The Scientific Method: Six Scintillating Programs on Sciences-Related Subjects

By Troy Segal

Channel your inner Einstein with these upcoming New York City events and lectures guaranteed to be fascinating — even if you’re not an expert physicist, astronomer, or mathematician.

2001: A Space Odyssey. MGM.

May 27. Ever wonder where that galaxy far, far away really is? Examine the universe as seen through the lens of science fiction in this American Museum of Natural History lecture on locations from various shows, books, and movies.

Jun. 3.  Just how did Silicon Valley and its computer geeks transform the world? Doug Menuez, who’s done a documentary on the topic, tells all in a talk with Kurt Andersen, bestselling author and host of public radio’s “Studio 360” and this 92nd Street Y program.

Neil deGrasse Tyson. Fox Broadcasting Company.

Jun. 4. The Paley Center for Media — famed for its valued-added screenings — offers a preview of the final episode of the hit COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey, with host and renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, along with the show’s producers, describing their state-of-the-art update of the beloved Carl Sagan TV series.

Jun. 10. Analyze this: Adam Phillips, foremost authority on Sigmund Freud, is joined by novelist and critic Daphne Merkin for a discussion of Phillips’ new biography of the father of talk therapy, Becoming Freud: The Making of a Psychoanalyst at the 92nd Street Y.

Jun. 11. Suffer from sleeplessness? Perhaps you should try the Tibetan approach to insomnia. Dr. Anasurya Weil will diagnose three volunteers on stage at the Rubin Museum of Art to give attendees a real sense of the medical tantras the doctors of Tibet use to treat patients.

Jun. 25.  Earthquakes seem to be occurring more and more often. Through movies and sound effects, you can “virtually” experience them in this Hayden Planetarium program at the American Museum of Natural History, which explains what they are, why they happen, and the effects of these seismic waves coursing through our planet.