On visiting the Secret Science Club

So I went to the "Secret Science Club."  

Now, for those of you who may be clueless at my saying that, let me give you some history.

This started with a rumor, a rumor that Josh Groban was dating a particular woman. I am a Grobanite, so I started following this woman on twitter.  After a while, she took her account private.  Obviously, I was not the only one who heard the rumor, and not the only one who got blocked from following her when she took her account private.

We have no clue why this happened.  Did she get creeped out by Grobanites following her on twitter?   Did she think we were dangerous?  Did she get overwhelmed at the thought of having to read all our tweets -- most of which were likely very boring?   Did Josh ask her to go private?  

But, before she went private, she tweeted a link to the Secret Science Club.  Now, I happen to be interested in science.  I was a physics major in college.   I'm taking some science courses at my local community college, as well.   In my real life, I have a science-related profession, though it hasn't been going well.

I figured I might like this "Secret Science Club."   Maybe I might meet clients there -- maybe I might meet this mysterious woman.  

So I went, though -- typical to me -- I got there late.

This club meets in at the Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn.   

I've never actually exited the BQE at Gowanus before.  I've driven through there.  I remember driving through there even as a child with my mom, when we visited New York City from the midwest.  My mom was originally from the NY metro area and knew the history.  She spoke in her usual high drama way about how awful it was that this poor neighborhood had been destroyed by the very highway we were driving on, the one that so towered over the small, drab row houses below.

Actually, the neighborhood has at least two elevated transportation routes, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) and the "subway."  For those of you who aren't in the NY metro area, you may be surprised to learn that the MTA routes are called "subway" even when they are elevated.  

Back when I was a kid, a neighborhood being destroyed meant that it would be dangerous to go there -- crime would have taken over.  When I was younger, there used to be a lot more crime, and a lot more fear -- a lot of that fear being racist.

But, now, with crime rates going down -- starting about 20 years after they took the lead out of gasoline, lead poisoning being known to cause rage & violence; and also about 20 years after Roe v. Wade, unwanted children tending also to have rage & violence -- I decided I could risk it, at night, yet, this club meeting at 8 p.m.

I should say, too, that the atmosphere of New York City area has changed a lot since 9-11.  I feel there is a lot less fear here now.   The images of black and white people, covered with dust, crying in each others arms have changed us, I think.   We know now that we're all in this together.

The Bell House was not so far from those elevated transportation lines, in a drab warehouse district, just exactly the sort of place that I would have been terrified to go to 30 years ago.  I was fortunate to find parking nearly right in front.

The Bell House is an intriguing place, a bar in front and a theater/hall in back.  The floor is concrete, perhaps because it is a former warehouse?  The hall is one of those rare ones where you are allowed, even encouraged, to bring in your beverages.   Presumably spilled beer will only enhance the aged look of the concrete floor.  The ceiling is high, with interesting, wooden structures supporting the roof.   It has an artsy feel, though one senses there could be a certain wildness there as well.

And there, in that hall,  in the back, in this improbable location, was a standing room only crowd of two to three hundred people -- the very most intelligent and focussed sorts of people, intently listening to a first class science lecture -- a lecture on genetics, particularly mouse studies related to cancer and autism.    I would say they were predominantly white and predominantly young -- but certainly not exclusively so.   I was hardly the only grey head in the place -- and there were definitely people of other races -- all intently, and quietly, listening, with very intelligent questions at the end.

Of course, Josh Groban has always characterized himself as a nerd.  I think many of his fans are nerds as well.  His music seems to be by and for nerds.  It makes sense to me that following such a lead I would find myself in an enclave of nerds.

Leaving the place, I drove a bit further into Gowanus, and was slightly startled to see bike paths marked on the pavement.  Bike paths, to me, are a sign of civilization.  Bike paths only get marked where people care about the environment, where they want to encourage bicycling, where they want to encourage safety.  Bike paths do not get marked in destroyed neighborhoods.

My mom was chair of the ped/bike committee of our city when I was younger.   She is gone now.  I wonder what she would have said if she had known there were bike paths in Gowanus.

I also saw, despite the rather humble appearance of most of the buildings, that they were clean and well-maintained, that the streets were clean, that the people walking around looked respectable.  I could see a certain resilience in the place, as if they were hobbits living there, beneath the towering transit lines -- hobbits being small, tough creatures, who manage always to infuse their environments with respectability and joie de vivre.

I came to feel that I could enjoy living in that neighborhood.

On the way back, I drove up the BQE to the Brooklyn Bridge.  I don't recall ever driving there at night before.  The view was spectacular.

I was too shy to talk to anyone at the Secret Science Club.   Everyone else who hung around afterwards seemed to be in a group already and younger than I.  Were any of the others there Grobanites?  I have no clue.  Was the mystery woman there?  If she was, I did not see her.  I'm not sure I would recognize her from the few pictures I have seen.

Still, I wish I could thank her for tweeting the link, as it was a great lecture, if a bit crowded.

Should I actually say her name here?   No, I believe it's been said elsewhere.  

Addendum: The lectures there are only open to those over 21.  At first, I found this puzzling, as the topic seemed acceptable for younger audiences; but then I decided it must have been the beverages that were not.

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Second addendum: really having nothing to do with the topic.

When I drive around NYC I like to listen to one of the radio stations that has traffic information, like WCBS or WINS.   So, this evening, there was a news item that a baby had been abducted from a foster mom by its birth mom.  As I drove down the West Side Hwy there was a lighted sign saying "Amber Alert  Tune to local radio station."  Returning, it was announced on the radio that the baby had been found.

It was a nice feeling, driving amongst all the skyscrapers, that somehow the entire city could stop what it was doing and look for a missing baby -- very nice feeling.