seminars
If bookshops attract the society's loopy kind, their alternative haven is at the public lectures/seminars. A person I met at one of the talks lowered his voice and pointed out that we were surrounded by the socially dysfunctional--a group who cannot cope with the modern real world, and find solace in ancient texts. For instance, usually after an engaging lecture there are ones who have a question to ask simply because he/she enjoys listening to the sound of his/her own voice heard in public. Or that they pretend to ask questions, but in fact are making incoherent statements. Of course, there are highly respectable scholars amongst the crowd. I attend these seminars because a) the subject is related to my research topic and can be interesting, b) the speaker is famous and c) research degrees in UK don't have obligatory courses, therefore, I go there to keep in touch with human beings. Judging from the last reason I might be a loony myself.