MAY-JUL 2015
From the Editor: When we realize that the world is not ‘Black-n-White’ but is coloured in 50 (or more) shades of grey. Every day, life reminds us that things may not be necessarily right or wrong, there are answers in between them. The paradoxes that the world throws at us, the idea of subjective-ness… the changing answers with changing perspectives just makes the world around us so complex… we begin to wonder if the creator was serious or just playing some joke.. To escape from all this confusion and madness… it is so relieving to enter a world where “Every question shall have one and only one solution.” Welcome to the world of Puzzles where logic never takes a back-seat. And there is no room for two numbers in one cell (read zero tolerance to confusion not to mention boredom). The World Puzzle Championship and World Sudoku Championship will be held between 11th -18th Oct in Bulgaria this year. On this occasion, MInd covers an interview with Prasanna Seshadri, member of the Indian team at Contents
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About Contributors
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these contests. He is a Mensan and regularly contributes his puzzles for the MInd Magazine. We wish him and the entire Indian team good “luck”. .Do let us know what you would like to read here. Remember – it is your magazine. ~Durva Damle Editor, MInd
Submissions: Send in your articles and contributions in plain text format and pictures in high resolution .jpg format to: editor.mensaindia@gmail.com
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Cover Story: Puzzles
Durva Damle
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Disclaimer:
Mensa Pune Reboot
Mihir Golwalkar, Sayali Shirsath
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Mensa Delhi Meeting
Shreya Gupta
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Tech-Talk : Loon for All Mini Sagas
Shreya Gupta
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Mensa Mumbai
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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.
Games People Play (talk by Raunak Onkar at Mumbai Chapter)
Krishna N. Venkitaraman
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Investing: Incentives Caused Biases (continued…)
Puneet Khurana
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Book Review: Dibs in Search of Self
Krishna Vora
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Puzzle Page: Extra Region Sudoku
Prasanna Sheshadri
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Q&A with Prasanna Seshadri
Feedback: Like it, love it or hate it? Tell us how to make the MInd magazine better. Write in to the editor at editor.mensaindia@gmail.com
ABOUT CONTRIBUTORS:
Krishna N V is the events coordinator for the Mumbai Mensa India Chapter. Coinciding with the football transfer window, he is currently being transferred to Bangalore (with a buy-back clause). Krishna’s interests include reading, writing, poetry, traveling, trekking, football, behavioural psychology, and design. If you’d like to get in touch with him, shoot him a mail at krishna.nv85@gmail.com 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/ Krishna Vora is a Psychologist and a Special Educator by profession. She spends all her free time exploring different genres of reading. Link to her blog: https://krishnasvora.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/the-imitation-game/ Prasanna Seshadri 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 Mihir Golwalkar is an IT guy who mostly lives behind a keyboard and pretends not to like it. He also considers himself an IT guy (since he has a non-existent social life), a writer (a very debatable title for him) a part time criminal mastermind (if asked this question, he would deny everything, on principle) and a wannabe camera-shy model. He likes to use sarcasm and dark humour to get a point across, but this usage is only because killing people is frowned upon. You can also follow him here: http://balletofwords.blogspot.in/ Sayali Shirsath is someone who likes being a ‘Jack-of-all-trades’ instead of being ‘Master-of-one’. She is a Doctor by profession, but loves a variety of subjects. Her favourites being Technology, History (the untold version, not what the textbooks teach), English literature (‘To Be Or Not To Be’, is not the question here! She actually likes the ‘Grammar Nazis’), Music (it’s one of the best healers...Medicos need this for stress management), Dance, Badminton, Writing (basically, playing with words), Graphology (handwriting analysis, in layman terms…yes, it does have a scientific basis), learning new languages, and the list goes on... She would love to hear from you at Sayaliss.305@gmail.com Puneet Khurana: Puneet Khurana is an equity investor who after his associations with various India focussed hedge funds is now involved in managing money for friends and family. He runs Stoic Advisors, a niche consulting firm involved in Financial and Behavioral strategy consulting. He is also an educator who teaches MBA and CFA students and occasionally gives guest lectures at various investing workshops and seminars. He blogs at www.pragmaticinvesting.wordpress.com
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COVER STORY: PUZZLES COVER STORY: PUZZLES Q&A WITH PRASANNA SHESHADRI Q&A WITH PRASANNA SESHADRI The World Puzzle Championship & World Sudoku Championship are to be held in Bulgaria this year during 11th to 18th October.
something I look forward to the most each year now since 2011 which was the first time I was on the team.
Q: When do you start puzzling ideally? (that is, at what age do you start to solve so you are likely to make it to the national team) Prasanna: I would say it is possible to see talent in the
Prasanna Sheshadri, A regular member of the Indian team at these championships, and one of the top rated Indian puzzlers in the world, (he is in the world top 10 in WPF Sudoku Grand Prix Rankings for 2015), agreed to give us some insight into the world of puzzles. A member of Mensa India, the puzzles that feature in Mind are also his creations.
teens. The Chinese team is comprised mostly of teenagers and they are among the top solvers of the world. In fact, the 2013 World Sudoku Champion, Jin Ce of China, is born in 1997! This question of age is actually more relevant now than ever because China held the inaugural Juniors World Sudoku Championship in August. We ran a school event in India to pick a team for this, called Sudoku Champs. We have found some really talented individuals who can grasp the Sudokus and their variants (even the difficult ones) at the age of 13. I was involved in training our juniors’ team. We sent two U-15s, three U-18s (which was our main team) and one U-21. The U-18 Indian team won Silver with 2 Indian names (Aditi Sheshadri and Srishti Kejriwal) featuring in the top 10 individual rankings. In U-15 & U-21 individual rankings, all three Indian participants made it to the top 10. So it was a good start.
Q: Tell us about puzzles and puzzle championships, and about the special place that Sudoku enjoys in the puzzle championships. Prasanna: There is a common misconception among
Indians (and maybe other parts of the world) that Sudoku started first or that puzzles are a subset of Sudoku. It is the exact opposite. The World Puzzle Federation (WPF) have been holding a World Puzzle Championship since 1992. In 2005 Sudoku became more popular than all the other puzzles, and a World Sudoku Championship was started in 2006. In India, the first National Puzzle Championship was held in 2003, and for Sudoku there was a selection process from 2005 onwards. So even in India, it started with Puzzles. Personally, I have always preferred other puzzles to Sudoku. Sudoku Championship just happens to be something I’m also good at.
We will be starting up the school event again soon to select next year’s team. We hope to expand this. Last year, schools in Mumbai and Delhi weren’t interested, so any Mensa members, who are involved with schools, please contact me if this interests you.
Q: Who can start puzzling? Can you elaborate on the general academic liking/ background of professional puzzlers... are they essentially math geeks?
Q: When you attempt puzzles for the first time, one feels that apart from sheer logic, these puzzles also require a fair bit of command on combinatorics, Parity and Algebra in general. Is it a myth? Prasanna: A majority of the puzzles do not require much
Prasanna:
Anybody can get into puzzling. As far as academic background is concerned, I would say there is a lot of crossover there. I am pretty strong at math. I think a person who is interested in math would usually be interested in logic. However, there are people from very varied fields who are not experts. There are scientists, doctors, story writers, and many other occupations.
more than an understanding of the English language (which can be canceled out by the translators that are now easily available online), and logical skill. Algebra is the most common external knowledge required. The other concepts don’t get used so much in an academic sense as they do in a combination with logical deductions. It’s this combination that makes them special/difficult. To simplify it, this is an area that has no limitations except culture neutrality. This is the main reason Crosswords with General Knowledge aren’t a part of what we do and are a different area of puzzles entirely, though there is definitely crossover, and we have our own form of entirely logical Crosswords which aren’t based on GK.
Another major crossover would be people who like art and have some liking for logic. This is because the puzzles we do (or prefer to do) are handcrafted with nice attractive themes, which you wouldn’t find in the computer generated stuff that’s on newspapers. I think some of the puzzles I have provided for this magazine show that puzzles have an artistic element to them. Lastly, I think it’s just people who like to have fun. The World Championships are an amazing experience. While this has something to do with the puzzles, it has a lot to do with interacting with the puzzlers of the world. It is
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Mensa Pune Reboot: COVER STORY: PUZZLES The (a New) Beginning… Q&AStory WITHofPRASANNA SESHADRI Q: Tell us about the Indian Puzzle championship in which you were one of the administrators this year. Prasanna: Logic Masters India gives a wildcard to the best
Indian performer at the World Puzzle Championship to be on the Indian team for the next year. In 2014’s WPC, I was 23rd, which is to date India’s best rank at a WPC, so I was given a wildcard. With this wildcard I opted to get into organizing because the National Championships are usually organized by just two people year after year. Me doing it frees up those two individuals for other activities. The Championship has two goals.
1) To select the best and most capable Indian team. 2) To provide a little bit for beginners and newcomers to solve.
Because of this, we make sure there are some really easy puzzles and also some difficult ones. The contest ran for 150 minutes on Sunday, the 9th of August. The top 3 were selected to represent India, joining me on a 4-person team. The top 10 had prize, and e-certificates were given to all participants.
Q: What type of puzzles are covered in professional puzzling. Prasanna: In India, major exposure has been given to
Classic Sudoku. Some people will know Kakuro/ Fence from the Times of India/ Mumbai Mirror newspapers. At the world level, and even at National levels in India, a lot more types are covered. Classic Sudoku covers just 2 rounds at the World Sudoku Championships. The rest are made up of all kinds of variations of Sudoku. These include extra rules like having diagonals be 1-9 as well, or something more complex. The pool of variety is vast and never ending. The field of puzzles is an even bigger pool. The known puzzles to the general public are riddles, etc. But in a competition, a dynamic solve path is required rather than hit/ miss answers. So, the Indian and World Championships are made up mostly of grid based logical puzzles, pencil puzzles. A broad categorization would be – Number entry puzzles – Like Kakuro or Sudoku, some constraints will be given based on which numbers/letters must be entered into the grid. Shading/Connectivity puzzles – These ask the solver to construct a continuous wall of shaded cells depending on certain constraints. Loop puzzles – Draw loops based on constraints. Fence is an example. Placement Puzzles – Placing shapes or objects in the grid depending on constraints.
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Word Puzzles – Innovative forms of the well-known
crossword/scrabble games, but without requirement of general knowledge and focusing more on placement and interaction of letters of words logically. Constraint Puzzles – These ask whether a cell is true or false based on certain constraints and a solution is reached based on this. Hitori is an example. This doesn’t cover all varieties, and new varieties get introduced regularly. The key is to start with basic types, and over time, adaptability to new types improves.
Q. Can professional puzzling be seen as a career option. Prasanna: As of now, this is still a very new genre. So, as
a competitor, it is unlikely to make a profit. You would need to qualify for sponsorship through the Times Sudoku Championship, and at the same time get into the World top 10 in the online Grand Prix to have a chance of a profit. Or, travel to tournaments held in Thailand/China and secure 1st or 2nd place, knowing at least 2 of the world’s best solvers attend these. I do not mean to be discouraging, competing is fun in itself. Competitions are generally online and free for everyone. So there is an abundance of puzzle/Sudoku contests to expand the enjoyment. As a puzzle author, it is more likely to make an earning. I am a main contributor at GM Puzzles of USA. It also encourages guest contributors. But one needs to know what makes a quality puzzle. My puzzle section here should give an idea. An attractive visual theme and a good logical solve are a must. Puzzles having multiple solutions/no solution/no logical paths (guesswork) are all discouraged. Any aspiring author should first start their blog, sees how the puzzle community receives their puzzles, hone their craft, and then look at earning. So as of now, any form of earning in this area can only happen if you become one of the world’s best at it. It is doable however. I’m not the only example. Indians like Swaroop Guggilam and Ashish Kumar have begun creating puzzles recently and have already reached the quality level to have their puzzles published on Logic Masters India and GM Puzzles. I’m always available for guidance, and have my own mail-chains and such with many eager Sudoku/Puzzle enthusiasts. It is a growing field though, so maybe soon it’ll be possible for competitors and authors to earn through projects within India too. ----------------------------------------------------------------
MENSA PUNE REBOOT The Story of a (New) Beginning Once upon a time in Mensa-Land…
random Mensan minds (with their bodies), sitting at CCD Nal-stop, wondering what to say to each other. After an ice-breaker, conversations flowed with greater ease. Soon everyone sitting at that table talked freely like old school friends meeting at a re-union. Coffee and a deep conversation does get people to bond well.
Well, this is the way all stories start, and this is the way this one started as well. It was the 23rd of May, just another Saturday morning. And while this year’s summer has been treating us with its ‘specialty-of-the-house’ extra-hot sun, the day was a bit more pleasant than usual.
The Book Club
A majority of the assembly was interested in (or planning to start) reading. So, ‘Book-Club’ was the first SIG to be formed.
Flashback:
A few days ago, the Puneri postmen (yeah, they still exist) had delivered blue inland letters. The letters were invitations to an event. The occasion: Pune Mensa meet!
After a long discussion, the group, considerably well read, discussed about a variety of books and authors from the Classics like ‘Wuthering Heights’, to the newer ones like ‘Fault In Our Stars’; from the complicated ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and ‘Alchemist’ to the childhood favourites like ‘Nancy Drew’ and ‘Agatha Christie’; and the list goes on. (Well, you can’t keep listing all books and their authors; it would eat up all the space!) The topics of the SIG will cover most of the genres of literature, taking into account the varied age groups in the club. The book club has decided to pay homage to a famous author who recently passed away - Sir Terry Pratchett - by starting with one of his novels.
The unsuspecting recipients were probably bemused but definitely excited. (The OMG moment!) A torrent of thoughts must have flowed through the minds of the Mensans: ‘What is the meeting about?’ ‘Why did I get a letter all of a sudden?’ ‘Will I meet someone I know?’ ‘Will this article become cheesier as it progresses?’ All these questions were answered, when we reached the venue.
The discussion led to a realisation that there were a lot more things in common apart from books.
Here ends the sepia-mode-flashback movie:
The DIY Group
The meeting began at 10 O’ clock. The President of Mensa Pune, briefed the gathering regarding the activities of the rural initiatives that Mensa Pune (or more specifically, the Tribal Mensa Program) has been involved in, till now. She explained the need to form another branch of Pune chapter which will be parallel to the tribal branch, but focus on urban activities, and involve the dormant Pune members. (In short, the meet was basically intended to be a wake-up call for sleepy heads like us.)
Across the table sat another group…‘Intel Inside’ or the do-it-yourself group. This group was created by the creative minds. DIY is a way of keeping the brain active—with that motto, the group came up with ideas to work in areas like Programming/ Coding, Science prototypes, Robotics, Electronic circuits, Origami, Science of human bodies, Everyday problems, Learning a new language, etc. The first chosen topic was programming/ coding.
Around 30 Mensans and a few enthusiastic parents actively participated in the round table conference (or was the table rectangular?).This meeting was a platform for people with different views and ideas on how to take Mensa Pune forward. During the discussion, it was found that there was a lot of interest and potential to form varied interest groups (SIGs).
The meeting ended on a very positive note, as most of the attendees seemed content to meet individuals with similar interest. Both the groups would meet at a regular basis (at a new venue—after all, variety is the spice of life!) We expect future meetings to be attended by more members and hope to see a very active Pune body of Mensa, one of the prestigious, largest and oldest High IQ societies in the world.
A book club and a DIY club (tinkerers’ club) were immediately formed. An email id and a mailing list were created, to share content within each group.
And as they say: This was not the end, but a start… Till we meet again…
3 hours…
....the time the others would prefer spending in watching a movie, munching on salted popcorn...but here were 30
~Mihir Golwalkar, Sayali Shirsath
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MENSA DELHI MEETING Chapter Meeting. The Mensa Delhi meeting on 28th June 2015 started with introductions of all Mensans present.
Expansion: of the meeting, and of Mensa India
After the ice-breaker, the discussion moved to the expansion of Mensa in India. Creating new chapters under the supervision of existing Mensans and guidance of Mr. Kishore Asthana was a key point in this aspect. Mr. Marx bought up the point that regions like the North East do not have any Mensa Chapter. And effectively, such regions are almost left out of benefitting from and contributing to organizations like Mensa. Hence opening up a chapter of Mensa in the North East would be a great start to connect with more people from the region and see where Mensa India can contribute in its way to the region.
Gifted Children and the Dhruv Program:
The next topic was about conducting tests in government schools and counselling the gifted children on career opportunities. Stress was on proper guidance of these gifted children so they can reach their desired goal.
To take the Gifted Child Program further, suggestion was made by one member to conduct tests in private schools. The funds so raised can be then used for resources for career counselling of gifted children from humble backgrounds. A question that left everyone thinking was how to spread awareness about Mensa in a country where people join societies only to enhance their rĂŠsumĂŠs.
AGM:
The annual general meeting (AGM) of Mensa India for the year 2015 is to be hosted by the Delhi Chapter on 19th and 20th September, 2015. The agenda and the events to be organized during the AGM were deliberated upon. Inviting guest speakers, having panel discussions, President's meet and Fun activities to be held during the AGM were decided upon. With this, the meeting was concluded and everyone moved for lunch.
~ Shreya Gupta
Mensa Delhi Group Picture at the Meeting
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TECH-TALK Loon for All This famous tagline from Google’s Project Loon is creating quite a buzz these days. Kudos to Google X for taking up a project that aims to bring "balloon-powered Internet" to isolated areas of the world, once again proving that Google is way more than just a search engine or a mobile device company.
that pilot testers in these latitudes can receive continuous service via balloon-powered Internet. https://youtu.be/LNCFc00oejE
Charles, a Project Loon pilot tester, connects to balloon-powered Internet for the first time.
Obstacles to “Loon”
May be one of Google’s famed moon shots, project loon faces it’s biggest issues that are grounded here on the earth. Not just a major technical feat for Google but also a huge political undertaking; to be a success it’s going to have to take a deep dive into international relations, one which isn’t going to be so easy. This is so because Loon is no ordinary network, Google aims at building a network that knows no borders. Not only aimed at implementing in every country with underserved internet population, but coasting from continent to continent basically making it a service provider above the clouds
Source: http://androidspin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Project-Loon.jpg
“Balloon powered…what?”
The project aims at deploying balloons that float in the stratosphere, twice as high as airplanes and the weather; carried around the earth by winds, they can be steered by rising or descending to an altitude with winds moving in the desired directions. By using special antennas attached to the buildings people will connect to the balloon network. The signal will bounce from balloon to balloon, then to the global internet back on the earth
Need for this project?
http://blogs-images.forbes.com/gordonkelly/files/2015/02/930425140103-b-google-loon.jpg
Google’s done an amazing job by summarizing the idea behind this project in this small video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m96tYpEk1Ao
What's In It for Google?
"The company would need the cooperation of governments which control the airspace above their countries," Sterling said. "And given the recent NSA revelations, some countries might be suspicious that this would subject their citizens to U.S. surveillance. However, longer term that's probably not an issue." Sterling noted that Project Loon is also an example of how Google, more than most of its corporate peers, aspires to solve big problems on a global scale. Of course, the more Internet access, the more people can access Google services. "One question I would have is how to keep the balloons aloft at the requisite altitudes and avoid aircraft collisions," Sterling said, "but it appears they've solved that problem." So, waiting for the loon network to go up?... me too!
"Many of us think of the Internet as a global community. But two-thirds of the world's population does not yet have Internet access," Google said. "Project Loon is a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill coverage gaps, and bring people back online after disasters." Project Loon began with a pilot test in June 2013, when thirty balloons were launched from New Zealand’s South Island and beamed Internet to a small group of pilot testers. The pilot test has since expanded to include a greater number of people over a wider area. Looking ahead, Project Loon will continue to expand the pilot, with the goal of establishing a ring of uninterrupted connectivity at latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, so
~ Shreya Gupta
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MENSA MUMBAI – MINI SAGAS One-Line tales It began on the Mensa Mumbai Whatsapp group... Someone shared a terribly tiny tale in one line... that seemed to have the depth of a meaningful story. And then, the Mensan minds began to churn out their own versions of such “Mini Sagas”. Some of these Mini Sagas are shared here... hope the readers get inspired to write many more!
--------------------------------Mini Sagas---------------------------‘For the first time in his life, he did not beam when he was told he had a big heart. For this time, this remark was delivered by a grim faced cardiologist.’ ~ Manisha Mehta ‘He says life rocks. With tears as he looks at his erstwhile home in kathmandu.’ ~ Nishaki ‘He cane, he saw, and then there were three of them.’ ~ Krishna N.V.
‘She announced she was pregnant on their anniversary. Little did she notice, the ashtray disappeared that day on.’ ~ Dr. Rachita Narsaria ‘I thought she was my blue- blooded sunshine. I got royally tanned.’ ~ Nirav Sanghavi ‘The wind blew me along the direction I was walking in. As we turned the corner, I realised I was walking the wrong way.’ ~ Bela Raja ‘He felt his breath leave his body as the last light flickered out. There was not a soul around... to lend him a charger.’ ~ Nirupama ‘Parallel lines have so much in common. It's a shame they never meet.’ ~ Zubin Shah
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY Game theory - With Raunak Onkar ’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’ In other words, love is a dominant strategy. ~ (Avinash Dixit, Thinking Strategically) If Raunak was Dorothy Boyd and his audience was Jerry Maguire, he definitely had them at ‘Hammer’. With his good looks, charming smile, and disarming diction— more Russel Crowe than John Nash—Raunak began by quoting Charlie Munger (who in turn was quoting Abraham Maslow): ‘To a man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.’ Now when this ‘hammer’ is our one-dimensional view of the world, it certainly is a problem. Starting from that premise, Raunak carried the audience through the idea of mental models: toolkits that we employ to navigate the obstacle course called ‘life’. Mental models are basically ways of thinking—or thought processes—that we use when confronted with any situation or event in life. Building good, useful mental
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models gives us the ability to look at things from multiple perspectives; and find better ways of solving problems, or managing social interactions. For an interesting example, watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzDaBzBl L0 Raunak then explained the problems with economics designed for Mr. Spock, and how Homer Simpson rescued us from the pitfalls of the ‘rational human being’.
There are element of irrationality such as altruism and non-quantifiable selfishness, such as egotistic desires at the cost of material loss, which sully the black-and-white, mathematical nature of pure game theory. But modelling real world problems requires that we account for this irrationality while designing possible outcomes. Game theory finds application in telecom auctions, war strategies, gambling—but Raunak explained more practical uses of the concept including negotiating with the mob; and carrying out a bank heist, among others.
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY Game theory - With Raunak Onkar (watch one example here: https://youtu.be/JYSI4BXG00c).
When Greece said ‘No’ to the lenders’ plans to impose austerity, were they bluffing or were they really expecting to step out of the EU and destroy their own economy? If Humans were really rational, would they allow Greece to be in this situation? But at the same time, Humans want rewards and avoid punishment. And the Greek people surely want the same thing—the reward of more money until they get their act together, and to avoid the punishment of living in austerity.Clearly in this case, the relative importance of the cost and reward are different for Greece, the borrower,and IMF & the EU, the lenders. They are still bickering over what is the right thing to do here. Greece is really pushing its luck and so are its leaders.
An example of game theory playing out in the real world was the standoff between the EU and Greece. Here’s a simple ultimatum game: I have Rs. 500 and we have to split it between us in a fair manner. I will make you an offer to take a part of that Rs. 500.If you say yes to the split, we both walk away with our share.If you say no to the split, both of us lose.
Raunak then ventured into the hazardous confines of the Mumbai local. He explained how coordination and cooperation were the means to survival in the gametheory-settings dished up unwittingly by a Mumbai populace. Finally reflecting on the unhealthy social trend of looking at life as a zero-sum game: where each individual believes that his success has to come at the cost of another’s failure; Raunak signed off with this thought: ‘The more we look at life like a win-win game than a win-lose game, we create a better society.’ The audience eagerly lapped up on this foundation lecture of game theory. The idea of following this up with a discussion forum on the subject was mooted by them. So watch out for that announcement soon!
Raunak practicing the shunya-sum game
~Krishna N Venkitaraman
INVESTING: INCENTIVE CAUSED BIASES... Continued... ….Continuing with the discussion between Curious Manager (CM), who is an HR professional and PK – The Guide – Puneet Khurana. From the previous issue…
PK: You are absolutely right There are better methods Just that they are uncomfortable for managements to implement. But there is surely an answer to this.
CM: Is there a better way of providing incentives? So much research goes into studying and improving the system of providing incentives in the top universities, there must be something better in place.
Buffett has given the compensation structures for some of the subsidiary companies in his letters. The key is that there cannot be ‘one-fit-all’ solution to an optimum incentive system.
How do Buffett or Munger take care of this? Can you give me some examples?
In fact, in his 1996 letter to shareholders, Buffett explained Berkshire Hathaway’s incentive compensation
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INVESTING: INCENTIVE CAUSED BIASES... Continued... principles which beautifully capture the essence of incentive creation
actions. But what about the actions we want to discourage?
Goals should be
PK: Good one… a big problem with most incentive structures is that they encourage good behaviour but there are very few that discourage the bad ones.
(1) Tailored to the economics of the specific operating business; (2) Simple in character so that the degree to which they are being realized can be easily measured; and (3) Directly related to the daily activities of plan participants.
As a corollary, we shun “lottery ticket” arrangements, such as options on Berkshire shares, whose ultimate value – which could range from zero to huge – is totally out of the control of the person whose behavior we would like to affect. In our view, a system that produces quixotic payoffs will not only be wasteful for owners but may actually discourage the focused behavior we value in managers. So it’s important to study the business and understand what the key value drivers for the business are. And then the alignment of the incentives has to be done accordingly. For example, the problem with linking incentives to the profitability is that it doesn’t take in account total capital cost but only debt cost of capital. But if while calculating the profits for incentives purpose we deduct a charge for the cost of equity capital too and hence the equity capital is not considered free, we can fix that issue. This is exactly what HH Brown (a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway) does. And this keeps the incentives intact. Another efficient way Buffett describes is to bind incentives with the company’s value drivers like what Berkshire has done with GEICO. The incentives are aligned to two key variables (1) Growth in voluntary auto policies, and (2) Under-writing profitability on “seasoned” auto business (meaning policies that have been on the books for more than one year).
CM: Hmm…that’s interesting. It’s a very different and effective way of looking at incentive structures. Now, I have doubt - inspired by the mathematician Jacobi who said, “Invert, always invert”. We, so far, discussed how we can use incentives to get the desired
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NassimTaleb calls them “dis-incentives”. He made a very interesting and strong case for using incentives and dis-incentives as a better risk management tool than the existing statistical methods like VaR (value at risk). He gives an interesting example of the implementation of what was called Hammurabi’s code. Romans used this to create disincentives for the engineers to avoid cutting corners and cheat while construction of the bridge. The idea was simple - the engineer who builds the bridge was made to spend a few nights under the bridge. Simple and powerful! This simple lesson has been ignored in the usual compensation structures in 21st century and the results have been disastrous. The mortgage crisis is a very recent and vivid example of what happens when the incentives are skewed and are asymmetrical. The losses are mostly socialized. Hence, these disincentives/ negative incentives/ punishments are extremely important to be incorporated in the incentive structures. And don’t forget what we discussed in the previous article on Availability Bias – the more vivid the thing, the more available it is to our minds. George Washington used this vividness to make the negative incentives stronger. He used to hang farm-boy deserters forty feet high as an example to others who might contemplate desertion. But here is a very important point in the speech. It’s not only important to have symmetrical incentives, but it’s most crucial to NOT have incentives to cheat. It’s better to miss rewarding a desirable behaviour than to produce an incentive system which promotes cheating. Because bad behaviour once rewarded, is habit forming. And human beings have the tendency to game the system for their benefit. Concluding part in the next issue... ... introduction of ‘dread’ in the incentive system....
~Puneet Khurana Book: Dibs in search of self
BOOK REVIEW Dibs in Search of Self Author: Virginia Axline
don’t want his expression to be limited because of lack of availability of particular toys.
Once in a while you come across a book that you fall in love with. You find yourself becoming a part of the character’s life, wanting what he wants, crying out when you feel his pain and rejoicing every time he discovers a new side to himself. It’s amazing how Dibs isn’t even half my age and I can still relate to him so much.
The other important lesson you learn over here is that of neglect. Indeed anyone who still has the nature vs. nurture question may want to reconsider their stance. When you read this book, you see both nature and nurture in extremes and yet see the result of their interaction. Born to two high functioning individuals, he is definitely high functioning himself, but the nature of his rejection is so high, that you see him withdraw completely from his environment. So while he is absorbing everything he hears, sees and reads (he learnt how to read pretty soon), he also stubbornly refuses to interact with those around him, as a punishment, out of fear and a whole range of emotions that I worry a child his age shouldn’t be experiencing.
It has always bothered me when it comes to those research methodology books which continuously debate over empirical data and case studies. Of course the most preferred one is empirical studies, with huge sample sizes which are subject to rigorous statistical analysis and hence have a higher reliability and validity while a case study is deemed as just one isolated event. This book should be shoved right into the faces of those who do not believe case studies are important, because if you read this book you realize why sometimes a story of one child is all that is needed to gain a better perspective. Barely 6 years old and rejected even before he was born, Dibs comes across as a highly withdrawn child. Believed to be mentally retarded,a great disappointment and epitome of shame to his parents, you are introduced to him at a point in life where everyone has given up on him. His last shot at hope is a play therapist who has been given the rights to study him and use those videos for research purposes. What is interesting here is to see how mere reinstatements of the child’s words is the only real form of conversation the therapist has with him. There is no nudging, no extra questions, no pushing to achieve, absolutely no attack on him to come out of his shell (which is why I believe he does come out of his shell). It also helps that he has an environment where he could choose whatever it is that he wants to do. Given that the room has a whole range of material including sand, figurines, clay, crayons, paper, paints, brushes, doll houses etc., it isn’t a surprise that the child is able to project his feelings, role play them, vent out his emotions through play without having to worry about consequences. What we learn over here is clearly how play therapy works, where the therapist is merely the facilitator who provides the right Carl Rogerian conditions (unconditional positive regard, empathy, and congruency). Along with this, the child has a whole range of toys to choose from. Variety obviously helps as we
Apart from the above, the biggest lessons you get from the book is understanding how you should be addressing the child as a whole, not just his intellectual needs but also his emotional, behavioural and social needs and that a lag in one area would hold him back. We, as teachers are often too caught up in academic work, to stop, pause and consider how the child feels. One amazing activity done by a third grade teacher illustrates this point. She asks her students one simple question ‘What do you wish your teacher knew?’ And here’s what she finds http://www.boredpanda.com/student-notes-i-wish-myteacher-knew-social-problems-kyle-schwartz/ The end is worth as much as the rest of the book. You read an open letter Dibs wrote when he grows up… one that his therapist chances upon accidently. He talks about how he protests against the suspension of his friend caught cheating. Now your first impulse to cheating is obviously that of it being wrong, unethical and unfair and hence suspension being the next logical step. Dibs argument of course changes your viewpoint. I won’t tell you his exact views on it because I rather you read the book and then his thoughts when he is older, to see the full extent of growth that this child has experienced. All in all, this book teaches you to address the child as whole, highlights the importance of nurturing a child, introduces you to play therapy, makes you recall how awesome Carl Rogers is, all while you join character in his journey as he deals his demons, makes peace with his past and grows into a happy person that he deserved to be.
~Krishna Vora
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THE PUZZLE PAGE: Extra Region Sudoku ARROW SUDOKU About Extra Region Sudoku:
Solved Example:
One of the most basic ways to bring a variation in Sudoku rules is to form different kinds of regions spanning 9 cells which also contain 1-9. Diagonal Sudoku has 1-9 on the diagonals. Irregular Sudoku has different kinds of regions instead of the normal 3x3 ones. But what about when you want the normal 3x3 boxes AND some regions which aren’t just restricted to diagonals, but are free-flowing? These thoughts made Extra Region Sudoku a popular idea. There are many different kinds of regions that can be drawn over 9 cells, leading to many varying deductions
The Extra Region Sudoku Puzzle: Place the digits 1 through 9 into the empty cells in the grid so that each digit appears exactly once in each of the rows, columns, and bold outlined 3X3 boxes.Some groups of cells are shaded. These groups must also contain 1-9 with no digit repeating within a connected group.
Solution:
Theme: Four-region symmetry, Even diamond of givens. Tips: : This is one of the variants where the solver always needs to adapt to the layout presented. The basic logic is, for any extra region, if it has some cells within one 3x3 box, then all its cells outside that 3x3 box will contain the same set of digits as the part within that 3x3 box that the extra region doesn’t cover. In the solved example, the five white cells in the top left box contain the same set of digits as the five shaded cells from Row 2, Column 4 to Row 4, Column 2. Obviously, as the extra regions change, so do the set of cells that are equivalent. This is known as the In-Out rule or Law of Leftovers. Note about Logical Pencil Puzzles in general:
These are puzzles which have a step-by-step procedural and logical path. No guesswork is required, and there is no need to force a solution in the entire puzzle immediately. Each clue will come into perspective gradually, and using them a little at a time and spotting where the next step is, is part of the challenge and generally increases the feeling of satisfaction when they puzzle is solved. It is advisable to solve with a pencil and not a pen, so that erasing and backtracking is possible in case of an error.Also, these puzzles can generally have pleasant and artistic visual themes to them. They add a human touch making each puzzle unique in its value.
Solution to the April Puzzle of the Month: ARROW SUDOKU
~Prasanna Seshadri
Note: The solutions to the ‘Puzzle of
the Month’ will be published in the next issue.
For more puzzles and Sudokus like this and to know more about the Indian National Championships, you can visit the Indian website for all puzzle matters, Logic Masters India – logicmastersindia.com
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Following pages are from the Mensa World Journal
m e n sa w o r l d jo u r nal may 2015 issue #027 From the Executive Committee p3 SIGHT: New Zealand p5 (l-r me, Therese MoodieBloom, Director of Administration, and Sue Greatbanks, Acting Chairman Mensa NZ after a delicious lunch at a vineyard near Napier)
Also inside... unlocking music across the species p2
how brain waves guide memory formation p6
take a nap - it’s good for your health p7
lucid dreams and metacognition p8
sobering effects of the love hormone p9
can synesthesia be taught? p10
supplementally... puzzles
m ensa wor ld j our na l Unlocking music across the species
from the editor,
An international research team lead by Marisa Hoeschele from the University of Vienna argue that only by combining examination of species’ natural behaviour and artificially testing species for their potentials the animal foundations for our musical faculty can be discovered.
learn how to produce their vocalizations, a prerequisite to learning new songs, which is a relatively uncommon ability in the animal kingdom, and some can learn to produce additional vocalizations over their lifetime. Parrots also have this ability, and have recently Animal research could be the key to also been shown to be able to identify a unlocking what features of human mubeat and move to it. sic are cultural phenomena, and what Clearly, some animals appear to features are rooted in our biology. have biological adaptations that are Different human cultural groups quite similar to ours, but do these developed unique musical systems naturalistic parallels mean that animals independently across human history. can be musical? We already know that Despite the uniqueness of each musical at least some animals can categorize system, there are many aspects of music, music by composer and/or genre much such as the type of intervals between like humans do. The little work that is notes that sound pleasing, that tend out there in this quickly-growing field to have clear parallels across cultures. suggests that there are not only many It seems very likely, that if all humans parallels in abilities that are relevant for develop musical systems, and they also music, but many animals can perceive have clear parallels, that music is a the components of music the way we biological phenomenon of the human do, and at least some also enjoy similar species. aspects of sounds that we enjoy. Interestingly, just like there are “Our review outlines what we know cross-cultural parallels across musical in the field and where the field needs systems, there are also cross-species to go in order to ultimately be able parallels of song production andperto answer the question of the origins ception. For example, think of the of the human musical capacity,” says songbirds that are named for having Hoeschele. song-like vocalizations. Songbirds also
The 2015 Asian Mensa Gathering (AMG) is from August 28-30 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Seoul, Sth Korea. I can’t get there this year, but if it’s anywhere nearly as enjoyable as the event in Japan last year, it’s well worth booking in for. Have a look at their website http://amg. mensakorea.org for more information. The Director, Smaller National Mensas, Lars Endre Kjølstad, talks strategy on p3 and you’ll be pleased to see your puzzles from Therese back on p12. Other articles include Sobering Effects of the Love Hormone on p9, and (I like this one!) Take a Nap - It’s Good for You on p7. Thank you for sending your suggestions for MWJ content. I’d still like to see articles (500-600 words) from you - anything that you think would be interesting to Mensans in general - and also your own poetry and news of personal achievements.
With warm regards, Kate mwjeditor@mensa.org
Log into the International website at
www.mensa.org for the calendar of national events
sciencedaily.com
mensa world journal may 2015
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m ensa wor ld j our na l from the Executive Committee... Strategy... again!
Objectives! Funds! Time! Forget what we are, for a moment. Nearly one year ago I proposed a Take some care not to taint the forward-looking view on Strat- objective-setting with past operational performance. That Mensa International egy, thinking aloud on how to write, phrase and formulate the has not grown past 150,000 in 69 Strategy Document for the ben- years, does not mean that it can’t grow efit of its yet-to-come execution. past one million in the next ten. The link between descriptive and normative strategies is weak, at best – and we So, here’s the good news about the Advisory Strategy Committee, headed need the normative more. Then adding the ambition and by Heather Poirier (US Mensa) since objectives to the normative targets, and October 2014. The Committee has knowing current performance in order been developing the Strategy Document, and is moving towards proposing to measure the gap, we have everything we need. We have the necessary targets and ambitions to the strategy itself. The point in time, where I in the ingredients for executing a plan and knowing how it goes. We even have the previous article asserted that the rest time-dimension, making it possible to was easy, may now soon commence! measure not only where we should go, But considering that Strategy is of little importance without objectives, I but also how much distance is left and even its derivative; the speed by which shall try to point out the ‘wheres and we are getting there. whys’. Ambitions; have them! Objectives must be proposed and then decided. Are we aiming at maintaining the status quo or are we aiming at 1,000,000 members by a certain date? In the first case, a “keep calm and carry on” strategy is of no particular use. Of much more importance lies implicit in the one-million-goal (OMG!) and similar lofty ambitions regarding “intelligence for human kind”, if that too is going to improve substantially by such objective measures. It is essential that we (Mensa) break down the objectives and constantly review them. They will collectively form part of one complex decision backdrop, competing for funds and focus, so keep to the language of numbers! mensa world journal may 2015
Operationalize - and do not look back! Enter the ExComm and the Mensa International office, plus other available resources. How much of that growth target is up to Slovenia, USA and Russia? How much of that benefit-forhuman-kind-target is up to National Mensas, Mensa International, MERF or new projects? Can we fund it? How shall we fund it? What is the gap between the current 0.1-ish percent of total global revenue designated to Mensa International development, and what we need? Every ‘gap’ will need a financial plan, but there is no rule saying that a not-for-profit organisation should stay poor. The purposes beg to differ!
Lars Endre Kjølstad
Act on deviations from targets Any failure to meet an already-planned target within the acceptance criteria should automatically require corrective actions. Failures should require automatic responses, rerouting of resources or any other mandate the executors have for getting the movement back on track. No revision of targets! Here is perhaps the biggest difference between a professional business with stakes and responsibilities, compared to a volunteer-driven organization only answering to itself: if the current structure keeps underperforming, you need to change it, not redefine the purpose or the targets. Learning from those with real risks, the biggest mistake we often make is to let the current structure lessen our ambitions, so we should free our minds of such a limitation and just keep managing the change. That may bode well for an interesting Future Mensa! It all starts with ambition. Let’s have some!
Lars Endre Kjølstad Director, Smaller National Mensas dsnm-mil@mensa.org
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m ensa wor ld j our na l
MENSA PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Intercontinental Project Convergence “IPC” The Search for the International Mensa Photographer of the Year 2015
This year’s theme is Urgency Entries close on July 31, 2015 Any general enquiries about the international competition should be directed to the Photo Convergence committee at photocup2015@gmail.com
International Elections 2015 Your vote counts! Closing date: May 15 VALE Our dearest Antonio Casao Ibáñez passed away suddenly on February 17, 2015 in Zaragoza, his home town. He was the founder and chairman when Mensa España started more than thirty years ago, and he nurtured our Spanish chapter wisely from its very beginning. It is really easy to explain in one word what sort of person he was; he was a gentleman, always caring for Mensa and any member in need of advice. Antonio was a renowned economist and professor, a great speaker, and a loving husband, father, Mensan and friend. It is difficult to find someone who has so many virtues as a human being. We will miss him so much. mensa world journal may 2015
Rest in Peace, dear friend.
Queen Letizia of Spain greets Mensa Spain’s first Chairman, Antonio Casao Ibáñez, and current Chairman, Elena Sanz, at a reception in 2014.
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m ensa wor ld j our na l International SIGHT: New Zealand by Kate Nacard Here it is, straight from the horse’s mouth (so to speak). SIGHT is alive and flourishing - and absolutely amazing in New Zealand!
David Wright. They whisked us off to vineyards in the area). This was very close to where the tectonic Pacific and Mt Eden where we had a panoramic Australian plates meet and overlap, view of the city and where we were forming a strange landscape. On the joined by Vanessa Cozens. Then we way back to the ship, we called in at visited the War Memorial Museum their home where Sue gave us one of in the Domain - thank you Judy, our her bookmark calendars - each month personal tour guide! - then drove along the waterfront to St Heliers for a becomes a bookmark when the month I’m just back from a family cruise from is finished delicious lunch. Sydney to NZ with day-long stops in which are made We finished the seven ports along the east coast. from her excellent day with some A week before we left, my sister photos of the area. wicked chocoTherese (Moodie-Bloom) emailed the The next day late petits fours Acting Chair of NZ, Sue Greatbanks, (Heavens - this at Amanda’s to ask for a calendar of events just in makes five days home before case we happened to be in the right in a row that she dropped us place at the right time to meet some we’ve been met back dockside. NZ Mensans. and feted by NZ Aloma To our great surprise and delight Mensans!), we Parker, Acting there was a flurry of emails, and before had lunch with SIGHT Ofwe set sail, it had been arranged by l-r: me, Therese and Sue at the vineyard Jacek Cywinski ficer, National the acting SIGHT officer, Dr Aloma at an Italian restauSupervisory PsycholoParker, that we would be met in five rant in Wellington, the capital of New gist, an organiser of the first testing - yes, five - of those ports by Mensans Zealand. Jacek suggested a walk to session in NZ in 1965 and a founding happy to show us around their towns! the water’s edge where we meandered member, met us at Tauranga and took First stop was the Bay of Islands, us to the ‘non-Disneyland’ Rotorua - a through the Art Gallery and the wona beautiful bay containing 144 isderful National Museum. region of hot springs and bubbling lands, which is often referred to as the We can’t thank Mensa New Zeamud pools, rich in Maori history and “birthplace of New Zealand”. We were land enough for their hospitality and tradition. Thank you, Aloma - your met by Talia Mana who took us to a knowledge of the area and of the Maori friendliness; each of our hosts not only wonderful restaurant on the waterfront gave us a day of their valuable time, but who live there was invaluable. for lunch and then a mosey through went to no end of trouble planning for In Napier, Acting Chairman Sue the local markets. A lovely, relaxed us to see a New Zealand that tourists Greatbanks and her husband Jim couple of hours... treated us to a drive around Napier - a usually never see. In Auckland our hosts were Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! beautiful city, with a unique concentraAmanda Milne, a former Chairman tion of 1930s Art Deco architecture. of Mensa NZ and Games Designer For enquiries re International SIGHT, contact Lunch (gourmet plus!) was at nearby Pierpaolo Vittoria, International SIGHT Coordinaand Publisher (SchilMil Games), and Craggy Range vineyard (one of many tor: sight@mensa.org
mensa world journal may 2015
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m ensa wor ld j our na l books... “What if all the choices in your life, were not really yours?” “What if everything was planned by someone else?” Direct International Member from Mauritius, Jeekeshen Chinnappen has had a second book, Psychic Gang:The Men of knowledge, published. Available across the globe and shipped to any country and any address, Jeekeshen offers a 50% discount to Mensa buyers! It’s a unique novel whereby characters makes use of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and other self-help tools which can actually be used by readers. The plot revolves around a Harvard Financial Analyst who has lost everything in his life his career, his string of companies, his wife and his son. With the help of a female entrepreneur, he begins to get his life back together, only to realise that all that had happened could not
have been merely a series of coincidences. He comes to realise that the events of recent years have all been planned by a secret society who need to unleash the real him - A Genius Mind - in order to work out a longplanned mission. The book is available on Amazon and Createspace as well as many other retail distributors and can be shipped to any address. The Discount code for Mensa members is P2GK9PGC. Have a look at Jeekeshen’s website for more information: www. jeekeshenchinnappen.com or on www.facebook.com/jeekeshen.chinnappen Kate Nacard
How brain waves guide memory formation the prefrontal cortex - use two different brain-wave frequencies to communicate as the brain learns to associate unrelated objects. Whenever the brain correctly links the objects, the waves oscillate at a higher frequency, called “beta,” and when the guess is incorrect, the waves oscillate at a lower “theta” frequency. “It’s like you’re playing a computer A new study from MIT neuroscientists game and you get a ding when you get adds to that evidence. The researchers it right, and a buzz when you get it wrong. These two areas of the brain are found that two brain regions that are key to learning - the hippocampus and playing two different ‘notes’ for correct Our brains generate a constant hum of activity; as neurons fire, they produce brain waves that oscillate at different frequencies. Long thought to be merely a byproduct of neuron activity, recent studies suggest that these waves may play a critical role in communication between different parts of the brain.
mensa world journal may 2015
guesses and wrong guesses,” says Earl Miller, the Picower Professor of Neuroscience, a member of MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and senior author of a paper describing the findings in the Feb. 23 online edition of Nature Neuroscience. Furthermore, these oscillations may reinforce the correct guesses while repressing the incorrect guesses, helping the brain learn new information, the researchers say. continued on p10
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m ensa wor ld j our na l take a nap - it’s good for your health! A short nap can help relieve stress and bolster the immune systems of men who slept only two hours the previous night, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ( JCEM). Lack of sleep is recognized as a public health problem. Insufficient sleep can contribute to reduced productivity as well as vehicle and industrial accidents, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, people who sleep too little are more likely to develop chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and depression. Nearly three in 10 adults reported they slept an average of six hours or less a night, according to the National Health Interview Survey. “Our data suggests a 30-minute nap can reverse the hormonal impact of a night of poor sleep,” said one of the JCEM study’s authors, Brice Faraut, PhD, of the Université Paris Descartes-Sorbonne Paris Cité in Paris, France. “This is the first study that found napping could restore biomarkers of neuroendocrine and immune health to normal levels.” The researchers used a cross-over, randomized study design to examine the relationship between hormones and sleep in a group of 11 healthy men between the ages of 25 and 32. The men underwent two sessions of sleep testing mensa world journal may 2015
in a laboratory, where meals and lighting were strictly controlled.During one session, the men were limited to two hours of sleep for one night. For the other session, subjects were able to take two, 30-minute naps the day after their sleep was restricted to two hours. Each
of the three-day sessions began with a night where subjects spent eight hours in bed and concluded with a recovery night of unlimited sleep. Researchers analyzed the participants’ urine and saliva to determine how restricted sleep and napping altered hormone levels. After a night of limited sleep, the men had a 2.5-fold increase in levels of norepinephrine, a hormone and neurotransmitter involved in the body’s fight-or-flight
response to stress. Norepinephrine increases the body’s heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar. Researchers found no change in norepinephrine levels when the men had napped following a night of limited sleep. Lack of sleep also affected the levels of interleukin-6, a protein with antiviral properties, found in the subjects’ saliva. The levels dropped after a night of restricted sleep, but remained normal when the subjects were allowed to nap. The changes suggest naps can be beneficial for the immune system. “Napping may offer a way to counter the damaging effects of sleep restriction by helping the immune and neuroedocrine systems to recover,” Faraut said. “The findings support the development of practical strategies for addressing chronically sleep-deprived populations, such as night and shift workers.” (Other authors of the study include: Samir Nakib, Catherine Drogou, Maxime Elbaz, Fabien Sauvet, Jean-Pascal De Bandt and Damien Léger of the Université Paris Descartes-Sorbonne Paris Cité.) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-02/ tes-nrh020615.php
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m e nsa w o r l d jo u r n al june 2015 issue #029
Project Dhruv p4
Test in a Park for a roadside school run by the NGO, Guru Nanak Sewa Trust in Gurgaon.
from the Chairman... p3 LEAP 2015 - meet our new ambassadors on p6 looking for happiness in all the wrong places p2 why good solutions make us oblivious to better ones p5 is a wandering mind a good thing? p8 new research into determining quality of sleep p10 the more you sweat, the better you smell... p11 supplementally... p9 therese’s brain teasers p12
m ensa wor ld j our na l Looking for happiness in all the wrong places
Everyone knows that money can’t buy happiness, but what might make rich people happier is revealed in the current issue of The Journal of Positive Psychology. James A. Roberts of Baylor University and his two colleagues set out to explore the relationship between materialism - making acquisition of material possessions a central focus of one’s life - and life satisfaction. Numerous studies have already shown that people who are more materialistic are generally less satisfied with their standards of living, their relationships and their lives as a whole. With that being the case, the researchers wondered if anything could moderate that relationship and in effect make materialistic people more satisfied with their lot. They write: “Given the negative relationship that materialism has with positive affect, it stands to reason that positive affect and related constructs such as gratitude might be important moderators in the association between materialism and life satisfaction. In contrast to materialism, gratitude is a positive emotion that is experienced when someone perceives that another person has intentionally given him or her a valued benefit.” To test their theory, the trio analyzed the results of a specially designed questionnaire sent to 249 university students. The main results were as mensa world journal june 2015
expected. “People who pursue happiness through material gain tend to feel worse, and this is related to negative appraisals of their satisfaction with life,” they confirmed. However, their results also demonstrated that gratitude and, to a lesser extent, positive effect, both ‘buffer’ the negative effects of materialism, in effect making more grateful individuals more satisfied with their lives. The team observed: “Individuals high in gratitude showed less of a relationship between materialism and negative affect. Additionally, individuals high in materialism showed decreased life satisfaction when either gratitude or positive affect was low.” The trio conclude that negative affect, positive affect and gratitude seem to be ‘key pieces to the puzzle of the relationship between materialism and dissatisfaction with life.’ They suggest that the ‘pro-social, other-focused nature of gratitude’ might help to reduce the ‘self-focus’ inherent in materialism. “Specifically, individuals who are able to appreciate what they have even while engaging in materialistic pursuits might be able to be maintain high levels of life satisfaction.” In other words, being rich isn’t enough to make you happy; you also need to be grateful as well.
from the editor, At the time of writing, the results of the International Elections aren’t in, but whatever the outcome, I’m sure we can all rest assured that Mensa will be in good hands for the next couple of years. ExComm’s message today on p3 is from current Chairman Elissa Rudolph and is a round-up of her two years as our Chair. Wonderful work, Elissa - thank you! Indian Mensa (Delhi) has initiated a programme to help underpriveleged gifted children. Congratulations to all concerned with this project - I hope other Mensas will follow suit where possible. The Delhi Chairman’s moving account of the first testing sessions is on p4. The 2015 LEAP participants have been chosen - congratulations to all! Meet the winning applicants on p6. Lots of other articles I hope you’ll find of interest this month!
With warm regards, Kate mwjeditor@mensa.org
Log into the International website at
www.mensa.org for the calendar of national events
Science Daily
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m ensa wor ld j our na l from the Chairman...
Elissa Rudolph , Chairman, Mensa International
the long view
Looking back on nearly 2 years as your Chairman, I am delighted with the many accomplishments of the IBD and the Executive Committee. Mensa
International is growing - in 2 years we have gained about 10,000 members. Now there are 46 official Mensa groups (10 Emerging, 4 Provisional, 32 Full National Mensas) with stirrings of interest in 3 or 4 more locations. The world is getting smaller in some respects because of our Internet and social media connections, but there is still a lot of space where we can plant Mensa and watch it grow. At the very first meeting of the new MIL Executive Committee in August 2013 simultaneously with EMAG in Bratislava, Slovakia, the goals were: to get to know one another, take care of current business, adopt a communications plan (because we meet face-to-face only twice a year), and consider appointments to MIL’s various committees. The 2-day meeting began with a team building exercise that encouraged all to reveal their unique leadership style(s); this was the “getting to know you” part of the event. Quite difficult in some ways, but as a team we needed to know how one another approached and resolved challenges. I believe we, as the ExComm, built a solid foundation on which to have future productive discussions about MIL’s mensa world journal june 2015
goals and issues. We did not then and nor have we now - solved all the problems, however! In September of that year we had a successful IBD meeting in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with 31 countries represented. Discussions and/or motions ensued on such topics as licensing, use of the Mensa mark, testing procedures, establishing a web board committee to plan, execute, and blue sky improvements, expanding the Mensa World Journal both in print and online, and more (see Minutes on www.mensa.org). Over 2.5 days, representatives accomplished a considerable amount - as demonstrated in the 35 pages of minutes. In between face-to-face meetings, the ExComm meets monthly via GoToMeeting, a web-based virtual conference room, and despite a 17-hour time span linking our Californian and Australian members, we carry out the routine business that does not require the entire IBD’s consideration: encouraging ENMs and PNMs to rise to full national Mensa status; advising new groups of Mensans of the process to become official, such as Mensa Cyprus did recently; and resolving the administrative problems that plague a widespread organization such as ours. Just having 2 hours once a month where we can share and report on happenings in our various areas seems to
help dispel the isolation most of us feel at times. The ExComm members hail from England, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Australia, Austria, and the U.S. so even listening each other’s voices is a way to shrink the globe a little. And for our members who are the farthest apart in time zones, thank you for making the effort stay up past midnight or get up very early in the morning! Our third face-to-face meeting was in Freiburg, Germany, in April of 2014 during their AG. We experienced “Mensa” (means meet & eat) cafeterias at the University of Freiburg. For those of us not German, it was enlightening to experience Mensa in Deutschland’s annual general meeting - several hundred members voting for a new board in a very outspoken manner. That brings us to the most recent IBD meeting in Old Windsor, England, last September. It was a first for MIL in recent memory because our (continued on p7)
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Project Dhruv The Underprivileged Gifted Child Identification & Nurturing Program of Mensa India (Delhi) Testing session in the park
On the basis of the 2011 census we estimate that there are about six million underprivileged, gifted children in India’s rural areas whose intelligence is at the ‘extremely high’ level.
into tears when the result was announced. We had to often ask some children to move to the front as their eyesight was too weak to see In the normal course of events, their the board from the back and no one genius is likely to remain un-recoghad tested them for glasses. nized and under-utilized. This would be Then there are these girls, who my a major waste of the nation’s intellectual wife calls ‘Wonder-women’. Scoring resources. In a path-breaking nationin the 99th and 99+ percentile, they building project, we, in Mensa India are daughters of day laborers, rickshaw (Delhi) have initiated Project Dhruv pullers, street vendors etc. Some have with the objective of identifying and been abandoned by their fathers. After mentoring as many of these underprivi- school they go home to clean, cook leged geniuses as we can. and look after their siblings. One girl’s As a part of our Project, Indigo father, a construction laborer, died in Airlines have sponsored 100 extremely an accident just two months before the bright children to celebrate the arrival test. She has scored in the 99th percenof their 100th Airbus. This is designated the 6E Scholar Program. Another foundation has sponsored two children. We have just finished identifying these 102 gifted children. During testing, we encountered some touching moments – one child, while filling his form, asked, “what address should tile. Her mother runs a small roadside I write, sir. I live on the street”. An 11 tea-shop under a plastic sheet to supyear old, who had been selected, burst port her family. These are Wondermensa world journal june 2015
women indeed. We plan to help these children in a number of ways. The selected children will be counseled by experienced counselors. In Class IX or X, a Psycho-profile test will be administered to identify strengths and weaknesses and help make nurturing more personalized and focused. An Aptitude test will help identify the kind of vocations they are likely to excel at. We will assign personal Mentors to each Scholar who will act as the child’s friend, philosopher and guide. The Mentor will also keep in touch with their parents and teachers on a regular basis. Scholarships will be given to these children from their present class (usually Class VI) till they graduate. Their books and other continued on p05
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m ensa wor ld j our na l continued from p04
education material will be subsidized. We will also try to get these children admitted to better schools wherever needed and possible. We will do our best to help them receive educational loans from banks, various educational foundations and sponsors for professional studies. Our aim is to enable these children to change their future and that of their community. We want to see army officers, senior bureaucrats, corporate executives, innovative teachers, enlightened political activists, progressive farmers and successful entrepreneurs emerge from this pool of largely unrecognized talent amongst our underprivileged children. Our hope is that these gifted children will achieve their full potential and shine on India’s socio-economic field like the stars they are. All through this process, we are encouraging them to keep in mind that this will primarily be their own effort and we are only there to help them over the rough patches. This program for 102 children will be followed by other programs to identify and help as many of these underprivileged gifted children as possible. We are aware of the large responsibility we have taken upon ourselves and are looking forward to the cooperation and active assistance from other likeminded organizations and people all over the world.
Kishore Asthana President, Mensa India (Delhi) kishore.asthana@gmail.com
International Photographer of the Year Entries close July 31 mensa world journal june 2015
Why good solutions make us oblivious to better ones Psychologists have known about the so-called Einstellung effect since the 1940s. Now researchers are developing a solid understanding of how the phenomenon works.
to determine why they had disregarded the (simpler) alternative. Bilalić and his colleagues decided to track the players’ eye movements with an infrared camera. “We were able to establish that they were, quite literally, blind to the alternative, better solu“Our brain generally prefers a familiar, tions,” the psychologist reports. The players’ gaze did not shift away from trusted solution, rather than exploring the squares that they had identified as alternatives,” Merim Bilalić (Departpart of the “smothered mate” sequence, ment of Psychology, University of Tubingen)) explains. This phenomenon even though they insisted that they had looked for alternative solutions. has been known since 1942, when The alternatives they did explore were the American psychologist Abraham clearly only variations of the already Luchins conducted experiments with water jugs, each with a different capac- established five-step sequence. According to Bilalić, this bias preity. Participants in the experiments were asked to work out how to transfer sents a problem in many areas. What makes the Einstellung effect particuliquid between the jugs so that they larly difficult is that most are simply would end up with 100 units of water not aware of the phenomenon. in one container. The solution to this “We believe that we generally aptask involved three steps. proach problems with an open mind. When they were subsequently given However, the brain unconsciously simpler tasks to solve, they continued steers our attention towards previously to apply the more complicated threestored knowledge. Any information step solution. “Researchers have conducted similar that does not match the solution or experiments with chess players,” Bilalić the theory we have already internalized, tends to be ignored or masked.” goes on to say. In his experiments, expert chess players were presented with This may lead doctors to make erroa situation where they could use a well- neous diagnoses, and judges to form known five-step sequence (“smothered judgements in line with earlier cases. mate”). The players also had the option Bilalić therefore concludes: “We must be aware of our errors, if we genuinely to win the game by applying a less familiar sequence, involving only three want to improve our thinking.” steps. Most players chose the familiar sequence. During the interviews conhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releasducted subsequently, it was not possible es/2015/03/150326082703.htm
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m ensa wor ld j our na l LEAP 2015 The Leadership Exchange Ambassadors Program Committee (LEAPcomm) has selected five ambassadors for the current year, all in the Talks track. This group of future leaders will travel to American Mensa’s 2015 Annual Gathering in Louisville ( July 1-5) and the Asian Mensa Gathering in Seoul, Korea (August 28-30) to present workshops on leadership experience and best practices that have helped their own Mensa grow. They will write a best practice report available to Mensa groups all over the world. The applicants were ranked according to communication skills, presentation content and topic relevance to Mensas worldwide. Charlotte Hoyng (Netherlands), working in the education field herself, has developed a quiz for young children in their final year of primary school (11-12 years of age). The quiz is being held on a national level and has generated a lot of positive publicity for Dutch Mensa. The aim is to facilitate recognition of gifted children. (video*, charlotte.hoyng@mensa.nl)
Roberta Kehler (Canada), pictured below, has transferred her skills on group dynamics learned as a street and stage magician into her present role as an interpreter and tour guide. She has some tricks to show on Strategic Design in Interpretive Displays, Achieving Excellence as a Mensa Ambassador and Identifying Opportunities for Effective Community Outreach Programs. (video*, light_traveler@telus.net)
Hana Kalusova (Czech Republic), pictured at left, will share her experience with proven methods on membership growth. She has been part of the process of the last couple of years by which the number of members almost doubled. Hana will talk about testing, PR (also for events), administration, volunteer support and more. (video*, hana.kalusova@mensa.cz)
mensa world journal june 2015
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m ensa wor ld j our na l (continued from p3)
(continued from p6)
Stefano Lodola (Italy), travels a lot and sees the world with Mensa. He wants to share his knowledge of, and promote, SIGHT and will talk on his experience as a traveller, language learner, SIGHT user and coordinator; the current state of international awareness and initiatives in some national Mensas, and, proposals for improvement, based on previous
conclusions and data gathered. (video*, lodolastefano@gmail.com)
Thorsten Kreissig (Germany), has witnessed many interesting concepts within and outside of Mensa to improve the networking skills of Mensans and the quality of certain events. He sees Mensa as a pool of amazing talent and connections and is keen to connect Mensa with the world at large to gain mutual benefits. TK will share proven formats of Mensa Germany reaching out to non Mensans. (video*, mensa@kreissig.net)
The LEAP Committee would like to thank all applicants. Mensa’s future is well-assured with members such as these to contribute their talents. Jacqueline Bonkenburg, Chair LEAPcomm * The video of each of the successful candidate’s presentation can be viewed at www.mensa.org mensa world journal june 2015
Executive Director, Michael Feenan, and Kim Farr, Executive Assistant, organized the entire event in the rural countryside northeast of London. NatReps and others could extend their visit by attending the British Isles AG in Cardiff, Wales, the weekend before the IBD meeting. Having two events close geographically and time wise made for an efficient and memorable visit to Mensa’s birth country. Again representatives from 31 countries attended the Old Windsor meeting. Discussions and presentations included refinement of EMAG and AMG guidelines, creation of strategic planning committee, increasing DIM subscription rate, how life memberships are to be handled in countries that wish to offer them, appointments including a new international supervisory psychologist, adaptive testing in Hungary, Mensa Denmark’s offer to share a website template for “Mensa Out of the Box,” the budget, discussion and adoption, and more (see 49 pages of Minutes on the mensa.org website). When a diverse group of individuals, such as those who constitute the IBD, come together, one might expect the ideas to fly off in a hundred directions. And they do! Yet, because of our common goal of making Mensa better for all, we manage to focus on those ideas that truly require concentration and compromise.
Elissa Rudolph Chair, Mensa International chairman-mil@mensa.org 07
m ensa wor ld j our na l is a wandering mind a good thing? Does your mind wander when performing monotonous, repetitive tasks? Of course! But daydreaming involves more than just beating back boredom. In fact, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a wandering mind can impart a distinct cognitive advantage.
plan for the future,” Bar explains, adding that he suspected that there might be a connection between the two. As a point of comparison and in separate experiments, the researchers used tDCS to stimulate the occipital cortex- the visual processing center in the back of the brain. They also conducted control studies where no tDCS was used. While the self-reported incidence of mind wandering was Scientists at Bar-Ilan Univerunchanged in the case of occipital sity are the first to demonstrate During treatment, the participants and sham stimulation, it rose conhow an external stimulus of low-level were asked to track and respond to siderably when this stimulation was apelectricity can literally change the way numerals flashed on a computer screen. plied to the frontal lobes. “Our results we think, producing a measurable upThey were also periodically asked to re- go beyond what was achieved in earlier, tick in the rate at which daydreams - or spond to an on-screen “thought probe” fMRI-based studies,” Bar states. “They spontaneous, self-directed thoughts in which they reported - on a scale demonstrate that the frontal lobes play and associations - occur. Along the of one to four - the extent to which a causal role in the production of mind way, they made another surprising they were experiencing spontaneous wandering behaviour.” discovery: that while daydreams offer a thoughts unrelated to the numeric task welcome “mental escape” from boring they had been given. Improved “Cognitive Capacity” of the tasks, they also have a positive, simultaWandering Mind neous effect on task performance. The Brain-Daydream Connection In an unanticipated finding, the present The new study was carried out in According to Prof. Bar - a long-time study demonstrated how the increased Bar-Ilan’s Cognitive Neuroscience faculty member at Harvard Medical mind wandering behavior produced Laboratory supervised by Prof. Moshe School who has authored several stud- by external stimulation not only does Bar, part of the University’s Gonda ies exploring the link between associa- not harm subjects’ ability to succeed (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain tive thinking, memory and predictive at an appointed task, it actually helps. Research Center which Prof. Bar also ability - the specific brain area targeted Bar believes that this surprising result directs. for stimulation in this study was anymight stem from the convergence, What Makes a Mind Wander? Participants were treated with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive and painless procedure that uses low-level electricity to stimulate specific brain regions. mensa world journal june 2015
thing but random. “We focused tDCS stimulation on the frontal lobes because this brain region has been previously implicated in mind wandering, and also because is a central locus of the executive control network that allows us to organize and
within a single brain region, of both the “thought controlling” mechanisms of executive function and the “thought freeing” activity of spontaneous, selfdirected daydreams. continued on p9
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mensa w o r l d j o u r nal july 2015 issue #030
How do you feel? Video of your face may tell all p7
Credit: Mayank Kumar/Rice University
inside...
playing a wind instrument could help lower the risk of sleep apnoea p2 why Mensa? p3 exploring www.mensa.org p4 what happens underground when a missile or meteor hits? p5 the Mensan’s burden: confronting apathy p6 epilepsy research opens a window into the brain p9 in search of tinnitus p9 vampire bats have a taste for bacon p10 supplementally... p11 Therese’s brain trainers p12
m ensa wor ld j our na l Playing a wind instrument could help lower the risk of sleep apnoea A new study has found that players of wind instrument have a reduced risk of developing obstructive sleep apnoea. The findings, presented at the Sleep and Breathing Conference 2015, suggest that this could be considered beneficial to those individuals who are at high risk of developing sleep apnoea. Researchers in India conducted lung function testing in 64 people who played a wind instrument and compared results to a control group of 65 people who did not play any wind instruments. All participants also completed the Berlin questionnaire, an established method used to assess the risk of sleep apnoea. When analyzing the results of the questionnaires, the researchers found that the group who played the wind instruments had a lower risk of developing sleep apnoea. However, no difference was seen between the two groups in the lung function tests. The relative risk of developing sleep apnoea based on the questionnaire was 0.18 in the wind instrument players, with a relative risk of less than one, indicating a lower risk compared to controls. The researchers believe that this is due to the increased muscle tone in the upper airways, which wind instrument players are likely to have. mensa world journal july 2015
Silas Daniel Raj, one of the authors of the study, commented, “The findings of our small study present an interesting theory on preventative measures or treatment in sleep apnoea. If the findings are confirmed in larger groups, wind instrument playing could become a cheap and non-invasive method of preventing sleep apnoea in those at risk of developing the condition.” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150416192555.htm
Log into the International website at
www.mensa.org for the calendar of national events
from the editor, You’re not too late to enter in the International Photographer of the Year 2015 competition; closing date, July 31. Info is on p4 with full details in the April MWJ. The European Mensa Annual Gathering (EMAG) is in Berlin this year, from August 12-16. Info at https://emag.mensa.de. I’ll be there - please come and say hello! The article on p3 covers ground that many of us have come across: the questions, Why Mensa? And why is it so hard to find an acceptable answer? An interesting insight from Mensa Germany’s Vanitas Berrymore. Many members have still not logged into our website, www.mensa.org. On p4 ,Therese Moodie-Bloom outlines the benfits of having access to the site. Why not give it a go! Lots of other articles this month including an investigation into tinnitus, recent research into epilepsy, what happens underground when a meteor hits, and a member contribution on p6. Therese’s Brain Teasers are on p12; don’t forget that her puzzles may be used in any Mensa publication as long as her copyright is acknowledged. Keep sending your thoughts in I love hearing from you!
With warm regards, Kate mwjeditor@mensa.org 02
m ensa wor ld j our na l from the executive committee... Why Mensa? And why is it so hard to give an appropriate answer to this question? M
any of you have already had a conversation with a non-Mensan where you had to answer the question: what is Mensa? And I guess that many answers either beat around the bush or try to respond in somewhat vague terms. Probably it is a cultural question, too, but many avoid a straight answer: Mensa is a high IQ society for the top 2%. This surely has to do with the fact that intelligence is a highly emotional (and moreover overestimated) topic and you usually don’t want to appear like someone who considers himself a cut above the rest. Therefore, many who try to answer that question use comparisons to associations like the KLM1 to explain the purpose and benefits of Mensa. And exactly this comparison casts a twilight on the self-reflections of Mensa/Mensans. It is indeed right that it is a mere fact, that someone is highly intelligent. Intelligence has nothing (or at least little2) to do with effort or exercise. And it is also OK if someone states that his IQ is just a fact and there is no need for justification or even excuse. So far, the comparison to the KLM is more or less appropriate. But the comparison gets weak if we have a look at the VKM2.
Obviously body height is something that can be treated as a mere fact, whatever its value is. But there would obviously never be a low IQ society of the bottom 2%. Maybe it is therefore more appropriate to compare Mensa to an association of the most beautiful or the wealthiest persons? Well, beauty is subjective and hard to measure and wealth usually corresponds to effort and therefore neither comparison matches perfectly, but I’d like to stress those comparisons a bit more. Imagine your impression and attitude towards a person who tells you that he belongs to the wealthiest 2%. Maybe all the typical questions arise like “What is he trying to say with that?”, “What is the worth of money?”, “What does he gain out of it?”, “Is he happier because of it?” (although you might not really ask these questions). Whatever the questions will be, I suppose that there aren’t many people who will just note wealth as a mere fact without any further meaning. If someone tells you that he belongs to the tallest 2%, you tend much more to take note of it without further thoughts. Obviously there are facts and facts. Coming back to Mensa, comparing Mensa with tall people associations
Vanitas Berrymore
might be helpful, but doesn’t really help to explain the way it feels like to be a Mensan and above all it doesn’t really help to understand the reservations other people have towards a high IQ society. Reservations or even suspicion are somewhat comprehensible and to understand these reactions requires that we put ourselves in their place. No one likes to justify himself for being intelligent. But imagine a wealthy person who for a start makes clear, that there is no need to justify himself for his money. Maybe he is right, but I guess there are many who would regard this person as arrogant. Furthermore, even if we are aware of the resentments others might have, it is still hard to explain the purpose and the benefits of Mensa to other people. Even convincing other intelligent people to join Mensa can be difficult and it’s hard to find the right words. Sometimes it’s strange how instinctively at home you feel while (continued on p4)
1. KLM is a German association for people with a body-height very much above average 2. I want to avoid the debate whether intelligence is inheritable or influenced by environmental influences 3. VKM is a German association for people with a body-height very much below average mensa world journal july 2015
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m ensa wor ld j our na l being amongst a Mensa group and how hard it is to explain that feeling to anyone who hasn’t experienced it himself. We, as Mensans, know best that a high IQ does not automatically imply higher competence or success and those latter categories are not the reason why we search out the company of other intelligent people. But how to explain that? I think the only way is, to set a good example. Questions from those with high potential such as, “Why should I join Mensa?”, “What will Mensans be like?” as well as other questions such as “Do they talk about highly sophisticated stuff all the time?” or “Am I good enough for their company?” can all be answered by ,“You should join Mensa, because of Mensans like me. Do I as a Mensan talk about highly sophisticated stuff all the time?” and “Yes, you are good enough for my company and I am a Mensan.” Once again, we should be prepared to meet (spoken or unspoken) criticism that a “brainiacs only club” might be a bit arrogant or restrictive. We should keep in mind that picking the 2% who score best on a specified test is indeed a somewhat arbitrary criterion. And that being arbitrary does not make it a worse way of creating a totally mixed, but somewhat consistent, unique group of people. We should be able to present Mensa as an association of people who are curious to meet interesting people and who have chosen to search among those who are totally different in all but their intelligence.
Vanitas Berrymore
At the time of writing, Vanitas represented Mensa Germany on the Executive Committee. He has since resigned from the Board of Mensa Germany and consequently from the ExComm. mensa world journal july 2015
exploring your website Have you visited www.mensa.org lately? There is a members’ only section which any financial member in the world can log into. Within this area you can find everything you need to know about Mensa – rules, regulations, the Constitution, guidelines for committees, Agendas and Minutes from the International Board of Directors (IBD) meetings, information about SIGHT, about LEAP, about Special Interest Groups and so on. You can also discover Mensa groups in other countries by reading their magazines which are available on-site. You can even plan your trips around international events held in other countries, partake in forums, and enter competitions! When you first log in, we need to confirm that you are indeed a member in good standing. The more assiduous your national board is in updating this information, the quicker your log-in! Is there anything you would like, or expect to see on the website that is not there? Is there anything that would make the site more interesting and encourage you to visit more often, or to hang out there? Please let me know! Send an email to me at admin-mil@mensa.org and copy it to webboard@mensa.org because we want this to be your website, designed to satisfy your wants and needs! Social Media Groups If you have been approved for log-in
at the Mensa International website, you are also eligible to join the official Mensa International FaceBook group, called simply “Mensa”, which is administered by Stacey Kirsch, and the Mensa Linked-in group administered by Francois Aubert. Members wishing to contribute their skills and expertise to enhancing our website are also invited to write to Peter Froehler, chair of the Mensa International Web Board at webboard@ mensa.org.
Therese Moodie-Bloom Director of Administration Mensa International admin-mil@mensa.org
2015 International Photographer of the Year . Time is running very short closing date for DIMs is July 31. . The theme is Urgency . Photos should be in jpeg format and not exceed 1 mb . Send your entry along with your name, membership number and title of photograph to photocup2015@gmail.com . You may send up to three entries . Each entry must be entirely your own work (Full rules can be found in the April 2015 Mensa World Journal)
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m ensa wor ld j our na l What happens underground when a missile or meteor hits? Study explains why soil and sand get stronger when they are struck harder
When a missile or meteor strikes the
earth, the havoc above ground is obvious, but the details of what happens below ground are harder to see. Duke University physicists have developed techniques that enable them to simulate high-speed impacts in artificial soil and sand in the lab, and then watch what happens underground close-up, in super slow motion. In a study scheduled to appear this week in the journal Physical Review Letters, they report that materials like soil and sand actually get stronger when they are struck harder. The findings help explain why attempts to make ground-penetrating missiles go deeper by simply shooting them harder and faster have had limited success, the researchers say. Projectiles actually experience more resistance and stop sooner as their strike speed increases. Funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the research may ultimately lead to better control of earth-penetrating missiles designed to destroy deeply buried targets such as enemy bunkers or stockpiles of underground weapons. To simulate a missile or meteor slamming into soil or sand, the researchers dropped a metal projectile with a rounded tip from a seven-foothigh ceiling into a pit of beads. During collision, the kinetic energy of the projectile is transferred to the beads and dissipates as they butt into mensa world journal july 2015
each other below the surface, absorbing the force of the collision. To visualize these forces as they move away from the point of impact, the researchers used beads made of a clear plastic that transmits light differently when compressed. When viewed through polarizing filters like those used in sunglasses, the areas of greatest stress show up as branching chains of light called “force chains” that travel from one bead to the next during impact, much like lightning bolts snaking their way across the sky. The metal projectile fell into the beads at a speed of six meters per second, or nearly 15 miles per hour. But by using beads of varying hardness, the researchers were able to generate pulses that surged through the beads at speeds ranging from 67 to 670 miles per hour. Each impact was too fast to see with the naked eye, so they recorded it with a high-speed video camera that shoots up to 40,000 frames per second. When they played it back in slow motion, they found that the branching network of force chains buried in the beads varied widely over different strike speeds. At low speeds, a sparse network of beads carries the brunt of the force, said study co-author Robert Behringer, a professor of physics at Duke.
But at higher speeds, the force chains grow more extensive, which causes the impact energy to move away from the point of impact much faster than predicted by previous models. New contacts form between the beads at high speeds as they are pressed together, and that strengthens the material. “Imagine you’re trying to push your way through a crowded room,” said study co-author Abram Clark, currently a postdoctoral researcher in mechanical engineering at Yale University. “If you try to run and push your way through the room faster than the people can rearrange to get out of the way, you’re going to end up applying a lot of pressure and ramming into a lot of angry people.”
Other authors of this study include Alec Petersen of the University of Minnesota and Lou Kondic of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/ du-whu041015.php
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m ensa wor ld j our na l The Mensan’s Burden : Confronting Apathy
Apathy derives from the word ‘apa-
theia’, Greek for ‘without feeling’. In today’s world, where social, political and environmental causes all have to jostle for the public’s limited attention span and where the means of popular engagement have reduced campaigning to a social media game, with virality given greater precedence than impact, it is psychologically and emotionally draining to keep up an involvement in matters which, often times, one can do very little about or worse, feel no affinity for. Some time ago, in response to a newsfeed populated by opinionated Facebook friends invoking terrible deaths on animal abusers and an entire generation of people taking ice bucket challenges to avoid donating money to a cause or the pointless hashtags which bring no girls back, I retreated into a space where I only posted photos of places I’d been and the things I was doing; holiday snaps and hipster cafes with equally hipster photo filters applied- the ultimate, apathetic Facebook feed. It could be a desensitization to the horror stories one sees on an almost daily basis. And then there are the problems so persistent – oil, the Middle East, Africa and now the environment, that surely, given that the best minds have and are dedicating themselves to them, should have been resolved generations ago? The title I’ve chosen for this article is an allusion to William Easterly’s The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much mensa world journal july 2015
Harm and So Little Good (2006), a ‘ widely anticipated counterpunch [after he was] promptly fired by his then-employer the World Bank following his excoriating attack on the tragic hubris of the West’s efforts to improve the lot of the so-called developing world in his previous book, The Elusive Quest for Growth’ 1 . The subject matter of Easterly’s book is curiously, maybe even ironically, close to the heart of the issue that I chose to tackle and is the reason for this article. I’d recently founded Travel Like A Humanitarian, an online platform for Non Government Organisations (NGOs) to put up their travelrelated products. This was formed as a result of the observations I’d made whilst travelling for Urbane Nomads, a travel company specializing in luxury adventure travel. I’d seen, first hand, how travel can be a force for good, or rather, the potential for tourism to be a game-changer in the preservation of traditional lifestyles, animal conservation and even in certain cases, the partial reconstruction of ecological habitats. The model for high value, low impact has always been emphasized in luxury travel but I had been looking for ways in which this could become more accessible to the masses, leading to the formation of Travel Like A Humanitarian. This is an online portal that brings the work of NGOs to the attention of the masses and for the masses to be
by Hajar Ali
Hajar Ali
able to access, in one place, the various tours they can choose from in order to travel more responsibly. As another Mensan has pointed out, there are so many fields for us to choose from in which we can apply ourselves and potentially excel in. Also, maybe, apathy is the way forward. Perhaps we need to divorce ourselves from the emotional burden and visual horror of witnessing human carnage on CNN or the photo of the emaciated polar bear signifying climate change, in order to think rationally about what can be done to make real changes with what’s wrong with the world today. 1. (David Ignatius, http://williameasterly.org/ books/the-white-mans-burden/)
Hajar Ali is the editor of Singapore Mensa’s national journal and joined Mensa when
she was 19 and at university. She’s travelled
extensively including trekking on horseback in places as varied as Kazakh Mongolia,
Argentinian Patagonia, Laikipia in Kenya as well as the Atacama in Chile. You can find out more about Travel Like A Humanitarian at www.travellah.org
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m ensa wor ld j our na l How do you feel? Video of your face may tell all Rice University researchers are developing a highly accurate, touch-free system that uses a video camera to monitor patients’ vital signs just by looking at their faces. The technique isn’t new, but engineering researchers in Rice’s Scalable Health Initiative are making it work under conditions that have so far stumped earlier systems. The Rice version, DistancePPG, can
and asked, ‘Why?’” The wires monitored the babies’ measure a patient’s pulse and breathpulses, heart rate “and this and that,” he ing just by analyzing the changes in one’s skin color over time. Where other recalled. “And the wires weren’t a probcamera-based systems have been chal- lem. The problem was that the babies would roll, or their mothers needed to lenged by low-light conditions, dark skin tones and movement, DistanceP- take care of them, and the wires would PG relies on algorithms that correct for be taken off and put back on.” That, Kumar said, could potentially damage those variables. the infants’ delicate skin. The team of Rice graduate stuKumar and his colleagues were dent Mayank Kumar and professors aware of an emerging technique that Ashok Veeraraghavan and Ashutosh Sabharwal created the system that will used a video camera to detect nearly imperceptible changes in a person’s skin let doctors diagnose patients from a color due to changes in blood volume distance with special attention paid to those in low-resource settings. The lab’s underneath the skin. Pulse and breathing rates can be determined from these research appear in the Optical Society minute changes. journal Biomedical Optics Express.  That worked just fine for moniKumar, the project’s lead graduate toring Caucasians in bright rooms, he researcher, said DistancePPG will be particularly helpful to monitor prema- said. But there were three challenges. The first was the technique’s difficulty ture infants for whom blood pressure cuffs or wired probes can pose a threat. in detecting color change in darker skin tones. Second, the light was not always In fact, they were his inspiration. “This story began in 2013 when we bright enough. The third and perhaps hardest problem was that patients visited Texas Children’s Hospital to sometimes move. The Rice team solved talk to doctors and get ideas,” Kumar said. “That was when we saw the new- these challenges by adding a method to average skin-color change signals born babies in the neonatal ICU. We from different areas of the face and an saw multiple wires attached to them
mensa world journal july 2015
Credit: Mayank Kumar/Rice University
algorithm to track a subject’s nose, eyes, mouth and whole face. “Our key finding was that the strength of the skin-color change signal is different in different regions of the face, so we developed a weightedaveraging algorithm,” Kumar said. “It improved the accuracy of derived vital signs, rapidly expanding the scope, viability, reach and utility of camerabased vital-sign monitoring.” An algorithm created at Rice University helps a technique that uses video to monitor a patient’s vital signs to adjust for skin tones, lighting and movement. By incorporating tracking to compensate for movement - even a smile - DistancePPG perceived a pulse rate to within one beat per minute, even for diverse skin tones under varied lighting conditions. Kumar said he expects the software to find its way to mobile phones, tablets and computers so people can reliably measure their own vital signs whenever and wherever they choose.
http://phys.org/news/2015-04-video.html
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Children who understand others’ perspectives found to be more popular among peers Preschoolers and school-age children who are good at identifying what others want, think, and feel are more popular in school than their peers who aren’t as socially adept. That’s the conclusion of a new meta-analysis - a type of study that looks at the results of many different studies - out of Australia. The study was done at the Univer-
2,096 children from 2 to 10 years old from Asia, Australia, Europe, and sity of Queensland, Australia, and appears in the journal Child Develop- North America. In all but three of the studies, ment. most of the “Our study suggests that underchildren were standing others’ mental perspectives may facilitate the kind of interactions Caucasian, that help children become or remain and although children across popular,” notes Virginia Slaughter, the 20 studies professor of psychology and head were from a of the School of Psychology at the mix of workUniversity of Queensland, who led ing-, middle-, the study. Popularity was measured and uppervia nominations by classroom peers class families, they were predomiand ratings by teachers. nantly middle class. The ability to figure out what In addition to finding an overall other people are thinking and feellink between children’s abilities to ing comes into play in interpersonal interactions and helps us understand figure out what others think and feel and their popularity, the study found complex social situations, such as that this tie was similar for prewhen one person double crosses schoolers and for older children. This another or uses sarcasm. This is also suggests that understanding others’ called theory of mind. While individual studies have shown an associa- mental perspectives is important both for making friends in the early school tion with popularity in the past, this meta-analysis looked across the find- years and for maintaining friendships as children grow older. ings of multiple studies, increasing The study also found that the confidence that the overall pattern is link was weaker for boys than girls, clear. In this work, researchers looked at perhaps reflecting gender differences 20 studies that addressed the relation in how children relate to each other. For example, girls’ friendships are between theory of mind and popuoften characterized by high levels larity. Together, the studies included
of intimacy and resolving conflicts, which may mean that their interactions require more sensitivity in understanding others’ thoughts and feelings. “Our findings suggest that training children to be sensitive to others’ thoughts and feelings may improve their relationships with peers,” Slaughter adds. “This may be particularly important for children who are struggling with friendship issues, such as children who are socially isolated.”
“...the studies included 2,096 children from 2 to 10 years old from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.”
mensa world journal july 2015
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/ sfri-cwu040815.php
Asian Mensa Gathering (AMG) August 28-30, 2015 JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, Korea amg.mensakorea.org
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m ensa wor ld j our na l epilepsy research opens a window into the brain
R
apidly emerging technologies, novel imaging techniques, the development of new therapies and new genes, have given researchers and clinicians an extraordinary ability to explore the brain at the cellular, genetic and neural levels. Epilepsy provides researchers with unparalleled avenues to discover how the brain is structured and how it functions: a true ‘window on the brain.’ In recognition of Epilepsy Awareness Month the American Epilepsy Society (AES) is highlighting just a few of the groundbreaking scientific developments made within the last 10-50 years. New anti-seizure drug development, brain mapping, optogenetics and devices have increased our understanding of epilepsy but most importantly, have given new hope to the 2.3 million Americans living with the condition. Support Epilepsy Awareness Month by visiting AESnet.org and learning more how epilepsy is a window on the Brain. “Thousands of researchers around the globe are working every day to increase our understanding of epilepsy,” said Dr. Elson So, president of AES. “Because epilepsy offers such a window on the brain other disorders with similar underlying mechanisms such as autism, cerebral palsy, tuberous sclerosis, neurofibromatosis and Alzheimer’s disease benefit from epilepsy research.” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141105112349.htm
mensa world journal july 2015
in search of tinnitus About one in five people
experience tinnitus, the perception of a sound-often described as ringing--that isn’t really there. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on April 23 have taken advantage of a rare opportunity to record directly from the brain of a person with tinnitus in order to find the brain networks responsible. The observations reveal just how different tinnitus is from normal representations of sounds in the brain. “Perhaps the most remarkable finding was that activity directly linked to tinnitus was very extensive, and spanned a large proportion of the part of the brain we measured from,” says Will Sedley of Newcastle University. “In contrast, the brain responses to a sound we played that mimicked [the subject’s] tinnitus were localized to just a tiny area.” In the new study, Sedley and The University of Iowa’s Phillip Gander contrasted brain activity during periods when tinnitus was relatively stronger and weaker. The study was only possible because the 50-year-old man they studied required invasive electrode monitoring for epilepsy. He also happened to have a typical pattern of tinnitus, including ringing in both ears, in association with hearing loss. The researchers found the expected tinnitus-linked brain activity, but they report that the unusual activity extended far beyond circumscribed auditory cortical regions to encompass almost
all of the auditory cortex, along with other parts of the brain. The discovery adds to the understanding of tinnitus and helps to explain why treatment has proven to be such a challenge, the researchers say. “We now know that tinnitus is represented very differently in the brain to normal sounds, even ones that sound the same, and therefore these cannot necessarily be used as the basis for understanding tinnitus or targeting treatment,” Sedley says. “The sheer amount of the brain across which the tinnitus network is present suggests that tinnitus may not simply ‘fill in’ the ‘gap’ left by hearing damage, but also actively infiltrates beyond this into wider brain systems,” Gander adds. These new insights may help to inform treatments such as neurofeedback, where patients learn to control their “brainwaves,” or electromagnetic brain stimulation, according to the researchers. A better understanding of the brain patterns associated with tinnitus may also help point toward new pharmacological approaches to treatment, “which have so far generally been disappointing.” http://www.sciencedaily.com/relea
es/2015/04/150423125858.htm.
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m ensa wor ld j our na l Vampire bats have a taste for bacon Examining animal droppings is not
DNA. The team modified an existing glamorous - even if you’re studying technique to isolate vampires. But, for scientists interested and then amplify the in the diet of the common vampire genetic material of bat (Desmodus rotundus), it’s one of five potential prey the few ways to learn what they eat. In a new study, researchers used DNA species in bat scat: found in the bats’ faeces to learn whose chickens, pigs, dogs, blood they suck and which blood they cattle, and humans. The researchers spent like best. The team discovered that 47 nights in 18 villages in the Amaalthough chicken DNA was most frequently found, it’s pigs that the bats zon and captured 157 vampire bats to collect faecal samples. “It’s surprising seem to crave. that you can even get DNA out of “This project that they did was my dream,” says Gerry Carter, a University this,” Carter says, adding that very little genetic material survives digestion. of Maryland, College Park, gradu“It’s a particularly difficult sample to ate student who was not involved in work with.” Refrigerating the samples the new research and who tackled a similar problem as an undergraduate. “I shortly after capture was key to making wanted to go to the Amazon and apply a positive ID. In spots with no electricity, many samples were too degraded to this technique. ” make a match. Bat biologists have previously observed More than 60% of the viable samples the nocturnal mammals feeding on contained chicken DNA, with pig many prey species, but it’s hard to DNA showing up in about 30%. But to measure what the bats prefer. That’s determine which prey the bats prepartly because the bloodsuckers don’t ferred, the researchers had to account leave any hard evidence in their dropfor the fact that there were fewer pigs pings, such as small bones or partially than chickens in the villages where digested bits of prey. they collected samples. After controlling for the availability of the animals, Scientists at the National Institute the scientists calculated that vampire of Amazonian Research in Manaus, bats were seven times more likely to Brazil, looked instead for clues in
feed on pigs than chance would predict, the team reports in the current issue of the Journal of Mammalogy. The researchers speculate that the preference is due to the bats’ saliva, which is better at liquefying mammal blood than bird blood. In addition, pigs had the highest concentration of red blood cells. The scientists also checked the samples for DNA from wild prey in the forests around the villages, but they found only DNA from domesticated animals. That’s likely because those animals were easier targets, the paper reports. Although no evidence of human DNA was found in the wild bats, Carter adds that sleuthing faecal DNA could be important for understanding the bats’ role in transmitting the rabies virus. The bats caused 25 deaths from rabies in northern Brazil between 2004 and 2005, the paper reports. http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/04/ vampire-bats-have-taste-bacon
online journals
Check out the mensa.org website to read and download the full, colour, 12-page version of the Mensa World Journal and many other national journals. You must be a member in good standing in your national Mensa. Register at www.mensa.org if you haven’t already done so. mensa world journal july 2015
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