2016 06 07 jul aug mind intl by Editor, MInd

JUL-AUG 2016

On the Cover:

From the Editor: The mention of July-August evokes a picture of clouds and rain. And unlike last year where the parched earth was left longing for water, the raingods have showered their blessings And here, we too hope that submissions rain and flood the editor’s inbox this season. ;) The regular columns are back – Musings, The Puzzle Page, Crossword to tickle your brain. And if you wish to read something not so regular, then do not hesitate to pick up your pen and write to us.

Clouds over the sea - by Durva Damle

Submissions: Send in your articles and contributions in plain text format and pictures in high resolution .jpg format to: editor.mensaindia@gmail.com

Remember it is your magazine.

Disclaimer:

~Durva Damle, Editor, Mind Contents

About Contributors

Page no. 2

All contents in this magazine are opinions of the individual authors and contributors. Neither Mensa India, the society, its office bearers nor the editors are responsible for any content or views expresses.

Durva Damle

Ujjwal Rane

Flourishing Organizations – The People Way

Feedback:

Deep Mody

Solution to May-Jun Crossword

Delhi Mensa Crossword SIG

Like it, love it or hate it? Tell us how to make the MInd magazine better. Write in to the editor at

Surya Basu

Prasanna Seshadri

Delhi Mensa Crossword SIG

Random Ramblings – The Clarity Illusion Musings – Waiting Patiently

LENSA – Aurangzeb’s Tomb The Puzzle Page – Cave Jul-Aug Crossword

editor.mensaindia@gmail.com

ABOUT CONTRIBUTORS

Deep Mody is an XLRI ate and a Mensan; thorough professional with over a decade of praxis in various realms of Human Resource Management. Also a Change Leader with evolving prowess into Appreciative Inquiry, Emotional Intelligence and Positive Organisation Development. Link to his blog: http://emotionallystreet-smart.blogspot.com/ Ujjwal Rane: works for an engineering company. But his hear lies in simplifying mathematics and physics for the layman. He has created many videos to demonstrate the beauty of physics in the world around us. Link to his videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/UjjwalRane/videos Durva Damle is an architect who likes to sit and wonder about Life, the Universe and Everything. As random ramblings about the design of the world are not enough to subsist and justify her existence in society, she ekes out a living by designing spaces for the grounded earthlings. Surya Basu is from Kolkata living in Mumbai since 2011. Photography is one one of his hobbies. He started with it in college (Jadavpur University) that had an excellent photography club. He learnt the basics when digital was not in the mass market. The club had cranky old film cameras which they could borrow and take out for a day. So the initial phase in photography was all on films which is a very good thing as the limitations enforced by the medium makes you a much better photographer. Then as with others he moved to digital and photography that has been a part of life ever since. PrasannaSeshadri is a Puzzler and Puzzle-Master at Grandmaster Puzzles; was the Indian Double Champion in 2013 having won both the Indian Sudoku and Indian Puzzle Championships. As a puzzlemaker, Prasanna has contributed puzzles to the World Puzzle Championship, the 24HPC, and several other national championships; Associated with Logic Masters India. Blog: https://prasannaseshadri.wordpress.com/ More of his puzzles can be found at: http://www.gmpuzzles.com

RANDOM RAMBLINGS The Clarity Illusion ‘Jo bhi mai, kehna chaahu, Barbaad karein, alfaaz mere’ And we all nod in agreement, ‘Oh yeah, yeah, yeah!’ Ever faced a situation when you meant something, said something else, the person for whom it was meant, took it as something altogether different, questioned you, “Matlab?” and perplexed, you responded with “Matlab matlab??” Some people go to all lengths in an attempt to convey any feeling with exact and precise words. What could be expressed in a single line is elaborated in paragraphs or even pages of text… the result, still nowhere close to the intended meaning. (… and then they go back to singing the lines at the opening of this text) And there is another set of people, who so dread the question “Matlab?” that they refrain from ever so slightly diverging from their known territory that is guarded by brevity. (Lest it be taken for something else). The lesser the number of words, the smaller is the chance of it being twisted, turned, altered, deformed, metamorphosed and repackaged to appear what it never was. This longing for precision of a mathematical mind, where ‘2’ means ‘2’ and nothing else; more importantly, it means ‘2’ for everyone irrespective of who you are talking to… So your ‘2’ and my ‘2’ are exactly the same… (Whoa! What a relief!!) So there is no confusion about what I said and what you understood ;) This makes you conclude that beauty lies in perfection, right? Think again. This species runs away from language to take shelter in the pointed, conical bastions of the

geometric castle of mathematics from where digital gibes and cannon-balls of pre-defined radii can be thrown at the shapeless tents of flowing garment that is language… tents meant to protect thoughts, draped in language… and these mathematical species frown upon the drapes of language from their rectangular balconies, saying that the drapes are ill-fitting – hardly making thoughts look the way a thought was ‘thought’ to look. And to the horror of a perfectionist, quite often, those tents looks like 10 different things from 10 different angles, and fear returns that it will be seen in the least likely way that it was supposed to. So, when the perfectionist sees that the thought-text is mischievously wrapped in thoughtclouds and thought-bubbles in a cartoon (and not in squares and circles), he sneaks in stealthily and packs these thoughts in little cubes with six identical faces (with no distinguishing marks anywhere) of rigid meaning, so that it appears exactly the same no matter how carelessly one drops these words. Victory! We’ve defined the words to perfection.  We like to imagine the world we live in as an organized, defined, and ordered place. Beauty lies in the fact that a sunflower does not choose to have its petals arranged any-which-way but in the Fibonacci sequence; that planets don’t just wander about in the universe but take elliptical orbits around the sun, dutifully slowing down and speeding up to honour the equation T² ∝ R3.. Beauty lies in the fact that nothing can contradict a physical law, that all is seemingly in absolute order – that all is perfect. And, beauty also lies in the fact that when I put my hand in a cupboard with 20 different pairs of shoes and get four shoes out, the chance that I have at least one correct pair, is 99/323. Precise, huh?!! (Cannot help the ones who’ve stopped reading to verify the answer. ) 3

RANDOM RAMBLINGS The Clarity Illusion

The point is, to get that one wearable pair out from the cupboard 99 times in my 323 attempts, the sample-space, that is the number of attempts, has to be fairly large and yet, I’ll end up with no pair in every 224 attempts. If meaning lies only in drawing out that one wearable pair, I draw out meaninglessness far more often than I can grope meaning. What this means is that, in order to spice-up the overlying order of this world with randomness, the goddess of Chaos is well-versed in probability. Or to take some help from Quantum Mechanics, the more precisely we try to define an electron’s momentum, the less sure we are about its position. Uncertainty just waves at us from unexpected locations! Going back to the so-called limitations of Language, the caging of words in definitions may work for machines and computers to the effect that what is said means exactly what is said and nothing else. But no one can stop a human mind from associating a new meaning to a known word and using it in some other context – thus extending its ‘definition’ to express an idea previously difficult to describe. The growth of thought depends as much on the richness of language as it (surprisingly) does on the various interpretations and contextual changes in the flavor of a word. Beauty now lies in subtle imperfections.  A machine, a computer can give precise results with clearly defined meaning; and yet we are trying hard to develop AI that will extend a word beyond its meaning – associate, synthesize, twist, morph and transform it completely and still convey what the previously intended use of the word could not.

We are waiting to salute an AI that would pass an understanding smile as it reads “Scepter and Crown Must tumble down, And in the dust equal be made With the poor crooked scythe and spade.” The development of language must have taken one hell of a brain effort in logical synthesis that would make mathematics seem like a minor discovery on our way to seek meaning. Language is no longer scared of the goddess of Chaos, she has long made peace with her… with each random rambling she stumbles upon a new ‘matlab’ … a newer possibility. The ones tied to conventions are scared to leave their firm, rigid footings of definitions. And yet, there are those who let go of all fears and explore the untested waters – in the process ‘creating’ newer thoughts. The imperfections of language have given birth to newer worlds and universes only in the minds of those who dared to get washed away with the fickle tides of matlab. With each new interpretation, language grows richer, thought deeper and the thoughtcloud accumulates more cotton, thus rising above and dwarfing the geometric castle made of neat little cubical bricks of defined meaning. And as the clouds grow so full that they can no longer hold their weight, spherical drops trickle down to roll along the castle walls into the pond nearby where new bricks of concrete meaning are shaped. And now I am a bit scared to think how this rambling thought will be interpreted. ;) ~ Durva Damle

MUSINGS Waiting Patiently… I had graduated but hadn’t landed a job yet. With the student status, the on-campus employment and assistantship had also dried up. So basically the income had shrunk to zero. One night we went to ‘Circle K’ – a convenience store nearby – to get bread/milk or such, when we noticed a little girl in one of the aisles. My wife has a way with kids, she instantly connects with them. This kid too smiled at her. She was with her mother and even in the poor student population, they had noticeably less. When we got our stuff and came out, the duo was standing outside. All their belongings were stuffed in a shopping cart. The mother loaded it with the bare essentials they had bought. But she had also purchased a small treat for the girl, who now patiently waited by the cart. And as the mother handed it to her, a hundred watt smile broke out on her face. It was dazzling and depressing at the same time. I was depressed by the time we reached home. When Seema persuaded me to tell

what was bothering me, I told her how helpless we were to help anyone. And she told me, that the girl did not need any help. Did I not see how happy she was? Yes, but sometime soon the reality would set in and that smile would be lost. No, she said, “Have you not seen kids who have it all and are still unhappy and cranky? That girl has a gift of being happy, irrespective of how much she has.” And it immediately made sense, because I had seen a girl at close quarters genuinely happy for four and half years, with what little her student husband made. Though this incident made a deep impression on me, this is not the only time I met someone with the gift of being happy. I was lucky to meet a few more. Happiness is an attitude that has nothing to do with how much we have. So the time to be happy is here and now.

~Ujjwal Rane

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT Flourishing Organisations – The People Way ‘Getting the most out of the employee’ as it is subtly called; it is a very common practice in Indian run companies with a rigid hierarchy. In 80s when it was an Employer-driven market and scarcity of jobs had made people used to inhuman practices as part of life... I still remember people telling me 'Naukri' matlab 'nakarnewala-kaam'... Of late, the market is more Employee-driven and organisations are compelled to invest more in keeping them motivated. These initiatives are limited to some Recreation and RnR activities… The concern lies in Management's high headedness... I was chatting with a friend today on similar lines... Bosses assume themselves intellectually superior than employees and hence look at them as mere machines or commodities... There's only 'so much' a person can deliver, hence the entire focus is on squeezing what you give to them in return... The focus on increasing productivity to investment ratio lies in finding the minimal required investment to achieve a predetermined level of productivity... Most of the unfair practices arise because of the mind-set that 'it is not worth' giving more to employees... No matter what you offer, they will not deliver

beyond a ‘certain’ level. And that ‘certain’ level is decided by the Management… The fact is, decision making on being intellectually competent of benchmarking performance or optimum efficacy should be guided by people management professional and not the investors. Just by funding the business, Management does not gain people management skills…. It is important to understand the difference between ‘controlling’ and ‘managing’… So what’s an alternative was to look at things? To derive an analogy, think of a stock market tip you just got. Share price of a company is definitely going to shoot sky high. In such a scenario your focus would be on stretching yourself to the maximum possible in investing as much as you can… Unlike earlier scenario we discussed about people management, conventional practices make us benchmark the optimum productivity and the entire race is on finding the lease required investment to reach that productivity… Whereas, that is not how human beings behave…. Productivity from employees is like that special stock market tip… The more you invest, more you will be get in-turn… Investment not just in terms of Recreational and RnR

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT Flourishing Organisations – The People Way activites, but also in terms of taking their Intellectual input, creativity and possibility of skyhigh deliverance. Once the distinction is experienced, the hierarchical practices of Management and Employees will be history… The whole system would be set in self-flourishing mode… What we need is a change of perspective – like the graphic above… It refers to change of perspective towards employees – employees are like sand in fist, the tighter you get your grip, the lesser would stay in hand…

the best way of getting the most out of people & business in-turn, not many actually go against the management ego and high-headedness, coaching them of best practices… The ideal state would be to play the role of a Coachfor Management and Employees… Not just a Management representative sticking things down employee’s throat…. Eventually focusing on people learning so as the differences of Management and Employees are completely eliminated… That would be an ideal path for ‘Flourishing Organisations – The People Way’…

There are some ground level challenges in implementing such a dream… Most HR practitioners struggle to maintain their job, ‘khursi bachani hai’… Hence, in spite of understanding unfair or non-optimum practices which are not

~Deep Mody

SOLUTION TO PREVIOUS ISSUE’S CROSSWORD

LENSA AURANGZEB’S TOMB

Aurangzeb’s Tomb: The tomb in many ways reflect Aurangzeb’s personaliy – austere and a complete antithesis of his illustrious forefathers. The emperor ruling over perhaps the largest medival empire of the Indian-subcontinent rests in a place as unassuming as a neighbourhood madrassa. I have always found Aurangzebs brand of ambition hard to fathom – aquisition without personal gains, and therefore was probably more intimidated by his Tomb more than Akbars or Jehangirs. The figure at the background somehow highlights the sense of tension in the shot.

~ Surya Basu

THE PUZZLE PAGE CAVE

Information: This style was first published under the name “BAG” in 1996 by Nikoli; the original author was GesakuDesuYo – “It’s Comedy!”. It borrows many rules from another Nikoli style, Kuromasu, which first appeared in 1991. The original presentation of BAG involved drawing a single non-intersecting loop, and this style persisted when the puzzle first came to the West under the new name “Corral” for the 2002 US/Canadian Qualifying Test for the World Puzzle Championship. A different presentation and set of rules has evolved over time involving shading cells instead of forming a loop; this presentation has gone by the name “Cave” at the World Puzzle Championship, and is the format and name used here. Source: http://www.gmpuzzles.com/blog/cave-rules-and-info/.

The rules also imply that a checkerboard pattern of XY YX Can never be formed, where X is shaded/unshaded and Y is unshaded/shaded respectively. Solution to the previous issue’s puzzle, Balance Loop.

Puzzle Statement: Shade some cells to leave behind a single connected group — the cave — with no enclosed, shaded cells. In other words, all shaded cells must be connected by other shaded cells to an edge of the grid. All numbered cells must be a part of the cave, with each number indicating the total count of cells connected vertically and horizontally to the numbered cell including the cell itself. THE CAVE PUZZLE:

Note: The solutions to the puzzle of this issue, Balance Loop, will be published in the next issue. For more puzzles and Sudokus like this and to know more about the Indian National Championships, you can visit the Indian website for all puzzle matters, Logic Masters India – logicmastersindia.com

Solved Example:

~ Prasanna Seshadri

CROSSWORD Mensa Delhi Crossword SIG 53. Engg. Degrees 54. Sans general knowledge (Abbr) 55. We mean 'mea culpa' when we say this. 58. Inhale cocaine by holding a flame under a metal spoon filled with it. 60. Totality of the human mind. 64. Urge for Japenese currency? 65. A half of the African fly that causes sleeping sickness. 66. TV ______ 67. Grounded faster than sound passenger jet 68. it makes the food taste better 69. First name of the spreader of dengue fever & chikungunya. DOWN: 1. Sum up 2. Circumference/radius but can be eaten 3. Judge in a hockey trnmnt 4. Those two are an _______ 5. Prepare to converse in Qatar 6. One abode 7. Price/Quantity 8. Enter where unwelcome 9. In the past 10. Place where research in a special kind of carbon is carried out. 11. Afro-Cuban percussion instrument 12. A body of men raised and commanded by the Sheriff 14. Address used for Lord Mayor or Privy Councillor.(abbr) 19. Multimedia messages for short 21. A chance or an exit 23. Delivers a heavy blow 24. What we do one meeting a cute pup. 25. Mensa qualifier, almost certainly. 28. A large body of water, but not in the South. 30. Wager 31. One who flies planes 34. One in Germany 36. Pay for 37. Lolls in the sun 41. I'll eat my ________ if you can do it! 44. To imbue with movement. 47. Exclamation of disgust 49. Animal trainers make lions jump through these 50. Belonging to Infosys? (abbr) 51. Takes the seed out. 52. A dorky or nerdy person 56. Will do as you say boss! (abbr) 57. A spiral or vortex 59. Snort of dismissal 61. They find criminals 62. Tee _______ 63. Snaky letter

ACROSS: 1. The financial year begins at this. 6. An air, melody or tune 10. British currency for short 13. One who is trying to lose 15. Put a painting on the wall, maybe 16. Hopping marsupial (abbr) 17. Overcome 18. Backless, armless seat, in Turkey & elsewhere 20. Bart and Liza's Dad, courteously 22. Measure for car engine efficiency 23. It shows us how expensive things are getting (abbr) 26. Of course not! 27. Take away someone's footware? 29. A poisonous plant also known as stinking nightshade 31. One serving of medicine? 32. Cute dam builder, sleeps holding hands 33. Absolutely not! 35. Catch the criminal 38. Michelangelo's famous sculpture in St Peter's Basilca 39. Three in Rome 40. 8th letter of Greek alphabet, commonly used in trigonometry 42. Standard Template Library (abbr) 43. Bridegroom in North India 45. Auras 46. Being disingenuous 48. Army's frontline heavy assault equipment 50. Frenchman's emphatic 'here, here' 52. Exit

Following pages are from the Mensa World Journal

mensa world journal

Jeffery Alan Ford of American Mensa p5 july 2016 issue 042

m ensa wor ld j our na l Predicting a person’s distinct brain connectivity Based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of a person’s brain when that individual is resting, a new model reported in this study is able to predict how that individual’s brain will look during a range of active tasks. Such a tool, if applicable beyond the healthy population upon which this model is based, could be used to investigate functional brain regions in people who cannot perform tasks, such as paralyzed patients or infants, authors of this study say. Previous studies suggest that functional magnetic resonance imaging data on a person’s brain activity in a task-free (or resting) state - in which they can think or reflect without being engaged in an external task can reveal aspects of how the brain will behave during active tasks. However, studies have only explored this at the group level, and not for the individual. The ability to carry out a mapping in individual subjects has been a promising but unfulfilled aspect of resting-state fMRI. To determine if the resting state could be used to predict differences of brain connectivity between individuals, Ido Tavor and colleagues used data from 98 individuals in the Human Connectome Project (HCP) mensa world journal july 2016

database. The data capture their brain activity at a resting state, as well as during a variety of different tasks categorized across seven different behavioral domains, such as decisionmaking (gambling) and language interpretation (reading). Using this data, the researchers trained a model that could accurately predict individual task variations across all behavioral domains based on the person’s brain activity at a resting state. Overlapping predicted patterns with actual patterns confirmed the model’s accuracy. The current study is novel in that it goes beyond previous group-level studies, suggesting that resting-state fMRI patterns provide considerable information for estimating individual differences in task activation. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/ aaft-pap040416.php

Deadline for submissions to August 2016 issue is June 1, 2016 mwjeditor@mensa. org

from the editor... You’ll find a report of the latest Executive Committee (ExComm) from Director of Administration, Therese Moodie-Bloom, on p3 and Jefferey Alan Ford’s outline of his TED talk on p5. U.S. Mensan Jeffery, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, is an advocate for people who have Austism Spectrum Disorder. Latest research into robots and their advancement, the difference between neural pathways with old and new memories, and “executive powers in the nursery” also feature in the issue. Our regular comunists are all here also! Hal Swindall’s Books, John Blinke’s Supplementally and Therese’s puzzles are on pp8,9,and 12 respectively. I’m hoping to see many of you at the USAG in SanDiego in June!

Warm regards,

Kate The full, colour MWJ can be read and downloaded at www.mensa. org each month.

m ensa wor ld j our na l from the director of administration...

IN MID-MAY, the Executive Committee of Mensa International met to discuss the direction Mensa is taking and to start preparations for the Agenda for the International Board of Directors (IBD) meeting later this year in Kyoto, Japan.

Ivett Vancsik. Our approaching 70th Anniversary in October will provide an ideal launching pad for a series of press releases and a general increase in publicity for Mensa around the globe.

70th Anniversary October will mark 70 years of Mensa. There will be a big birthday party One of the most significant results held in Japan over the weekend of the of the May meeting was the formal recognition of the national groups in IBD meeting. This is NOT restricted to IBD and Japanese members. Any both Romania and Slovenia as Full National Mensas. Having fulfilled all member may attend the full weekend, the requirements, both countries will or just the Gala Dinner. Please check the website for updates and contact now sit on the IBD, with full voting details. A special Souvenir Anniverrights. Congratulations to both! sary Issue of the Mensa World Journal The expansion of the documents’ will also be issued in October. It will repository on the international website was discussed. We wish to ensure contain a copy of the first ever Mensa Journal, edited by Roland Berrill.A that there is a full library of Howformal logo for the 70th Anniversary To’s already developed by various has been designed. Both the logo and countries to act as guidelines, saving officers from every country having to guidelines for its use are available from MWJ Editor Kate Nacard, or reinvent the wheel. However, it is not enough to have myself, as Director of Administration (see International Directory in this a broad content – it must be easily findable and retrievable when wanted. issue). So the Web Board is currently lookMensa Test ing at the navigational pathways of the website in a bid to make it easier Tomas Blumenstein, the Director for for all members to find specific areas. Small National Mensas, has planned another national PR event to be held during The European Mensa AnPublic Relations nual Gathering (EMAG) in Krakow, We discussed communications, corPoland (see MIL website for details). porate image, and the role envisaged for the new Communications Officer, The meeting, to be led by our Inter mensa world journal july 2016

Therese Moodie-Bloom

national Supervising Psychologist Kristof Kovacs, aims at the general exchange of experiences and specific preparation of a new Mensa IQ test. It is hoped that a representative connected with testing or the coordination of proctors from each country will attend. The representatives (or their national mensas) will need to pay their own fares and accommodation, but Mensa International will cover the EMAG registration of all participants in this meeting. Details and registration form are available at www.blumenstein.cz/DSNM/Testing/Krakow We also discussed trademark registration and protection, proceedings on fake facebook groups, he future of the LEAP (Leadership Ambassador Exchange Program), new appointments and charges, website hosting, financials, the next international election, which will enable e-voting for the first time, and social media. More on these in future issues of the Mensa World Journal.

Therese Moodie-Bloom Director of Administration 03

m ensa wor ld j our na l robots get creative to cut through clutter

what’s on...

Clutter is a special challenge for robots, but new Carnegie Mellon University software is helping robots cope, whether they’re beating a path across the Moon or grabbing a milk jug from the back of the refrigerator. The software not only helped a robot deal efficiently with clutter, it surprisingly revealed the robot’s creativity in solving problems. “It was exploiting sort of superhuman capabilities,” Siddhartha Srinivasa, associate professor of robotics, said of his lab’s two-armed mobile robot, the Home Exploring Robot Butler, or HERB. “The robot’s wrist has a 270-degree range, which led to behaviors we didn’t expect. Sometimes, we’re blinded by our own anthropomorphism.” In one case, the robot used the crook of its arm to cradle an object to be moved. “We never taught it that,” Srinivasa added. The rearrangement planner software was developed in Srinivasa’s lab by Jennifer King, a Ph.D. student in robotics, and Marco Cognetti, a Ph.D. student at Sapienza University of Rome who spent six months in Srinivasa’s lab. They will present their findings May 19 at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Stockholm, Sweden. In addition to HERB, the software was tested on NASA’s KRex robot, which is being designed to

EMAG 2016 in Kraków, Poland 10 - 14 August 2016 AMG in Guangzhou, China 09 - 11 September 2016 Swiss Annual Gathering 09 - 11 September 2016 Australian Mensa AG in Hobart Tasmania October 6 - 10 BD Meeting 2016 in Kyoto, Japan October 13 - 16, 2016 70-year anniversary of Mensa Dutch Annual Gathering 28 October - 30 October Silvensa 2016 29 December 2016 - 01 January 2017 New Year’s Eve in Maastricht, Netherlands

mensa world journal july 2016

traverse the lunar surface. While HERB focused on clutter typical of a home, KRex used the software to find traversable paths across an obstaclefilled landscape while pushing an object. Robots are adept at “pick-andplace” (P&P) processes, picking up an object in a specified place and putting it down at another specified place. Srinivasa said this has great applications in places where clutter isn’t a problem, such as factory production lines. But that’s not what robots encounter when they land on distant planets or, when “helpmate” robots eventually land in people’s homes. The rearrangement planner automatically finds a balance between the two strategies, Srinivasa said, based on the robot’s progress on its task. The robot is programmed to understand the basic physics of its world, so it has some idea of what can be pushed, lifted or stepped on. And it can be taught to pay attention to items that might be valuable or delicate, in case it must extricate a bull from a china shop. One limitation of this system is that once the robot has evaluated a situation and developed a plan to

Check www.mensa.org for details of national events coming up move an object, it effectively closes its eyes to execute the plan. Work is underway to provide tactile and other feedback that can alert the robot to changes and miscalculations and can help it make corrections when necessary. NASA, the National Science Foundation, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing and the Office of Naval Research supported this research. Extracted from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-05/cmu-rgc051816.php Photo: CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY PERSONAL ROBOTICS LAB

m ensa wor ld j our na l Autistic Genius Gives Life-Changing TED Talk By Jeffery Alan Ford

“My name is Jeffery Alan Ford. … I’m autistic … and … I’m a genius.” Thus began my TED Talk at TEDxMSU in East Lansing, Michigan’s Wharton Center. I had been in the Wharton Center many times before to watch the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Willie Nelson, musicals, operas, etc. My daughter had watched the Broadway production of Wicked there and was sitting in the audience once again, but this time looking up at her father who was taking command of the big stage with his simple truths, humor, and brutal honesty. “Like many people who are autistic my eyes are highly photosensitive. I’m socially more awkward than I’d like any of you to know. And large crowds? FORGET ABOUT IT!” (crowd laughs) “But it’s like what John Wayne said, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” And I’m really glad I saddled up to come to speak with you here tonight.” I shared with the crowd that I was recently honored in the Michimensa world journal july 2016

gan House of Representatives for winning the World Genius Directory: 2016 Genius of the Year Award. I told them that I have the same form of autism (Asperger’s Syndrome) that experts now believe Einstein, Mozart and Michelangelo had and how our differences make every single one of us special in a myriad life-affirming ways. My biggest fear going into TEDxMSU was that I might horribly embarrass not just myself, but also my daughter. I’m not like most people. I’m the same guy who when my autistic difficulties are flaring up will often refuse to leave my home for over a week at a time in order not to horribly embarrass myself in public. I’m also the same guy who gave up participating in poetry readings because of the unbearable anxiety I experienced speaking to groups that often ranged from only 7 to 20 people – and there I was standing on a giant stage in a venue that holds over 2,400 people!

What was I thinking? I was thinking that perhaps I didn’t need to be perfect in order to make a difference … I just needed to be perfectly me. And you know what? I was right! My daughter came up to me during intermission and gave me a huge hug and told me how much she loved my TED Talk. Many people reached out to tell me how deeply my talk touched them and shared their own personal stories with me. I was also selected by the local media for an interview. So please, don’t wait until you’re perfect before stepping out of your comfort zone to make a difference - because you’ll be waiting forever! Just be the best, most authentic you possible. You, and the world, will be forever changed and glad that you did!

m ensa wor ld j our na l

when memories age

For our brain it makes a great difference whether we remember experiences from long ago, or if we recollect recent events. RUB-neuroscientists were able to show that distinct brain-networks are involved.

back half a life-time or whether this is the role of the parahippocampal region of the brain: the cortical areas directly adjacent to the hippocampus. Prof. Dr. Magdalena Sauvage and her team of neuroscientists have monitored brain activity in mice during the retrieval of memories that are one day to one year old -- e.g. up to the mouse-equivalent of 40 human years. For their study they applied a highresolution molecular imaging technique, which detects the expression of a particular gene tied to plasticity processes and this way sheds light on cognitive processes.

When we remember events which occurred recently, the hippocampus is activated. This area in the temporal lobe of the brain is a hub for learning and memory. But what happens, if we try to remember things that took place years or decades ago? Neuroscientists at the Ruhr-University Bochum and the Osaka University have been able to give some answers to this question. They reveal that the neural networks involved in retrieving very old memories are quite distinct from those used to remember Old and recent memories are rerecent events. The results of the study trieved differently have now been published in the open “For the very first time we were able source science journal eLIFE. to show that the retrieval of old and recent memories are supported by Hippocampus is a hub for memory distinct brain networks,” Prof. Dr. Neuroscientists agree that the hipMagdalena Sauvage reports. The pocampus, which contains the cornu CA3 region, believed to be the place ammonis regions 1 and 3 (CA1 and of memory storage in the hippocamCA3), plays a major role in retrieving pus, no longer plays a role when we recent memories. However, a major remember very old memories. Rather, controversy in memory research rethe involvement of the CA1 region sides on whether the hippocampus is persists and the cortical areas adalso engaged when experiences date jacent to the hippocampus become mensa world journal july 2016

involved. The reason for the differential involvement of the hippocampal subregions could lie in the mechanisms supported by CA3, explains Prof. Sauvage: “In CA3, memories can be retrieved on the basis of single features of an original memory, which are used as cues. Since the memory for single features degrades over time, we speculate that they might ultimately be of no more use as cues, hence retrieving memory would then essentially rely on CA1 and other processes taking place in the parahippocampal region of the brain.” https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160315090243.htm?utm_ source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_ca mpaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fmind_bra in%2Fintelligence+%28Intelligence+News+--

Send your submissions to mwjeditor@mensa.org articles - poetry - member achievements 06

m ensa wor ld j our na l executive powers in the nursery A baby’s cry not only commands our attention, it also rattles our executive functions--the very neural and cognitive processes we use for making everyday decisions, according to a new University of Toronto study.

is important because it controls attention - one of the most basic executive functions needed to complete a task or make a decision, notes Haley, who runs U of T’s Parent-Infant Research Lab. “Parents are constantly “Parental instinct appears to be hard- making a variety of everyday wired, yet no one talks about how decisions and have competing this instinct might include cognidemands on their attention,” tion,” says David Haley, co-author says Joanna Dudek, a graduand Associate Professor of psycholate student in Haley’s Parent-Infant ogy at U of T Scarborough. Research Lab and the lead author of If we simply had an automatic the study. response every time a baby started A baby’s cry has been shown to crying, how would we think about cause aversion in adults, but it could competing concerns in the environalso create an adaptive response by ment or how best to respond to a “switching on” the cognitive control baby’s distress?” parents use in effectively responding The study looked at the effect in- to their child’s emotional needs while fant vocalizations - in this case audio also addressing other demands in clips of a baby laughing or crying everyday life, adds Haley. had on adults completing a cognitive “If an infant’s cry activates cogniconflict task. The researchers used the tive conflict in the brain, it could also Stroop task, in which participants be teaching parents how to focus were asked to rapidly identify the their attention more selectively,” he color of a printed word while ignorsays. ing the meaning of the word itself. “It’s this cognitive flexibility Brain activity was measured using that allows parents to rapidly switch electroencephalography (EEG) dur- between responding to their baby’s ing each trial of the cognitive task, distress and other competing dewhich took place immediately after mands in their lives--which, paradoxa two-second audio clip of an infant ically, may mean ignoring the infant vocalization. momentarily.” The brain data revealed that the The findings add to a growing infant cries reduced attention to the body of research suggesting that task and triggered greater cognitive infants occupy a privileged status in conflict processing than the infant our neurobiological programming, laughs. Cognitive conflict processing one deeply rooted in our evolutionary mensa world journal july 2016

past. But, as Haley notes, it also reveals an important adaptive cognitive function in the human brain. The study, which is the first to examine the effects of infant vocalizations on adult neural activity during a cognitive task, will be published in the journal PLOS ONE. Marc Bornstein, a Senior Investigator at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Bethesda, Maryland, is also a co-author. The study received funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Haley says the next steps for the research will be to look at whether there are individual differences in the neural activation of attention and conflict processing in new mothers that may help or hinder their capacity to respond sensitively to their own infants’ cries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-05-powers-nursery.html

m ensa wor ld j our na l Books...

John Radford. Don’t You Believe It! Sixty Things Everybody Knows that Actually Ain’t So! Illustrated by Donald Rooum. Kindle Direct Publishing, 2016. US$6.59. ISBN 978-09554431-0-7 This is a collection of myth-busting research about commonly held falsehoods. Examples are whether the Duke of Wellington really claimed that the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton, whether Queen Victoria really said she was not amused, whether the Wright Brothers really invented the first heavier-than-air flying machine, etc. As such, it could be useful for enquiring Mensan minds who want to debunk widespread but erroneous beliefs, as well as providing great entertainment. Since the author is a professor of psychology, he has presumably seen his share of mistaken assumptions. This book would make a super gift. John Herbert Mandlbaur. Episodes of Intensity: a Collection of Poetry and Passions of Pursuit: Modern Poetry and Ancient Prose. Self-published, 2010. 22 pp. each. US$9.99 each paperback. ISBN-13: 978-0-620-48242-4 and 978-0-620-48775-7 Both these volumes by a South African Mensan who works as an IT professional actually contain some

mensa world journal july 2016

prose, or rather prose poems. Verse and prose are modern, but they mainly deal with themes going back at least to Catullus, namely the frustrations of love. Mandlbaur vents his yearnings for an ideal woman whom he can never win for a lifetime together, even if he also writes of sexual successes that are short-lived. Although he usually writes in blank verse, he sometimes uses rhyme, e.g.: I want you To be mine I need you To feel fine My heart aches When you are far My soul bakes Till you come near Emotions wild I can’t explain The rushing tide Of gushing pain I hope that you Feel this way for me too. Overall, Mandlbaur’s work is a cross between contemporary rock lyrics and e.e. cummings. At a time when there may be more people composing poetry than reading it, these slim volumes can fill someone’s idle moments. John Herbert Mandlbaur. Memoirs of Adrenaline: a Collection of Short Stories. Self-published, 2010. US$9.99. 51 pp. ISBN-13: 978-0-620-48241-7

Hal Swindall Mandlbaur’s stories, which are really autobiographical vignettes of his sporting activities, provide a startling contrast to the emotional pitch of his love poetry. His main passion is parachuting, but he has bad luck following the rules of jumping clubs, so much of his narratives deal with the pain of rejection. Another painful issue is his frequent injuries, which he sustains jumping and motorcycling, etc. In fact, the volume ends with Mandlbaur’s description of how much falling through raindrops hurts when jumping from a plane during a downpour - he speculates that this is because a parachutist falls faster than the drops, and thus is pricked by their pointy tops instead of their rounded bottoms. Whatever the reason, he relieves his pain with alcohol, another passion of his. Perhaps the sufferings of love in the poems and the physical sufferings in the stories are two sides of the same coin, and par for the course in an adventuresome life. All books reviewed in this column are by Mensan authors. Send your book for review to Hal Swindall at mwjreviews@gmail. com. You must be a member in good standing; please include your membership number and national Mensa in all correspondence with Hal.

m ensa wor ld j our na l supplementally... john blinke Old Clothes Archaeology, May/June 2016, pp. 9 10. “Dressing for the Ages.” Flinders Petrie excavated a heap of dirty linen while he was in Egypt. An old and finely tailored dress was part of that heap. Scientists thought it must be old, but dating techniques available at the time would have destroyed part of the dress. Now, a single thread about a quarter inch long has been dated with a modern accelerator. The verdict: the dress is older than anyone had dared to think — possibly 5,500 years. It might predate Egypt’s first dynasty.

population loss between 1620 and 1640.

Cosmic Wind Science News online, April 30, 2016. “Quasar has Wildest Whip.” (Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.) So, you stepped out if your car and the wind mussed your hair. Quit complaining. The winds gushing New World Pandemic from quasar J0230 blow at 200 milArchaeology, May/June 2016, p. 13. lion kilometers per hour! The quasar “What Happened After 1492?” is 2.2 billion times as massive as our European invaders brought disease sun and twenty-two trillion times as to the New World. Some authorities think the sicknesses spread faster bright. So, bring your sun block and than the Europeans, themselves. But a hat when you visit. researchers from Harvard University Babysaurus say a number of native American Science, April 22, 2016, p. 395. “The communities in northern New Tiniest Titan.” Mexico continued to thrive after The young of many animals are Spaniards moved into their area in 1539, and showed no loss of people. distinctly different from adults: However, the establishment of a mis- puppies and kittens are born helpless, and have body parts that are sion church was followed by a 90% mensa world journal july 2016

proportionally different from adults. Other animals are nearly ready to live on their own as soon as they are born or hatched. At least one species of titanosaur seems to have been an extreme case of the latter kind. A baby Rapetosaurus krausei found in Madagascar had body proportions identical to those of an adult, but it was the size of a medium dog instead of a bus. It was probably able to walk and eat as soon as it hatched. The baby sauropod was a couple of months old when it died of starvation. Planet 9 ScienceDaily, May 3, 2016. “Planet Nine: A World that Shouldn’t Exist.” Even though the new ‘planet nine’ has not yet been seen, researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) are wondering how it got there. Astronomer, Mike Brown, at Caltech already suggested planet 9 was originally a fifth gas giant in our solar system that was ejected by Jupiter and Saturn. But the CfA scientists say that process couldn’t put it in its proposed orbit. They suggest that a neighboring star might have pulled it into a more distant orbit after it was thrown out from the inner solar system. Given that stars are born in clusters, there would have been plenty of potential planet thieves nearby in the early days.

m ensa wor ld j our na l Good Lead New Scientist, April 2, 2016, p. 16. “Leaded Ink Opens Up Ancient Scrolls. Mt. Vesuvius destroyed the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but it preserved a library at Herculaneum by charring its scrolls where they lay. About 200 scrolls are too fragile to unroll, and attempts have been made to read them with x-ray scanners. This did not work very well. Now, scientists have discovered that

70!

the ink in at least some of the scrolls contains lead. This will make it easier to read them once the x-ray machines are recalibrated to look for the metal.

john blinke Johnb44221@cs.com

Mensa International’s formal 70th Anniversary celebrations will be held in Kyoto Japan, during the International Board of Directors’ meeting. October 13 - 16, 2016 For registration and information, www.mensa.org

2016 AMAG, CHINA It has been six years since the first gathering of all the Asian Mensans in 2011 and the 6th Asian Mensa Annual Gathering (AMAG) will be held in 2016, from September 9 to 11 in Guangzhou, China. The event will feature two rooms of distinguished speakers from various business and non-business backgrounds sharing their knowledge and experiences with the Asian Mensa community. Besides the traditional seminars, performances and gala dinner, we will be introducing the first Asian Mensa Intelligence Games (AMIG) including 1 to 50, Cup Stacking, Rubik’s cube, Chess and Rock/Paper/Scissors. Up to 5 players from each country will earn points for each event. So, the more people participate, the high the points to totaled. Awards will be presented to the top 3 finishers in the individual events plus the winning country will bring home the AMIG trophy and keep it until the next AMAG. Presence will make a difference, so join us!

We welcome Mensans from Asia and all over the world! See you all here in Guangzhou! email: 2016amag@mensa-china.com website: www.mensa.china.com FaceBook: Mensa China mensa world journal july 2016

m ensa wor ld j our na l Your Invitation to AMC2016 - Great Southern Land! October 6 - 10 in Hobart, Australia

www.mensa.org.au/amc

The title speaks for itself in its triplicity, a metaphor for Australia, Tasmania and Antarctia, a wonderful theme of natural environments, the crisp, fresh air, and the warmth of its people. There is a 1-price policy and it has great value. Your conference fee covers activities from Friday night until Sunday afternoon but we’ve organised pre- and postconference tours too - see the Contacts List on the webpage. We have Tasmania’s memory coach and member Bill taking us into a mnemonic adventure, a professor, young published mathematician Ivan with his own theorem, another mayor with snapshots of his Tasmanian and Antarctic travels, and government scientist and member Andrew talking on the importance and intricacies of biosecurity. We have great food here and hospitality too. Watch the video on the webpage and see for yourself. Friday and Saturday nights will be amazing. It’s your Mensa. Come, and see it - be a part of it - and come to Tasmanian Mensa’s AMC2016 Great Southern Land. Don’t leave it until July or August - please book in before June 30th to get the early bird discount of a free $35 polar fleece jacket (or hoodie for children) - so we can plan and make a better conference for everybody. So, wrap yourselves in Tasmania because Tasmania will certainly wrap itself around you!

Dr Jason Betts, TasSec +61 3 6431 3540 tas@mensa.org.au www.facebook.com/groups/AMC2016Tas

officer directory

Chair: Ms Bibiana Balanyi chairman-mil@mensa.org Director Admin: Ms Therese Moodie-Bloom, 17/23 Waiwera St, Lavender Bay 2060 Australia. admin-mil@mensa.org Director Development: Mr Björn Liljeqvist, Knektvägen 1, 196 30 Kungsängen Sweden. development-mil@mensa.org Treasurer: Mr Rudi Challupner treasurer-mil@mensa.org Dir. Smaller National Mensas: Mr Tomas Blumenstein, dsnm-mil@mensa.org Hon. President: Dr Abbie Salny, 407 Breckenridge, Wayne NJ 07470 USA Tel: +1 973 305 0055 SIGHTCoordinator: Mr Pierpaolo Vittorio SIGHT@mensa.org Int. SIG Coordinator: Ms Barbara Kryvko sigs@mensa.org Ombudsman: Mr Martyn Davies ombudsman@mensa.org Executive Director: Mr Michael Feenan, Slate Barn, Church Lane, Caythorpe, Lincolnshire NG32 3EL, UK Tel/Fax+44(0)1400272 675 mensainternational@mensa.org

Editorial Staff Editor: Ms Kate Nacard 407/23 Corunna Rd, Stanmore NSW 2048 Australia mwjeditor@mensa.org T: +61 2 9516 1024 Science: Mr John Blinke Johnb44221@cs.com Books: Mr Hal Swindall mwjreviews@gmail.com Puzzles: Ms Therese Moodie-Bloom tmb@ozemail.com.au The Mensa World Journal (MWJ) is produced under the auspices of the Mensa International Board of Directors. Mandatory content as identified by the MWJ editor must be published in every national Mensa magazine. Publication of other content is recommended but optional. Opinions expressed in the MWJ are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of any other individual or any official Mensa body. Submission Guidelines: Language: English only. Text: MS Word (Windows), .rtf (Word/Mac), plain text, PageMaker (Windows), InDesign (Windows) Length: 500 word limit. Send by e-mail, fax, snail mail to the Editor. The Editor reserves the right to include or edit submissions for space and content considerations. All unoriginal submissions must be accompanied by written permission for publication from the original author.Permission is granted for MWJ articles to be reprinted in any Mensa publication provided that the author, MWJ and MWJ’s editor are acknowledged. Permission must be sought from the MWJ editor for reprinting of any part of the MWJ in non-Mensa publications.

mensa world journal july 2016

A R

T A

Thank goodness, the ____________ceased to fall!

With a long piece of flannel

I hit the front _______________

Once aloft, it started to stall

I once flew a _______________ to ______________

-------------------------------------------------------------------------14. The same five letters can be rearranged to make different words. Replace the missing words below with three different arrangements of those letters.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------13. Can you think of a word which has four Gs in it?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------12. Scott spent 25% of his money on his first purchase, then 25% of what was left on his second purchase. His third and last purchase cost two thirds of the remainder so he had just $15 left. How much did he start with?

11. Each colour represents a different letter. Using ONLY Roman Numerals, fill in the empty squares so that you have four English words that read across, and will read the same down.

Therese’s Puzzles 25 7

6. Which number does not belong?

S S

-------------------------------------------------------------------------7. Which word can be put after of each of the following words to make four new words?

HAT PHONE GAS LETTER

-------------------------------------------------------------------------8. What letter completes this aeons-old set?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------9.

18 144

? 12

3 12

b) ANTEGREE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------10. Unscramble the following to find the OLDEST one. a) GOANACTIONER

d) UNAPESTAGRINEA

15. Ever had port wine jelly and wished it were wine? Change PORT to WINE in no more than five steps by changing one letter at a time? Each step must produce a proper word.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------16. If an average puppy weighs 3/4 of the weight of an average puppy plus 250 grams, how much does an average puppy weigh?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------17. If the day before yesterday was not as cold as the day three days before the day after tomorrow, but colder than three days before that, which was Friday, then what day is it today?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------18. Each of the numbers 1 – 25 will fit into the grid below so that each column and each row adds up to 65. Some of the numbers have been put in. Can you place the rest?

1. Cat-atonic. 2. Broncos. 3. To come to the party. 4. 48 (7 squared minus 1). 5. The iron is hot! 6. 29. 7. Box. 8. W for Winter. 9. 6. 10. a) Octogenarian. Others are teenager, adolescent, septuagenarian and infant. 11. Cart Aria Rial Talc. 12. $80. 13. Giggling. 14. Plane, Nepal, panel, plane. 15. Port – Wort– Wart – Want – Wane – Wine . 16. 1 kg. 17. Tuesday

1. Which ANIMAL can be added to a word meaning NO PARTICULAR KEY to produce a word describing a still undesirable physical state?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Which Australian team is represented below?

BR COS -------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Change one letter in each word to find a common saying: SO HOME GO THY PARTS!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Which number comes next? 0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Find a word for each pair of words below, which can be added to the end of the first word, and also to the beginning of the second word, to make two new words. LA

LAND

BARK

PER

HEAD

FLAT

RED

Now read down the centre boxes to find why Mark and his friends are striking now.

c) DOLTASCENE e) STINFAN

mensa world

journal

August 2016 Issue 043

Mensa International Scholarship Winners p5

Tristan Pang of Mensa New Zealand

m ensa wor ld j our na l jet lag a thing of the past? Scientists in Japan have designed new molecules that modify the circadian rhythm, opening the way to the possibility of managing jet lag and improving treatments for sleep disorders.

The negative impacts of jet lag and shift work could be significantly reduced if it were possible to reset our 24-hour natural circadian or sleep/wake cycle. Researchers at Nagoya University’;s Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM) have taken the first step in that direction by synthesising molecules that can shorten the circadian period. These molecules act directly on one of our “clock proteins,” called CRY. Most living organisms, including humans, have a biological clock that resets every 24 hours, regulating functions such as sleep/wake cycles and metabolism. When this cycle is disrupted, as in jet lag, sleep disorders ensue. Long-term sleep loss may affect the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and nervous systems with severe consequences including hypertension, obesity and mental health disorders, among others. Our biological clock is basically run by four “master regulator” proteins that work in tandem. CLOCK and BMAL1, when combined, promote the production

mensa world journal august 2016

of the proteins PER and CRY. These proteins, in turn, block CLOCK and BMAL1, thus closing the cycle. This cycle of activation, production and stop/block goes around once a day and is also influenced by a compound called FBXL3, which flags CRY for degradation by cellular enzymes. A molecule discovered in 2012, called KL001, lengthens the circadian cycle by competing with FBLX3 for the same spot on the CRY protein, preventing its degradation. By carefully analysing its structure, the ITbM researchers prepared compounds that were similar to KL001, thus synthesising the first circadian shortening molecules that target the CRY protein. This tailor-made approach to designing molecules holds great potential for the future. Takashi Yoshimura, one of the authors of the article, says, “We hope we can make further use of synthetic chemistry to make bioactive molecules that can control the circadian rhythm of animals and gain further insight into the circadian clock mechanism, which will surely contribute to medical applications, food production and advances in clock research.” http://www.techidec.com/science/jet-lag-newly-synthesized-molecules-turn-back-biological-clock.html

from the editor... Congratulations to the International Scholarship winners (p5)! Since I’m travelling to California next week, the article at left grabbed my attention. With a 17-hour time difference between Sydney, Australia where I am, to the States, it’s really pleasing to see some major research into jet lag. Jet lag turns brains to mush for a couple of days - it would be amazing if science could remedy this! Information from the Executive Committee is, as usual, on p3, Mensa Czech Republic’s Gifted Children website is now in English (more info on p6), and check out the Dopomine Advantage on p9. Hal Swindall’s Books... is on p8, John Blinke’s Supplementally is on p10, and Therese’s Puzzles are on p12. Warm regards,

Kate

The full, colour MWJ can be read and downloaded at www.mensa. org each month.

Deadline for submissions to September 2016 issue is July 1, 2016 mwjeditor@mensa.org

m ensa wor ld j our na l from the director of development... Congratulations are in order! First, some good news. I want to congratulate Mensa Romania and Mensa Slovenia on achieving Full National Mensa status. This important milestone is the result of hard work and great efforts by many volunteers over a long time. Well done! Becoming a FNM means that the group now runs itself and has representation at the International Board of Directors. Mensa and Opinions, revisited. A quick follow up on my previous column, in which I wrote about Mensa and opinions. I received some interesting feedback, thank you very

much! To dispel any misunderstandings, let me reiterate the core idea: Mensa does not need to borrow the worthy causes of other well-meaning organisations out there. We will not throw the weight of our name behind either side of dividing issues unrelated to Mensa. For our own cause is as clear and important as they come, and plainly spelled out in the Constitution of Mensa: “Intelligence should be used for the benefit of humanity”. This is indeed our opinion, and our activities are centered around this theme. Hence testing, hence the gathering of intelligent members. This is why we work to promote the

Björn Liljeqvist

idea of intelligence as a thing to recognize, identify and promote; among adults and children. It is this cause that motivates a lot of volunteers in many countries, who understand that the social club is just one part of Mensa’s purpose, albeit a fun part. We are getting better at fulfilling the core mission, but more work needs to be done, and good programs such as the American Mensa Foundation with its scholarships or the Czech Mensa IQ Olympiad, to name a few, should be studied and copied internationally. A meeting in London The Executive Committee of Mensa International (pictured left) recently met at the first of our two annual face-to-face meetings. This time was in London, for two days of deliberations. Important issues included preparations for the grand IBD

mensa world journal august 2016

m ensa wor ld j our na l meeting in Japan in October, with the 70th anniversary celebrations; trademark registration issues; an updated graphical profile; ways of cutting costs for the international website and the IBD meeting; how best to spend limited resources in the development field; the status of

likely change as there is plenty of interest among the direct international members living there. We will train new test supervisors and discuss the steps ahead to the formation of a society. Hopefully it will not be too long before Portugal succeeds with what Romania and Slovenia just did.

at the Mensa China AG

social media in relation to the ‘Mensa’ name; and other things. Minutes will be available at mensa.org. You can also follow us on www.facebook.com/ ExCommMensaInternational Portugal and other countries We get lots of e-mails and requests for help in starting Mensa, but have to focus on a few countries at a time. Next week I will visit Portugal together with our executive director, Mr Michael Feenan, to meet with local members. Portugal is one of few remaining European countries without a Mensa group, but this will

mensa world journal august 2016

Other countries on the same path include, among others, the growing groups in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Uruguay and Argentina, where there is plenty of enthusiasm. A very interesting project is currently underway in Tunisia, starting from scratch with several testing sessions carried out by a group of French members, with support from Mensa International. A word on China China is another very special group. Since my last column, I spent Christmas visiting the emerging Mensa China at their annual gather-

ing in the overwhelming megacity of Shenzhen, home to more people than my entire country. All volunteers in China go through a leadership training program; on this occasion, I also gave a presentation on the Constitution of Mensa. Mensa China is still very small, with less than 200 members. The potential is enormous though. If they reach the same penetration rate as Mensa Sweden, we could be looking at 700.000 members. With this in mind, the Chinese volunteers know that starting Mensa is a long term project, requiring a solid foundation. The AG itself was very well organized: a balanced blend of lectures, dinners and entertainment, all in Chinese of course. Interestingly, there is something instantly recognizable about Mensa gatherings regardless of country. I can tell, because I always feel at home when I am there, and it is good to be home. So – if you want to feel at home in China, then travel to the Asian Mensa Annual Gathering, this year hosted by China in Guangzhou, September 9-11. It will be amazing! What ideas do you have for the development and the future of Mensa? Send me your ideas at developmentmil@mensa.org and we can talk more.

Björn Liljeqvist Internat’l Director, Development 04

m ensa wor ld j our na l Mensa International Scholarship Winners Aspiring international Mensan students submitted 104 entries in the 2016 Mensa Foundation’s International Scholarship Program. This program commenced in 2015 when only 26 entries were received. An international panel of twelve Mensan judges from around the globe was tasked with marking the essays and four scholarship prizes were awarded to the four highestscoring essays. Tristan Pang (pictured at right), a self-described 14 year old university student as well as Founder, Producer, Broadcaster, Speaker, Webmaster and Tutor from Auckland, New Zealand won the USD $2,000 scholarship.

former Chairs of Mensa International, four former LEAP ambassadors from Mensa International’s Leadership Exchange Ambassador Program, one National Mensa Chair and two additional IBD representatives.

Luna Chenciski an RN and aspiring Nurse Educator from Gordons Bay, South Africa won USD $1,000 along with Jessica Steyn from Somerset West, South Africa who aspires to be a Clinical Psychologist and Sean Tan from Belfast, Ireland who is working towards being a Neurologist and Researcher.

The Ed Vincent Scholarship Program’s USD $1,000 winner was Styalinos Serghiou, Edinburgh UK who is a member of Mensa Cyprus.

Our global panel of twelve Mensan judges is grateful and inspired by reading these essays and includes two

Congratulations to all!

mensa world journal august 2016

It is a brilliant achievement for small countries such as New Zealand, Cyprus and South Africa to achieve such honours!

Vicki Herd, Chair Internat’l Scholarship Program

m ensa wor ld j our na l Mensa Czech Republic: Gifted Children’s Program now in English on its website Mensa Czech Republic carries out an extraordinary amount of activities aimed at the development of talent in children and youth, organizes educational events for teachers and parents, and last but not least, holds the Logical Olympiad, which is open to all children and youth aged 5 to 20 from all over the Czech Republic. The http://deti.mensa.cz website has been informing the Czech public about all of the abovementioned activities (and many others as well) since 2012. The unusually large scope of activities has been presented on numerous occasions at international gatherings, such as the European Mensas Annual Gathering (EMAG), the International Board of Directors (IBD), and the American

Mensa Annual Gathering. From this year on, Czech Mensans participating in international mensa world journal august 2016

events can refer to the English version of the Children’s Mensa website, which provides information about

what’s on... AMG in Guangzhou, China 09 - 11 September 2016 Swiss Annual Gathering 09 - 11 September 2016 British Annual Gathering London 23 - 26 September 2016 Brabants Weekend, Netherlands 23 - 25 September 2016

the most important events and activities organized by Mensa Czech Republic for (not only) gifted children, their parents, and teachers. The Czech-English language button is located in the upper left corner of the website. Please visit http:// deti.mensa.cz/index-en.php and see for yourself that Mensa Czech Republic can be justly proud of all of its activities aimed at the development of talents – and what’s more, all of them are done by enthusiastic volunteers, mostly members of the “adult” Mensa! If you have English-speaking friends who are interested in this topic, please consider sending them a link to the English version of the Children’s Mensa website.

Australian Mensa AG, Hobart Tasmania October 6 - 10 BD Meeting 2016, Kyoto, Japan October 13 - 16, 2016 70-year anniversary of Mensa Dutch Annual Gathering 28 October - 30 October Silvensa 2016 29 December 2016 - 01 January 2017 New Year’s Eve in Maastricht, Netherlands

Check www.mensa.org for details of national events coming up

Send your submissions to mwjeditor@mensa.org articles - poetry - member achievements 06

m ensa wor ld j our na l My Gifted Network - An interview with Christian Charlier, co-creator of My Gifted Network

You have founded a network for Airbus Gifted employees; what is the genesis of this project? Like many of us I learned about my giftedness late in life, at the age of 48 - thanks to my son who I wanted to help. I realized when delving into the subject that I operate in the same way he does. After my test, I wondered what I could do. There are already many organizations and much positive energy to help us with our children’s giftedness, although much is still to be done in schools. However, as adults, we have to start all over again as nothing is done to help us and it is up to us to make all of the efforts to adapt to the other 98% of the population - even if it means stifling our giftedness and our personality.

Celine Tovar

mensa world journal august 2016

How was the network created? We initially convinced the diversity department of the company of the need to do something for the Gifted. Then, thanks to the digitalization of the company, we used the opportunity to create an internal social network. I proposed my colleague Céline Tovar to open the community My Gifted Network. Celine was very active in finding sponsors, internally with the head of the “Defence and Space” quality manufacturing department in Spain, and externally with Arielle ADDA who supports us 200% in the endeavour. Arielle is a well-known French psychologist who has worked for over 30 years with gifted children and adultss. She was the Mensa France psychologist for 10 years. What is My Gifted Network? It is an in-house network opened within the Airbus Group (140 000 employees throughout the world). The reasons which guided its creation are: - To open the network to everyone, initially to protect the gifted employees who do not wish to make their “coming out” as there may be risks in their close professional environment or as they are just not ready to do so. This is done with

Christian Charlier

the objective to make our own needs known, in the widest circle possible. - To launch a “bottom-up” approach, we are not waiting for the company to change for us, we shall help it change. The primary goals are to help and support the Gifted, to make our environment more inclusive. So much effort has gone into going towards others over the years, that we now invite them to take few steps towards us, to work together. “He who is different from me does not impoverish me – he enriches me.” Antoine de St Exupery. - To make known and to explain our specific needs. To also show by Conitnued on p10

m ensa wor ld j our na l Books...

Alan E. Thompson. Why Not? A Handbook for Inventors and Entrepreneurs. Amazon UK, 2015. 411 pp. US$13.18 paperback. ISBN13: 978-1517777173 This volume is really a collection of short scientific essays rather than a practical how-to handbook, but it contains a wealth of suggestions for how an inventor and/or entrepreneur might proceed. Thompson points out that new inventions tend to require or give rise to other new inventions, and this will increase at an ever-accelerating rate into the indefinite future. His entries range from several to a dozen pages each, and cover an immense array of scientific topics like one-time pads, railways, gyros, pile drivers, toothbrushes and gravitational waves, to name just a few. Indeed, Thompson’s compilation of odd scientific and historical facts make his book as useful to a Mensan eager for wide general knowledge as to someone wanting to earn a patent or launch a startup. The title, however, proclaims whom this book is for. Thompson is himself an accomplished inventor as well as writer. David Ameen Farah. Call Me Dave. Farah’s mensa world journal august 2016

Books, 2015. 326 pp. US$40.00 paperback, $8 on hard drive and $6 on disk plus postage. Available on eBay. No ISBN. This book is the strangest I have ever seen, and, being a “true adventure story”, confirms the saying that truth is stranger than fiction. It recounts the author’s relationship with Mildred Lillian Augustine Wirt Benson (19052002), who went by the name Millie and was famous as the main author of the Nancy Drew mystery series, which inspired so many feminists in the 20th century. Farah, a gay man of Palestinian descent licensed to practice medicine and law, became close to Millie during the 1980s, and publishes details about her hitherto unknown. His main revelation: Millie “was a female to male transgendered person,” identified as male, was gay and considered women “silly.” That the creator of a feminist role model like Nancy Drew had such chauvinistic attitudes is perhaps the greatest irony of American literary history, but Farah narrates one example after another. He refers to Millie as “he/him” as Millie preferred, and describes “him” as totally masculine in mind and behav-

Hal Swindall ior. Supplemented by research into transgenderism, this book is sure to interest Nancy Drew fans, feminists and anyone into gender bending. Richard Ferguson. Blue’s Point. Houston: Windsor Graphics, 2014. Self-published. Kindle only US$3.29. ASIN: B00QWC6UPE This highly rated novel set in contemporary Louisiana tells of racism in the US today, with the implication that it might also exist just as badly in the future. The protagonist is Steve Cox, a white man just out of prison for the murder of a black man of which he was not guilty. Cox arrives in Blue’s Point to find a town untouched by changes in racial attitudes since the civil rights movement; here, murdering blacks is a popular custom. He becomes involved with a black female journalist investigating murders of black men, and together they go through a series of adventures in defiance of local racism. Well-written and readable, Ferguson’s novel has convincing characters, although its message about the future of American race relations might be exaggerated; then again, considering the spate of police shootings of blacks in 2015, it might not. All books reviewed in this column are by Mensan authors. Send your book for review to Hal Swindall at mwjreviews@gmail. com. You must be a member in good standing; please include your membership number and national Mensa in all correspondence with Hal.

m ensa wor ld j our na l

the dopamine advantage The junctions between nerve cells responsible for releasing and receiving dopamine in the brain are a surprising mismatch that gives this chemical a strong competitive advantage.

sity in Japan studied the molecular and anatomical composition of dopamine synapses in adult mice. They “tagged” molecules known to be expressed by these synapses, Neurons are cells that transmit nerve allowing them to impulses. Dopamine neurons are the visualize how they are expressed and main source of the chemical dopahow they localize. mine in the central nervous system By doing this, they found that and are few in number compared to one side of the dopamine synapse, other types of neurons in the brain. unsurprisingly, is “dopaminergic,” They occupy an inner part of the producing chemicals that are essenbrain, called the striatum, and play tial for dopamine release. The other an important function in influencside of the synapse, however, was ing emotions, motivation, voluntary movements and cognition. Dopamine surprisingly found to be “GABAergic.” GABA is a chemical that exerts deficiency is associated with a number of diseases including Parkinson’s an inhibitory effect on neurons. GABA deficiency leads to hyperexdisease, addiction and depression. citability of neurons, such as is the Dopamine neurons located in case in epilepsy. This was the first the midbrain form junctions, or “synapses,” on one of the main kinds time for researchers to discover this kind of a mismatch present on eiof striatal neurons, called medium ther side of dopaminergic synapses. spiny neurons. In theory, dopamine Further investigation led the molecules released from their neurons team to find that the protein neushould be received on the other end roligin-2 played an important role of the synapse by the medium spiny in the dopamine synapse. When neurons. However, the dopamine they cancelled-out its function in receptors on medium spiny neurons are found relatively far away from the mice brains, the density of dopamine synapses on medium spiny synaptic sites. Thus it’s been unclear neurons decreased while the density how dopaminergic transmission of GABAergic synapses increased. works. Researchers at Hokkaido Univer- This suggests that neuroligin-2,

mensa world journal august 2016

which is expressed by the GABAergic side of the synapse, works as an anchor that stabilizes the mismatched junction, giving a competitive advantage to dopaminergic synapses over GABAergic synapses. “Before this finding, researchers thought that synaptic transmission occurred between neurochemicallymatched presynapses and postsynapses, because without this matching, neural information can not be delivered from one to the other. Our finding disrupts this rule,” says Hokkaido University anatomist Masahiko Watanabe. “Instead, we found dopaminergic presynapses make use of neuroligin-2, which connects them to GABAergic postsynapses, anchoring and stabilizing them. This is a novel form of inter-neuronal contact, which is not for synaptic transmission, but to recruit particular inputs to their appropriate targets.” Science Daily Graphic credit:: Masahiko WATANABE, Hokkaido University

m ensa wor ld j our na l Conitnued from p7

a Think Tank, managed by Celine, what we can bring to the company, by our capacities for innovation, our ability to establish links between various elements, to think outside existing solutions and paradigms… What are the next steps? First, it is necessary to grow bigger and to represent a sufficient force to support actions. Once this is established, we are not lacking in ideas. We have thought about running conferences, developing specific training and coaching, generating development opportunities, coming into contact with the various actors within the company, HR, doctors and psychologists to prevent psychosocial risks to which our community is particularly exposed… To my knowledge it is the first network for the Gifted in a large European company. We would like to inspire by our experience, other companies and, why not, our children’s education. It will be a long journey, but what is interesting is the journey, not the final destination. For those working in Airbus Group, to follow the community, go in “my dashboard” “Discover Communities” and search with the word “gifted”.

Send your submissions to mwjeditor@mensa.org articles - poetry - member achievements

mensa world journal august 2016

supplementally... Angkor Wat Science News, May 14, 2016. “Cambodia’s Hidden City Angkor Wat in Cambodia has been called a temple city. Recent discoveries made with lidar scans and ground penetrating radar have shown this is half right. Angkor Wat is as big as a city, but the whole walled and moated complex is just a temple. People living within its walls were caretakers rather than a ruling elite. Outside the temple was a city called Greater Angkor - as big as Columbus Ohio with dwellings and a network of paths connecting everything. The walls, once had wooden platforms that defenders must have used to fight off local enemies. Four stone towers once straddled the western approach, but they were torn down by the builders for unknown reasons. Radar shows their foundations underground. Blame the Volcanos New Scientist, May 7, 2016, p. 9. “Volcanic Eruptions Linked to Rise of Roman Empire.” First it was the dinosaurs. Then it was Pompeii. Now, scientists at Trinity College, Dublin tell us volcanos may have caused the end

of Ptolemaic Egypt. This would have been an indirect effect as volcanic dust and smoke disrupted monsoon rains in Ethiopia. This inhibited the annual Nile floods for a while, leading to failed crops and a weakened Egyptian empire that was not able to win against Rome. Tut’s Dagger Smithsonian.com, June 2, 2016. “King Tut’s Dagger Was Made From a Meteorite.” (Meteoritics & Planetary Science) Contributed by Stephen Darnell. King Tut was buried with a magical steel dagger that showed no signs of corrosion after thousands of years. Some thought it was made of iron from a meteorite, but nobody could prove it. Now, scientists have performed X-ray fluorescence spectrometry on the weapon and found that it contains iron, nickel and cobalt - materials that are common in iron meteorites. In case you don’t know, stainless steel is made of nickel and iron, so it’s no wonder that the knife resisted corrosion. But Tut’s craftsmen must have had a rough time working with it! continued on p11

m ensa wor ld j our na l Tut’s Secret Science, March 25, 2016, p. 1374. “Tut’s Tomb May Hide Secret Chambers.” Infrared scans suggested that hidden chambers might lie behind the walls of King Tutankhamen’s tomb. Now, radar scans confirm that there are hidden rooms, and they contain objects of some kind. Archaeologists have suspected that Tut’s tomb had been built for someone else, but was used to bury Tut when he died unexpectedly at age 18. The original owner of the tomb could have been Queen Nefertiti, who was probably his Mom. Archaeologists have been seeking her mummy for a long time.

Food Face Science News Kindle Edition, April 2, 2016. “Raw Meat, Tools Drove Facial Evolution.” (Nature, March 9) Why do humans have wimpy teeth and jaws compared with other primates? According to experiments done by scientists at Harvard University, stone knives made the difference. Meat is a high energy food, but chewing raw meat is a hard job that requires a lot of time and effort. When early humans learned to slice and dice meat and other food items, they were able to consume more calories in less time. They lost the need for enormous jaws, so they evolved the smaller human face which left room for a vocal tract that makes speech possible.

New Particle? Science News Kindle Edition, May 28, 2016. “Hints of New Particle Baffle Physicists.” Physicists have been grumpy about the Large Hadron Collider’s insistence on finding only expected particles. Now, there are hints of a particle nobody predicted. It seems to be a heavy particle that decays into two photons. The particle shows up as a bump in the data. But that’s the way the Higgs first showed up. The best explanation for the newby calls for a new force of nature. Some scientists think the ‘particle’ could be a graviton. We should have more information from LHC this summer.

john blinke Johnb44221@cs.com

officer directory

Chair: Ms Bibiana Balanyi chairman-mil@mensa.org Director Admin: Ms Therese Moodie-Bloom, 17/23 Waiwera St, Lavender Bay 2060 Australia. admin-mil@mensa.org Director Development: Mr Björn Liljeqvist, Knektvägen 1, 196 30 Kungsängen Sweden. development-mil@mensa.org Treasurer: Mr Rudi Challupner, treasurer-mil@mensa.org Dir. Smaller National Mensas: Mr Tomas Blumenstein, dsnm-mil@mensa.org Hon. President: Dr Abbie Salny, 407 Breckenridge, Wayne NJ 07470 USA Tel: +1 973 305 0055 SIGHTCoordinator: Mr Pierpaolo Vittorio SIGHT@mensa.org Int. SIG Coordinator: Ms Barbara Kryvko sigs@mensa.org Ombudsman: Mr Martyn Davies ombudsman@mensa.org Executive Director: Mr Michael Feenan, Slate Barn, Church Lane, Caythorpe, Lincolnshire NG32 3EL, UK Tel/Fax+44(0)1400272 675 mensainternational@mensa.org

mensa world journal august 2016

CJS?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------6. These three capital letters have something in common. What is the fourth capital letter that completes the set?

Now read down the centre boxes to find out why Jan’s mother is not at work today.

TREAT

SUE

PER

WINDOWS

STIFF

DOG

-------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Which word meaning HITS can have its letters rearranged to form a CREATURE?

FREAK, I BEG!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Change one letter in each word to find a strange theatrical expression:

Night e

-------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Which TV show is represented below?

1. Which VEGETABLE can have a FISH add to it to make a way of MOVING ALONG?

E N

-------------------------------------------------------------------------11. Each colour represents a different letter. Using only Roman Numerals, fill in the coloured squares so that the four words reading across are the same as the four words reading down.

OCTANEPW, BLINER, ARPIS, OARIC, LOGWAGS

-------------------------------------------------------------------------10. Which of the following scrambled cities are in Africa?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------9.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------8. Jim pays twice as much board to his parents as each of his three brothers, who are out of work. What percentage of the four sons’ total board does Jim pay?

78 26 91

7. Which number does not belong? 39

SHEEP

________________

HORSE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------15. Change a HORSE to a SHEEP in three steps by changing one letter at each step. The order of the letters may be rearranged each time. Each step must produce a proper word.

Her beauty was known wide and far.

And made tasty jam tarts,

She was skilled in the ______________

Who wanted the marry a ______________

There once was a world-famous ______________

-------------------------------------------------------------------------14. The same four letters can be rearranged in different ways to fill the blanks:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------13. Which number continues this pattern?

12. Which number continues the pattern?

same three words reading down.

LET

SPRING,

CARD,

BLACK,

WHITE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------18. Which word can be added on to the end of each of the following, making four new words?

STRING, BONE, PER,

17. Which word can be put in front of each of the following, making four new words?

Using only Roman Numerals, fill in the blanks so If you would like to discuss answers directly with MENSA, you can email Therese at therese@mensa.org.au 16. that there are three words reading across, with the

MENSA MINI IQ CHALLENGE

Therese’s Brain Teasers

1. Beet-ling. 2. Good-night Sweet-heart (the heart or middle of ‘sweet’ is ‘e’). 3. Break a leg! 4. Beats (Beast). 5. Ma is ill. 6. U. (This is the set of letters consisting only of a single curved line.) 7. 38. All the others are multiples of 13. 8. 40%. 9. 8. 10. Cape Town and Cairo (The others are Berlin, Paris and Glasgow). 11. Diva, Iced, Vend, Adds. 12. 13. 13. 68. 14. Star, Tsar, Arts. 15. Horse, share/hears/hares, heaps/phase, sheep. 16. Drive, Idiot, Extol. 17. Ham. 18. Board.