December 2016
THE CHRONICLE 2
Articles from Mensa International
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Marketing Wrap
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Constitution
IN THIS ISSUE 1.
Letter from Editor
2.
Articles from Mensa International
3.
Marketing Wrap
4.
Letter from member
5.
Constitution
6.
Notice Inviting Nominations for the
HELLO MENSANS
International Election 2017 7.
Letter from National Chairperson
Here we are at the end of another year. This year has passed so quickly and we certainly have not issued The Chronicle as often as we would have liked. As with any non-prot organisation, there are a handful of dedicated people that work timelessly in the background to make things happen. On that note if anyone would like to assist in anyway please contact us – we will always appreciate the help!
Webpage: www.mensa.org.za National Chairperson: Simone Deyzel-O'Brien chairperson@mensa.org.za National Treasurer: Schalkwyk van der Merwe National Marketing Ofcer: Lorraine Steyn marketing@mensa.org.za National Secretary: Cinzi Busi secretary@mensa.org.za National Admin Ofcer: Yvonne Steyn admin@mensa.org.za
Recently, on one of Johannesburg's local stations, the question was asked “what would South Africa be known for as the best in the world”. The phoned-in response was a resounding “Corruption”. It's been a tough year, I agree, but I thought that because we are heading into the festive season, I would rather give my top 5 best positive things about our country: 1.
Friendly people
2.
Breath-taking countryside
3.
Diversity and acceptance
4.
Wine
5.
Braai and biltong
I wish you all the best for the festive season and safe travels. Cheers to the New Year!
Heidi Franck EDITOR chronicle@mensa.org.za
MENSA WORLD JOURNAL 1. From the Executive Committee I set off in a couple of days for the 2016 IBD meeting in Otsu, Japan, and am very much looking forward to meeting members from Mensa groups around the world, exchanging thoughts and ideas with the many national groups, and experiencing, once again, the wider Mensa family. There will be plenty of opportunities to socialise, but with an agenda and appendices currently running at 209 pages (and I understand there may be an item or two yet to be added!) I anticipate plenty of interesting, but hard, work ahead. In preparation, I have been looking back at what's been happening in the Mensa universe since the last IBD meeting. Development has been thriving internationally this year, and it's been a very busy year for the International Director of Development, Björn Liljeqvist. Highlights have included training days in Portugal and the UAE with a number of new test proctors appointed, a lot of activity in China, ongoing testing in Taiwan and, in Kenya, a promising collaboration between Mensa International and a local school that is establishing a gifted program, designed to identify and nurture exceptional talents – be they physical, artistic or intellectual. Romania and Slovenia achieved Full National Mensa status congratulations to both. Mensa groups are encouraged to help each other and examples this year have included Mensa Romania arranging testing in Moldova, Russian speaking members from Mensa Germany volunteering to carry out testing in Russia, members from Mensa France helping test and recruit in Tunisia, and Mensa Sweden sharing training material with various new countries. In Communication, a new post has been set up, the role of International Communication Officer, to work on public relations, communication and branding tasks for Mensa, internationally. Interest in the position was high. After ltering of applications and the interviewing of a shortlist, Ivett Vancsik, an active marketing and communication consultant with strong experience in public relations, branding, communication, and business strategy, was appointed to the role. Following a request by Mensa Slovenia suggesting it would be good to have a logo for Mensa's 70th Anniversary that every Mensa group could use, it was agreed that British Mensa's design for the 70th anniversary logo may be used internationally for publicising the anniversary.
In Testing news, a workshop was held by our International Supervisory Psychologist, Kristov Kovacs, together with testing officers from many countries, to investigate the feasibility of Mensa developing its own adaptive, electronic, IQ test. Development of such a test would bring major improvements to our entry testing, though a distinctly non-trivial task. Reports from the workshop were promising, and I look forward with interest to seeing how this progresses. Finance. The scal year 2015 was good, nancially, for MIL, with income £23,000 above budget and, particularly thanks to the excellent organisational and negotiating skills of the organising team for the IBD meeting in Serbia last year, costs £40,000 below budget. 2016 is planned to be 'break-even' and the international component, which has previously often uctuated up and down, has been stabilised at 7% making it easier for national groups to plan and budget. Other highlights of the year include the ongoing success of the Logical Olympics organised by Mensa Czech Republic. With 58,000 participants in 2015 this has generated increased interest in IQ testing and helped build on links with schools. The Logical Olympics is not a knowledge-based competition; instead it looks for common sense and a quick and logical approach to challenges, so even pupils who have not had much success in traditional school subjects can do well. Supported by the country's Ministry of Education, Mensa Czech Republic participated in production of a set of lectures for schoolteachers with topics related to gifted children including detection and identi cation of giftedness. Last year the Mensa Foundation (previously MERF) announced a scholarship program open to international (non-US) Mensans. This past year 104 applications were received and International Scholarships awarded, for Mensa members studying at colleges/universities outside of the USA, including $2,000 to a 14year-old university student in New Zealand and $1,000 each to students from South Africa and Ireland, as well as a $1,000 Ed Vincent Scholarship for a member from Edinburgh studying in the USA.
Wishing members everywhere a Happy New Year
The British postal service, the Royal Mail, got in on the act - joining in the 70th celebrations by franking all mail posted in the UK on 1st October with a special 'Mensa anniversary' postmark. The Mensa International Website is starting to show its age and is far too static. Consequently, work is underway to redevelop the site and a number of companies have been invited to tender. On a nancial note, when the contract for hosting the Mensa International website came due for renewal earlier this year a revised contract was negotiated that reduced our hosting costs by some 40%, saving MIL £3000 per year. MIL has been following up on a number of fake, unauthorised, social media groups on Instagram, Facebook, Linked-in etc. that have been using the Mensa name or logo, to get these closed down, renamed, or brought under the control of Mensa. Some groups have proved cooperative and others are being pursued through Facebook or other relevant formal complaints process: necessary, but time-consuming.
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Chris Leek Proxy for British Mensa Chair
THE CHRONICLE OCTOBER 2016
MENSA WORLD JOURNAL 2. National Events Log into the International website at www.mensa.org for the calendar of national events
3. Asian Mensa Annual Gathering In October, members from all over Asia and beyond attended the Asian Mensa Annual Gathering in Guangzhou, China. Malaysian member Yim Poh Wah reports on the meeting. On the day before the meeting, the Chairmen of Asian Mensa and officials from Mensa International met for discussions. In the evening, an ice-breaker for delegates was held at a Karaoke Lounge. Members of Mensa China escorted foreign guests for a midnight supper that went on till 3.00am. The programme was three days of seminars, workshops, performances, a tour of Guangzhou, the Asian Mensa Intelligence Games Challenge and a Gala Dinner. Notable Mensa speakers were Sherman Chui, Vice-Chairman of Mensa China; Jim Werdell, Past Chairman of Mensa International and current Vice President Mensa Education and Research Foundation, and John Recht, the Chairman of Mensa China. Seminar speakers were hugely successful corporate personalities and experts from China. Topics included Marketing Strategies during the Asian economic crisis experienced by Mars Inc., the art of Tai Chi, medical technology for the treatment of snoring, the experiences of a super animation movie producer, the impact of Chinese consumer robots, and the practice of Chinese Calligraphy. Workshops were on moon cake making and cardistry. Renowned guest artists performed Tai Chi, Chinese orchestra, sand painting, cardistry, and artistic calligraphy for members. The Asian Mensa Intelligence Games Challenge constituted Chess, Rock Paper Scissors, 1-50 speed calculation and Rubik's Cube. The Challenge was won by Mensa China. Malaysia, represented by Hsiang Boon, was tied with Japan at fourth and third place respectively. The Guangzhou tour was a bit of a let down due to the heavy downpour and a massive traffic jam in the city. It was mostly a slow-moving bus ride to the museum followed by a pork/nut/shell sh free dinner, “acceptable to all”, with a number of vegetarian dishes. For me, the most enjoyable part of the AMG was the Cultural Enrichment Programme, where many Chinese Mensans took the delegates out after hours for drinks, street food, supper till the wee hours of the morning, accompanied them for dinner before a night cruise along the famous Pearl River and for a visit to the iconic 600m Canton Tower. We were treated to VIP passes and enjoyed the open deck with bubble tramps (world's highest horizontal ferris wheel) at 445m high.
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Thank you, Mensa China. Malaysian Mensa welcomes your arrival.
4. Member Pro le: Luka Shiraishi When I rst saw Luka, he was sitting in one of the observation seats on the rst day of the International Board of Directors meeting in October. A couple of hours later, he was still there listening intently! In fact, he stayed in the Boardroom for the full length of the meeting some two and a half days. His powers of concentration were extraordinary and I caught up with him and his mother at lunchtime on that rst day. At 9 years old, Luka lives in Osaka, Japan, and is in 4th grade at Hatsuhiba Elementary School. He's been a member of Mensa since September 2015, after sitting for the test because “it looked like fun and I really wanted to be part of it.” Luka especially likes studying advanced Maths and Science and wishes he could skip grades so that he could be more challenged at school. When he grows up, Luka would like to work in the medical eld. “Many lives are lost every year from incurable diseases. I want to study hard and exterminate these diseases.” he adds. But it's not all work and no play for Luka who plays soccer and runs on the weekends. He's been learning the piano since he was two years old, and “likes observing small creatures like bugs.” He also likes “studying the histories and the structures of airplanes and cars and I program small robots too.” Still marvelling at how a 9-year old could sit voluntarily through the long meeting, I asked him if he was enjoying Mensa now that he's been a member for a year. “Yes,” he replied, “Mensa gives me a great opportunity to talk to experts and intellectuals whom I don't usually ever have a chance to meet outside of Mensa.”
Yim Poh Wah Malaysian Mensa
It was a pleasure to meet you, Luka! I hope we have the chance to meet up again one day!
Kate Nacard
THE CHRONICLE OCTOBER 2016
MENSA WORLD JOURNAL 5. Brain mapping by Linda Roach With about 100 billion neurons, each of them connected to 10,000 others, the human brain is understandably mysterious. But neuroscientists from around the world have begun publishing data that could help clear up the mysteries: detailed maps of the healthy brain, derived noninvasively from a large cohort. The biggest development in cortical cartography this year was a map of the cerebral cortex developed by scientists participating in the Human Connectome Project, a multinational initiative funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). “With this new map, it's clear we've entered freshly charted territory. I'm looking forward to seeing where the journey leads,” wrote NIH director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, in an online blog about the project. [1]
1 Collins FS. Big Data and Imaging Analysis Yields High-Res Brain Map. NIH Director's Blog. July 26, 2016. https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2016/07/26/big-data-and-imaginganalysis-yields-high-res-brain-map/ 2 Glasser MF, et al. A multi-modal parcellation of human cerebral cortex. Nature. July 20, 2016. [Epub ahead of print.] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27437579/ 3 Hart MG, Price SJ, Suckling J. Connectome analysis for pre-operative brain mapping in neurosurgery. Br J Neurosurg. 2016 Oct;30(5):506-17. Epub 2016 Jul 22. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27447756/ 4 Finn ES, et al. Functional connectome ngerprinting: identifying individuals using patterns of brain connectivity. Nat Neurosci. 2015 Nov;18(11):1664-71. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih gov/pubmed/26457551/
All articles reprinted from Mensa World Journal, issue #047, December, 2016 Editor Kate Nacard
Unlike brain mapping that emphasizes localized geography, the Connectome Project's goal is to delineate brain function by showing how neuronal groups in different areas of the brain connect to one another. Based at nine research centers in ve countries, project scientists have collected genetic/behavioral data from and scanned the brains of 900 normal adults (ages 22-35) with structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). They eventually plan to gather and correlate data on 1,200 total subjects, to look for individual differences in cognition, perception and personality. In their ground-breaking report last summer, [July 2016] the Connectome Project neuroscientists published a high-resolution map of the cerebral cortex delineating 180 speci c areas in each hemisphere – 97 more than had ever been described previously.[2] To verify that their computer-based analyses could identify these cortical areas in anyone, the researchers repeated the test protocol in 210 people who were not in the original study. “Interestingly, particular areas of the cerebral cortex appear to switch places with one another in some people. The researchers found that even in those atypical brains, they could still correctly identify nearly all of the mapped areas,” Dr. Collins wrote. “As the science progresses, it will be fascinating to learn how those fundamental differences in the brain arise and what it might mean for brain function.” The ultimate objective of brain mapping is to provide information that would enable physicians to diagnose and treat patients with brainrelated maladies, like schizophrenia, autism and attention-de cit disorder. Connectome analysis also is being proposed by some neurosurgeons as a pre-surgical planning tool, to identify critical brain networks that would be at-risk during removal of a brain tumor. [3] Individual connectome patterns appear to be unique – as identi able as ngerprints, a Yale University research group reported after analyzing data from 126 Connectome Project participants. [4] The scientists found that the subjects with certain patterns of frontoparietal connectivity also could be reliably predicted to have greater uid intelligence (the capacity to discern patterns and solve problems, independent of acquired knowledge; measured by a form of Raven's progressive matrices with 24 items). “The same networks that were most discriminating of individuals were also most predictive of cognitive behavior,” the authors wrote.
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THE CHRONICLE OCTOBER 2016
MARKETING WRAP Free Testing in October We once again offered free testing in October for National Intelligence Month (we also did this last year). We had 84 inquiries for the free testing, and most regions had a great turnout at their tests. Winelands led the eld with 17 people writing, Cape and Pretoria had full tests with 14 each. This brings in much needed new members. Hopefully, all the regions can maintain the momentum in the 2nd half of the membership year. Truly, we live or die as an organization by our growth in new members, and I'd like to say a special thanks to our hardworking Testing Officers.
Activities in the Regions There have been a variety of events in the regions. KZN have enjoyed pub quizzes, a visit to a oating dock, and a bakery. Winelands did coffee tasting (this is just not living up to your name, Winelands!), discussion SIGs, music, a games evening, and great speakers. Cape Town crawled around the tunnels under the castle (this was so oversubscribed, that we did this a number of Saturdays in a row), and learned about AI programming in the futuristic Zailabs offices. Pretoria always welcomes new members (and old) with the new members dinner, and they held up their social side with craft beer tasting. Jhb met up on the "Quark Roadtrip" for some music by a fellow Mensan musician and band. All in all, lots of different options to engage our members. THE CHRONICLE OCTOBER 2016
YEAR-END ACTIVITIES Most of the regions have posted their year-end events on the Mensa Facebook page. Cape Town will do their Trivial Pursuit evening, as is tradition, KZN is hanging out at the Yacht Club and braaiing, and Winelands has a pool party planned. These are just the events that I know about, but hopefully each region will be letting their hair down in December. Please share your pics on Facebook, or send to marketing@mensa.org.za if you'd like me to put them up for you. It's great to see what all the regions are up to :-) Have a great festive season, and stay safe! Lorraine Steyn Marketing, Mensa SA
LETTER FROM MEMBER Dear Fellow Mensa Member: My name is Litsa Kapsalis and I am a thirteen-year-old Mensan from Chicago. I am the founder of AchieveWE.org. Achieve WE is a non-pro t organization/website that connects youth (ages 5-19) around the world. The concept behind Achieve WE is that the world needs the ideas of youth, our creativity, our talents and our unique perspective. Many of us have talents in the visual arts, in music, in poetry, in creative writing, in performance and in other elds. Many of us have brilliant ideas that can be useful in solving problems across the globe. Many of us want to learn about the daily lives of youth in dierent countries while others want to share their life experiences. Achieve WE is a collaborative site where we can showcase our talents. It is a great place for the remarkably talented Mensa youth to problem-solve and to be inspired by the world's youth. Would you share this letter with the youth in your chapter and extend my invitation to visit http://www.AchieveWE.org? Feel free to contact me at AchieveWE@gmail.com if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Thank you. Sincerely, Litsa Kapsalis Founder AchieveWE.org
CONSTITUTION From the Chairperson: Greetings Members, After 7 years Mensa South Africa has nally been able to redraft the constitution into a much more detailed and meaningful document. We have now met all requirements put forth by both the South African Revenue Service, as well as Mensa International Limited. Pending the outcome of the rati cation vote, we would be able to proceed with our SARS registration and consequently, our NPO registration. Please email vote@mensa.org.za with simply a "yes" or "no" answer with your membership number. Although we really wanted to make online voting an option for this vote, we will be restricted to
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THE CHRONICLE OCTOBER 2016
NOTICE INVITING NOMINATIONS FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL ELECTION 2017 In accordance with Article X of the Constitution of Mensa, the International Election Committee (IEC) invites nominations for the following internationally elected offices:
INTERNATIONAL CHAIRMAN INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR-ADMINISTRATION
INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR-DEVELOPMENT
INTERNATIONAL TREASURER Nomination by National Mensas
Requirements for nominees
National Mensa committees may nominate a candidate or a slate of candidates for any or all offices by submitting the name(s) of such candidate(s). A national Mensa group may nominate more than one individual for each office. Nominations should be made on the National Mensa Committee nomination form available from the IEC. The identities of all nominating national Mensa groups shall be made public to all voters with the candidate material.
Each candidate must: 1) be a member in good standing as of the date of nomination and continue to remain a member in good standing throughout the election period until May 31st, 2017; 2) have not served in the post they are nominated for in the previous two consecutive terms; 3) submit written acceptance of his or her nomination (using the form available from
Nomination by members
the IEC);
Members may nominate a candidate or a slate of candidates for any or all offices by submitting: 1) the name(s) of such candidate(s); 2) a petition signed by at least 100 members who are in good standing as of January 1st, 2017;
4) state his or her willingness to serve if elected; and agree to abide by the rulings of the IEC and the International Ombudsman in the matter of complaints and con icts arising from the elections.
3) veri cation of such good standing. Petition signatures must be submitted on a form, which can be obtained from the IEC.
All nominations including petitions and acceptances must be sent in hard copy or in scanned electronic copies to the MIL office in time to ensure its arrival no later than January 28th, 2017 at the following address:
Mensa International Ltd. Slate Barn Church Lane Caythorpe, Lincolnshire NG32 3EL United Kingdom e-mail: mensainternational@mensa.org
Contact the IEC at iec-chair@mensa.org for all enquiries regarding the election including nomination forms. 8
THE CHRONICLE OCTOBER 2016
LETTER FROM NATIONAL CHAIRPERSON Hi Mensans! It's been an exceptionally long year for me and from what I have been following on the Facebook groups, it's been a long year for some members too. On the subject of social media, I certainly have both enjoyed and not so much enjoyed the ( ery) discourse we often have on our page. In essence, it is our only easily accessible cross-national interaction platform. That being said, we've also created forums on our new website where we hoped to structure different types or themes of conversation in a less diluted format. A lot of effort has gone and continues to go into our new site. During the go-live period we had issues but I thank the you for the feedback which has allowed us to improve as time has passed. We still have plans for introducing functionality that would appeal more to our members and thus provide more value. Segueing onto the topic of value, at this year's national annual gathering the national committee focused a lot on making the event more accessible to more of our members. At the moment, and in the past few years that I've been a member, the annual gathering has been cost prohibitive to attend. From the national committee management structure, we do subsidise parts of the events out of our central budget every year. We have decided however, that the chapters should individually look at initiatives that would facilitate better attendance. A hypothetical example would be to hire a bus so that travel costs are eliminated for members. Some of you would have noticed that the new constitution has been made available online. We are circulating the document again in a separate dedicated newsletter, as we want to make sure everyone has had an opportunity to read through what we have put together. This has been a long time coming and we are at the stage where it has been approved by the national committee, approved by Mensa International and now it is before the membership. You will have an opportunity to vote either 'yes' or 'no', until the end of December. Votes go to vote@mensa.org.za. During the annual gathering, some members expressed that they do not want to participate or register on the website, so to avoid double cross checking we have kept to email voting only for this exercise. We will announce the results in the January issue of the Chronicle. Early next year Mensa South Africa will be visiting Botswana and Namibia to hold workshops to enable groups to start building a chapter and gain recognition status. This is an exciting new phase of our presence in Southern Africa. These trips will not be limited to committee members and I'd like to ask those of you with friends and knowledge of the respective countries, to come forward and volunteer to help if you can. Fortunately, we will be able to ask for nancial aid from Mensa International, so we will not have to bear an excessive burden to invest in the growth in Africa. Long-term, we would like to have South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Kenya (Mensa International is engaging directly in Kenya) established, so that we can host the rst official Africa Gathering. Big plans but de nitely not overnight plans. So any help from members will be greatly appreciated. And with that I would like to wish you all happy and safe holidays. Cheers, Simoné Deyzel-O'Brien National Chairperson Mensa South Africa Mobile: +27 (72) 339 9766 chairperson@mensa.org.za For more information about Mensa South Africa, please go to www.mensa.org.za
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THE CHRONICLE OCTOBER 2016