Mind Jul-Sep 2002 by Editor, MInd

VOLUME-I

JUL - SEP. 2002

www.indianmensa.org www.mensa.org

Editorial

Contents

We introduce Lensa, the photography SIG, in this issue and also hear about a local Mensa chapter in American Mensa. For those who thought the puzzles last time were not so challenging, try the new type introduced this time. Do make sure to read about the rapelling experience Mensans in Bombay had in The Great Mensa Rope Trick.

From the Development Director ....................... 2

We have had a wonderful global response to the relaunched MInd magazine some of which you can see in Reader’s MInd. The international Mensa(n)s are extremely encouraging and the Indian Mensans’ indifference and lack of response is what we would like to understand - together.

The Body and Soul of MInd ............................. 8

The Autorickshaw Experience ........................... 3 The Great Mensa Rope Trick ............................ 4 Lensa : The Photography SIG .......................... 5 Readers’ MInd .................................................. 6 The Top 1 Percentile ........................................ 7 GNYM Mensa ................................................... 9 An Interesting Anecdote ................................... 11 About Mutual Funds ......................................... 12 Logic Puzzle ..................................................... 13

We know that Mensa is more democratic than is made out to be. Here’s your chance to influence the proceedings in the near future. Do write in to let everyone know of how you find this issue and what you can do to make Mensa in India more active. Do something new. Make things happen. Take the lead jointly if need be. As aforesaid, it is your MInd. And that makes all the difference.

Your Mensa ..................................................... 14 How to ...So what ............................................ 15 Trust ................................................................. 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 Amish Mody Co-Editors niravsanghavi@hotmail.com amody@vsnl.net

Your letters, ideas, feedback, brick-bats and bouquets are all very welcome at : amody@vsnl.net 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 : amody@vsnl.net Next Issue Deadline : AUGUST 31, 2002

From the Development Director

Dear Fellow Mensans in India,

Mensans eager to get to know you better and make new friends. Foremost, Mensa is an international organisation, and it offers a variety of opportunities to look beyond the own country. Let me just mention SIGHT, the worldwide Service of Information, Guidance and Hospitality to Travellers, or WORLD CONNECT, which organizes partnerships between local or regional groups of about the same size in other countries. Thus, the dream of the founders of Mensa, to create world peace, is still a vital part of Mensa life, only not on a large political level, but low level between neighbour and neighbour, between Mensan and Mensan. And, believe me, it does work! British Mensa and Irish Mensa work closely together, and so do the Mensas in the nations that developed from former Yugoslavia. It is fascinating and thrilling to sit at a table of 10 for dinner at an international meeting, and have all five continents represented. In fact, even in the Antarctics Mensans have been found more than once! As International Officer I have travelled quite a lot, and every time I found that nowhere in the world you are a stranger in Mensa. Wherever I stayed I was among friends from the first moment.

When I was offered the opportunity to write an article in your magazine by Mr. Nirav Sanghavi, I gladly accepted, as it gives me the opportunity to convey greetings to Mensa India and its members. Let me start by briefly introducing myself and giving you a short summary of my Mensa career: For seven years I was Chairman of German Mensa before I joined the International Elected Officers as Director of Development and, after a service of four years, as International Chairman. Two terms(four years) later I resigned, according to the International Constitution and was just active locally. Since the IBD meeting in October 2001 I am back in the position as Director of Development, and I enjoy my work extremely. During all those years I saw many new groups come into existence and helped them develope. From the very first year in Mensa International, Mensa in India was known to me as a long standing, steady group, based in Pune, with a stable although relatively small membership. India is a vast country that, we at Mensa International are sure, has an enormous Mensa potential. It is with great interest and enthusiasm that Mensa International follows the development of activities not only in Pune, which is the oldest centre, but also in other locations such as Calcutta and Bangalore, and perhaps even more will come up in future. Let me encourage all of you, to help Mensa in India develop to its full potential. The more activities are offered in as many parts of the country as possible, the more attractive Mensa will be to potential members, and the more members you will win. I am sure that one day in the not too far future, Mensa India will play an important role on the international scene, as a member of the International General Council and, later, when all requirements for a full membership of that body have been met, of the International Board of Directors.

You as members of Mensa know how much our organisation can add to your daily life (by the way, in my case it gave me a family, as I met my wife in Mensa and our two daughters are Mensans as well by now!). Don´t deprive your fellow countrymen and –women from the opportunities Mensa offers by not introducing possible candidates to take the challenge of the admission test. Make Mensa India big and strong! We want YOU at our international table as soon as possible! Please don´t hesitate to contact us (the International Office in London or me as Director of Development) if you need advice and/or help in further developing Mensa India. Let me finish by congratulating you on your excellent and informative newsletter “MInd”. I enjoyed very much reading in it. Keep up the good work!

You will notice, or will aready have experienced, that Mensa is not only an interesting opportunity to meet friends with the same brain power locally or nationally. Out there in the world are about 100,000

MInd magazine will accept the articles in soft format only. Please do not send articles and contributions in hard copy.

Udo Schultz, International Director of Development. EL.BIGOTE@t-online.de

The Autorickshaw Experience

area to the west of Kolkata, 8 to 10 passengers are carried in custom-made stretch-autos. They cost in the region of US$1000. New four-stroke models with auto-start facility are gaining ground, and the latest models even come equipped with catalytic converters to reduce pollution.

When you arrive in any medium-size Indian city you’ll be accosted by several people shouting, `Taxi, Sir! Taxi!’ But you can’t see any taxi! “Where are they?” Then it dawns on you that the taxis are the rows of rickety three-wheeled contraptions with open sides and makeshift canvas tops lining the road. There are about a million of these “auto-rikshaws” plying the Indian streets, usually charging the equivalent of 15 US cents per kilometre. They usually have a 350cc engine, and an official capacity of three passengers.

Life in the Fast Lane

Auto drivers have innovative techniques to keep the older ramshackle vehicles running. One Delhi driver lost control, spun about 1000 degrees in five seconds, but somehow managed to come to a stop upright. The driver calmly said, “No problem, just two minutes Sir!” and quickly patched up the broken gear cable with a piece of piano wire!

This mode of transport is the result of some evolution. The human-powered Chinese rikshaw made its debut in the 19th century, which then married the bicycle and gave birth to the three-wheeled pedal-power cycle-rikshaw. Even today there are about five million of these plying Indian streets.

Another auto had a bad leak in the brake fluid system, but managed to stop without hitting anyone or anything. The driver confidently purchased a glass of plain water from a street-side vendor, filled up the brake fluid system, and drove for over 15 kilometres using mainly water in the brake hydraulic system.

And then the Italians developed the Vespa, a scooter that became the rage of Europe. In 1948 Vespa launched a three-wheeled goods carriers called the “Ape”, which in India evolved into passenger carriers well suited for the narrow streets. From the beginning these scooter tricycles were called auto-rikshaws, or just plain autos.

Most drivers own the vehicles and usually put up some religious icons. A Muslim-owned vehicle will have “786" written somewhere in Arabic script. Hindu owners write name(s), fix idol(s) and/or picture(s) of one or a dozen deities and/or gurus. Readymade adhesive-backed stickers are also available for the purpose. Posters of movie stars or sportsmen decorate some vehicles. A few brave music-lovers even install FM radios or cheap music systems, ignoring the high probability of theft. The names of the children of the owner are written very prominently on some vehicles. Some write their favourite mottoes, ”God is One", “India is Great” or something like “Love is slow posion — drink slolly, slolly”.

The auto’s two-stroke engine is a throwback to the days of cranking car engines. It’s started by manually pulling up a huge starter lever to the left of the driver, where an extra passenger often rides. If the passenger is experienced he lifts his left leg (rather like a dog next to a lamppost) at just the right time to enable the driver to pull the lever! Sometimes the auto will slow down and the passenger on the right side of the rear seat will find the driver’s right hand headed towards his crotch! An experienced passenger will just move his legs, realising that the vehicle’s main fuel tank is empty and the driver is opening a valve under the rear seat to connect the emergency tank!

At election time these vehicles are in heavy demand. Several hundred thousand of them are fitted with large public-address horns, amplifiers and batteries. And all of them ply the narrow lanes throughout the country electioneering some 12 hours a day!

The vehicles come in several sizes, with engines between 250 and 650 cc, with “official” passenger capacities of two to four. A 3-seater vehicle often carries five or more adult passengers. In a coal-mining

Continued on page 10 Amit Das, Mensa Kolkata amitdascal@yahoo.com

The Great Mensa Rope Trick

Beep ! I open my eyes and peer sleepily at the clock. Its six in the morning on 7th April, 2002. “ITS SUNDAY !!”, a voice screams in my head. “Go back to sleep!” After all Saturday night was both late and wild. Suddenly two words race through my mind – Rappelling and Mensa. Oh yeah, Vicky Thakur from our Mumbai chapter has organized a rappelling session for us at Borivali National Park. I’ve had four hours of sleep. Getting out of bed early on a Sunday would be adventurous. Then why get ready, jump on a train, trek for an hour and then dangle by a rope at 1000+ feet? I don’t feel intelligent that early in the morning. So I stop evaluating the situation. I pull myself out of bed, complete my morning routine and meet Nirav at the station. I am late. Thank God, Nirav is a patient man. We reach Borivali at 7:30 am and meet the rest of the gang.

fill the air. Somehow each smile vanishes while standing at the edge of the cliff. Cheer and boisterous comments fill the air. Somehow each smile vanishes while standing at the edge of the cliff.

Each person has been harnessed and is using two ropes. Then why are they so petrified I wonder? Its my turn to rappel down. I lean backwards. Being perpendicular to the ground has been easy. Being perpendicular to the side of the cliff is another thing altogether. Peering down 1000 feet is intimidating. What the hell am I doing here? I don’t even know how to fly! My ancestors were monkeys, not me! I fumble a bit at first. But I soon get the ‘hang’ of it. I actually start enjoying the descent. Before I know it, my feet touch the ground. I look up to see what I had scaled down. Did I just scale down that? Whoaa! No wonder they call rappelling an adventure sport. I take a few moments to catch my breath. Now comes the tough part. The climb back up looks extremely steep. The worst is that I have to climb alone this time. Slowly and steadily, I inch my way back up. Trust me, it was one hell of a climb. It’s commendable that none of us got hurt climbing back up.

Getting out of bed early on a Sunday would be adventurous. Then why get ready, jump on a train, trek for an hour and then dangle by a rope at 1000+ feet?

Vicky had arranged for an Adventure sports company, ‘Wanderlust’, to take us rappelling. It is 8:00 am. We all huddle into the ‘Wanderlust’ vehicles and proceed towards the base of Kanheri caves. The bumpy ride achieves what the strong coffee couldn’t. Now I am fully awake. I notice enthusiasm slowly replacing drowsiness.

Some of us let go of our fear on the way down. Some of us revelled in the excitement right from the first moment. But all of us agreed that the experience was simply exhilarating.

We all assemble at the base of Kanheri caves. At 8:15 we start our trek up the mountain. Initially it’s a comfortable brisk walk. After twenty minutes, we encounter a steep climb. One wrong step and we’d know what Jack and Jill would have felt like. Whew! All of us negotiate the climb extremely well. Not a scratch on any of us. After an hour’s trek, we reach the rappelling site. The Wanderlust crew begins to set up the equipment and the ropes. The overhead sun is treacherous but the view is spectacular. The clean air and the company is excellent. True to the Mensa spirit we somehow get lost in ‘intelligent’ conversation. The generous helpings of oranges and water help keep our minds off the heat. The equipment is in place and over-enthusiasm sets in. We all excitedly queue up to experience gravity. Cheer and boisterous comments

Originally, we expected to rappel down twice. However, time is not on our side. It’s one o’ clock. We start trekking back to the base of Kanheri caves. Our water supply is over. The heat is agonizing. Determination and persistence is all we have. We reach the bottom of the mountain. There we indulge in a well-deserved rest. Not surprisingly we devour soft drinks and snacks with great tenacity. Then all of us pile into the vehicles and head for the main gates of the park. There we part company at 3:30 pm. Continued on the next page

Amish Mody, Mensa Mumbai amody@vsnl.net

Lensa : The Photography SIG

Photography or the art of taking good photographs involves understanding the following: (1) Light; (2) Lens; (3) Film; (4) Exposure; and (5) Camera

subject will render the sunlit background object as solid white. The best thing to do in such cases, is either to wait for the light to come from different directions or for a different weather. Under twilight conditions, you may get the desired light on both the subject and the background.

We will look at all of these, one by one, in the future issues of MInd. We start by looking at light, a very important part in getting a good quality picture.

In cases, where the waiting is not possible, you can use a powerful flash that will augment the sunlight. Electronic flash is the same colour as sunlight around noon. Use of flash around twilight will make the objects look unnaturally cold. You can get over this hindrance by using coloured filters over the flash tube.

For most people, any type of light is good for taking a photo, and generally, they are right. A person can take a picture anytime of day or night. However, the right kind of light for a particular photo is what distinguishes a good picture from an average one.

In the next issue, we will talk about filming landscapes in sunlight and overcast skylight.

Light, as a broad subject, can be broken down into a number of smaller parts, viz. Sunlight, Overcast light, At twilight, In Fog or Mist, Street Lights, Indoor lights, Electronic Flash light and Studio Flash light. Let’s start getting ‘enlightened’.

You can buy a Mensa cap with a raster-based embroidered Mblem. Desk and car stickers (white and blue - innies and outies) and limited sweatshirts (blue and grey) are also available from the Mumbai office. Mensa merchandise is for members’ use only.

Sunlight In this issue, we will look at taking portraits under sunlight.

Continued from page 4 I am sure glad that I ignored that voice in the morning. Sure the summer heat was bad. Sure it took a serious effort to make it to the National Park that early on Sunday. But the company and invigorating experience made it more than worth the effort. Some of us remained panic stricken throughout. Some of us let go of our fear on the way down. Some of us revelled in the excitement right from the first moment. But all of us agreed that the experience was simply exhilarating. And one last thing - Geeta Kalwani, Manish Balwani, Nishaki Mehta, Ankur Goyal, Rahul Bhandari, Rohan Nagarkar, Sayali Potnis, Mrugank Mehta, Trivik Bhavnani, Amit Boob, and Sharon Misra – it was nice meeting you guys that day. And for those who did not show up because they thought it might be boring, well…

A bright sun, on a clear day, generates hard light that gives rise to deep and sharp shadows. If you are clicking around noon, note that the sun would be right above you. Since the hard light generates shadows, you have to take care that your subject’s eyes and nose are free from these shadows. The direction from where the light is emanating may place these unwanted shadows in these places. As a remedy, you may move the object under shade where it will not be directly affected by the harsh sunlight. This is akin to taking pictures under diffused light which does not cast harsh shadows. What if this is not possible? The following paragraphs look at this scenario. Please note that there is a big difference in lighting of a shaded object vis-à-vis a sunlit object. A picture that is correctly exposed for the sunlit object will render the shaded portrait subject as solid black. A picture that is correctly exposed for the shaded portrait

Lets hope Vicky can rope in more Mensans for our next adventure. On second thoughts let’s hope he doesn’t. I hate waiting my turn. Rishi Lal, Mensa Mumbai, Co-ordinator, Lensa rishi_lal@hotmail.com

Readers’ Mind

Hi Nirav,

I’ve had company from out of town, so it has delayed me from writing to tell you that I received the Mensa India newsletter. I enjoyed reading it very much, and you and your co-editor do a very nice job putting it together. :-)

Yes, I did receive Mind magazine and very much enjoyed reading it – it was well presented and there was an interesting mix of articles. I have forwarded it to my fellow British Mensa Director, Sylvia Herbert, for her comments. Sylvia is our Regional Publications Officer and has overall responsibility for the production of all our regional Newsletters, as well as editing the one for her own area herself. She has a great deal of experience in this field and I am sure she will provide you with some well considered feedback.

Take care, Stacey Kirsch Webmaster, Mensa International Regional Vice Chairman(Region 4), American Mensa Member, National Board, American Mensa Membership Officer, Chicago Area Mensa.

Regards, Chris Leek Chairman British Mensa

“Got it and was VERY impressed by the efforts of a small Mensa. The amount of work that went into producing it was apparent. I applaud your efforts. Hoping to meet you someday but meanwhile keep up the good work for Mensa.”

Dear Nirav, Yes, I got it, but I was travelling for a few weeks, so I only received it on Monday. It looks very good more interesting than our French newsletter, in fact. So, no suggestions for improvement from my side you are doing a good job!

Dave Remine Chairman, Mensa International Dear Nirav,

Konrad Hinsen SIGHT Officer Mensa France

I did receive Mind a few days ago and I must say that I was very impressed, both with the look and with the content. It looks professional, but is still very attractive. It was a pleasure for me to read it from the first word (Mensa) to the last one (scientists).

Dear Sir, Congrats on the new Vol. I – Apl/June 2002 issue. Regarding your “The Philanthropist” I find the following calculation will be more appropriate

How many times a year is it published ? Can members of other national Mensa subscribe ? How much would it cost ? Is it available online ?

1. 25% Men x 4 …………..100 33.3% Women x 3……..100

I am sad to say that I am going to have to live without my copy of Mind for a while because I absolutely want my fellow board members and the editor of our national publication to take a look at it.

1260/7 = 180

2. 180 men x Rs. 100 = Rs. 18000 180 women x Rs. 75 = Rs. 13500 Question: how else can you arrive at this figure of 31.5K. Your comments.

Warm congratulation to the Editor and to Mensa India for coming up with Mind !

R.K. Mahadev Membership No. 940562 Mensa Bangalore

Kind regards, Sophie Delaloye Chairman Mensa Switzerland

Continued on next page.

The Top 1 Percentile

Continued from previous page... Readers’ MInd

1. Why did Henry Ford call his Model “T” Ford “T” ?

3. Which Indian ruler owned 50 Rolls Royce’s one which had a body cast out of solid silver and interior upholstered in old gold braid?

Dear RKM, We notice that the ratio of money taken by a man to woman is 4:3. 1260 broken in the same ratio is 720 and 540 thus finding that exactly the same number of men and women claim the money i.e. 180. Thanks for the response. Hope this is fine too with all those who called/wrote in to ask for the answer. Regards, NS

4. Which currency unit derives it name from the Sanskrit word for ‘Stamped Coin’?

MAPER for MInd

2. On his 50th wedding anniversary Henry Ford was asked the secret of a successful married life? He replied it is the same formula that made his automobiles successful? What’s the formula?

Maper is a one-page, newly launched Mensa Activity Paper, edited by Mehul Mangalvedhekar, MM12, from Mensa Mumbai. It is currently distributed by email only and is growing in its popularity. Here are some questions that have featured so far. We shall try to carry more of its content in future issues. 1) What is a cardoid? 2) What is the Sieve of Erastosthenes? 3) What is the sum of the first 70 odd numbers?

5. In medical parlance what is the “cut practice”? 6. Who is the first Indian cover girl of “Cosmopolitian” magazine? 7. Which was the only store that refused to sell Andrew Morton’s controversial book – Diana: The True Story? 8. What is the subject of the book “World War 3.0” ? 9. Why did Air India enter the Guinness book of world records?

Answers to MAPER for MInd: 1) It is a curve shaped like a heart. 2) A table made to find out the prime numbers easily. 3) 4900.

10. Which country has the highest per capita readership of comics in the world? 11. The concept of the ‘iron wages’ originated in China. What is it?

13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

1. His earlier cars were known as Model “R” & “S”. 2. Stick to one model. 3. The 7th Nizam of Hyderabad. 4. “Taka” of Bangladesh. 5. A cut received by a doctor from a consultant, laboratory, or nursing home to whom he/she referred a patient. 6. Malaika Arora. 7. Harrods (of course) 8. Microsoft’s anti-trust trial 9. For operation airlift when it airlifted 111,000 passengers from Amman to Mumbai. 10. Japan. 11. Wages paid to workers whether they work or not. 12. Get money at 3%, lend it at 6%, and reach the golf club by 3 pm. Brylcream. Pan Masala. All are code names for Bofors commission recipients. Guns, to pacify the anti gun lobby. Maneka Gandhi. Singapore. Stock Broking. ‘What with all the soap and more soap.’

12. In banking parlance what is the golden era 3-6-3? 13. Which is the only product for which the singer Late Kishore Kumar modelled? 14. From 1990, ads of what product have been banned on Doordarshan? 15. What is common to Tulip, Lotus and Mont Blanc? 16. Bill Clinton introduced the ‘buy-back’ law to buy back what from the public? 17. Which NDA minister once modelled for Bombay Dyeing? 18. Which country has a parliament that meets virtually? 19. What profession did Sir Don Bradman take up after his retirement from cricket? 20. What reason did Bal Thackeray give for calling TV a “dhobi ghat”?

Answers:

Sajeev Mohta, Mensa Mumbai sanjeev.mohta@kotak.com

The Body and Soul of MInd

is surprising to note that people awaken spontaneously in the morning after an episode of this sleep. The heart rate and the breathing rate become highly irregular depending on the type of emotions one is experiencing which depends on the dream one is enjoying. All the muscles in the body are relaxed except for the eye muscles which are in a state of contraction The brain metabolism shows a steep increase, which is, in fact, the reason why this type of sleep is called paradoxical (it is a paradox that the person can still be asleep despite marked activity in the brain).

Good day Mensans! The topic for our next issue will revolve around the mysteries of sixth sense - I look forward to contributions from my fellow Mensans , any personal experience or information. Kindly email me if you have anything to contribute. Today we shall be delving on the importance of sleep - an activity that has varied interpretations for various individuals. Some of us can maintain full efficiency with as little as 4 hours of sleep whereas some of us need our rest period to exceed 8-10 hours. Let me attempt to explain the importance of sleep.

Now comes the interesting fact : relating to the two types of sleep mentioned above:

Sleep is a state of unconsciousness from which the person can be aroused by a sensory or any other stimulus. It is different from coma because in coma the person is unconscious and cannot be aroused by any stimulus. There are two types of sleep:

On a normal night of sleep , bouts of REM sleep lasting 5-30 minutes usually appear after an average of 90 minutes of slow wave sleep. When the person is extremely sleepy, each bout of REM sleep is short or may be absent . Conversely, as the person becomes more rested through the night , the durations of the REM bouts greatly increase. Therefore if we sleep for 6-8 hours it helps us get the optimum amount of sleep in the REM type which is for registering dreams into memory.

1) Slow Wave or Deep (synchronised) Sleep

Most of us can understand the features of this sleep by remembering the last time we were awake for more than 24 hours and then remembering the deep sleep that occurred during the first hour after going to sleep.

The significance of sleep is that it is a restorative period, it forms an important part of learning by helping to register facts (so it is generally advisable not to stay awake the whole night before an exam - this is explained by the fact that there is transfer of memory from the conscious to the unconscious neuronal circuits). It also forms an outlet for our inner desires and urges and if our wishes are expressed in our subconscious it results in a better amount of motivation culminating into a greater chance to achieve success because your brain is now aware of what you seek to achieve.

This sleep is extremely restful and there is a decrease in the tone of the blood vessels and the vegetative functions of the body . There is a 10-30% decrease in the breathing rate and the blood pressure. This helps in giving all the systems of our body the requisite rest they require in order to work to their optimum without experiencing fatigue. Even though this type of sleep is called the dreamless sleep, dreams and sometimes awful nightmares can occur in this type of sleep but they are not consolidated into memory - so when we wake up the next day we have no recollection whatsoever of the dreams that occur in this stage of sleep.

I would like to put in a word regarding insomnia. This is a disorder where the person fails to enter into the slow wave type of sleep - as a result of which one fails to enter the REM stage of sleep. Somnambulism is the medical term for night-walking. This occurs because of contraction of limb muscles but the person fails to realize that he is walking.

2) REM (rapid eye movement ) or Paradoxical (desynchronised) Sleep

This stage is characterised by active dreaming and active movements of the body. The person is more difficult to arouse than the first type of sleep and yet it

Continued on page 11

Nishaki Mehta, Mensa Mumbai nishaki_m@hotmail.com

GNYM Mensa

I was spurred to write this account while reading some statistics that compared US’s Mensa membership with that of India. So here we go! Here I relate my interaction with American Mensa and its members.

North American tradition of producing magazines by ton, there is also a ‘Games’ magazine. No connection with Mensa, except that one of its editors is a Mensan. Another of Mensa SIGs specializes in word games. On the Oscar night last year, Jared had held a potluck party. Additionally, it was a black suit affair. Jared and Greg also run a Bridge SIG and newbies like me could play on Tuesdays, without getting frowned upon or being shouted at.

My very first outing was to the Bronx Zoo. I was accompanied by Marty Goldberger and Ms Susan Heimlich (then president of Greater New York Metropolitan GNYM Mensa). The Bronx zoo one of the biggest in the USA, has a monorail that carries you through various jungles. This was my only visit to the Bronx (properly pronounced ‘Da Bronx’. Da is the first letter in the Bronx vocabulary.) The zoo is extra ordinary as it has both Asian and African section. In the year 2000, they had put up an exhibit called ‘Congo’ that covered rare species from that region of Africa.

Regional Gatherings (RG) are a inseparable part of Mensan life in America. These events are replete with lectures from guests and members. I attended two, one in NJ and other obviously in NYC, which was held in Staten Island. After the Staten Island RG, I participated in CultureQuest, a national quiz competition. RGs are held during better months, though everyone spends time inside the hotel. The last year’s National RG was held in San Antonio, Texas, where teenage members hijacked a lecture room for sometime and released it after being assured that they would have better representation in the national body. (Hey, Young Mensans, don’t get ideas, Americans are used to revolutions, not us!) This reminds me of an occasion where I spent some time at a table with seniors. This became a singing competition of patriotic songs. Almost everybody around the table knew songs from the revolution era.

The regular weekly hang-out used to be ‘Cha Kwan’ Chinese restaurant in the village (Greenwich village – the most lively part of NYC). At Mensa here too, conversation is a sport. Cha Kwan is the place where I made a few friends. I met Susan here. She is a German Jew who landed in USA in year 1951 and has been there since. She has held various jobs and now retired. By her own admission, she is a map freak, and possesses maps of the world through centuries. She once rode through 11 countries on a scooter and had a passport to show for it.. I was a regular recipient of Susan’s hospitality at her place including a Thanksgiving dinner and a party she threw to celebrate 50 years of her stay in the USA.

For trivia lovers : Dharma’s father in the sitcom “Dharma and Greg” is a Mensan. So is Gina Davis (who could not represent USA in an archery event at the Olympics). Isaac Asimov’s nephew Peter, being a foodie covers restaurants and writes articles about them. I understand Mr Asimov had chaired GNYM Mensa for couple of years. Couple of New York cabbies are also Mensans (any takers in Bombay??). An average Mensan is likely to keep his membership secret in public and at the workplace, for obvious reasons. Another interesting feature of these meetings and SIGs and RGs is that your friends or relatives can join in.

Strategy games are very popular amongst Mensans. I understand this was a hobby that raged in 80’s like quiz programs like ‘Jeopardy’ did and now it is making a comeback. To my surprise, I learnt that the Germans make best of the strategy games and there could be numerous versions of the same game released at various times in the market. Sea-farer is a game where you build town, cities, trade with your competitors and amass fortunes in mines or some such trade. These games last over 3-4 hours. So on a Sunday every month, people meet up for couple of games at some member’s place. Keeping with the

GNYM Mensa (contd.)

MENSA America publishes magazines at both national and chapter levels. The national one is very colourful and informative. It has advertisements by sponsors and members as well. Chapter magazines give the list of upcoming events, which are listed on some of the websites, as well.

400 kg of water in. You can bet that upturning the canoe to void it of all occupying water was no fun. But, I do remember the interesting moments like when once we rode straight into branches causing me to tilt first at 30, then at 60 degrees, before going flat on my back. Another time we were caught in the current and had to yell at a guy who was fishing ahead (absolutely oblivious to what was going to hit him). And then, being short, my captain lost his footing so I had to hold him by his neck just to keep his head above the water.

Unlike Mensa India, American Mensans have various occupations. They range from lawyers, military people, art critics, photographers, psychologists, painters and some of them are retired too. I came across a person who told me he was an anthropologist, though he made it sound like he collected stones endlessly. Age-wise, a lot of them tend to be in their 40’s and 50’s. In fact there is a SIG that invites baby-boomers (babies born between 1946 till 1964, thanks to couple of wars or rather the end of them) to drink away to glory. I was born in 1968. I have abstained.

Before I returned, I attended a Halloween party in New York. Due to my make-up and devilish looks I won a prize for, you guessed right, … playing the devil. Thanks to my membership of Mensa, I truly enjoyed my life in the USA. Like they say, if you are a member of this club, you are an equal at the table. I am happy that I met an interesting and intelligent bunch of people from various walks of life.

I attended most of the events, except for a regular one in Central Park where members gather to do sketches during summer and autumn. There is a young group of Mensans who indulge in various adventure and entertainment activities. These vary from a bike ride through all 5 boroughs of NYC, to a visit to a sports and entertainment center at Chelsea Pier to an art or science museum.

Continued from page 3

Modern Day Anachronisms

During the 1990s the number of cars increased explosively in the larger cities of India. With its rudimentary springs and makeshift semi-protection from the heavy monsoon rains, the outrageous auto-rikshaw seems an anachronism in the hi-tech 21st century. But in spite of sprouting software export billionaires, India remains a poor overcrowded country with cities full of narrow congested lanes.

Beginning last year, due to a job change, I bid a sad farewell to New York. A New Jersey Mensan and I came across a very enthusiastic Ron Rummeler who used to be a teacher in a county college. He is happily retired due to efficiency of his pension fund. Ron in his wandering days (his words, not mine) has travelled America, but now sticks to canoeing in Raritan river of NJ.

Conventional roads and cars follow a linear route, but in crowded city streets an auto moves like a chess piece, darting across lanes diagonally or even making zero-radius right-angled turns whenever convenient. When confronted with traffic jams they bypass the crowded intersections through narrow lanes.

Here is a brief account of our very interesting canoeing trip down the river Raritan. Our two-seater Canoe was captained by an MIT graduate in his 40’s, who had spent some 10 years in France. He was given the tough task of maneuvering our canoe through the currents of Raitan with me (all of 105 kg then). As a result, we capsized twice. To my dismay I found, that though the canoe is made up of some kind of tough plastic or a polymer, its sheer volume allows around

In this environment the unique personality of the auto has given it a place of its own. The vehicle meets the real needs of a billion real people, consuming less fuel per passenger than either bikes or cars. One may be sure that these vehicles will continue to ply the Indian streets for many decades to come.

Suhas Valanjoo, Mensa Mumbai suhasv1@hotmail.com

An Interesting Anecdote

Here is a message that may not be true, but makes for intriguing reading all the same.

appeared to be an accident; that is, if the gun had been accidentally loaded.

At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science, AAFS President Dr. Don Harper Mills astounded his audience with the legal complications of a bizarre death.

The continuing investigation turned up a witness who saw the old couple’s son loading the shotgun about six weeks prior to the fatal accident. It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son’s financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would shoot his mother. Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the murder even though he didn’t actually pull the trigger. The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus.

Here is the story : On March 23, 1994 the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head. Mr. Opus had jumped from the top of a ten-story building intending to commit suicide. He left a note to that effect indicating his despondency. As he fell past the ninth floor his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast passing through a window, which killed him instantly. Neither the shooter nor the decedent was aware that a safety net had been installed just below, at the eighth floor level, to protect some building workers and that Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his suicide the way he had planned. “Ordinarily,” Dr. Mills continued, “A person who sets out to commit suicide and ultimately succeeds, even though the mechanism might not be what he intended, is still defined as committing suicide.” That Mr. Opus was shot on the way to a certain death, but probably would not have been successful because of the safety net, caused the medical examiner to feel that he had a homicide on his hands.

Now comes the exquisite twist. Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact, Ronald Opus. He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to engineer his mother’s murder. This led him to jump off the ten-story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth story window. The son had actually murdered himself so the medical examiner closed the case as a suicide.

I Need Some Help Hi. I’m trying for an admission to The National Law School, Bangalore for the year 2003. Is there any one studying there who can give me some help in my preparations and tell me how to go about the entrance exam. Sameer Pandit, Mensa Mumbai sameerpandit100@rediffmail.com

The room on the ninth floor whence the shotgun blast emanated was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously and he was threatening her with a shotgun. The man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger he completely missed his wife and the pellets went through the window striking Mr. Opus. When one intends to kill subject “A” but kills subject “B” in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject “B.”

Continued from page 8 In the end I would like to say a word on the use of drugs such as amphetamines. This are used frequently by students a day prior to the exam for they believe they can stay awake the whole night and stay fresh. But these drugs can only keep you awake and alert . They do not help in registering information. In other words they do not serve the very purpose for which they are consumed.

When confronted with the murder charge the old man and his wife were both adamant They both said they thought the shotgun was unloaded. The old man said it was his long-standing habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun. He had no intention to murder her. Therefore the killing of Mr. Opus

Submitted by: Berzis Meher-homji Mensa Mumbai

About Mutual Funds

A mutual fund is a mechanism that mobilizes savings from people and the pooled amount is invested in the securities. Such an investment provides the small savers and lay investors expert advice, lower risk due to diversification of funds and lower cost resulting from economies of scale.

The performance of a particular scheme is denoted by the Net Asset value (NAV). NAV is the total market value of the securities owned by the company after meeting its liabilities. Since the value of the securities fluctuates the NAV of the scheme fluctuates.

It is set up in the form of a trust where the Sponsor (Promoter) establishes the trust. The trustees hold the assets of the trust for the benefit of the Unit holders (investors) while the Asset management Company (AMC) manages the funds.

While investing the investors should go through the offer document and consider the performance track record of the mutual fund, the entry- exit load charged (a charge used by the mutual fund for marketing and distribution, usually 0.5% of NAV), quality of the portfolio, service standards, experience of the management.

FINANCIAL WISDOM

Happy Investingâ&#x20AC;Ś

There are only two emotions on Dalal street: fear and greed.

When we take in 160 grams of glucose, 120 grams of which is used by the brain. Half of this 120 grams is used in maintaining the excitable cells of the brain called neurons in proper condition so that they may efficiently conduct electrical signals. To send electrical signals, an optimum environment is required in terms of the ion concentration. To giving it a thought - we expend 50% of our energy in maintaining a favourable environment for conducting nerve impulses. This simply makes us understand how very important it is to have a working nervous system.

Every AMC offers different schemes according to the investment objectives. Some of the schemes are Growth Oriented Schemes, which aims to provide capital appreciation, and so funds are invested in equities. Income fund aims to provide regular & steady income by investments in fixed income securities. While Growth funds are for risk takers and Income funds for risk- averse investors. Balanced funds are suitable for investors looking for a combination of income and moderate growth having investments both in debt and equity. Some other schemes are money market funds in which investments are made in money market instruments, Gilt funds (investments in Government securities) Sector Specific funds (investments made in a specific sector).

A close up with your breath and you could be your own doctor â&#x20AC;Ś Recent research indicates that the levels of nitric oxide are 10 times more when your body is waging a war against infections than when you are hale and hearty. This is explained by the fact that the body produces nitric oxide to help fight of infections - particularly viral infections and the levels show a steep rise if you are feeling ill . So, work is being done to invent a device that could read your nitric oxide levels and ring a siren if there is a problem.

These schemes can be either open-ended or closed ended. An open-ended scheme is one, which provides free entry and exit at any given time of the year where the investors can buy and sell the units on the Net Asset Value (NAV) related prices. A closed-ended fund has a fixed maturity period. It is open for subscription only during the period of launch of scheme. The holders have an exit option by selling either at a repurchase price declared by the company or at the stock exchange at which the fund is listed.

To receive meeting information etc. by e-mail, request the same by emailing your chapter and membership status (life or annual) to niravsanghavi@hotmail.com. Renew the same before making this request.

Manish Balwani, Mensa Mumbai, Co-coordinator (FinSig)

Logic Puzzle

The puzzle consists of a blank grid with numbers on the left side of each row and at the top of each column : Each number defines the length of a filled-in block.. There is at least one empty square between blocks. The blocks are in the same sequence as the numbers.

In the example above the numbers 2, 5, 3 in a row means that there is a block of 2 somewhere on the left followed by a block of 5, which is followed by a block of 3, and there is a space of at least one square between the block.

Charlie

Your Mensa

traffic on our website. Our numbers are constantly being added, as are our activities. Our ignorance continues to get subtracted with every meeting and informative mail that gets distributed on our e-group. Our opinion continues to be divided, just like it should be. After all debate is always good.

UPDATE FROM MENSA MUMBAI

Its been quite an eventful quarter for the Mensa Mumbai. The strength of our clan is steadily increasing as is apparent by our current increase in our membership. We were 176-odd members (in good standing) strong in March 2001 and our current membership has increased to 220+ now. Not to mention the interest generated by Mensa India has also been on the rise as our website traffic indicates. We have had a steady flow of enquiries in the last quarter and monthly tests go well attended. We also continue to get requests from other cities to hold our admission tests in them.

Amish Mody, Mensa Mumbai amody@vsnl.net

KOLKATA MENSA UPDATE

We now have 34 paid-up members in Kolkata[28] and Kharagpur[6]. We have a large number of student-members from IIM, Kolkata, IIT-Kharagpur, IIIT-Kolkata, Bengal Engineering College etc. There are several young programmers, at least five at the last count. There are also several young MBAs and a few businessmen. We also have six Mensans over fifty years old who had joined Mensa between 1963 and 1970 and have now renewed their subscriptions. We have a meeting at 11 a.m. of the first Sunday of every month. In the June meeting Mr. Vishal Popat gave an interesting talk on numismatics. He brought along a good part of his collection of coins and notes; including one 2,300 years old.

Our activities have also been on the rise. A young 11-year-old Mensan launched ‘MAPER’, the Mensa Activity Paper, of our chapter and has evoked a very good support and response from Mensans of other chapters as well thus boosting interactivity among the Mensans. It is encouraging to see that ‘Maper’ too is experiencing a process of evolution and continues to improve in its presentation and quality with every passing issue. It is currently in its online version and is 9 proud issues old at the time of going to print. We had recently gone to Kanheri caves on 7th April, 2002. Vikram Thakur from our chapter had organized a rappelling session. The activity received active participation and approximately 14 Mensans attended the rappelling session.

Amit Das, Mensa Kolkata adas@onlysmart.com If an obese individual and a muscle man were subjected to starvation (a metabolic condition which imposes stress on the body systems) the obese person would be at an advantage because fat is an important storehouse of energy which would help him meet the basic amounts of energy. On the other hand, the muscle man would have more of proteins which would be mobilized for energy in the early stages but later this process cannot continue since proteins form the structural framework of the body.

Our AstroSIG continued to remain dormant in this period as in summer the sky conditions are not conducive to astronomical observations. Our e-group continues to be a hotbed of activity as interesting information, trivia and puzzles continue to be exchanged and often enough discussions and heated debates on a wide variety subjects are sparked off on it. Lastly, as it is apparent from this edition of MInd, our editorial team continues to tap on some of the best available talent in not only our chapter but also other chapters as well.

Mensa is for the benefit of its members too. If you need to rent a new house, want guidance in biomechanics, or simply like playing chess but have no one to survive you, you can make that request here. Write to the Editor.

Summarily, the Mumbai chapter in the recent past has become a hot-bed of mathematics. The interest about Mensa is fast multiplying going by the number of people who have been taking the test and even the

How to … So what

Well, education seems to be the popular buzzword du jour, so I thought I’d take a few moments to share some educational wisdom I learned in Sunday School. The originator of the concept (at least for me) was Val Hebertson, now departed this life, but then a Senior Vice-President at Amerada-Hess, an international petroleum industry related business. The concept works like this: There are two components to teaching, How To and So What. He believed that in teaching, far too much emphasis is placed on the first, and far too little on the second. How To consists of the three Rs, in their most primal form. Add up a column of numbers, diagram a sentence, find the atomic weight of cesium. By rote kids in school develop a sufficient mastery of these concepts to be able to meet the requirements of a test which, by the very nature of its content, tends to be easy to quantify for scoring purposes. So easy, in fact, that thanks to the ultimate dumbing down with multiple choice answers, computers can score the tests. Whereas How To involves tangible concepts, So What consists of abstracts and intangibles. “If I learn to add up this column of figures, what good will it do me?” “Why should I bother to learn how to decline Latin verbs?” (Hey, I’m an old guy, I had to do that stuff in school). Our lives are made up of a series of teaching opportunities. Although few of us may be formally designated teachers, nevertheless it is our fate and our nature to fill that role. As students in school or college, we find ourselves helping other students. As parents we are attempting to program our kids. As employees we have influence with our fellow workers. As employers ... you get the picture. The problem with this is that it takes so little time to tell Millie the secretary how to spell “psittacosis”, it takes more time to show her how to use the dictionary, but the most time of all to explain why it’s worth the effort. In a work environment, management rules frequently preclude the second and third options – but with a small adjustment to our mind set we can move option 3 into option 1 position.

Example: our kids knew that the dinner table, as they were growing up, was a cell for learning. Learning became a game. They learned to say the alphabet forward and backward before entering first grade. The younger ones learned from the older ones what fun it was to freak the teacher out by knowing stuff like that already. They learned to recognize Latin and Greek origins of words and their components, and how to guess the meaning of a word by its structural and components. Etymology was used as a building block to teaching them to think. And it was always a game, always fun. Now they have kids of their own, and guess what? Their dinner tables are also infused with the how to and the so what of learning, discovering that education can be fun. Pascal said it well (and forgive me for paraphrasing): “People are more likely to do things for reasons they have discovered themselves, than for the reasons of others.” That’s “So What”. By the Curmudgeon Copyright © 2001 by the author February 2001

Charlie 15

Trust

Trust is a fallacy. Trust is what you resort to doing if you do not know. Not knowing is what happens to you if you do not have the courage to look. People believe that they can lie to each other. This is not the case. A body linguist can usually pick up, at a glance, when someone is lying. A good body linguist could be able to hide all the telltale signs, but an even better one will still notice. We are all body linguists. We would not have had this means of sending information if we did not also have t he ability to receive it. Nature is not wasteful. Body language is but one method by which we communicate information. Through our voice tone alone, I believe we send more than a thousand times more information than is simply conveyed in words. Surely, there are more than a thousand different ways of saying ‘hello’! In our choice of words, there are so many different ways of saying the same thing, but each choice conveys with it a wealth of information about how we feel about what we are saying. You do not need to have any special kind of training to receive this information. For every part of the speakers mind that is expressing something, you have t hat corresponding part in you mind with which to receive it. The best is, you do not even have a choice about this. Your mind receives t he information anyway. All you have a choice about is whet her you want to listen to what you are hearing. Why do we not listen to what other people are saying? If we completely listen to other people, we completely hear ourselves! To pickup every bit of information that another person emits, we have to pick up every message that is still pending in our own systems. Every time that we neglected ourselves. Every time that we ignored our hearts warnings. Every time we took the seemingly easy way, when deep down we knew that it was not. It is this ‘deep down’ that we must learn to listen to. That can be very, very painful. If your ‘deep down’ have been trying to tell you that you hurt for so long that you can not even remember the beginning, you have a lot of pain to hear about before you can hear anything else.

Well, it’s not that bad really. The things in the past can disappear into the past if we stop reminding ourselves of them by repeating them. If we start listening to the messages from deep down and acting on them, they become less, and softer. This is the shortest road to inner peace. Soon it becomes so quiet t hat you have to concentrate to hear anything. Before you know, you start noticing things that you never knew existed. While somebody talks to you, the words from his or her mouth become unimportant. The message conveyed becomes so big that in a short conversation, you can pick up truths that the speaker does not even realize about him/herself. At this point trust loses all meaning. At this point, you can know exactly what a person believes when he speaks to you. Trust disappears and knowledge takes over. Compare this to the state-ment: ‘I trust that it will rain today’. Literally, it means ‘I do not know if it is going to rain today’. When it starts raining, you know, and it no longer makes sense to say ‘I trust’. If we do not really listen, and put our trust in some-one else, we open ourselves to disappointment. When the other person ‘lets us down’ we blame the mistake we made on this other person. We say, “you let me down” whilst the other person have told you in the first place that he/she was not going to deliver. The MD of a company once said to me “We will try to have a meeting like this at least three to four times a year”. If it could be three, should he not say “at least three”? By saying, “try” he did say that it could not happen at all, so why the “at least”. By listening to the words, I heard the man say: “I really haven’t checked what I am saying now.” If I had put my trust in t hat, I could not afterwards say that he had let me down. It would have been my own fault! Mike Combrinck, Mensa Pretoria. Originally from The Chronicle, Nov 2001, Mensa South Africa.