NOV-DEC 2016
From the Editor: November – December marks the end of the calendar year and paves the way to new beginnings. And, as we bring to you the last issue of the year, there are some endings and beginnings here at the Editor’s desk as well. I’ve enjoyed these two years as the Editor of MInd. Thank you everyone – all contributors and readers.!! It was a pleasure to read so many new thoughts and ideas that have now been published in the MInd. Hope you extend the same support to Raunak Onkar who will now be taking over as the Editor. Over to you, Onkar! The MInd magazine has proven to be a very good platform for Mensans to express themselves. A lot of Mensans have been inspired by its presence to reach other Mensans through it. With this latest issue, Durva leaves us with a very good template to evolve & make this into a relevant source of interaction. I thank her for steadfastly curating it & I'm honoured to have worked with her on this issue & hope to continue working her for the future ones as well. ~Durva Damle & Raunak Onkar, Editor, Mind Contents
By
About Contributors
Page no.
On the Cover:
Fishing – Picture by Tushar Ajgaonkar
Submissions: Send your articles and contributions in plain text format and pictures in high resolution .jpg format to: editor.mensaindia@gmail.com
Disclaimer: 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.
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Feedback:
Deep Thought – The Unacceptable Theory of Motivation
Deep Mody
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Tech Talk – The Flying Car
Shreya Gupta
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Like it, love it or hate it? Tell us how to make the MInd magazine better. Write in to the editor at
Solution to Sep-Oct Crossword
Delhi Mensa Crossword SIG
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editor.mensaindia@gmail.com
World of Puzzles – 24 HPC
Prasanna Seshadri
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Nov-Dec Crossword
Delhi Mensa Crossword SIG
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The Puzzle Page: Four Winds
Rajesh Kumar
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Wordsmith: The Song of the Agnostic
Kishore Asthana
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LENSA – Whatsapp Jugalbandi
Tushar Ajgaonkar and Ujjwal Rane
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ABOUT CONTRIBUTORS
Tushar Ajgaonkar is a self-taught filmmaker and has written, directed and produced over 150 films – corporate infomercials, documentaries and commercials. He is the co-founder and creative director of TaleSmith Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., serving clients across FMCG, Real Estate, Engineering and Government Institutions. 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 Shreya Gupta is a second year student pursuing B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from IGDTUW. Hailing from New Delhi, she enjoys music along with singing and dancing. A passion for learning about the new technological innovations and presenting her ideas to the world is what inspires her the most. The link to her blog is: http://developmentandopinions.blogspot.in/ 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 Organization Development. Link to his blog: http://emotionallystreet-smart.blogspot.com/
Kishore Asthana: B.E. (Mechanical Engg), PGDBM (IIM-Ahmedabad), ex-Tata Administrative Service. Social Activist. Occasional author & columnist. President, Mensa India, Mensa Proctor. President, Project Dhruv. 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 Rajesh Kumar is a Puzzler and Puzzle creator. He has won Indian National Puzzle Championship five times in years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009. As a puzzle-maker, He has contributed puzzles to International championships like 24 Hours Puzzle Championship, and several other Indian National championships like Sudoku Mahabharat and Puzzle Ramayan. Link to his blog: www.FunWithPuzzles.com
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DEEP THOUGHT
The Unacceptable theory of Motivation However, the situation here can be perceived in two different ways: One way is to assume that the world is an unfair place, whoever told you to expect the world to be completely fair wasn’t accurate. The second one is to say that maybe world is actually fair, but you may not be able to comprehend all the parameters involved – like informal authority, influence, politics, etc. These parameters make a real impact in a real world. But the expectation of the world being fair without taking these parameters into consideration is inaccurate. You constantly feel motivated to ‘Fix’ things – making the world a fair place within only those parameters that you think are acceptable. May be what needs to be ‘Fixed’ is not the world – but your definition of what is acceptable. :-)
Every Thought (leading to) Emotion (leading to) Action arises ONLY when the Reality is UNACCEPTABLE… That’s it… This single statement sums it all up… In this article, there is not much new Gyan, new fancy words, new theories, nothing…. It is just this one statement… Everything written ahead is a compilation of events similar to the ones we see around ourselves in the Real world. When everything around a person is acceptable, that person is not motivated to do ANYTHING. When there is no desire to change anything around, there is no desire to do anything, there is no desire to reject anything, nothing around is UNACCEPTABLE…that is when we have bliss, we have peace of mind.
When someone makes a mistake, we try to either fix it or teach the person how to do it well… We invest our resources (time, energy and space of mind) because it is not acceptable that people can make mistakes repeatedly… It is our desire to see a world without mistakes, at least without repeated mistakes… The reality is a world full of repeated mistakes; it is our perception that makes us feel that the Reality is wrong. And that keeps us motivated to change it…
On the other hand, imagine this... you can see some cups of different heights on a table, kept in the ascending order of their heights. But, one cup does not fit the sequence. You would instinctively feel the itch to put that cup in the ‘correct’ place. This is natural… The reality is that the Human Mind seeks order everywhere – it does not like non-patterns. Something which does not fit a pattern is usually UNACCEPTABLE. And since the Reality is not acceptable, one invests time, energy and space of the mind to change things – to change them to what ‘one’ thinks Reality ‘should’ be.
Our Emotions are our perception of the world; the world is what it is… The state of body when there hasn’t been much food going in your stomach since some time, leading to some uneasiness is when you feel what you feel and you are motivated to invest your time, energy and space of mind to get your body some food… The reality here is body can stay without food for few days, few chemicals in stomach are a part of natural process which comes and goes as body settles itself with no food… The grave discomfort is because those feels are UNACCEPTABLE to you, that reality is
When we look around, we may feel that many things in the world are biased or unfair. Say for example, your colleague gets a salary hike at work, but you don’t. Or someone gets their work done by the virtue of being well-connected. Or for that matter, anything else where you feel unfairness exists and which needs to be eliminated… You feel a strong emotion – a feeling that the unfairness you see around you is UNACCEPTABLE. 3
DEEP THOUGHT
The Unacceptable theory of Motivation not accepted making you want to change things… We don’t eat purely based on when body needs food, we are emotional eaters, we eat for mind most of the times not for body… We have often observed that physical pain is a relative phenomenon… Walking in hot sun is unbearable for few whereas walking on glass is OK for few others. Body reacts and responds to external environment in almost the same way for all, but the motivation to get your body away from the external environment depends on whether you find it as an acceptable state or not… Let us take an example of things that we do to ‘feel’ the freedom we want… What is defined as doing enough for it? How much is too much? Slaves at Pyramid construction had a different definition of freedom and employees working in 9 to 5 job have a completely different definition of freedom… One would try to change their state only when their current state is UNACCEPTABLE… Any thought of doing something more in life arises when social learning starts defining cubicle job as waste of life making it UNACCEPTABLE to be in that state…
they are meaning, philosophy and social driven by norms???... When we speak of security of any kind, let’s say financial security… People have different understanding of how they would ensure financial security… Few save a lot for possible gloomy days, so, in a situation when they encounter an unplanned loss leading to their bank balance depleting, their efforts are all concentrated in re-filling it… Whereas, there are people who believe in making themselves capable of constantly earning, recurring income. So they aren’t really bothered much with huge amount in bank, rather get concerned when they lose their market worth of making more than what they did earlier… So, if someone from the second category is working in a regular job earning a regular income, would still be restless and motivated to get out of only because that state is UNACCEPTABLE to them… Who defined what is the definition of beauty and nice looking man/woman? Is it the fashion magazine cover photos? People strive hard to look slim, immense motivation to lose weight, but who defined what body type is UNACCEPTABLE???...
Everything has a Meaning, but every Meaning is Meaningless… We are taught to draw meanings out of everything and define our goals based on those meanings and philosophies… ‘Patience pays’ (Sabrkaphalmeethahotahai) and ‘Greed is the root of all evil (Lalachburibalahai)’… So, should one wait? There are tons of such contradicting philosophies and interpretations, which ones are Reality? We can associate any meaning and philosophy to decide our act, but then, are we making decisions on ‘Free Will’ or
People tend to prove themselves close to an ‘ideal’ person described in society’s understanding. Many characteristics of ‘ideal’ person are defined (said & unsaid) and anything done away from that list is criticised… Remember those times when you saw someone making a mistake and bluntly denying it, no matter how obviously it was related to them… The motivation to invest their energy in screaming their lungs out denying it comes from the fact that in that person’s 4
DEEP THOUGHT
The Unacceptable theory of Motivation perception it is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE to be a person who commits a mistake… In reality Human beings make mistakes all the time, but when that Reality becomes UNACCEPTABLE, people run behind proving the Realitywrong attempting to conceal it in what they believe to be acceptable…
When someone insults us, our entire self is dedicated to figure out a way of insulting back, giving it back, tit for tat… All this because it is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE to not respond. That is the best way of saving your respect, proving you care for your own worth…. Is it really so important to respond???... We want to achieve big things in life, make our one life very large because it is UNACCEPTABLE to ‘so called’ waste our life… By not running for money, fame and other things that define life as big, are we really wasting our life? Who defined all these rules? Why is it so muchUNACCEPTABLE to not do these things in life? Once again asking, who defined all this?
Multi-tasking is supposed to be good to keep oneself busy, but often multi-tasking leads to missing out details… When you do something, how you do it is defined by your perception to what is UNACCEPTABLE… Missing quality or Missing a deadline… People fiercely drive to make things happen within the perceived acceptable mode, strongly trying to push away the UNACCEPTABLE… Does it really help all the time?
I know of few cultures where it is UNACCEPTABLE to get married without owning a house or UNACCEPTABLE to have a baby / move-in together without getting married… Even a culture where it is UNACCEPTABLE to mourn on death in family, they have a Celebration of Death! No matter what the Reality is, the situation is outright rejected as WRONG as it doesn’t fit with perceived Reality…
Our Pride, Ego, Self-Respect are all defined by social learning and social norms… What is given importance and what not is defined by what goes around… When you attend a traditional Indian wedding, it is assumed that walking in wearing your boxers will be UNACCEPTABLE, hence, the motivation to get dressed, in fact the very motivation to attend the wedding comes by the fact that it is UNNACCEPTABLE to not attend it… On the other hand, think of a wedding at a beach party… You’ll see a completely different definition of what’s acceptable… These social norms define who would be respected and who won’t, thus creating a carrot & stick mechanism to drive few philosophies as the ultimate ones… But are they really?
Hence, ‘people do everything they can to contain the Reality within their Perceived Reality’. We need to important…
understand
something
very
Gyan is everywhere… It is printed on a matchstick box, behind a truck and even in lectures at Harvard… All that matters is, which of this Gyan defines our perceived Reality, defines what is acceptable and what to expect. Be Pragmatic. Wishing you a Peaceful Life!
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~Deep Mody
TECH TALK The Flying Car •
It’s when dreams like this, turn to reality, that we realize how fast technology evolves, and it is truly worthy of appreciation. For decades, humans have dreamt of having a vehicle that could not only drive on the roads but fly as well, perhaps the 21st century has led to this turn of events. Since every individual can’t be a billionaire and afford a private jet, automotive designer Stefan Klein has come up with a design of a flying car. After working on this car for over 2 decades Stefan has finally achieved what many failed to do over the past centuries.
Testing - A few tests that were carried out previously have proven to be successful, only a few more tests remain. The creators drove the 4th prototype in October ’14 named AeroMobil 3.0 in Slovakia. More than 800 feet off the ground and completing about12 miles in a circle the test was successful.
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzYb68 qXpD0
Apart from this features included in the design are autopilot, safety parachute, complex engine, piloting controls and many other things.
Prototype Information The prototype of the AeroMobil has the following features that you should know about: • • •
•
Body - A Steel framework, carbon-fibre body and six-pound carbon wheels keep the vehicle light weight. 100 horsepower, 4 cylinder Rotax 912 engine runs on conventional fuel and can be refuelled at any gas station Wings - Tuck neatly into the body when the vehicle is on the street, after un-folding their width increases from 1.5 metres to 8.2 metres. (with the wings folded up, it fits in a normal-sized parking space) Made for two people it can have a maximum speed of 124mph as a plane and 99mph as a car. 6
TECH TALK The Flying Car Disadvantages The possible shortcomings that one can think of in such a scenario are: • Whether or not it can be considered as a safe mode of transport? • The skill set required for operating such a vehicle and on what basis can one be qualified to drive/fly this vehicle? • How economical are these vehicles in terms of a long term perspective?
•
How to prevent mid air crashes with other air-borne vehicles?
This invention has the ability to change the face of future transportation; however, a lot of laws and existing norms need to be considered before making any decisions.
~Shreya Gupta
SOLUTION TO PREVIOUS ISSUE’S CROSSWORD
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WORLD OF PUZZLES 24 HPC
In April, I will be attending an event I have wanted to attend since I got to know about it, in 2011. It is called The 24 Hours Puzzle Championship, or 24 HPC in short. Each year, I have attended the World Sudoku and Puzzle Championships in different countries. While a part of this has been sponsored in most years, I have also had to bear some of the expenses myself. This is the only reason why I haven’t attended the 24 HPC yet, as two foreign trips a year would be pretty expensive. However, this is a special event, and I am eagerly looking forward to attending it. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some information about the Championship, maybe so that some other Puzzle enthusiasts who wishes to push their limits have an option.
Here is an example of one round of the 24 HPC, which I co-authored with Deb Mohanty in 2012 https://prasannaseshadri.wordpress.com/category/ 24-hrs-championship-set-2012/
The 24 HPC is held in Hungary and organized by the World Puzzle Championship regulars from Hungary. The event, as its name suggests, is 24 hours of solving, typically from 10 AM on a Saturday to 10 AM on a Sunday. There are no strings attached to this one. Unlike other contests, there is no attempt to make the event friendly for beginners, beyond having a few easy puzzles in each round. The competition is clearly for someone who is very enthusiastic about puzzle solving. There are 14 rounds prepared by authors from around the world. I have had the privilege of contributing to and coordinating the Indian round submissions in multiple years so I have a fair idea of their requirements. The requirements are pretty simple, in that you need as much variety as possible in a set, and it should last a 100 minutes for most of the world’s best solvers. The variety is both in terms of puzzle types as well as in terms of difficulty. The Hungarians do comment on and try to streamline overall difficulties of rounds to have some consistency, but beyond that it is up to the author of the round to do as they wish to with it. The solvers at the event each solve 13 of the 14 rounds. This system is followed so that any author who is also participating gets a fair shot at a good score.
These days there are many tournaments to look forward to every year. Logic Masters India has a structured, regular online format that flows through the first half or so of the year to pick the Indian toppers, and the World Puzzle Federation has a similar structured format to drive interest in Sudokus and Puzzles around the world. These competitions are all free and open to everyone and are great to explore Sudoku variations and Puzzle styles and have a fun 90 minutes during the weekends they are held. Here are some helpful links which should give the necessary information relevant to these competitions:
This year’s event is scheduled to be held from the 28th to the 30th of April. From India, Ashish Kumar will be attending the event along with me. It is a first time for him too. Rajesh Kumar from India has attended the event, and I am not sure if anyone else from here has. It will be an experience to remember. Other tournaments to keep an eye on: Sudoku Mahabharat, Puzzle Ramayan, WPF GPs
Sudoku Mahabharat online rounds http://logicmastersindia.com/SM/2016-17sm.asp Puzzle Ramayan online rounds http://logicmastersindia.com/PR/2016-17pr.asp Official website of the World Sudoku and Puzzle Grand Prix - http://gp.worldpuzzle.org/
~PrasannaSeshadri
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CROSSWORD Mensa Delhi Crossword SIG 53 54 55 58 60 64 65 66 67 68 69
1 6 10 13 15 16 17 18 20 22 23 26 27 29 31 32 33 35 38 39 40 42 43 45 46 48 50 52
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ACROSS 10 The financial year begins at this. 11 An air, melody or tune 12 British currency for short 14 One who is trying to lose 19 Put a painting on the wall, maybe 21 Hopping marsupial (abbr) 23 Overcome 24 Backless, armless seat, in Turkey & elsewhere 25 Bart and Liza's Dad, courteously 28 Measure or car engine efficiency 30 It shows us how expensive things are getting (abbr) 31 Of course not! 34 Take away someone's footwear? 36 A poisonous plant also known as stinking nightshade 37 One serving of medicine? 41 Cute dam builder, sleeps holding hands 44 Absolutely not! 47 Catch the criminal 49 Michelangelo's famous sculpture in St Peter's Basilica 50 Three in Rome 51 8th letter of Greek alphabet, commonly used in trigonometry 52 Standard Template Library (abbr) 56 Bridegroom in North India 57 Auras 59 Being disingenuous 61 Army's frontline heavy assault equipment 62 Frenchman's emphatic 'here, here'. 63 Exit
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Engg. degrees Sans general knowledge (Abbr) We mean 'mea culpa' when we say this. Inhale cocaine by holding a flame under a metal spoon filled with it. Totality of the human mind. Urge for Japanese currency? A half of the African fly that causes sleeping sickness. TV ______ Grounded faster than sound passenger jet it makes the food taste better First name of the spreader of dengue fever &chikungunya. DOWN Sum up Circumference/radius but can be eaten Judge in a hockey tournament Those two are an _______ Prepare to converse in Qatar One abode Price/Quantity Enter where unwelcome In the past Place where research in a special kind of carbon is carried out. Afro-Cuban percussion instrument A body of men raised and commanded by the Sheriff Address used for Lord Mayor or Privy Councilor.(abbr) Multimedia messages for short A chance or an exit Delivers a heavy blow What we do one meeting a cute pup. Mensa qualifier, almost certainly. A large body of water, but not in the South. Wager One who flies planes One in Germany Pay for Lolls in the sun I'll eat my ________ if you can do it! To imbue with movement. Exclamation of disgust Animal trainers make lions jump through these Belonging to Infosys? (abbr) Takes the seed out. A dorky or nerdy person Will do as you say boss! (abbr) A spiral or vortex Snort of dismissal They find criminals Tee _______ Snaky letter
THE PUZZLE PAGE FOUR WINDS
Rules: From each numbered cell one or more horizontal or vertical lines are to be drawn. The number shows how many cells are to be covered by lines originating in that cell. This number excludes the numbered cell itself. Lines do not overlap or cross one another. All cells should contain either a number or a line segment.
Solution to the previous issue’s puzzle – Non Consecutive Sudoku
Solved Example:
Note: The solutions to the puzzle of this issue, ‘Four Winds’, will be published in the next issue. Notes: 1. To solve Four Winds puzzle, it is useful to find cells which can be connected by only one number. Find such cells are draw the line. For example, in the example puzzle, cell R1C1 andR3C3 can be only reached from 4. Similar R3C2 can be reached only from 3 above it and R5C5 can be only reached from 3 in the bottom row. Draw the lines from number cells to these cells to start the puzzle. 2. Four Winds puzzle is also good to start with large numbers especially the big numbers which are on the edge row/column. See how many maximum lines can be covered from horizontally or vertically. Rest of the lines can be extended in the orthogonal direction.
Four Winds :
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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 ~ Rajesh Kumar
WORDSMITH The Song of the Agnostic
The holy book is to his right A mitre to impress a rod to smite On his throne he sits alone As if he's God's very clone Prideful, the pompous priest presides Followers quivering as he decides Who's for heaven and who for hell A secret only he can tell They think these sad sheep-kind, "He has my interest on his mind He'll intervene with the powers that be He'll take my sins & save me" Well hidden under vestments rich I see his greedy heart twitch As he's offered money and gold By those enticed to his fold And with a smile, looking benign He makes his simple sacred sign As he counts with hidden glee The fish he's cornered in his sea!
~ Kishore Asthana
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LENSA Whatsapp Jugalbandi The Mumbai Mensa Chapter’s Photography SIG is called ‘LENSA”. Recently, the whatsapp group of LENSA was merged with the Astronomy and Nature Watch group. A beautiful outcome of the this merger was a fresh perspective of looking at the work being shared, with a new set audience with a different way of looking at things. So when Tushar shared some of his recent captures from his Kolkata trip, Ujjwal weaved a word-web around them. It’s a pleasure to share this Whatsapp Jugalbandi here.
And, some more on the next page…
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LENSA Whatsapp Jugalbandi
~ Tushar Ajgaonkar & Ujjwal Rane 13
Following pages are from the Mensa World Journal
mensa world journal november, 2016 issue #046
AMAG 2016 at Guangzhou, China
inside order out of chaos p2 language iSIG p3 hungry for brain food? try exercise p5 brain network of psychopathic criminal functions differently p6 doing well by doing good: marketing and management science in the 21st century p7 books... p8 supplementally p9 therese’s puzzles p12
m ensa wor ld j our na l order out of chaos... The brain is well capable of coping with the erratic way individual brain cells transmit information. This robustness is quite useful because variation in signal transmission doesn’t merely concern noise, but also contains valuable information. This is the finding of research conducted by neuroscientists from the University of Amsterdam. Their results are published in the current issue of Cell Reports. Neuroscientists Jorrit Montijn, Guido Meijer, Carien Lansink and Cyriel Pennartz used a special microscope to measure the activity of hundreds of cells in the mouse brain across a period of several weeks. They specifically focused on the part of the brain that is responsible for processing visual input and registered the activity while the mice were being exposed to different images. Mood and hunger The scientists discovered that the variability in brain signals doesn’t concern noise, as has been assumed until now. The activity of a single neuron in response to an image is variable and unreliable. However, within the synchronised activity of a large number of neurons, patterns can be distinguished that seem to suggest the value of such variation. ‘The relationships in activity between different neurons might provide an opportunity to states like mood and hunger to influence how, for example, the representation of an mensa world journal november 2016
apple is processed in the brain’, says Guido Meijer. The neuroscientists suspect this phenomenon isn’t only restricted to mice, but could also be extrapolated to humans. Previous studies have shown a strong overlap between humans and mice in the way the examined part of the visual cortex operates. Order from chaos Traditionally, the variation in brain response to a particular stimulus was regarded as something negative, as ‘noise’. Meijer: ‘This makes sense, because if a brain cell reacts to the same signal in different ways at different times, for example when exposed to the image of a tiger, you run the risk of the activity being so different at a certain point that the tiger isn’t noticed, because the brain coincidentally registers it as a zebra, with all the accompanying consequences. The brain turns out to be organised in such a way that it minimises the risk of misclassification but is still able to ensure variability.’ The team’s findings offer further insight into the complexity of the brain. It appears that an understanding of the behaviour of individual cells isn’t sufficient to predict or understand the behaviour of the entire brain. ‘The brain isn’t a computer constructed from chips, which always process a signal in the same orderly fashion’, Meijer adds. ‘Nature is more chaotic, and is apparently also constructed to effectively manage
from the editor... Welcome to our new Features Editor, Linda Roach from Oregon, USA. Linda’s first article is on p5. Many thanks for joining the team, Linda; we’re looking forward to many more interesting articles from you! This year’s Asian Mensa Gathering in Guangzhou was wonderful! Many thanks to the organising team for giving us a diverse and very interesting and informative program. By the time you read this, the IBD meeting and celebration of Mensa’s 70th will be in full swing in Kyoto, Japan. I hope to see many of you there. I hope you enjoy the articles in this month’s issue. All our regulars are here - Books..., Supplementally, and Therese’s Puzzles - as well as news of the Language iSIG on p3.
Kate
The full, colour MWJ can be read and downloaded at www.mensa. org each month. this chaos. We have now found one of the underlying principles that ensures order arises out of chaos on the scale of large numbers of connected neurons.’ University of Amsterdam online: www.uva.nl
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Join1000 Mensans in learning a new language... The Language Exchange ISIG is thriving with 1000 members, an upgraded website and partnerships on the way. In just one year, more than 1,000 members from all over the world have joined the Language Exchange International SIG (Special Interest Group), and many have already found study partners to teach one other languages online, or locals willing to meet up and host travellers. Now that the website has been upgraded, it’s even easier to sign up and get in touch with members: now you can register and login with your Facebook, Google+ or Linkedin account; you can message other members without leaving the website. What’s more, the group is planning on forming partnerships with providers of popular language learning products and services such as Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone, to offer discounts on their products to its members which is going to be a great benefit. The coupons are available on the Facebook group and the website of the group, which are visible to members only. In fact, the group works on two platforms: a website and a Facebook group. The website is modelled after Italki.com, the best website to find language teachers and exchange partners, so that members can browse profiles through a simple search panel. Some members are also open to meet up travellers in person and host them, as on Couchsurfing.com. In the Facebook group, members keep in touch and discuss language-related topics. Links Website: http://languagexchange.club Facebook group: http://fb.languagexchange.club Group presentation “See the world with Mensa”: http://leap15.languagexchange.club Support: support@languagexchange.club
Don’t miss this opportunity to take your learning experience to the next level!
Csazs from Hungary: “I’m 24 years old, a Psychology student who once also was an English major. I’ve always been passionate about learning languages. I can teach you (or I’d rather have a conversation with you in) English and Hungarian. I already speak French but I’d like to improve more to a C1/C2 level, and I’ve learned Japanese for a year, but it was 5 years ago, and I’d like to continue it”. Savedjuli from Spain: “Hi there, I’m an engineer and I lived in Seattle for some time. I’m looking for someone to practise my English, because I want to keep my English fluent. I think that being a Spanish native, and being able to speak English opens you the whole world! And, the higher your level the more you would enjoy yourself doing everything.” Weehlo from France: “I would like to improve my English and learn other languages. I started studying Japanese at university, but I gave up and I have almost forgotten everything. I’m interested in many things: all kinds of sciences, arts (dance, drawing, writing...), nature, music... One of my dreams is to be able to speak with everybody, and I learn French sign language too. I have a very good level in French, my mother tongue. I never teach it, but it would be a great experience. I prefer to speak online only in a first time, maybe want to meet up later.”
Stefano Lodola mensa world journal november 2016
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m ensa wor ld j our na l what’s on? Spanish Mensa Annual Gathering Spain | 07 December 2016 - 11 December 2016 Silvensa 2016 Netherlands | 29 December 2016 - 01 January 2017 New Year’s Eve in Maastricht, Netherlands
ATTENTION OUTSTANDING
MENSANS! The Mensa Education & Research Foundation is seeking nominations for the International Intellectual Benefit to Society Award. This award recognizes the application of intellectual abilities that result in tangible benefit to society. You’re eligible for the award if you’ve created one or more of the following: • • • •
Education programs for employees Client or business associate education programs Programs designed to educate the public Intellectual research and development
Wadden Weekend, Netherlands Netherlands | 31 March 2017 - 02 April 2017 MinD-Jahrestreffen 2017 in Regensburg Germany | 26 April 2017 - 30 April 2017 American Gathering 2017 in Hollywood, Florida United States | 05 July 2017 - 09 July 2017 EMAG 2017 in Barcelona, Spain Spain | 02 August 2017 - 06 August, 2017
For more details and further information, go to www.mensa.org
These activities may be paid or unpaid. Consideration is given to the number of individuals affected.
For more information on rules and exclusions, or to apply, visit mensafoundation.org. Completed forms must arrive by March 1, 2016.
F O U N D AT I O N
mensa world journal november 2016
Deadline for submissions to February 2017 issue is December 1, 2016 mwjeditor@mensa.org
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Hungry For Brain Food? Try Exercise Crossword puzzles and sudoku. Board games and backgammon. Cribbage and Texas Hold’Em. Mensans love putting their brains to work – for fun, and to stay in tip-top mental shape. But, according to a burgeoning amount of scientific research, it would be a good idea also to give those neurons a dose now and then of BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor). That is: get up from the game table and take a 20-minute walk. This is because even moderate amounts of exercise elevate the body’s circulating levels of BDNF, a protein that plays a key role in molecular pathways which support neuronal health and even neurogenesis. “In addition…there is increasing evidence that BDNF may protect neurons through regulation of DNA damage repair,” researchers from Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, wrote in the AsiaPacific Journal of Ophthalmology this past summer1 (July/Aug 2016). The authors suggested that exercise could be used to raise BDNF levels in laboratory animals, thereby augmenting the effectiveness of genome editing with the recently discovered CRISPR/Cas9 technique. In most cases, the research on exercise and BDNF has been done in cell cultures or lab animals, one mensa world journal november 2016
any day. The mice were put on tiny of the study’s authors, Jeffrey H. mouse treadmills for an hour at a Boatright, PhD, admitted in an time. interview. “If they don’t keep running they However, the preponderance of the evidence is that “certainly in ani- get a mild shock when they get to the mals, and probably also in humans, end of the treadmill,” he said. “Some of the old mice figured out that you we’re pretty clear that exercise is very beneficial, and that a lot of the could ride the treadmill to the back, but as long as you didn’t touch two effects are mediated by BDNF,” he bars of the grid the said. “Exercise is circuit doesn’t comprotective in almost “By the end of every cognition the study the only plete so you don’t get shocked.” test, learning test, mice that were So, when it was memory test.” alive were the their turn to run, these A neuroscientist, Dr. Boatright ones that were ac- smarter mice would is a professor of tually on running hang onto one bar of the grid with their left ophthalmology at treadmills – and paws, and sling their Emory as well as didn’t cheat.” right paws over the a researcher at a edge of the running Center for Visual lane. and Neurocognitive “And they would sit back there for Rehabilitation, where an interdisthe whole hour, riding out the expericiplinary team studies cognition in military veterans. In these veterans, ment,” Dr. Boatright recalled. “By some of them quite elderly, 30 min- the end of the study the only mice utes of self-paced spin cycling, three that were alive were the ones that times a week, is enough to improve were actually on running treadmills – their cognitive functioning, he said. and didn’t cheat.” “It doesn’t appear to take a whole Linda Roach lot of exercise. With the humans linda.roach@gmail.com in the spin training it’s that classic prescription of get your heart rate up for maybe 20 minutes every other day,” Dr. Boatright said. 1. Schmidt RH, Nickerson JM, Boatright JH. Still not convinced? Dr. Boatright Exercise as Gene Therapy: BDNF and DNA Repair. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ has a cautionary tale for determined Damage pubmed/27488073 couch potatoes. It’s about his lab’s For further information: Rothman SM, Mattstudy of some very old mice, so son MP: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubold that they were at risk of dying med/27488073
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Brain network of psychopathic criminal functions differently A strong focus on reward combined with a lack of self-control appears to be linked to the tendency to commit an offence. Brain scans show that this combination occurs in psychopathic criminals, say researchers from Nijmegen in an article in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. Many criminal offenders display psychopathic traits, such as antisocial and impulsive behaviour. And yet some individuals with psychopathic traits do not commit offences for which they are convicted. As with any other form of behaviour, psychopathic behaviour has a neurobiological basis. Researchers from the Donders Institute and the Department of Psychiatry at Radboudumc wanted to find out whether the way a psychopath’s brain works is visibly different from that of a non-psychopath. And whether there are differences between the brains of criminal and non-criminal psychopaths.
condition for self-control. Our results seem to indicate that the tendency to commit an offence arises from a combination of a strong focus on reward and a lack of self-control. This is the first research project in which convicted criminals were actually examined.”
Predictors of criminal behaviour Psychopathy consists of several elements. On the one hand, there is a lack of empathy and emotional involvement. On the other hand, we see impulsive and seriously antisocial, egocentric behaviour. Professor of Psychiatry and coordinator of the research Robbert-Jan Verkes: “Especially the latter character traits seem to be Reward centre more strongly activated Dirk Geurts, researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at connected with an excessively sensitive reward centre. Radboudumc: “We carried out tests on 14 convicted psy- The presence of these impulsive and antisocial traits predict criminal behaviour more accurately than a lack chopathic individuals, and 20 non-criminal individuals, half of whom had a high score on the psychopathy scale. of empathy. The next relevant question would be: what The participants performed tests while their brain activity causes these brain abnormalities? It is probably partly was measured in an MRI scanner. We saw that the reward hereditary, but abuse and severe stress during formative years also play a significant role. Follow-up studies will centre in the brains of people with many psychopathic traits (both criminal and non-criminal) were more strongly provide more information. activated than those in people without psychopathic traits. It has already been proved that the brains of non-criminal Brain scans in courtrooms? individuals with psychopathic traits are triggered by the So what do these findings mean for the free will? If the expectation of reward. This research shows that this is brain plays such an important role, to what extent can also the case for criminal individuals with psychopathic an individual be held responsible for his/her crimes? traits.” Will we be seeing brain scans in the courtroom? Verkes: “For the time being, these findings are only important at group level as they concern variations within the range Little self-control and sensitivity to reward of normal results. Of course if we can refine these and Another interesting difference was discovered between non-criminal people with multiple psychopathic traits and other types of examinations, we may well see brain scans being used in forensic psychiatric examinations of criminal people with psychopathic traits. Geurts: “There is a difference in the communication between the reward diminished responsibility in the future.” http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-08-brain-network-psychopathiccentre and an area in the middle of the forebrain. Good criminal-functions.html communication between these areas would appear to be a Graphic: Radboud University mensa world journal november 2016
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Doing Well by Doing Good: Marketing and Management Science in the 21st Century The business community in America has, at best, a tenuous grasp on the indisputable principle that honorable conduct is a prerequisite for abundant profit! Benjamin Franklin understood the benefits of enlightened and ethical business practices when he advised, “Do well by doing good.” Throughout the history of capitalism many entrepreneurs have prospered through application of this principle. A selected review of early industrialists makes the point that these entrepreneurs were driven by their own personal philosophy; that doing “good” for their people means that their business will also do “well.” But it wasn’t until the 1960s that modern management science began to teach students that they can create stable wealth by doing “good” for their employees, their customers, and their communities. Finally, a fundamental truth that guides the creation of sustainable wealth was available to business students. Today there is excellent data, both qualitative and quantitative, showing that a company’s successful relationship with people as well as ethical business practices is positively related to its financial performance.
Four scholars, from divergent fields, deserve the credit for developing the established principles that produce optimal wealth. Let’s take a brief look at these pioneers. Abraham Maslow, through his books and teachings, brought us the psychology of business. The father of modern management, in his book, Maslow on Management, states that “The good society is one in which virtue pays.” In an ideal society prosperity is the natural consequence of “doing good.” Peter Drucker’s primary academic career was spent at Sarah Lawrence College. He also published 39 books on management which were translated into 30 languages. In 1995 Peter Drucker stated, “I became an immediate convert: Maslow’s evidence is overwhelming. But to date, very few people have paid much attention. He (Maslow) wrote Eupsychian Management to bring McGregor and me down to earth.” Here in the 21st century it remains true that very few people are aware of the contribution of these four pioneers (MDM &N.) Douglas McGregor, PhD in psychology from Harvard University, was a management professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he created and developed the ‘ X’ and ‘Y’ theories of human motiva-
“Like all natural systems, human behaviour cannot be controlled; however it can be managed.”
mensa world journal november 2016
tion and management. These theories describe two contrasting models, coming from two opposing sets of general assumptions about workforce motivation. Theory X stresses the importance of strict supervision, external rewards, and penalties. It’s all about control by management. In contrast, Theory Y has a profoundly more profitable influence in the motivating role of job satisfaction, by encouraging workers to approach tasks without direct supervision. McGregor’s book, The Human Side of Enterprise (1960) had a significant influence on the relationship between management and employees. He pointed out that “The ingenuity of the average worker is sufficient to outwit any system of controls devised by management.” Like all natural systems, human behaviour cannot be controlled; however it can be managed. McGregor went on to say that “Any attempt by management to enforce behavior that is contrary to human nature is preordained to fail. Conversely, management methods that compliment human nature are sure to provide wealth and well being for all concerned.” John Nash, in the hit movie A Beautiful Mind, is at a bar with three other friends when he begins to develop a theory of what is now called Nash Equalibria, the idea that won him the Nobel Prize and the respect of his colleagues and loved ones, despite his schizophrenia. continued on p11
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Books...
Juan Ignacio Pita and Claire O’Brien. Moving to Hong Kong. Feeling Abroad, 2014. 176 pp. US$4.39 Kindle. ASIN: B00R8KKVOU, ISBN: 9789974-99-759-2 As the title indicates and the introduction makes clear, this is not a tourist guide for people passing through, but an aide to those who aim to live in Hong Kong and get all they can out of their residence, both practical and personal. This is one of many guides to a city that is unique in all the world, both historically and today; no other place on Earth, even in China itself, has the same humming atmosphere, with colonial relics to be found amidst skyscrapers. However, Pita and O’Brien focus less on ambiance and more on practicalities like finding a job and a place to live, electronics, currency, transport and eating, as well as other things it is best to “know before you go.” The main advantage of this guide is its great number of handy websites for all aspects of everyday life. Although the authors do not wax eloquent about Hong Kong’s bustle and charm, their compilation of helpful data gives the reader some hint of the vastness and complexity of this “pore on the body of Asia,” as one novelist called it.
mensa world journal november 2016
Juan Ignacio Pita. The American Refugee: a Race for Life. Selfpublished, 2015. 15 pp. US$1.09 Kindle. ASIN: B015VKVX2W, ISBN: 978-9974-91001-0 This very short short story narrates the travails of Johnny, the half-Mexican son of an illegal immigrant in Texas after a conservative president is elected on the strength of his promise to rid the country of non-US citizens and their offspring. The new president unleashes much more than deportation, however, as fundamentalists throw Molotov cocktails into gay bars, nearly injuring the narrator’s gay brother—he is later shot in the head during a massacre of un-red-white-andblue types. Worse still, all domiciles of Mexicans are spray painted by hate groups. The family tries to flee to Mexico, but its government closes the border. Since the mother of the family is Irish, they plan to drive to her embassy in the capitol, but dad is hauled off by cops on the way. Upon reaching Washington without him, they are confronted by a restaurant owner because of the kids’ un-American appearance, whereupon guns are drawn by all. The narrator
Hal Swindall flees on foot with is little sister and tries to cross the Potomac in a boat when she is shot and falls overboard; there the tale ends. If all this sounds childishly unlikely, it does seem considerable racial violence is occurring these days. Chris Masi. Stop Chasing Carrots: Healing Self-Help Deceptions with a Scientific Philosophy of Life. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015. 186 pp. US$14.99 paperback, $10.99 Kindle. ISBN-13: 978-1533227683 This debunking of self-help gurus who lead millions astray with advice that is actually destructive is a fine example of Mensan independent thinking. As a teenager, Masi was himself misled by self-help books in his native Germany, but he overcame them with his own science-based philosophy. Since most scientifically based books on how to lead a fulfilling life are too dense for most people, Masi tries to explain their findings in readable form. His premise is that the self-help industry relies on “confirmation bias,” i.e. people seeing what they want to believe in their everyday lives. However, although he successfully refutes the claims of more superficial self-help writers, Masi himself advocates prioritiz-
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m ensa wor ld j our na l ing what you really want the most, which I for one do not necessarily advocate. He does cite both the ancient Greek concept of eudaemonia, though, along with modern genetic and psychological studies of happiness. His ten commandments for fulfillment include “find[ing] your own path” by developing your talents and never doing anything that lacks “intrinsic value” to you, all of which sounds rather like - well, self-help. Nonetheless, if you have been misguided by self-help motivational speakers, this book might be for you. 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.
Log into the International website at www.mensa.org for the calendar of national events mensa world journal november 2016
supplementally... Sympathy for the Devil sciencemag.org, August 30, 2016. “Tasmanian Devils are Rapidly Evolving Resistance to a Contagious Cancer.” (Nature Communications) Tasmanian devils (pictured) like to fight and bite. As a result, they are nearly extinct in the wild because their bites spread a deadly cancer devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). 80% of all devils have vanished in the last twenty years. Some populations were predicted to be gone by now, but they seem to be evolving an immunity to the disease. Researchers have found seven genes that have changed in survivors. These might be responsible for the possible immunity and they may save the species from disappearing. Dinos on the Move Science News, August 20, 2016, pp. 8 - 9. “How Dinosaurs Crossed an Ocean.” Dinosaurs moved between Europe and America 150 million years ago. This is a good trick with the Atlantic Ocean in the way, even though it was narrower then. There must have been land bridge, and based on the ages and locations of key fossils, scientists think they have found where two of them were. One linked North America to Scandinavia. Another connected
it to Spain. These bridges did not have to be continuous dry land. Creatures could still make the trip across narrow bodies of water, shallows, or island chains.
Eat Right Harvard Health Letter, September 2016, p. 8. “Eat More Whole Grains to Stay Healthy, Suggests Harvard Study.” No diet will let you live forever. But some foods will help you live better, according to a study done at Harvard. In particular, getting more whole grains into your stomach is a very good idea. People who eat three servings of whole grains have 25% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those who eat none. And they have a 14% lower chance of developing cancer. Bigger is Better New Scientist Kindle Edition, August 20, 2016. “LHC-Style Supercolliders are Entering a Make or Break Phase.” In 2015, the Large Hadron Collider saw a possible bump in their data that could have been evidence for a new particle. It could have been the next
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International Award
The Mensa Education & Research Foundation is seeking nominations for its annual Copper Black International Award for Creative Achievement. Judges will consider inventions, innovations, or unique improvements shown to work. Artistic accomplishments are not eligible. Winners receive recognition and a $500 cash prize, donated by the award’s namesake. You may nominate yourself or another Mensan. Award applications are available online at mensafoundation.org. Completed forms must arrive by March 1, 2017.
at mensafoundation.o y l p rg ap
© iStockphoto
mensa world journal november 2016
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Philae Found! CNN.com. September 6, 2016. “Space Probe Finds Lost Philae Lander On Comet.” They found Philae! The Rosetta orbiter took great pictures of the lost lander as Rosetta entered the final month of its mission. Even though the lander is thoroughly dead, ESA scientists are happy to know exactly where it is: in a crevice with one leg sticking out. Knowing the exact location will help ESA scientists calibrate Proxima B the photos and other data Philae sent Science, August 26, 2016, p. 857. back during the 60 hours it operated “The Exoplanet Next Door.” (Planetary Radio Aug 30, 2016.) Contrib- on battery power. One of Philae’s accomplishments was to identify uted by Jerry Voorheis. The European Southern Observatory sixteen organic compounds in comet dust. (ESO) has discovered an exoplanet orbiting Proxima Off the Leash. Centauri. New Scientist, So what? iOS edition, ThouAugust 20, sands of 2016. “First planets Wearable are Brain Scanknown ner to Probe to orbit People with alien Amazing stars. This one is special because it Gifts.” is only 4.2 light years away. Proxima Positron Emission Tomography Centauri is a red dwarf with 12% the (PET) scanners can record the human mass of our sun, so its 1.3 Earthbrain in action. But they are too large mass companion is able to move it to let a patient move around much. A enough for sensitive instruments to new machine can be worn like a hat, detect. It might be visible to nextand it produces images comparable to generation large optical telescopes, regular PET scanners. This will make or to a small dedicated space telit possible to watch all kinds of brain escope. All the other exoplanets are functions related to everything from only known by indirect evidence, genius to Alzheimers. like regular dimming of the primary star or doppler shifting of the star’s John Blinke light. Johnb44221@cs.com
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great addition to the standard model. But the signal went away. It is too soon to say the LHC will never find anything new after the Higgs. But what will particle physicists do if nothing turns up? Many want a bigger version of the LHC. That would provide jobs, experience, and inspiration for future generations of engineers, as well as a chance to uncover new secrets of nature.
F O U N D AT I O N
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m ensa wor ld j our na l continued from p7
At the bar, he and his three friends begin to compete for the beautiful blonde in a group of five women. “If we all go for the blonde” Nash says, “we block each other; not a single one of us is going to get her…and we insult the other girls. But, what if no one goes for the blonde? We don’t get in each others’ way, and we don’t insult the other girls. It’s the only way to win….the best result comes from everyone in the room doing what’s best for himself and for the group.” The two most important conclusions gleaned from John Nash’s equations are: More profit is created through cooperation than through competition, and nice guys finish first.
One can hardly complete a business course on the college level without being introduced to the difference between the “X” and “Y” theories of management, as well as Maslow’s needs hierarchy. These classes however do not provide adequate familiarization with modern management science, nor do they really explain Maslow in relationship to management. Most courses fail to convey adequately the idea that profits are maximized when respect for the “human side of enterprise” is obvious. Maybe an additional problem is that students of business do the same thing with their subjects that I did with Algebra. I did whatever math was necessary to graduate, and have never worked another algebra problem for the rest of my life.
While the MDM&N ideas are slow to catch on, a small group of today’s upper echelon management professionals strive to find creative applications for these principles. Because of intellectual competition and academic hubris, the contributions of MDM&N are rarely available in a single source, no matter what college you attend. I hope this helps remind business people of their college days, and encourages them to use proven profit enhancement principles based on “good guys finish first.”
Samuel Sewell Samuel is a Life Member of American Mensa. He can be contacted at sams@ bestselfusa.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
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 Features: Ms Linda Roach linda.roach@gmail.com 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 november 2016
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ME
TOP
SEE
UP
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362 150 282
72 300
Now read down the centre boxes to find where Bill stood after his last birthday! -------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Which of these does not belong in the group?
FLOW
ROW
-------------------------------------------------------------------------4. 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Which piles of stones might be found in Northern Queensland?
ERAB
-------------------------------------------------------------------------2. What kind of rider is represented below?
1. What kind of GUARANTEE can be made from a SERIES OF BATTLES, a TIRADE, and the last letter of TODAY?
50
4
48
23
FORO DWOWNI DRAGEN
RODO LAWL
LOFOR
-------------------------------------------------------------------------9. Unscramble the following to find the odd one out:
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e) STEED – RUSH – MAP -------------------------------------------------------------------------8. The number on each stone represents the difference between the numbers in the two stones on which it sits. Can you work out the five two-digit numbers on the bottom stones? Each of the digits 0-9 is used once only in the bottom row.
d) ONION – PI – VIEW
c) LAP – EARTH – NET
b) MAKE – ERROR – SIT
a) AN – UNCLE – SOILED
-------------------------------------------------------------------------7. Two words in each group of three can be joined together and have their letters rearranged to form a word that can mean the remaining word. Eg CALM – DIN – OUR makes CLAMOUR, a synonym for DIN. The words are in no particular order.
6. Which word can refer variously to parts of a person, an animal, a tree and an American car?
42
2
? 7
3
6 2
3
12
4 5
D
G
K
N
R
U
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Musical notes -------------------------------------------------------------------------12. Which letter comes next in this sequence:
Roman Numerals
Consonants
Vowels
-------------------------------------------------------------------------11. Each colour represents a different letter. Use the clues below to fill in the blanks to form a wordsquare. The square will have four proper words reading across and the same four words down.
1
10.
If you would like to discuss answers directly with MENSA, you can email Therese at therese@mensa.org.au
© Therese Moodie-Bloom 2008
MENSA MINI IQ CHALLENGE
Therese’s Brain Teasers
H Z F N
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PET EYED
13 – 14 Genius material 10 – 12 Excellent lateral thinker 7–9 Very good 4–6 Good 0–3 Bad hair day
YOUR SCORE
SCORECARD: SCORE 1 POINT FOR EACH CORRECT ANSWER
OVER PIES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------14. Which three-letter word can prefix each of the following, making four new words?
D
C
13. All of the letters of the alphabet are in the grid below, except for Q. What is the longest word you can spell by moving from square to touching square, either up, down, sideways or diagonally? Each square may be entered once only.
1. War-rant-y. 2. Bareback. 3. Cairns. 4. Over the hill. 5. 362. All others are divisible by 6. 6. Trunk. 7. a) Unclean (soiled) b) Mistake (error) c) Planet (Earth) d) Opinion (view) e) Stampede (rush). 8. 16 79 50 48 23. 9. Garden. Others are part of the building: Roof, Window, Door, Wall, Floor. 10. 60 (Product of the three external numbers). 11. Gram Raga Agog Magi. 12. Y. 13. Champions (9 letters). 14. Pop
mensa world journal december, 2016 issue #047
Luka Shiraishi at the IBD meeting in Kyoto, Japan - page2
m ensa wor ld j our na l member profile: Luka Shiraishi When I first saw Luka, he was sitting in one of the observation seats on the first day of the International Board of Directors meeting in October. A couple of hours later, he was still there listening intently! In fact, he stayed in the Boardroom for the full length of the meeting - some two and a half days. His powers of concentration were extraordinary and I caught up with him and his mother at lunchtime on that first day. At 9 years old, Luka lives in Osaka, Japan, and is in 4th grade at Hatsuhiba Elementary School. He’s been a member of Mensa since September 2015, after sitting for the test because “it looked like fun and I really wanted to be part of it.” Luka especially likes studying advanced Maths and Science and wishes he could skip grades so that he could be more challenged at school. When he grows up, Luka would like to work in the medical field. “Many lives are lost every year from incurable diseases. I want to study hard and exterminate these diseases.” he adds. But it’s not all work and no play for Luka who plays soccer and runs on the weekends. He’s been learning the piano since he was two years old, and “likes observing small creatures like bugs.” He also likes mensa world journal december 2016
from the editor... This issue
“studying the histories and the structures of airplanes and cars and I program small robots too.” Still marvelling at how a 9-year old could sit voluntarily through the long meeting, I asked him if he was enjoying Mensa now that he’s been a member for a year. “Yes,” he replied, “Mensa gives me a great opportunity to talk to experts and intellectuals whom I don’t usually ever have a chance to meet outside of Mensa.” It was a pleasure to meet you, Luka! I hope we have the chance to meet up again one day!
Kate Nacard
of the Mensa World Journal is my last one as editor. After 14 years, firstly as Mensa World editor, then as the editor of the Mensa International Journal and then as the editor of the MWJ when it evolved in 2012, I’m handing it over to Karin Westin Tikkernan of Mensa Sweden to take up the reins. I can’t thank my regular contributors enough - Hal, Therese, John, Linda and former Features editor Thomas Halley - and am very grateful for the support members all over the world have shown with their positive feedback for all of those 14 years. I will still be involved with Mensa International, of course. I‘ve been reappointed to the International Name and Logo Committee and have been discussing how to utilise my skills and Mensa experience in other ways. Please keep in touch!
Kate katenacard1@gmail.com
Deadline for submissions to the February 2017 issue is December 1, 2016 mwjeditor@mensa.org
Season’s Greeting to Mensans all over the world! The full, colour MWJ can be read and downloaded at www.mensa. org each month. cover photo: Kiyotaka Miyano
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m ensa wor ld j our na l from the executive committee
Chris Leek
I set off in a couple of days for the 2016 IBD meeting in Otsu, Japan, and am very much looking forward to meeting members from Mensa groups around the world, exchanging thoughts and ideas with the many national groups, and experiencing, once again, the wider Mensa family.
ulations to both. Mensa groups are encouraged to help each other and examples this year have included Mensa Romania arranging testing in Moldova, Russian speaking members from Mensa Germany volunteering to carry out testing in Russia, members from Mensa France helping test and recruit in TuniThere will be plenty of opportunities sia, and Mensa Sweden sharing to socialise, but with an agenda and training material with various appendices currently running at 209 new countries. pages (and I understand there may In Communication, a new be an item or two yet to be added!) I post has been set up, the role anticipate plenty of interesting, but of International Communicahard, work ahead. tion Officer, to work on public In preparation, I have been lookrelations, communication and ing back at what’s been happening branding tasks for Mensa, internain the Mensa universe since the last tionally. Interest in the position was IBD meeting. high. After filtering of applications Development has been thriving and the interviewing of a shortlist, internationally this year, and it’s been Ivett Vancsik, an active marketing a very busy year for the International and communication consultant with Director of Development, Björn strong experience in public relations, Liljeqvist. Highlights have included branding, communication, and busitraining days in Portugal and the ness strategy, was appointed to the UAE with a number of new test role. proctors appointed, a lot of activity Following a request by Mensa in China, ongoing testing in Taiwan Slovenia suggesting it would be and, in Kenya, a promising collabora- good to have a logo for Mensa’s 70th tion between Mensa International Anniversary that every Mensa group and a local school that is establishing could use, it was agreed that British a gifted program, designed to identify Mensa’s design for the 70th anniverand nurture exceptional talents – be sary logo may be used internationally they physical, artistic or intellectual. for publicising the anniversary. Romania and Slovenia achieved The British postal service, the Full National Mensa status - congrat- Royal Mail, got in on the act - join mensa world journal december 2016
ing in the 70th celebrations by franking all mail posted in the UK on 1st October with a special ‘Mensa anniversary’ postmark. The Mensa International Website is starting to show its age and is far too static. Consequently, work is underway to redevelop the site and a number of companies have been invited to tender. On a financial note, when the contract for hosting the Mensa International website came due for renewal earlier this year a revised contract was negotiated that reduced our hosting costs by some 40%, saving MIL £3000 per year. MIL has been following up on a number of fake, unauthorised, social media groups on Instagram, Facebook, Linked-in etc that have been using the Mensa name or logo, to
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m ensa wor ld j our na l get these closed down, renamed, or brought under the control of Mensa. Some groups have proved co-operative and others are being pursued through Facebook or other relevant formal complaints process: necessary, but time-consuming. In 2017, the Mensa International elections will include electronic voting. Both the voting committee and the web board have been working to realise this, and thanks are due to Matthias Moehl, who chaired the evoting committee, and Peter Fröhler, chair of the Web Board, for their work in progressing this. In Testing news, a workshop was held by our International Supervisory Psychologist, Kristov Kovacs, together with testing officers from many countries, to investigate the feasibility of Mensa developing its own adaptive, electronic, IQ test. Development of such a test would bring major improvements to our entry testing, though a distinctly non-trivial task. Reports from the workshop were promising, and I look forward with interest to seeing how this progresses. Finance. The fiscal year 2015 was good, financially, for MIL, with income £23,000 above budget and, particularly thanks to the excellent organisational and negotiating skills of the organising team for the IBD meeting in Serbia last year, costs £40,000 below budget. 2016 is planned to be ‘break-even’ and the international component, which has previously often fluctuated up and down, has been stabilised at 7% making it easier for national groups to mensa world journal december 2016
plan and budget. Other highlights of the year include the ongoing success of the Logical Olympics organised by Mensa Czech Republic. With 58,000 participants in 2015 this has generated increased interest in IQ testing and helped build on links with schools. The Logical Olympics is not a knowledge-based competition; instead it looks for common sense and a quick and logical approach to challenges, so even pupils who have not had much success in traditional school subjects can do well. Supported by the country’s Ministry of Education, Mensa Czech Republic participated in production of a set of lectures for schoolteachers with topics related to gifted children including detection and identification of giftedness. Last year the Mensa Foundation (previously MERF) announced a scholarship program open to international (non-US) Mensans. This past year 104 applications were received and International Scholarships awarded, for Mensa members studying at colleges/universities outside of the USA, including $2,000 to a 14-year-old university student in New Zealand and $1,000 each to students from South Africa and Ireland, as well as a $1,000 Ed Vincent Scholarship for a member from Edinburgh studying in the USA.
Wishing members everywhere a Happy New Year, Chris Leek
Proxy for British Mensa Chair
what’s on? Silvensa 2016 Netherlands | 29 December 2016 - 01 January 2017 New Year’s Eve in Maastricht, Netherlands Wadden Weekend, Netherlands Netherlands | 31 March 2017 02 April 2017 MinD-Jahrestreffen 2017 in Regensburg Germany | 26 April 2017 - 30 April 2017 American Gathering 2017 in Hollywood, Florida United States | 05 July 2017 - 09 July 2017 Swiss Annual Gathering 2017 in Geneva Switzerland | 15 September 2017 - 17 September 2017 EMAG 2017 in Barcelona, Spain Spain | 02 August 2017 - 06 August, 2017 IBD Meeting 2017 in Nice, France France | 05 October 2017 - 08 October 2017 For more details and further information, go to www.mensa.org
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Yim Poh Wah
Asian Mensa Annual Gathering In October, members from all over Asia and beyond attended the Asian Mensa Annual Gathering in Guangzhou, China. Malaysian member Yim Poh Wah reports on the meeting.
On the day before the meeting, the Chairmen of Asian Mensa and officials from Mensa International met for discussions. In the evening, an ice-breaker for delegates was held at a Karaoke Lounge. Members of Mensa China escorted foreign guests for a midnight supper that went on till 3.00am. The programme was three days of seminars, workshops, performances, a tour of Guangzhou, the Asian Mensa Intelligence Games Challenge and a Gala Dinner.
Malaysian members at the Guangzhou meeting
Notable Mensa speakers were Sherman Chui, Vice-Chairman of Mensa China; Jim Werdell, Past Chairman of Mensa International and current Vice President Mensa Education and Research Foundamensa world journal december 2016
tion, and John Recht, the Chairman of Mensa China. Seminar speakers were hugely successful corporate personalities and experts from China. Topics included Marketing Strategies during the Asian economic crisis experienced by Mars Inc., the art of Tai Chi, medical technology for the treatment of snoring, the experiences of a super animation movie producer, the impact of Chinese consumer robots, and the practice of Chinese Calligraphy. Workshops were on moon cake making and cardistry. Renowned guest artists performed Tai Chi, Chinese orchestra, sand painting, cardistry, and artistic calligraphy for members. The Asian Mensa Intelligence Games Challenge constituted Chess, Rock Paper Scissors, 1-50 speed calculation and Rubik’s Cube. The Challenge was won by Mensa China. Malaysia, represented by Hsiang Boon, was tied with Japan at fourth and third place respectively.
The Guangzhou tour was a bit of a let down due to the heavy downpour and a massive traffic jam in the city. It was mostly a slow-moving bus ride to the museum followed by a pork/ nut/shell fish free dinner, “acceptable to all” , with a number of vegetarian dishes. For me, the most enjoyable part of the AMG was the Cultural Enrichment Programme, where many Chinese Mensans took the delegates out after hours for drinks, street food, supper till the wee hours of the morning, accompanied them for dinner before a night cruise along the famous Pearl River and for a visit to the iconic 600m Canton Tower. We were treated to VIP passes and enjoyed the open deck with bubble tramps (world’s highest horizontal ferris wheel) at 445m high. Thank you, Mensa China. Malaysian Mensans welcome your arrival.
Yim Poh Wah Malaysian Mensa 05
m ensa wor ld j our na l brain mapping
summer, [ July 2016] the Connectome Project neuroscientists published a high-resolution map of the cerebral cortex delineating 180 specific areas in each hemisphere – 97 more than had ever been described previously.[2] To verify that their computerbased analyses could identify these cortical areas in anyone, the The biggest development in cortiresearchers repeated the test procal cartography this year was a map tocol in 210 people who were not of the cerebral cortex developed by in the original study. “Interestingscientists participating in the Human ly, particular areas of the cerebral Connectome Project, a multinational cortex appear to switch places initiative funded by the U.S. National with one another in some people. Institutes of Health (NIH). The researchers found that even “With this new map, it’s clear in those atypical brains, they could we’ve entered freshly charted terristill correctly identify nearly all of tory. I’m looking forward to seeing the mapped areas,” Dr. Collins wrote. where the journey leads,” wrote NIH “As the science progresses, it will be director Francis S. Collins, MD, fascinating to learn how those fundaPhD, in an online blog about the mental differences in the brain arise [1] project. and what it might mean for brain function.” Unlike brain mapping that emphaThe ultimate objective of brain sizes localized geography, the Conmapping is to provide information nectome Project’s goal is to delinethat would enable physicians to diagate brain function by showing how neuronal groups in different areas of nose and treat patients with brainrelated maladies, like schizophrenia, the brain connect to one another. autism and attention-deficit disorder. Based at nine research centers Connectome analysis also is being in five countries, project scientists proposed by some neurosurgeons as a have collected genetic/behavioral pre-surgical planning tool, to identify data from and scanned the brains of 900 normal adults (ages 22-35) with critical brain networks that would be at-risk during removal of a brain structural and functional magnetic tumor. [3] resonance imaging (MRI). They eventually plan to gather and corIndividual connectome patterns relate data on 1,200 total subjects, appear to be unique – as identifiable to look for individual differences in as fingerprints, a Yale University recognition, perception and personality. search group reported after analyzing In their groundbreaking report last data from 126 Connectome Project With about 100 billion neurons, each of them connected to 10,000 others, the human brain is understandably mysterious. But neuroscientists from around the world have begun publishing data that could help clear up the mysteries: detailed maps of the healthy brain, derived noninvasively from a large cohort.
mensa world journal december 2016
by Linda Roach participants. [4] The scientists found that the subjects with certain patterns of frontoparietal connectivity also
could be reliably predicted to have greater fluid intelligence (the capacity to discern patterns and solve problems, independent of acquired knowledge; measured by a form of Raven’s progressive matrices with 24 items). “The same networks that were most discriminating of individuals were also most predictive of cognitive behavior,” the authors wrote. 1 Collins FS. Big Data and Imaging Analysis Yields High-Res Brain Map. NIH Director’s Blog. July 26, 2016. https://directorsblog.nih. gov/2016/07/26/big-data-and-imaging-analysisyields-high-res-brain-map/ 2 Glasser MF, et al. A multi-modal parcellation of human cerebral cortex. Nature. July 20, 2016. [Epub ahead of print.] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/27437579/ 3 Hart MG, Price SJ, Suckling J. Connectome analysis for pre-operative brain mapping in neurosurgery. Br J Neurosurg. 2016 Oct;30(5):506-17. Epub 2016 Jul 22. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/27447756/ 4 Finn ES, et al. Functional connectome fingerprinting: identifying individuals using patterns of brain connectivity. Nat Neurosci. 2015 Nov;18(11):166471. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih gov/pubmed/26457551/ “Media Images from the Human Connectome Project WUMinn Consortium” https://wiki.humanconnectome.org/display/PublicData/Me dia+Images+from+the+Human+Connectome+Project+WUMinn+Consortium
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m ensa wor ld j our na l a new window to the brain Scientists in recent years have made great strides in the quest to understand the brain by using implanted probes to explore how specific neural circuits work. Though effective, those probes also come with their share of problems as a result of rigidity. The inflammation they produce induces chronic recording instability and means probes must be relocated every few days, leaving some of the central questions of neuroscience beyond scientists’ reach. But now, it seems, things are about to change. Led by Charles Lieber, The Mark Hyman Jr. Professor of Chemistry and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, a team of researchers that included graduate student Tian-Ming Fu, postdoctoral fellow Guosong Hong, graduate student Tao Zhou and others, has demonstrated that syringeinjectable mesh electronics can stably record neural activity in mice for eight months or more, with none of the inflammation produced by traditional implanted probes. The work is described in an August 29 paper published in Nature Methods. “With the ability to follow the same individual neurons in a circuit chronically...there’s a whole suite of things this opens up,” Lieber said. “The eight months we demonstrate in this paper is not a limit, but what this does show is that mesh electronics could be used...to investigate neuro-degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, or processes that occur over mensa world journal december 2016
long time, like aging or learning.” Lieber and colleagues also demonstrated that the syringe-injectable mesh electronics could be used to deliver electrical stimulation to the brain over three months or more. “Ultimately, our aim is to create these with the goal of finding clinical applications,” Lieber said. “What we found is that, because of the lack of immune response (to the mesh electronics), which basically insulates neurons, we can deliver stimulation in a much more subtle way, using lower voltages that don’t damage tissue.” The possibilities, however, don’t end there. The seamless integration of the electronics and biology, Lieber said, could open the door to an entirely new class of brain-machine interfaces and vast improvements in prosthetics, among other fields. “Today, brain-machine interfaces are based on traditional implanted probes, and there has been some impressive work that’s been done in that field,” Lieber said. “But all the interfaces rely on the same technique to decode neural signals.” Because traditional rigid implanted probes are invariably unstable, he explained, researchers and clinicians rely on decoding what they call the “population average” - essentially taking a host of neural signals and applying complex computational tools to determine what they mean.
Using tissue-like mesh electronics, by comparison, researchers may be able to read signals from specific neurons over time, potentially allowing for the development of improved brain-machine interfaces for prosthetics. “We think this is going to be very powerful, because we can identify circuits and both record and stimulate in a way that just hasn’t been possible before,” Lieber said. “So what I like to say is: I think therefore it happens.” Lieber even held out the possibility that the syringe-injectable mesh electronics could one day be used to treat catastrophic injuries to the brain and spinal cord. “I don’t think that’s sciencefiction,” he said. “Other people may say that will be possible through, for example, regenerative medicine, but we are pursuing this from a different angle. “My feeling is that this is about a seamless integration between the biological and the electronic systems, so they’re not distinct entities,” he continued. “If we can make the electronics look like the neural network, they will work together...and that’s where you want to be if you want to exploit the strengths of both.” Extracted fromhttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160829122127.htm#.V8a-AbGFmOI. email Splash.
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Books...
Steve Bratt. One More and We’ve Gotta Go. Illustrated by Ben Bratt. Self-published, 2013. 308 pp. L6.99 paperback, L1.19. ASIN: B00EFZPNLC This is a novel in the great British working class tradition going back perhaps to Alan Sillitoe in the 1950s. The protagonist, an ordinary bloke named Mike, is on trial for the mercy killing of his wife, Sarah, whom he decided to marry back in the late 70s after an affair with a willful woman named Angie. In yet another twist, the prosecuting barrister in Mike’s case is Tim, his former pal. Much of the action consists of Mike’s flashback’s to his early career as a computer programmer by day - unlike Sillitoe’s heroes, he is not a factory worker and enthusiastic ale imbiber by night; in the present, however, he begins to doubt his motives for putting Sarah out of her misery. Then help comes from somewhere Mike never expected, and his past and present combine inextricably into his future … Fans of British fiction focusing on commoners rather than nobility will love it, and their purchases may encourage Bratt to compose another like it. Jerry Zerg. Abraham and Obama: the Impact of Abrahamic Monotheism on Religion, Politics and Society. mensa world journal december 2016
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014. 180 pp. US$7.99 paperback, $3.29 Kindle. ISBN-13: 978-1505467895 Unusually, this book contains an FBI report on its author at the beginning, which tells readers that he is a conservative Jew and lifelong Republican. His interest in religion has led him to study most faiths, which equips him for the task of arguing that Abrahamic monotheism provides the foundation for the law and morality of most of the world’s peoples, and to argue against the politically correct liberalism of the establishment. Zerg states in his prologue that his book is “a harmonious blend of fact, opinion and fiction” which he calls “factopintion.” The rest of the volume is equally eccentric, e.g. the idea of contacting the great patriarch in a spacetime continuum corresponding to the parabola of light waves in the universe. Zerg is even more fanciful when he recounts getting President Obama to take a deposition from Abraham, and how they both go back in time to meet him in Canaan. Zerg’s final chapter is a polemical essay on exactly how Abraham’s revelation about monotheism eventually led to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as the US Constitution and much besides. Ms of the religious right will like this book, especially if they are into scifi fantasy.
Hal Swindall Jim Emerton. My Life in Pieces, Poems and Paragraphs: Verses, Musings and Original Observations on a Wonderful, Complex World. Berkeley, Gloucestershire: Mereo Books, 2016. 116 pp. US$10.00 paperback, $4.95 Kindle. ISBN-13: 978-1861516299 Upon beginning to read this curious collection of prose poems and lyrics in both rhyming and blank verse, this reviewer was uncertain whether it reminded him of the Metaphysicals on drugs or William Blake. Yet really, Emerton is like neither, having an eccentric voice of his own that will appeal to only a handful of the handful of people who still read poetry. Speaking of drugs, there is this confessional patch of poetic prose with which some Ms will identify: When I took the Mensa test and scored in the top percentile, I perceived that upon prescribed Amitryptiline for depression my brain/mind was superstimulated, enhancing concentration and self-awareness. Along with this I had switched down emotions and gone into a zen-like phase of focal mindfulness to achieve the objective. Perhaps this perception will stimulate a response from the reader, as I am now a writer/poet in many media.
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Overall, Emerton’s compositions raise the question of the connection between IQ and drugs and creativity, and also to borderline madness - an old one, to be sure. Then there is the ability of the highly intelligent to enjoy the world in their own unique ways. Catherine Greenall. Return to Gallanvaig: Beyond a Quirk of Destiny. Mawdesley, Lancashire: Freebo Amazing Jumpfrog Publishing, 2015. 456 pp. US$20.27 paperback, $5.09 Kindle. ASIN: B016WNEDCY This is the second in an apocalyptic environmentalist dystopian trilogy that began with A Quirk of Destiny; Greenall is at work on the final installment, Destiny of Light. As an ex-government scientist passionately dedicated to Greenpeace and the anti-GMO cause, she has produced another novel depicting complete civilizational meltdown because big corporations and governments lie to their peoples about the dangers of pollution and toxins in food. If most of humanity dies from GMO food in volume one, then things get more sinister in this one. The Genies, a species of deformed humans caused by GMO mutations, fight with an even more evil clandestine group that wants to destroy them and enslave the rest of normal humanity for its own twisted ends. Set on Scotland’s west coast, Greenall’s narrative focuses on a small band of normal human survivors caught up in the mensa world journal december 2016
words...
The unkindest cut of all...
Poor Brutus will never live down his reputation of being the quintessential betrayer of friendship, but why should Caesar have taken it so badly - it’s not as if he’d never been close to the cut before! In fact, he is reputed to have come into the world via a surgical cut, now known as the Caesarean Section. However, the legend that Caesar was delivered by Caesarean Operation (hence giving the procedure its name) would appear to be merely an urban myth since while C-sections were not uncommon in Roman times, the mother almost always died. And we know that Caesar’s mother, Aurelia, not only survived his birth but lived for decades after. Pliny recorded that Caesar was named for his luxurious head of hair at birth (caesaries: hair), while the Greeks, long before Caesar was born, had Apollo delivering his son Aesclepius by Caesarian Section. Perhaps the most probably correct etymology is that the term emanated from the Latin caedare to cut, since mediaeval surgeons would have used Latin terms for their procedures. The first recorded C-section in
which the mother lived was performed in 1500 by a Swiss pig gelder, Jacob Nufer, who performed the operation on his wife. The woman had been in labour for several days (aided by 13 midwives) when Nufer operated on her. Both she and the child survived, but as the story was not recorded until 1582, its authenticity is somewhat questionable. James’ Miranda Barry, masquerading as a man and serving as a physician with the British army in South Africa, was the first woman to perform a C-Section (in the early 1800s), and while there have been many recorded successes in many parts of the world since then, the National Library of Medicine (USA)* cites an estimate that not one woman survived a Caesarean in Paris in the years between 1787 and 1876. Ah, well. C’est la vie - or, as Caesar may well have said ‘et tu, Brute; you’ve cut me to the quick’.
midst of it all. Overall, this is a book by a dedicated scifi-horror environmentalist writer for dedicated scifihorror environmentalist readers.
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.
(c) Kate Nacard
(* http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nlmhome.html)
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Smarter brains are blood-thirsty brains A University of Adelaide-led project has overturned the theory that the evolution of human intelligence was simply related to the size of the brain, but rather linked more closely to the supply of blood to the brain. The international collaboration between Australia and South Africa showed that the human brain evolved to become not only larger, but more energetically costly and blood thirsty than previously believed. The research team calculated how blood flowing to the brain of human ancestors changed over time, using the size of two holes at the base of the skull that allow arteries to pass to the brain. The findings, published in the Royal Society journal Open Science, allowed the researchers to track the increase in human intelligence across evolutionary time. “Brain size has increased about 350% over human evolution, but we found that blood flow to the brain increased an amazing 600%,” says project leader Professor Emeritus Roger Seymour, from the University of Adelaide. “We believe this is possibly related to the brain’s need to satisfy increasingly energetic connections between nerve cells that allowed the evolution of complex thinking and learning. “To allow our brain to be so intelligent, it must be constantly fed oxygen and nutrients from the blood. “The more metabolically active the mensa world journal december 2016
brain is, the more blood it requires, so the supply arteries are larger. The holes in fossil skulls are accurate gauges of arterial size.” The study was a new collaboration between the Cardiovascular Physiology team in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Adelaide and the Brain Function Research Group and Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand. Co-author Dr Edward Snelling, University of the Witwatersrand, says: “Ancient fossil skulls from Africa reveal holes where the arteries supplying the brain passed through. The size of these holes show how blood flow increased from three million-year-old Australopithecus to modern humans. The intensity of
brain activity was, before now, believed to have been taken to the grave with our ancestors.” Honours student and co-author Vanya Bosiocic had the opportunity to travel to South Africa and work with world renowned anthropologists on the oldest hominin skull collection, including the newlydiscovered Homo naledi. “Throughout evolution, the advance in our brain function appears to be related to the longer time it takes for us to grow out of childhood. It is also connected to family cooperation in hunting, defending territory and looking after our young,” Ms Bosiocic says. “The emergence of these traits seems to nicely follow the increase in the brain’s need for blood and energy.” https://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news87342. html. Graphic: These are skull casts from human evolution. Left to right: Australopithecus afarensis, Homo habilis, Homo ergaster, Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis. Credit: Roger Seymour. Casts photographed in the South Australian Museum.
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m ensa wor ld j our na l supplementally... Bigger is Better New Scientist Kindle Edition, August 20, 2016. “LHC-Style Supercolliders are Entering a Make or Break Phase.” In 2015, the Large Hadron Collider (pictured) saw a possible bump in their data that could have been evidence for a new particle. It could have been the next great addition to the standard model. But the signal went away. It is too soon to say the LHC will never find anything new after the Higgs. But what will particle physicists do if nothing turns up? Many want a bigger version of the LHC. That would provide jobs, experience, and inspiration for future generations
of engineers, as well as a chance to uncover new secrets of nature. Proxima B Science, August 26, 2016, p. 857. “The Exoplanet Next Door.” (Planetary Radio Aug 30, 2016.) Contributed by Jerry Voorheis. The European Southern Observatory
john blinke
(ESO) has discovered an exoplanet orbiting Proxima Centauri. So what? Thousands of planets are known to orbit alien stars. This one is special because it is only 4.2 light years away. Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf with 12% the mass of our sun, so its 1.3 Earth-mass companion is able to move it enough for sensitive instruments to detect. It might be visible to next-generation large optical telescopes, or to a small dedicated space telescope. All the other exoplanets are only known by indirect evidence, like regular dimming of the primary star or doppler shifting of the star’s light. 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 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 Features: Ms Linda Roach linda.roach@nasw.org 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 december 2016
11
Therese’s Brain Teasers MENSA MINI IQ CHALLENGE
If you would like to discuss answers directly with MENSA, you can email Therese at therese@mensa.org.au
1. I am a PLANT. Each of the following words can be formed by using some of my letters and discarding others. What am I? NAB BAG BONE AGO BIN GAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------2. Decipher the rebus to find what John was given yesterday.
KCUFF LS ---------------------------------------------------------------------3. Find a word which can mean QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE and rearrange its letters to form a word meaning :
8. Unscramble the following to find today’s three pastimes :
p1: GRANDIE p2: CANGIND p3: FLOG
13. The number on each stone represents the difference between the numbers in the two stones on which it sits. Can you work out the five twodigit numbers on the bottom stones? Each of the digits 0-9 is used once only in the bottom row.
1
---------------------------------------------------------------------9. Which five-letter word can PRECEDE the following words, making four new words (hyphens may be needed)?
10 28
GANG pLATE LETTER SAW ---------------------------------------------------------------------10. Each symbol represents a different letter. Use the clues below to find the four words which make up the wordsquare.
WOUNDS ---------------------------------------------------------------------4. For each pair, find a word that can be added to the end of the first word and also to the beginning of the second word, to make two new words.
7 63
85
---------------------------------------------------------------------14. Replace the missing consonants to find four similar sayings: A) GIvE IT THE __ O __ B) GIvE IT THE __ __ E E __ __ I __ __ __ C) GIvE IT THE O __ D) GIvE IT THE __O-A __ E A __ ---------------------------------------------------------------------
ME _________________ ME BE ________________ SHOT
3
7
13
B
L
S
O
D
24
9
?
U
M
I
T
R
3
2
3
5
6. Write your five answers in the grid below to form a word square (ie, 1 Down = 1 Across etc). 1. Lock 3. Evade 5. Support
Z
C
Y
J
W
E
X
H
V
Musical Notes
P
K
G
N
A
Consecutive letters of the alphabet
2. Rent again 4. Car
F
Vowels
Roman Numerals
9
1
2
3
4
5
Consecutive letters of the alphabet
1 2 3
Solution include an Emperor
--------------------------------------------------------------------11. Which is the odd number out?
4 5
2 35
47
20 8
39
----------------------------------------------------------------------
17
32
41
7. Make sure your brain will AGE well by filling in the blanks to find the following words. A clue is given for each. A) MALIGN: __ __ __ __ __ __ AGE
---------------------------------------------------------------------12. Find a rhyming phrase for each of the following:
B) ELECTRICAL pOWER: __ __ __ __ AGE C) ANCESTRy: __ __ __ __ AGE
A) NEW vEGETABLE
D) ANCIENT AFRICAN CITy-STATE: __ __ __ __ __ AGE E) CESSATION OF ACTIvITy: __ __ __ __ __ AGE F) ANGER: __ AGE
C) TRENDy IDIOT
G) SySTEM OF JOINS: __ __ __ __ AGE
B) CLOUDy TUESDAy
D) TOLERATE SILLy-BILLy E) CASKET FOR GENIUS
--------------------------------------------------------------------16. Which five-letter word meaning SUPPORT can be decapitated to leave a word meaning a kind of CONTEST ?
SCORECARD: SCORE 1 POINT FOR EACH CORRECT ANSWER 13 – 16 Genius material 10 – 12 Excellent lateral thinker 7–9 Very good 4–6 Good 0–3 Bad hair day
YOUR SCORE
1. Begonia 2. Cuff links (CUFF L-in-KS) 3. Lioness (lesions) 4. So long 5. 30 6. Tress Relet Elude Sedan Stent 7. a) Disparage b) Wattage c) Lineage d) Carthage e) Stoppage f) Rage g) Linkage 8. P1: Reading P2: Dancing P3: Golf 9. Chain 10. Fend Ever Nero Drop 11. 39. The others are all 1 short of a multiple of 3. 12. a) Green bean b) Grey day c) Cool fool d) Suffer duffer e) Boffin coffin 13. 91 24 63 85 70 14. Give it the nod, the green light, the OK, the go-ahead. 15. Changeful (9 letters) 16. Brace (race)
9
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Therese Moodie-Bloom 2010
15. All of the letters of the alphabet are in the grid below, except for Q. What is the longest word you can find by moving from square to touching square, either up, down, sideways or diagonally? Each square may be entered once only.
Then read down the centre words to find John’s last words ---------------------------------------------------------------------5. What is the missing number?