Brooklynites Felecia and Ty Freely are bona fide nerds.
But the savvy married couple — she a seasoned techie, 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 — creating a positive space for like-minded people. They’re calling it “Lectures on Tap.”
Held at bars across NYC, each of the braniacs beer sessions will feature a different professor, expert or gifted storyteller, turning a random selection of watering holes into lively forums for lectures and “thought provoking” discussions.
“We’re popularizing nerd culture,” Felecia, 32, a software engineer lifestyle influencer, told The Post.
“We’re giving the term a new and cool meaning.”
Freely and her husband kicked off their happy hour dates on June 18, enticing 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 delivered 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 covered thought-provoking topics like “The F–k Mind 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,” Ty, 35, said.
“Nerds like to do cool things too.”
And the genius alternative to awkwardly mingling in a deafeningly loud nightclub not only gives local books an excuse to explore new themes — it also hits on the “oneness virus” currently plaguing young New Yorkers .
Considered the “loneliest city” by Gen Zers and millennials, the metropolis’s singles are said to suffer from a chronic lack of companionship — an “urgent health threat” with consequences as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to the World Health Organisation. of Health.
To thwart the threat, the 20- and 30-something seeking community — much like the Freelys — are organizing special clubs and group activities to connect people together for fun.
And while clubbing 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 and successful series called “Pints and Profs” in Washington, D.C. DC.
“If I were single, I’d hope to meet someone who loves learning new things as much as I do,” she continued, adding that the classic wallflower types at her events often find themselves engaging in a witty ward with other spectators, as. as well as teachers.
And they’re not your everyday teachers either – when it comes to picking the brains to lead 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 party, “James Madison: Factions, 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 some intellectual stimulation.”
