There was also much discussion of water, a particular interest of GZA, whose albums include "Beneath the Surface" and the classic "Liquid Swords." (He’s working on a follow-up to the latter.) What makes water molecules vibrate in funky ways? Temperature, pressure, pH, and salt, said Rinn. What’s the ideal alkalinity for drinking? Around 8.5, said GZA, who recently bought a $4,500 ionizer because he was tired of spending $7 a day on Fiji Water.

There was music criticism, too. Pardis Sabeti, a Harvard evolutionary biologist who moonlights as the lead singer of a rock band, told GZA she was disappointed in what record executives want these days. Too generic, she said. GZA agreed.  GZA lectures at Harvard