Some of us escape reality by going to the movies. Others retreat to the kitchen to attack a complicated recipe that no one in the family will like.

And then there are the history buffs. What better way to gain perspective on a turbulent present than by studying the past?

Give your brain a good workout Wednesday at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard (the town, not the university) when historian Helen Batchelder presents a look at Bronson Alcott’s role in transcendentalism. The 7 p.m. event at 102 Prospect Hill Road is part of a series of lectures in commemoration of Henry David Thoreau’s bicentennial. Admission is $12 members; $20 nonmembers.

What, you might ask, is transcendentalism? It’s an American philosophical movement originating in the early 19th century that emphasizes the spiritual and transcendental over the material and empirical. It’s fun, really!

Or, you can head to Marshfield for a free lecture by Anthony Sammarco on “A History of Howard Johnson’s: How a Massachusetts Soda Fountain Became an American Icon.’’ The 7 p.m. talk Wednesday at Ventress Memorial Library will give you a new appreciation of those Colonial revival restaurants that looked like “New England town meeting houses dressed up for Sunday.’’

Time for a beer, right? That’s what the Pilgrims thought when they dropped anchor in Plymouth because their supply was running low. On Sunday, Historic Newton will present a talk by author Lauren Clark titled “Crafty Bastards: Local Beer History,’’ a look at the four-century tradition of brewing in New England. The 3 p.m. event takes place at the Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds, 286 Waverley Ave., Newton.

Admission is $10; free for Historic Newton members. For more information, call 617-796-1450. And yes, it ends with beer and pretzels.

Leslie Anderson can be reached at leslie.anderson@globe.com.