Brooklynites Felecia and Ty Freely are bona fide nerds.
But the clever married couple, she a seasoned technician, he a psych student at Columbia, don’t see their savvy in life as a negative.
Instead, the savvy duo have wrangled their collective ingenuity to help build community in the Big Apple by creating a positive space for like-minded people. They’re calling it “Lectures on Tap.”
Held at bars throughout NYC, each of the braniacs beer sessions will feature a different professor, expert or gifted storyteller, turning a random selection of pits into lively forums for lectures and discussions.” causing thoughts”.
They were promoting nerd culture, Felecia, 32, a lifestyle influencer turned software engineer, told The Post.
“We are giving the term a new and fresh meaning.
Freely and her husband kicked off their happy hour dates on June 18, luring cool Gothamites to attend an intellectually intoxicating presentation titled “Your Brain at the Movies,” a smart talk that delved into how the mind of interprets the cinema.
The raucous address, for which about 50 attendees, even a split of men and women, bought $40 tickets, was led by a Columbia University neuroscientist at the Velvet Brooklyn in Williamsburg.
Since the successful debut of the series, the pair have hosted a number of above-average minds in ale houses across the boroughs for further sudsy workshops. Held at 6:30pm on different days each week, so far they’ve tackled thought-provoking topics like The Mind F–k of Fame, The Search for Alien Megastructures, and AI vs. MD.
It’s a safe place to have a drink and meet people with a lifelong love of learning, said Ty, 35.
Nerds like to make cool things too.
And the genius alternative to awkwardly mingling in a deafeningly loud nightclub not only gives local bookworms an excuse to explore new subjects, but also kicks the one virus currently plaguing young New Yorkers .
Considered the loneliest city by Gen Zers and millennials, the metropolis’s singles are said to suffer from chronic friendlessness, an urgent health threat with consequences as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to the World Health Organization.
To thwart the threat, community-seeking 20-somethings and 30-somethings like the Freelys are organizing special clubs and group activities to connect people together for fun.
And while guided clubs and group outings suit many, those who prefer to exercise their brains and perhaps make a new friend in a chilled group setting aren’t necessarily easy to find.
New York needs this, Felecia said of her lectures and libations program, a concept she and Ty modeled after a similar, successful series called Pints and Profs in Washington, DC.
If I were single, I’d hope to meet someone who likes learning new things as much as I do, she continued, adding that the classic wallflower types at her events often find themselves joining the ranks of sharp with fellow spectators as well as teachers. .
And they’re not your everyday teachers, not even when it comes to picking the brains to run each of the strong meetings, Ty has so far been able to draw on an impressive academic network.
In early July, for example, he contacted clinical psychologist Lawrence Ian Reed, an associate professor at NYU and adjunct professor at Columbia, to lead a symposium on the Psychology of Deception held at an Upper West Side pub.
During his 45-minute mini-course, the educator regaled the crowd with instructions on spotting a lie.
It was such a fun experience, leading a discussion on a topic I’ve studied for decades and meeting some very interesting people in the audience, Reed, an expert in personality disorders and facial expressions told The Post.
Meanwhile, the Freelys, whose most recent invitational, James Madison: Fractions, Politics and Power, was held Wednesday in Greenwich Village, hope their frothy forums continue to stimulate chemistry among eggheads everywhere.
Reed agrees, noting the need for better and smarter ways to date in NYC.
There is a lack of third spaces [in the city]Reed said. Events like this give people a place outside of work and home to socialize and enjoy intellectual stimulation.
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Image Source : nypost.com