How Students Spent the Longest Night of the Year

On December 21, HSE students organized an Art & Science space called ‘NOCH’ (‘NIGHT’) on the site of the SAMSKARA exhibition at the ArtPlay Design Center in Moscow. Over the course of the seven-hour event, participants discussed the search for extraterrestrial civilizations, the significance of gender differences in post-industrial society, the use of modern technologies to meld art and science, and other exciting topics.

One thousand people spent the longest night of the year in the NIGHT educational space – and that was far from everyone who was ready to trade a precious night’s sleep for a chance to attend the lectures and debates. The organizers tried to strike a balance between art and science so that the event would interest both aesthetes and technophiles. But the experiment did not end there.

Project coordinator Nikita Konstantinovsky, fourth-year student in the Faculty of Computer Science: ‘Previous “Night in the Cultural Center” events brought together members of student organizations for games of “Mafia” or speed dating sessions. NIGHT, however, borrowed absolutely nothing from those programmes. It had a completely new focus: smart entertainment — talks about science, art, and social problems in digital formats.’

Our correspondent visited each event venue and found seven ways to spend the longest night of the year with the help of popular science. Those who were unable to attend or who want to relive the experience can view a video of the activities.

Method No. 1 — Watch truth emerge

NIGHT guests searched for the truth in debates on ethics, tolerance, the cosmos, and femininity. They also discussed why in Russia personal data is stored but in other countries, it is protected, and how modern concepts of family and romance provoke violence. Addressing such topics requires extensive academic knowledge, so the organizers looked for the most qualified experts.

Nikita Konstantinovsky: ‘Finding speakers was a very difficult task; we networked among acquaintances in search of every possible contact. And we wanted to invite young speakers who were closer in age to the student audience. The main problem was that everyone is busy at this time of year, but we managed to find more than 40 specialists.’

Debate moderator and Dozhd TV journalist Pyotr Ruzavin: ‘When I led the discussion about life beyond our planet, one thought came out that I really liked. We look at the search for extraterrestrial life based on how we think human civilization will develop — in terms of artificial intelligence and so on. But what we call civilization is very insignificant in the context of the entire universe. And life forms beyond Earth might be completely incomprehensible to us and alien to any of our understandings of ethics and morality because our civilization is nothing compared to the processes of universal development.’

Method No. 2 — Watch an intelligent talk show

NIGHT talk show guests did not scream or pour water on each other, and this made their discussion all the more interesting. Experts determined whether ‘Black Mirror’ would one day become a reality (spoiler: it won’t) and explained how to use numbers to find your talent and earn money from it.

Liza, NIGHT participant and second-year student in the Faculty of Communications, Media, and Design: ‘I really liked how they talked about the phenomenon of eternal life during the talk show about “Black Mirror,” and how the modern world is moving in that direction. Another interesting thought that came out was that only in a TV series can you see a world with a single unusual technology even while everything else is ordinary. The speaker pointed out that if all of the technologies depicted on TV shows are developed, they will either exist in unison or else be at odds with each other in some way, but none of them will exist independently.’

Method No. 3 — Fly a hang glider

There are different ways to learn new things, and that is why NIGHT participants could do more than just talk about combining art and technology – they could try it out firsthand. The only requirement was the willingness to stand in line to try the hang glider simulator.

You don’t even have to leave the building to feel the bracing air and get a bird’s eye view of the mountains. You can simply don a virtual reality headset.

Liza, NIGHT participant and second-year student in the Faculty of Communications, Media, and Design: ‘I really liked how they talked about the phenomenon of eternal life during the talk show about “Black Mirror,” and how the modern world is moving in that direction. Another interesting thought that came out was that only in a TV series can you see a world with a single unusual technology even while everything else is ordinary. The speaker pointed out that if all of the technologies depicted on TV shows are developed, they will either exist in unison or else be at odds with each other in some way, but none of them will exist independently.’

Method No. 4 — Experience new sensations

The new ASMR video is a digital way to experience pleasure. You can derive satisfaction even from listing to a lecture on how super-sensitive microphones and YouTube are replacing psychologists and how mass culture ‘produces solicitude.’ This is especially true if culture expert Oxana Moroz delivers the lecture in a whisper in the domed lecture hall with the room darkened and everyone is lying on beanbags and watching relaxing video clips.

Konstantin, NIGHT participant and second-year student in the Business Informatics Bachelor’s Programme: ‘I just returned from the ASMR lecture and it was really wild. ASMR bloggers do not invent any new applications, but create new content based on the existing YouTube platform that helps people feel safe and experience new emotions. It’s great that technology can be used to achieve new sensations.’

Method No. 5 — Look for love in ‘solitary comfort’

Many NIGHT participants spoke about the way love had changed in the modern world and how digital technology affects relationships. In her 13-minute Quick Talk, HSE Lecturer Olga Solovyeva explained how the ‘Tinder Effect’ has replaced four types of love first identified by the Greeks. And MSU biologist Vyacheslav Dubynin explained how new research methods help us understand the nature of romantic feelings.

Yulia, NIGHT participant and third-year student in the Faculty of Communication, Media, and Design: ‘Everything turned out to be quite logical and predictable, but the lecturer was very good. He did a great job of combining jokes and truly useful material.’

Participants also discussed sexual identity and gender issues. Psychologist Zara Arutyunyan explained why society finds it so difficult to accept LGBT people and the significance of monogamy in the modern world.

You can watch the short NIGHT lectures on the Studlife HSE channel.

Method No. 6 — Go to the amusement park

The event took place on the grounds of the Art Play exhibition, and everyone who was tired of thinking could check out the artworks and try the immersive experience of the SAMSKARA exhibit. They could also relive their childhood by navigating a mirror maze, play with a VR headset, or print out several selfies from a photo mirror. And those who like science more than art could compare their brain activity with others’ by using the power of thought to make a platform move. It is now possible to accomplish such a task by simply attaching a special sensor to your ear and calculating a couple square roots in your head.

Intellectuals could also take a special Art & Science Quiz to test their knowledge.

Milena, State University of Management student: ‘The quiz was designed to broaden our outlook, and it was very interesting because the questions were taken from completely different fields: culture, politics, economics, or anything at all.’

Method No. 7 — Take care of your health

Participants could improve their health with a scientific stand-up routine — after all, laughter helps you live longer. The guest comics joked about jobs for historians and nuclear physicists.

Science has also found that positive emotions and music contribute to better health. Not everyone was happy with the experimental format — many guests felt there should have been more of an interactive element and some were upset with the timing. But the main thing is that the NIGHT event stayed true to the Art & Science concept. In their lectures, debates, and even stand-up routines, the speakers combined technology with art to address social problems and pose philosophical questions that doubtless kept their student listeners up at night.

Find more photos and feedback from participants on the official NIGHT group in VK.

Author: Daria Koromkova

Photo: Nail Zabaydullin