Mind Jan-Mar 2003

VOLUME-I

JAN. - MAR. 2003

www.indianmensa.org www.mensa.org

Editorial

Contents

This fourth issue introduces us to what is probably the most unique feature of Mensa India – Rural Mensa. Much work has been silently going on for identifying gifted children and others in interior parts of India. Spearheading these efforts currently is Mr. Subhash Deshpande. Do not miss the first in a series of articles by him.

The Starry Eyed Mensa Meet ............................ 2

We also have two interesting accounts from the AstroSIG field trip titled The Starry Eyed Mensa Meet and SportSIG’s maiden trip on a vintage car rally in Beauty Sport.

Readers’ MInd .................................................. 8

Rural Mensa ..................................................... 3 March Into Astronomy ...................................... 4 Linux at Home ................................................. 5 The Seven (Bad) Habits of Highly Intelligent People .............................................. 7 The Body and Soul of MInd ............................. 9 The Top 1 Percentile ........................................ 10

Do not miss the announcements on page No. 10, 12, 15 and 16.

It’s a customer prerogative ................................ 11

In the past few years, one cannot help noticing that Mensa activity in India is seeing a great resurgence on a sustained basis after years of the roller-coaster pattern of hyperactivity and dormancy. I hope every new member who has joined us in 2002 makes the most of this opportunity to express her/his views and ideas all through this year to enable the much essential assimilation of those who have just arrived with those who have been here.

Breaking Into Mensa Social Life ....................... 13

Beauty Sport ................................................... 12 Games People Play .......................................... 14 Lensa : The Photography SIG .......................... 16 DISCLAIMER : All contents in this magazine are opinions of the individual authors and contributors. Neither Mensa India, the society, its office-bearers nor the Editors are responsible for any content and views expressed.

Nirav Sanghavi Editor niravsanghavi@hotmail.com

Your letters, ideas, feedback, brick-bats and bouquets are all very welcome at :niravsanghavi@hotmail.com OR at Readers’ MInd Mensa India (Mumbai) 184/87, S. V. Road, Jogeshwari (West), Mumbai 400 102.

Send in your articles / contributions in plain text format to : niravsanghavi@hotmail.com Next Issue Deadline : February 28, 2003

1

The Starry Eyed Mensa Meet

We had decided to meet under the Sion flyover, I was quite disappointed to note that the Mensa Standard Time outbeat the Indian Standard Time.

Anyways the 19-member team finally started off from there (well I later learned that it was the highest number for AstroSIG - the previous record being 14, quite a resurgence by the way the things turned out). I guess the numbers will rise (after all aren’t records meant to be broken!). We had a short dinner break at Vashi and proceeded to Vangani. The whiff of the fresh countryside air enabled us to breathe away the day’s exhaustion.

the wonderful moments enshrined in our memories on photo paper.

Over tea the team gave us a short informal talk on the principles of optics, lenses and the SLR camera and patiently entertained our rather amateurish questions. In a nutshell, we learnt that the three fundas to a good photo are-

On reaching the resort (Woody Acres) we quickly unpacked our belongings and enthusiastically divided ourselves into small groups. Sky charts were distributed and we learnt how to read stuff like Messier number, magnitude of brightness of stars, their relative positions and the like. Some surefooted, others hesitant (the first timers) managed to reach the poolside where the clear sky looked rather promising.

Rishi and Ravi efficiently assembled their telescopes while the rest of us tried to acquaint ourselves to the foreign surroundings using red-cellophane-covered torches. With the help of our mentors (Ravi and Rishi, of course) we observed the famous Orion, the nebulae, the blue tinged Sirius, open and globular clusters of stars, the two red trails on Jupiter and a rising Big Dipper. But it was Saturn with its prominent rings that stole the show- it looked like it was straight out of the textbook. The celestial bodies seemed to impress upon us - the vastness of this universe and our ephemeral existence.

(1)

Decide how much to zoom in/out i.e. compose the picture

(2)

Adjust the focal plane as per the requirements

(3)

Determine the desired distance in front and behind the focal plane, which would preferably be in the focus i.e. depth of field.

I was of the belief that a good photo involves somebody yelling “CHEESE” and somebody impatiently clicking, but I know realize that to learn photography is an art by itself.

An interactive session followed with the Mensans enjoying golf and later actively participating in thought provoking activities(read games session) organized by Manisha, Asif and Ravi and catering to a receptive and willing audience comprising of Madhavi , Mrugank , Kiran , Amar, Anurag , his dad , Shrikant and several others.

Happy hours flew past quickly and before we knew it, it was time to bid adieu followed by the usual Mensa promises to stay in touch.

Cheerio Ravi and Rishi. Keep the good work going Thanks !

Our excited squeals disturbed the silence of the night whenever any one of us spotted a star peeping through the cover of the clouds. Unfortunately we had to retreat at about 2:30 a.m. when streaks of lightning and bolts of thunder danced across the still sky.

How does one differentiate between a normal delivery and a Caesarean operation by observing the new born?

Next morning we trekked down to the crystal clear lake cradled in the bosom of Mother Nature, framed by the golden hue of winter leaves and overlooked by the steadily rising sun. This provided a feast not only to our eyes, but also the Lensa team who would arrange their tripods, adjust their cameras and capture

Simple. The normal delivery child had to face the stresses of negotiating the birth canal and therefore immediately after birth , its head is markedly elongated ( looking like a Jewish cap ) whereas a caesarean will have a perfectly normal looking round head.

Nishaki Mehta and the Mensa team.

Mensa Mumbai nishaki_m@hotmail.com

DID YOU KNOW ?

2

Rural Mensa

“The elder is nearly fourteen and the younger is a kid of two.”

“Since you have got two sons, give one to me!” said Pendsé for a joke.

“Take this naughty boy Ram!” Sada exclaimed.

“Not now! There is nobody at my home to look after the kid. But after he completes his primary education, I will take him to Pune.”

The conversation went on and covered many other topics. Pendsé returned. The incident became a part of history.

Mr. Sada Dimblé was a man of perseverance. In 1957, he brought his son Ram at the age of 10 to Pendsé’s house in Pune. By looking at the smartness of the boy, Pendsé wondered whether he was the same boy whom he had seen as a kid. Ram still looked rustic though dressed in clean clothes.

“Ok, done!” Pendsé exclaimed, “I will have this boy in my house, will send him to a good school. If he does well, all right. Otherwise, I will send him back!”

“I will study well,” Ram said with confidence. Sada was happy to see him off. The contact with Mr. Pendsé continued for quite long.

Mr. Pendsé was a psychologist. He did his Ph.d. on devising tests for identification of intelligence and leadership potentials across various socio-economic strata. A battery of tests including the standardised intelligence tests developed by the advanced countries were used to identify talented students from different schools. Ram performed very well on these tests.

Dr. Pendsé founded the institution Jnana Prabodhini in 1962. Supplementary enrichment programmes were started by him later wherein selected students who ranked above the 99 percentile score were admitted.

Ram was one of them. He passed his schooling in 1964 with flying colours in Sanskrit. By then, this son of a rural cattle grazer Sada had turned into a bright scholar. He ranked first at his intermediate collage exam and won a gold medal in Sanskrit at his M. A. Continued on page 4

The Genesis

It was in the early 50s that an educationist by name V. V. Pendsé used to move around the Sahyadri mountain ranges quite regularly. At the southern foot of Fort Sinhagad, he came across village Kalyan, a small habitat of less than 500 people the time. A farmer who was grazing his cattle came across and wondered what this urban and fair-skinned fellow was doing in his village.

“Whom do you want?” the farmer asked.

“None. I was just relaxing after my study throughout the day on the fort,” said Mr. Pendsé. “By the way, what is your name?”

“They call me Sada Dimblé” - came the reply. “ Are these your cattle?” “ Then whose they could be? ” “No, I just wanted to ask what are you doing now?”

“What a farmer like me does every day? The same routine. We illiterate ones do only this work, along with some seasonal farm work. Come, let us go to my house.”

“Your house? What shall I do there?”

“Come, don’t hesitate. I will be obliged to receive a person like you in my humble house.”

Mr. Pendsé followed Sada Dimblé. A straw-thatched roof and mud masonry walls made his house. The cow dung smell had filled in the surroundings. Some children loitering half-naked here and there who made quite a noise. After pacifying them, Sada unfurled his ‘Ghongadi‘ (rural mattress) on the floor and requested Mr. Pendsé to sit on it.

“Oh, you have got a good house ! ”said Pendsé just to keep up the conversation.

“What better a poor farmer can have” Sada replied.

“How many children do you have?”

“Four daughters and two sons.”

“How old are the sons?”

3

Subhash Deshpande, Director - Rural Mensa (Mensa India), Mensa Pune prabodhini@vsnl.com

March Into Astronomy

It’s a good time to March into Astronomy

Confusing description? It looks like a glowing ball of diffused light.

March, March, March… as a deep-sky astronomer, it is the most awaited month of the year for me here in India. It is one month of the year when it is possible to observe ALL the Messier objects. It is a great time to conduct a Messier marathon. Also, for us observers in Mumbai, it is the last month of the astronomy season since skies start getting cloudy and stay so till almost November.

M4 Globular Cluster near Antares (constellation Scorpius) Definitely the easiest globular cluster to find. If you can see Scorpius, you’ll easily recognize Antares, the bright red star in its tail. M4 is right next door to Antares.

M6-M7 Open clusters between Scorpius and Sagittarius (a.k.a. the Teapot)

OK, less talk about all else, getting back to astronomy. What is so exciting about that one observation session in March? The fascinating deep-sky objects in Scorpius and Sagittarius. There is a large group of closed star clusters in that part of the sky. Since the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, lies in the direction of Scorpius we are looking at a huge concentration of proximal stars. The Milky Way at it is densest forms a pretty sight. See for yourself why it is justifiably called the Milky Way.

Once again, it is relatively easy to find. They are excellent sights at higher magnification.

M8 Lagoon Nebula near Sagittarius M8 is a fine object to see on a dark night. Includes a star cluster and a bright diffuse nebula. Low power needed to cover the large field.

There are plenty of star clusters around Scorpius and Sagittarius; observable even with binoculars.

Some things definitely worth observing in March: M51 Whirlpool Galaxy near Ursa Major (the Big Dipper a.k.a. Iridium logo)

The number of microorganisms residing in a normal healthy human is 8-9 times the number of cells in his body.

Any amount of praise for this one isn’t enough. It is a set of two colliding galaxies. Looks like a larger galaxy trying to “consume” the smaller neighbour. If you’ve ever seen a picture, let me tell you the real things just looks like that. Go see it!

M57 Ring parallelogram)

Nebula

in

Lyra

(a.k.a.

Rural Mensa (… contd. from page 3)

All this was not a mere co-incidence. Only the first meeting of Pendsé and Sada Dimblé can be called so.

The rest was skillful nurturing and encouragement.

Insights into human potential and empathy with the deprived rural multitude in India were mainly responsible.

the

Have you ever seen a smoke ring? That’s all I need to say.

M81-M82 Spiral Galaxies in Ursa Major A little tough to find; but definitely worth trying.

Where else would you get to see two galaxies in a single binocular field-of-view?

Ram was not the only one who was spotted and developed. There were many others who could be located as Jnana Prabodhini’s work expanded in various rural areas. In fact, in 1972, when Dr. Pendsé met Mr. Victor Serebriakoff at London to start MENSA in India, it was already in his mind, that there could be many more Mensans in rural India. It was the birth of Rural Mensa in India as long back as that. It took different shapes in the course of time.

Omega Centauri of constellation Centaurus It is really hard to find because it appears very low in the sky, a little above the horizon (comment location specific to Mumbai). If you can find it, it’s a great catch. It’s a large diffuse globular cluster.

Ravi Shroff, Co-ordinator - AstroSIG, Mensa Mumbai ravihris@hotmail.com

4

Linux at Home

In an earlier article on GNU and Linux by Sayamindu Dasgupta we read the pros of Linux over Windows. Linux is the best server platform (well excluding other UNIX based ones like freedbs) in terms of security as well as stability but what does it offer for the home user?

your hard disk into as many as 5 partitions two of them being exactly twice your RAM size (known as swap space in Linux circles) 1 small one for some miscellaneous data and two drives known as / and /home (Interestingly when accessing files in the Linux File system /home is a subfolder of /)

Well, let us take a little peek into Linux and its various flavours and what we as normal home users can hope to expect from the system.

But things have changed with the advent of X-disk partitioning where you merely have to tell the setup program how much space you can afford to spare Linux and the rest is taken care of.

Flavours :

Hardware Detection :

Linux has many distributions and they are known as flavours as each distributor adds their own personal touch to the operating system(OS) though the kernel (core) is the same and if you use one Linux it won’t take you too long to get used to another (Quite like a move from Win98 to Win2000).

Linux detected all my hardware (all the configuration it needed was my IP, DNS and gateway because I am on LAN). It was able to auto detect my HP DeskJet 640C and install a driver for it that works fine. In fact my recently installed Windows 2000 has problems with the printer and I had to use the 660C driver.

Here’s a little listing of the main distributors Red Hat: By far the most popular Package of Linux and the one to set industry standards.

I have a problem with the mouse where I cannot use the wheel to scroll (well, back to good old scroll-bars) so its not that Linux has all the drivers but if you thought hardware drivers were made only for Windows you are sorely mistaken.

Mandrake: Highly recommended for ease of Installation.

SUES : Good and Affordable

Graphic Mode :

There are a lot of other flavours that could take up an entire article but there is on noteworthy one is WinLinux (http:// www.winlinux.net/) that is made to give windows users a taste of Linux.

Let’s take a trip back to the early 1990s when Linux was just a geek OS with shell scripts but the emergence of Graphic mode Desktop interfaces has revolutionized the way Linux is looked at all over the world. Now Linux has a desktop, start menu, e-mail client, web-browser… you name it. This is the greatest factor contributing to the growing success of Linux is that it retains the robust kernel while contiously evolving and becoming more and more user friendly

Where do I get Linux free?

Linux can be freely downloaded from numerous ftp mirrors. (Basically a remote computer full of files connected to the Internet through hi-speed connections so that users can download their files via the web).

Two noteworthy packages are KDE and Gnome.

Try Cute FTP and search mirrors or there is always Lycos FTP Search.

KDE is by far the most used and most advanced desktop with numerous applications like a e-mail client, a web browser, Office suit (I’m using it), and lots more.

A cable or LAN connection is recommended cause the downloads range from 500 MB to 1.2 GB

Installation:

Gnome concentrates more on each thing they make. The desktop looks much better, their E-mail client (Evolution) is great and the browser (Galleon)

Installing Linux on a PC already running windows is by no chance a mean feat, you have to partition

Urvaksh Rogers, Mensa Mumbai urvaksh@phperl.cjb.net

5

Linux at Home (contd.)

too is much better than Konqueror (the KDE browser).

However, the number of applications here are limited.

recognized product it somehow always has been operating under the shadow of MySQL.

Additional Must haves:

Linux is so superior to Windows in web servers that Microsoft had to release their FrontPage Extensions for Linux platforms too or they were threatened by the fact that they may just not be used.

(Imagine this MS FrontPage extensions can be used on Linux -All flavours- UNIX freedbs but not on Windows 95,98,ME)

Gaim(http://gaim.sf.net/) is a Linux IM that supports ICQ, AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Napster, Gadu-Gadu, Jabber and IRC protocols so switching to Linux won’t be the end of your chatting it just gets better. This project is open source and is hosted by Sourceforge.net

The Cons:

Star Office from Sun Microsystems is something that most of us would love. It has a desktop and even a Start Menu it also supports MS Office extensions. It also includes a browser and an e-mail client so if you just don’t like Linux (for some mysterious reason) you can always feel at home in Star Office.

Well in Windows we have complete access to our computers (except Win2000) and all the data on it but Linux has only one root user (higher versions of windows have multiple Administrators) and only this user has access to all directories. If we were on the same computer with different profiles and I am not root then I cannot access any file from your profile.

Apache, Perl, PHP, MySQL, TCL, Python, PostgreSQL, SSI and SSH make and unbeatable combination for any web server and all these applications/programming languages are developed on Linux and for Linux and then ported to Windows and other OS.

Of course Linux does allow a lot of applications to be run by a non root user if he/she provides the root password but at times for windows users it becomes quite frustrating.

Apache is today the most used web-server and PHP is quickly climbing the graph too. MySQL is the world’s most used database and more and more people wake up everyday and take notice of this.

Yahoo! To is moving to PHP from their own scripting languages because of its ease of programming.

Conclusion:

Linux is a great Operating System that is for anyone and everyone. It is as user-friendly as the penguin is cute and that is a fact.

Resources:

Linux.com : http://www.linux.com/ (Great resource for Linux Downloads, Help etc)

Perl (an acronym for “Practical Extraction and Report Language,”) is now an integral part of the Linux system that was developed by Larry Wall (who claims that perl really stands for “Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister.”) and has borrowed heavily from C, sed, awk, and the UNIX shells to become the scripting language it has today. (Did you know that perl scripts can even check your Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail and put tem right in your Inbox? That is just one of the things; with the help of just perl people have been able to completely install Linux. With Perl the possibilities are endless)

Sourceforge : http://sf.net (Ultimate resource for free Open source GNU software for Linux and Windows alike)

SPECIAL DELIVERY Are there any Star Trekkies or Star Wars fans in the Mensa Mumbai? I have an extensive collection of many episodes and was interested in knowing if any of you’ll wanted to get together for Marathon Episode Sundays?

TCL and Python are programming languages too but haven’t quite caught on with the developer community quite yet, while PostgreSQL is a well

Contact Ravi at ravihris@hotmail.com

6

The Seven (Bad) Habits of Highly Intelligent People Years of observing the behavior of highly intelligent people has led me to develop the following list of seven mistakes which only very intelligent and/or very educated people are guilty of: HARDNESS OF LISTENING : The more intelligent you are, the more likely it is that you will not hear most of what other people are saying. The operative theory here seems to be “I already know what you are going to say, so I don’t need to actually hear you say it before I disagree with you.” To paraphrase an old-time program, I believe that I can “Name That Thought” after hearing three words or less of what you have to say.

MENTAL TELEPATHY : Intelligent people are so used to talking to themselves that they often forget to actually say their part of a conversation out loud.

Later on, of course, they distinctly remember expressing an idea, but they have forgotten that they only THOUGHT of saying it to the other person. This leads to many interesting “instant replays” of imaginary conversations, since this type of person can always recall the exact words, not only of what they said, but especially of what they intended to say.

VERBAL PARANOIA : This disease is characterized by feeling persecuted whenever someone disagrees with you. Since it is obvious that you are so smart, the thinking goes, no reasonable person could disagree with you unless they were deliberately and maliciously trying to get you angry and hurt your feelings. This habit becomes especially interesting when two highly intelligent persons are arguing, since both feel that the other person should bow to their (obviously superior) intelligence.

RAMPANT CROSS-CONFIDENCE : This is the automatic assumption that expertise in one field automatically makes you an expert in any other subject that comes up in a conversation. This habit can also take the form of asserting that education is not really necessary, since “any intelligent person” can understand anything instantly, if they just put their mind to it. I once heard a Mensa member state categorically that he could become an expert in atomic physics just by reading a couple of books, and the only reason he knew nothing about the subject

was that he didn’t happen to have the time to spare just then.

OMNILOGOMANIA : This severe malady begins with a wide-ranging interest and curiosity about everything, but turns into the idea that a really intelligent person should know all there is to know about everything. The result is person who runs off in all directions, with no depth of knowledge in any one area. There is a lot to be said for using your intelligence to become an expert in something, letting that one thing be the focal point for investigating other fields. Besides, nobody is going to pay you very much for knowing a little bit about a lot of things. Or as David’s Law #1 states, you can do anything you put your mind to, but you can’t do EVERYTHING you put your mind to.

BOUNDARY-BLUNDERING : It seems that the smarter you are, the harder it is for you to remember where the boundaries are between mental and physical reality, for instance, or between imaginary and real universes. For this type of person, mathematics or social science may become more absorbing than the real world of human emotions, or, conversely, the highly intelligent person might be more prone to be caught up in the grip of powerful stories, myths, or complicated belief systems. For instance, every educated person knows that there are an infinite number of points on any line segment, but how many of these same people are really clear on the fact that there are NO POINTS AT ALL on the physical representation of a line?

SUPERIOR SURVIVORSHIP : This is the conviction that intelligence is a survival factor for human beings. Actually, intelligence may even be counter-productive for survival. Most of the time, conformity is much more useful for bonding people to a group, and groups are the highest need for survival.

Most behavior that seems unintelligent to an outsider makes perfect sense to those inside a group. As one anthropologist puts it, stupidity might just be more important for survival than intelligence, as long as nothing new comes along to upset the status quo.

Intelligence is sort of held in reserve for very unusual times; in the meantime, you can always use it to have a lot of fun in your life, or to make up terrible puns.

Reprinted from “Graffiti”, newsletter of Cleveland Area Mensa, April 1997; Mary Ann Terrigno, Editor]

David R. Jacquet

7

Readers’ MInd

Front or back page. I completely missed the section & my dad saw it while reading through the newsletter.

Yours sincerely, Urvaksh Rogers.

Mensa Mumbai

Dear Nirav, In this issue of Mind I read this article about GNU/Linux & I think that you should carry such articles on a regular basis that make our members aware of the presence Linux and Open source software are making. I would be glad to contribute on a somewhat regular basis.(Unless u think readers will get bored with similar crap) I run Mandrake Linux (Previously used to run SUES) along with Win98 and Win2000. I also have an open-source project at Sourceforge.net (Phperl http://phperl2.sf.net/) and have worked with Linux servers running on apache though this project (though the project aims at installing a webserver Apache package for Windows) I also do programming in PHP & am grasping the basics of perl. Attached is an article on Linux for home users (you will probably have to re-write the whole thing though) Another thing the problem of the 13 balls problem printed earlier: I think I found an easier solution.

Hi again, Nirav.

Thanks for the pdf of your newsletter! Wow, what a great publication your group enjoys! I am envious of your work, Nirav.

Baton Rouge Mensa has about 135 members, spread across the bottom portion of the state of Louisiana (except for New Orleans Mensa, which has its own group). We have lots of members that we never see because they live in outlying areas and don’t get to come to events. However, two cities in our group have their own monthly events, which helps the members there feel included.

Thanks again for the pdf, and I hope you have a great weekend.

Heather Miller Locsec - Baton Rouge Mensa Editor – MensAcadian, the Baton Rouge Mensa newsletter

Weighing 1

13 balls = 6 balls(left pan) + 6 balls(right pan) + 1 (kept aside) Take 6 balls in each pan & keeping 1 aside, if the pans balance then the ball that has been kept aside is the heavier one.(Lucky your puzzle ends here) If not empty the lighter pan and transfer any 3 balls form the heavier pan

Hi Neerav, First of all I would like to congratulate you on the excellent work that you have been putting in for Mensa, India and MInd in particular.The last issue of MInd was a joy to read !

I am a life member of Mensa India, Pune chapter but based in Delhi therefore missing most of the fun and live activities. I would be more than eager to contribute in spreading the cause and activities of Mensa, India in and around Delhi. Do let me know if I can be of any help in this regard.

I would also love to get my hands on some Mensa merchandise if possible, please do let me know if I can order some of stuff and how to get it ?

Best Regards, Mohit Grover Mensa India (Delhi).

Weighing 2

6 balls = 3 balls + 3 balls One side will Obviously be heavier (if you reach this step) Empty the balls from the lighter side. Now take one of the balls from this pan and put it in the other emptied pan and keep 1 aside

Weighing 3

If one pan is heavier that is the heavier ball. if both are showing equal masses then the ball that is withheld is the heavier one.

Well is it right? It’s much simpler. Really liked the news letter however I have a small suggestion. Please keep announcements like the meeting one on the

Continued on page 13

8

The Body and Soul of MInd

Good Day Mensans,

“In fields of observation , chance only favours the prepared mind”

Today we shall broach the subject of Serendipity a break from medicine and a bold venture into the wide field of science. Well, are some of us wondering what serendipity is?

Another interesting example is when some scientists were working on polyacrylnitrate (PAN) an apparel fiber that was really difficult to dye because it had no free chemical binding sites. They proposed to overcome this difficulty by making a copolymer of acrylonitrate and vinyl acetate to make a compound that could be easily dyed. In order to find the density of this polymer it was placed between two prisms. To their greatest astonishment they observed that the two pieces of prism could not be separated from the polymer which they had created. Their analytical minds quickly realized that a reaction had occurred in the presence of moisture and SUPERGLUE was born.

This also illustrates that the accident or should I call it a mishap had led to a new discovery which wouldn’t have been identified , were it not for the perceptive minds of those scientists.

It’s literal meaning is a “happy coincidence”. For those who need a more detailed analysis here comes its definition…"it is the faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries by accident".

The most classic example of serendipity was in the discovery of penicillin “the wonder antibiotic” by the very famous Alexander Fleming . Let me recount the strange discovery .

During the world war Fleming in France treated wounded soldiers with an antiseptic named phenol (for those interested diluted phenol, chemically, is carbolic acid) . It was soon discovered that phenol not only killed bacteria but it also destroyed WBC’s (our bodys defence system)-often it did more harm than good.

A simple rather amusing incident that could be serendipitous by nature was that of a young choir singer who used to encounter the difficulty of finding his place in the hymn book. So he used to keep loose paper in his book but to his dismay they would fall off when he would stand up to sing. It was one day that an idea struck him - one of his friends had invented glue but the idea was not received with a lot of enthusiasm because it didn’t stick strongly - our choir singer pondered over this and developed the idea f Post-its which have now become a very popular concept.

One day his tear-drop fell into the petri-dish containing bacteria and the next day he observed that there was a clear patch in the petri-dish at the spot where the tear had fallen . A clear patch indicates that the bacteria had been destroyed in that patch.

Therefore he concluded that his tear drop contained a potent substance that caused rapid destruction of bacteria but was harmless to the human tissue. In the chaos of the war he quite remarkably forgot this and this incident was relegated to the back of his mind But this prepared him for the events which occurred later…

Two of extremely well known serendipitious incidents were the law of buoyancy by Archimedes.

Neither can we forget his joyous cry “eureka” nor the development of the smallpox vaccine by Edward Jenner based on the simple observation that the milkmaids never contracted smallpox. This was because they had suffered from a milder version cowpox which built up their immunity and the application which helped in curbing the killer disease of the eighteenth century.

After the war when he was working in his laboratory and mould inadvertently fell in a petridish which incidentally contained bacteria and killed the strain of staphylococcus bacteria . The genus of the mould was penicillium and hence the drug he developed from it was named penicillin. For his excellent contribution he received the Nobel Prize in 1945.A chance accident led to such a useful discovery but the serendipity isnt all that simple in fact a favourite quote of mine applies remarkably to explain this

A quick recapitulation would be : “Discovery consists of seeing what everyone has seen and thinking what nobody has thought”.

9

Nishaki Mehta Mensa Mumbai nishaki_m@hotmail.com

The Top 1 Percentile

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To which sport did Mark Twain refer to as a ‘good walk spoilt’?

Which country holds the negative record of scoring 26 runs in an innings in 1954-55, the lowest ever in test cricket?

Please Don’t MInd After having relaunched the Mensa India magazine in April 2002, it was decided to send a copy to all Mensans irrespective of their membership expiry status for a period of one year (4 issues).

However, all may please note that future issues of MInd will not be despatched to those whose memberships have expired. Please contact your local Mensa office if your membership has expired and renew the same.

Answers : Narayan Apte.

The Seven Wonders of the World.

Subhash Gupte.

The humming bird.

A hiccup.

Raj Babbar.

Tom Hanks.

Pecking order.

Kubera.

Graham Gooch.

Pushto.

Great Britain.

Heroin.

Katherine Hepburn.

Enid Blyton.

Gaekwad.

Asha Bhonsle.

Rare earths.

Golf.

New Zealand

2.

On Nov. 15, 1945, which conspirator was hanged along with Nathuram Godse for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi?

Antipater of Sidon compiled what famous list based on accounts of travelers in 2nd century B.C.?

Which Indian bowler claimed a record 9 wickets in a test innings against the West Indies at Kanpur in the 1958-59 series.

Which is the only bird that can fly backwards?

What does an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm and respiratory organs with the sudden closure of the glottis called?

In the 1998 general elections, which Samajwadi Party candidate stood against Atal Behari Vajpayee in Lucknow?

Which actor won successive Oscars for Best Actor in 1994 and 1995?

What colloquial English phrase for hierarchy comes from the dominance and submission behaviour of chicken?

Apart from Shiva, Mount Kailash is the abode of which God? In 1992, which cricketer became the first and only player to have played for the losing side in three World Cup finals?

Which Indo-Iranian language written in Arabic script is the official language of Afghanistan?

Which is the only country not named on its stamps?

Which harmful drug did the pharmaceutical company Bayer patent after tests on its employees made them feel heroic?

Which actress won a record fourth Oscar at the age of 74 in 1981?

In 1922, which kindergarten teacher and journalist published her first book for children, a collection of verse, titled Child Whisper?

Which Marathi word for ‘cow protector’ was used as a title by the princely rulers of Baroda?

Which prolific playback singer first sang solo for films in Jagdish Sethi’s 1949 film “Raat ki Rani”?

By what name are the series of 15 metallic elements, from Lanthanum to Lutetium, in the periodic table also known?

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Sanjeev Mohta, Mensa Mumbai sanjeev_mohta@yahoo.co.in

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It’s a customer prerogative

There has always been an innate need to shoulder the latest in technology, if only to remain ahead in the rat race and to be better (or at least not worse) than your competitor. In a quest to be updated, it has been seen that an organization usually dives head first to procure a system, which might not at all be relevant for the current requirements faced. A point in case was when my organization decided to buy a solution which has the repute of being the market leader, but could not be customized to meet our needs. Thus, we came up with our own solution, which though extremely effective, could not be pushed among the resident managers as being the best product! They are still stuck up on how we still fall short of the qualities of the market leader, in spite of the best efforts to convince them otherwise. After all, if you can’t convince yourself, how can you convince your customers?

solution. There are accounting packages with a few features that allow you to implement a rudimentary ERP on a shoestring budget. But then there are full-blown, built-fromscratch, all-conceivable-features - inclusive ERP packages, that can set you back quite a bit on the budget front.

The good thing of course is that there are solutions that fit almost every budget. Thus, if an international product cannot be harnessed, because it is too feature rich or impossible to comprehend by mere mortals, it would definitely be a wrong buy for you.

Another pitfall that one requires to avoid is the “cattle” attitude towards buying. The bottom line — you need not be deprived of a given technology or solution just because you are not a rich MNC Company. The trick is to correctly match your needs, budget and what the solution in question offers and spend some time considering your requirements before plunging in to buy that “oh-so-good” product, that the adjacent software giant has bought and claims to be the next in-thing! This goes to all you managers out there – the next time you require to purchase a solution, be sure of what you want and whether your solution is really an end to your problems or is a beginning to an entirely new set of headaches.

One needs to keep in mind that similar applications are available for different prices – the technology in all of them being more or less the same.

The product differentiation emerges in considering the difference, in the quality of the deliverables and the assurance of that quality being there when you want it. Quality as defined by the marketing guru Philip Crosby stands for “Conformance to requirements”. If you deliver what your consumer deems fit, you have quality – it is as simple as that!

*ERP stands for a technology, that attempts to integrate and provide a one point solution. Such a central data store, facilitates MIS and Data Warehousing.

Now, there are cars and there are cars. You, as a customer, have a wide range to select, right down from a Maruti 800 to a Jaguar or a flashy sports car. In IT parlance, we can group them all in the class of four wheelers. I would immediately proceed to make a base class consisting the main features – four wheels, fuel consumption, the ability to transport from point A to B. The difference then, lies in the quality of transport provided and the comfort therein.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT On consuming the well marketed baby food products , the babies tend to look healthier ( by Indian standards -plumper) and the parents are content. But recent studies show that these food products cause retention of the osmotically active sodium ions which leads to water retention and the swelling is mistakenly perceived to be a sign of health. In fact , this swelling may have adverse effects on the kidney function and the hormonal axis of the body . Therefore breast-feeding will always be the best means of nourishing a baby.

The same applies to computing. You can get a given solution at different price points. Every financial software would cater to more or less the same functionalities – Debit, Credit, Cash Book, Balance sheet etc. It is the budget and the quality of the software that varies. Take for example, an ERP*

N. Anantharaman, Mensa Kolkata andy_nimc@rediffmail.com

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Beauty Sport

On Jan. 19, 2003 Mumbai saw a sight that made cities all over the world green with envy! Held on this day was a vintage-car rally - a veritable melting pot for different breeds of cars that pronounce “old is gold” with an accent none other can match.

would like to own today. It consumes more water than petrol. Two buckets is what we gave it. It was a hot day and the car is almost human.

I also rode in a 1952 silver Jaguar-SK120, a two-seater sports model that was more powerful than a Honda City!

This event was paid homage to by a lot of celebrities. Mr.Vivek Oberoi was present and so were some Mensans and Mr. Jackie Shroff - presenting his 1939 Jaguar S.S.100. Here was a car that showed there is a bigger star than it’s owner!

All these cars conquered the mountains climbing 45º inclines with ease - a feat yet to be matched by the city taxies.

We reached Amby-valley for lunch that offered a spread that would even make the cars wish they could eat. The prize-distribution followed the lunch where the “best amongst the best” and the “first among equals” were honoured.

Proud and charming, the graceful beauties left some of the latest models speechless including a Skoda-Octavia, a Honda-city and beauty pageant queen Neha Dhupia, who incidentally, flagged off the 1919 FIAT - the oldest entrant in the rally.

The valley as such is a scenic place with tall fountains and vast green fields. Lensa had a field day.

Be sure to see the pictures!

Neha Dhupia, as a matter of speaking, was taken in by my charms and was just requesting for a picture with me. As I was complying with her wishes, Ravi got so jealous that he ran away with the camera leaving me looking very red-faced and embarrassed! Pity our relationship had to end … she was really pretty!

After tea, we were brought back to Mumbai in a Mercedes-Benz. The day was a one-in-a-million and I was almost jealous of myself for having such a good time. If you haven’t been in a vintage car rally yet, I recommend SportSIG the next time around. That is where we compound fun.

Speaking of pretty creatures, all the cars present - a couple of Rolls-Royces, a Bentley, a Chevrolet, an Alfa-Romeo, a few Austins and an overwhelming majority of Mercedeses and Fords - all achieved what women have been trying to for ages. None of them looked their age.

AstroSIG + SportSIG (Mini-golf competition) Hi fellow Ms For those who missed out attending the last field trip, the next one’s coming on February 1, 2003. This field trip has an added incentive. AGM (Amateur Golfing Mensans) is organizing a mini-golf competition. Yes, you heard me right.

The winner of the competition will not pay usual charges incurred at the resort. The format for the competition will be announced at the venue.

Also, if interested in use of the swimming pool please carry swimming costume. Lensa will also conduct photography session.

Clear skies,

The cars were in prime condition and sparkling clean. They were looking so inviting that we immediately wanted to be seated in one of the cars.

The car that chose to house us Mensans was a 1935 biscuit-coloured Dodge-brothers, a car that has boasted of travelling in a rally from Delhi to Mumbai without a single stop for pampering or repair. A rare accomplishment, that. The veteran took us from Fort via Marine Drive, Palm Beach Marg and the Mumbai–Pune expressway to Amby valley, Lonavala – a 5500 acre plot developed by the Sahara group who were incidentally the hosts of the event.

The Dodge gave us a ride to remember. It was a nice smooth ride with just occasional jerks, engine fumes and water breaks. This is one car that you Ashish Patwardhan Co-ordinator – SportSIG ashpat000@rediffmail.com

Ravi Shroff Mensa Mumbai Ravihris@hotmail.com

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Breaking Into Mensa Social Life

Our local Pen Dragon says a lot of members feel it’s really hard to break into Mensa social life. I’ve been in and out of it since 1965, so maybe a few tips from a Golden Oldie will help the people who worry about it: Don’t worry about it.

Don’t rush it, don’t push yourself, don’t push anyone else. Being laid back is key. (Being laid BACK, I said.)

Go to every party in the calendar for at least six months. Never mind, just go. One of the big advantages of Mensa parties is that you don’t have to talk to anyone. You don’t even have to know who the host/ess is. Here is your script: Drink some wine, eat some cheese, look around the apartment for ideas you could use yourself, pat the cat, check out the books – anything familiar?

Listen. Just eavesdrop on other people’s conversations. When you hear a remark that interests you, move closer. Being interested does nice things to your face. The speaker will respond to an appreciative audience, the group will let you in to listen. Keep listening. When you absolutely can’t stand keeping quiet any longer, interrupt. If your idea has merit (of course it has, look who YOU are), you are launched in that conversation. CAUTION: Don’t lecture. As a new kid on the block, your purpose is to size them up and pick THEIR brains, not spill yours!

Don’t stick in one group. You don’t yet know who these people are, and you don’t CARE. (IMPORTANT.) They don’t know you, yet, either.

Move around again. Your strategy is to make yourself visible in a subliminal way.

That’s all. After two or three hours, go home.

By the time you have done that at six parties, you will see some of the same people again. They will begin to recognize you. “Hi.” “Hi.” “That’s the best cheese, over there.”

It also helps if you go to business meetings, because that is the ONLY place you ever find out who is who, or what is really going on. It doesn’t correlate with the social life, but you will know what the others are talking about.

If you stick it out in the party circuit for six months, somebody will know enough about you to ask you to DO something, and you’re in.

From them on, the secret of Mensa social life is to make yourself visible, and occasionally to say interesting things. (Especially good if you write interesting things for the local newsletter.) You get a wider audience that way. People you meet for the first time will say, “Oh, YOU’RE the one. I read something you wrote, one time.” Instant in-group.

The magic key to break into Mensa social life is propinquity, propinquity, and more propinquity.

What’s hard about that?

Genius is present in every age, but the men carrying it within them remain benumbed unless extraordinary events occur to heat up and melt the mass so that it flows forth.

Denis Diderot (1713 - 1784)

Readers’ MInd (... contd. from page 8) Nirav,

I am very impressed with your new Mensa India magazine. Your publication certainly shows what Mensans are capable of producing when they are at their best! Thank you for uploading it to the Global-M forum.

Barbara P.S.: I tried to contact you directly during the holidays, but my mail just bounced back to me.

Hello Nirav, I just read the article below about how the brains of India are now an influential political factor. I thought you might want to see it, and it might even be an interesting idea for an article in your Mensa MInd magazine : http://www.Iht.com/ihtsearch.php?id=67380&owner =&date=20020812155341

Polly Pitkin Ryan [Reprinted from “Intelligencer”, newsletter of San Francisco Regional Mensa, January 1997; Terry 13 Calaway, Editor]

Christian Haerle Zurich, Switzerland

Games People Play

Kalah, Mancalah, Pallanguli, Dakon, Sunca, Awari, Adi, Wari. These names may not mean much to you, although perhaps our chapter’s foster child, Akwasi Attah, has heard or will learn of some of them as he grows up. They are all the names of games played on what is perhaps the world’s oldest game board. The game board, or variations of it, have been found in all of Africa, southern Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and Southeast Asia. It has been carved into rock in the ancient Syrian city of Aleppo, the columns of the temple at Karnak, and the Theseum in Athens, as well as numerous caravan routes. It appears in paintings in the Valley of the Nile as well as on Grecian urns, and has been used with playing pieces ranging from common pebbles to rubies and sapphires.

pebble lands in his long pit, he gets another turn. If it lands in an empty pit on his side, he captures any pebbles in the opponent’s pit opposite it; the captured and capturing pebbles go into his long pit.

A game continues until all the small pits on one side are empty; the winner receives one point for each pebble he has beyond those he started the game with.

The players then play additional games, until one reaches the designated score for the match, usually 40.

Kalah is played in most of Africa, usually under the names Mancala or Awari, and in India as Pallanguli.

Dakon

Dakon is usually played with six pebbles in each pit. The rules are almost the same as for Kalah, except that when a player’s last pebble lands in a small pit that has pebbles in it, the pebbles are taken up and sown until the last pebble finally lands in either the player’s long pit or an empty small pit.

Long lost, the game was rediscovered in 1905 by William Champion, who spent years researching the game board and its history. He eventually produced a modern version of the game board, using the name “Kalah” after the Kalahari desert. The gameboard may be found today on the playgrounds of Boston, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles and is currently, marketed under the name of “Mancalah” or “Mancala,” derived >from the Arabic “Mankala’h,” meaning “game of intelligence.” (A circular version of the game board was marketed under the name “Oh-War-Ee,” derived from the African “Awari.”)

Dakon is played in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Variations of the game board use rows of seven, eight, nine, or ten small pits in between the long pits, with the same number of pebbles in each small pit to start the game as there are small pits in each row. (Another variation of the game, Sunca, differs from Dakon in that pebbles are sown clockwise around the board instead of counterclockwise.)

Wari

The basic board consists of two rows of six round pits, with a long pit at either end. Pebbles are placed in each of the small pits to start the game, then sown around the board. The object of the various games played on it is to end up with more pebbles than one’s opponent. Following are rules for four of the games played on the board: Kalah, Dakon, Wari, and Adi.

Wari is usually played with four pebbles in each of the small pits. Unlike Kalah, pebbles are sown only in the small pits during a move, never the long pits, nor are pebbles sown back into the pit from which the move was started. Captures are made by making groups of two or three pebbles on the opponent’s side of the board; each time such a group is made, either during a move or at its end, the group is placed in the long pit. Play continues until all the small pits on one side are empty.

Kalah

In Kalah, from one to six pebbles, usually three or six, are placed in each of the small pits. A player takes the pebbles from one of the small pits and sows them one by one counterclockwise around the board, into his long pit and his opponent’s small pits if he has enough, but not into his opponent’s long pit. If the last

The winner receives one point for each pebble in the long pit beyond the number of pebbles each player started with. Unlike Kalah, pebbles in the small pits after the game is over do not count; if neither

Rodney Ruff

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Games People Play (contd.)

player has captured more pebbles than he started with, the game is a draw. As with Kalah, players play to an agreed match score, usually 40. Wari is played in many parts of Africa.

the games as a software package; unfortunately, I was not able to do so.

(There are a number of other games which can be played on the mancalah gameboard; however, the games described in this article are the only ones I know the rules to.)

Adi

Adi is usually played with four pebbles in each of the small pits. Unlike the other games, its object is not to capture pebbles from the opponent, but pits instead.

[Reprinted from “The Brainiac”, newsletter of Nebraska-Western Iowa Mensa, November / December 1997; Jon Silver, Editor]

Pebbles are sown counterclockwise through the small pits only. Every time a pebble makes a group of four, that group is placed in the long pit of the player whose pit the group was made in. If the last pebble of the move makes a group of four, it goes in the long pit of the player who made the move and the turn ends. If the last pebble makes a group of more or fewer than four pebbles, those pebbles are sown around the board until either the last pebble makes a group of four or lands in an empty pit, ending the turn.

Mensa Pune Annoucement We are at a profound junction in the history of the earth where human decision-making will make all the difference. Holistic Personality Development is a dynamic process that shows people how to make decisions that are socially, economically, intellectually and environmentally sound.

We are looking for special people who are self-motivated, focused, creative, dedicated, able to make commitment willing to challenge themselves, receptive to new ideas and proactive. Do you have a desire to make a difference in your life and the world around you through Holistic Personality Development?

Please come to Mensa-India (Pune Chapter) Meeting and MEGA Exhibition.

Meeting and Exhibition Venue : Jnana Prabodhini, 510 Sadashiv Peth, Pune 411 030. Tel: 447 7691 / 8095

Play continues until one player’s pits are empty; whoever has the most pebbles wins the game and, for each group of four he has beyond what he started with, he wins one pit from his opponent for the next game. The player with fewer pits starts the next game; a match continues until one player wins all the pits from his opponent.

Adi is played mostly in West Africa. In a variation of the game, known as Dara, when a group of four is made during a move, the player making the group wins it, and when the group is made at the end of the move, the player owning the pit wins it (the opposite of how groups are won in Adi).

Date : 22nd February 2003 Day : Saturday Time : 6.00 pm to 9.00 pm

My own interest in the games began with a college textbook, Games and Puzzles for Elementary and Middle School Mathematics, published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (The article about Kalah, written by John B. Hagerty, was reprinted from the May 1964 issue of The Arithmetic Teacher and was based on an article in the June 14, 1963 issue of Time.) I wrote a program to play Kalah on the Apple IIe, and later programs to play the other games when I discovered them. I had hoped to market

Please inform other Mensans about the Meeting and Exhibition.

Yours truly, Dr. Narayan R. Desai Coordinator, Mensa-MEGA Executive Council Member, Gifted Child Program Office-In Charge, Mensa-India (Pune) Email: nrd1675@hotmail.com

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Lensa : The Photography SIG

Hello Ms. Welcome to another edition of the wonderful world of LENSA articles. This month we shall be revisiting the wide-angle lens. In the previous article we have defined what constitutes a wide-angle lens. Let’s get more technical on this.

The area size captured by a lens can be expressed as a diagonal angular field called the Angle of View.

The focal length that provides a similar perspective to the human eye is in the range between 40 – 60 mm.

For matter or convenience, we take it as 50 mm. The lenses with shorter focal lengths are called wide-angle lenses and those lenses with focal length greater than 50 mm are termed telephoto. The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle of view and vice-versa.

Looking at the world through a wide-angle lens gives you a different perspective in photography. It is fascinating to see the results when the lens captures almost all that the eye has seen.

Wide-angle lenses have uses in varied fields – architectural photography to name one. In a cramped space, where there is little or no room for the photographer to move, the wide-angle lens comes in very handy to capture the entire subject.

In places where perspective is important, wide-angle lenses are used. For example, in a situation where one wants to get close to the subject and at the same time, include the background to show more of the scene. This gives the viewer a better picture of the actual scene.

The wide-angle lens is also used in situations when you take pictures in narrow city lanes or scenic spots.

Another situation where it comes in handy is in public places when people or other objects are between you and your subject. You may be able to eliminate them by getting closer to the subject and framing the picture the way you want it to be framed.

than normal and the distant objects look far and away.

This is so because the distance between the near and far subjects is great compared to the distance from the camera to the near object. The wide-angle lens exaggerates the space relationships by expanding the apparent distance between the near and distant objects. The lens is also used while showing the size comparison by including a nearby foreground object.

While clicking entire buildings or similar subjects with prominent parallel vertical lines, you must take care not to tilt the camera up or down. This will make the vertical lines converge in the picture. This is called keystoning.

Generally, this keystoning is undesirable, there may be times when you want to give this effect, for example, to make a building look taller or to exaggerate perspective.

The wide-angle lens also increases the depth of field. This depth of field is actually the same for all lenses, no matter what their focal length, if you adjust the subject distance to give the same image size.

However, for a particular camera and particular subject distance, we say that the depth of field increases as the focal length of the lens decreases.

Rishi Lal, Co-ordinator – Lensa Mensa Mumbai rishi_lal@hotmail.com

Hi M’s

GastroSIG + MovieSIG

GastroSIG is meeting on Sunday February 16, 2003 at Pot Pourri, Bandra(W). Pot Pourri serves variety of international cuisines & has been the all time favourite hang out for GastroSIG members.

Time 12:45PM. Hungry Mensans may not wait, no guarantees for those who show up late. This outing will also serve as an informal meet for Ms. Lunch at Pot Pourri will be followed by movie screening (Star Wars: Episode III) at Excel Jogeshwari. I intend to screen over coming months Episodes IV, V, VI, I & II in that order. Pay for what you eat, movie screening at Rs 15 per head. Sorry, Mensans only.

See you soon.

Handling perspective

Perspective is determined by the camera to subject distance. The perspective of the normal, wide-angled or telephoto lens is the same if the camera to subject distance remains the same. If you get close to a subject with a wide-angle lens, the nearby objects look larger

Ravi Shroff ravihris@hotmail.com

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