Do you feel like your brain is half-baked? Or that your mental faculties are going off the boil? Join 'head' chef Dr Alan Gow in the Great British Brain Off to consider the recipe for the perfect brain, and what you can do if you feel your own grey matter needs some extra spice. Bring your questions about the ingredients that might protect or harm the brain as it ages, and we'll put those into the mix. There probably won't be any cakes, but jelly brains are likely to make an appearance.

Dr Alan Gow, Assistant Professor in Psychology, Heriot-Watt University

Friday 28 August

What if Lance Armstrong had the right idea? Every four years we marvel at the feats of human endeavour at the Olympic Games, but imagine a world where doping was allowed. How fast, higher and stronger could human performance attain? This talk explores what the limits of human performance could be with the aid of a range of doping agents, whether we would want to see what a human could achieve, and the ethical implications that such an approach could raise.

Dr Derek Ball, Associate Professor in Applied and Integrative Physiology, Heriot-Watt University

Saturday 29 August

Computers are only for geeks What do you imagine when someone mentions they work with computers or in IT? Do you immediately think of a slightly nerdy man hunched over a keyboard in a darkened basement room, impervious to the rest of the world? Many people would think this. However, computer scientists and IT workers are diversifying and many are attempting to throw off their predominantly male, geeky, introverted image. In this show, Dr Karen Petrie wants to know what turned you on or off computers, and how there are major consequences for an outdated view of computer science.

Dr Karen Petrie, School of Computing, University of Dundee

Sunday 30 August

Edinburgh should ban students What have students ever done for us? Surely Edinburgh would be a better city without them? Swathes of the city would be habitable again for families, noise complaints would slump, and traffic cones could rest easy. Vice Principal of the University of Edinburgh Professor Mary Bownes imagines what Edinburgh, and countless other UK cities, would look like without students and the universities they attend. Professor Bownes will argue for students' place in our cities, and highlight both the visible and hidden benefits they bring to civic life.

Professor Mary Bownes, Vice Principal Community Development, The University of Edinburgh