the chronicle - may 2015
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The Chronicle | May 2015
From the Editor Hi Mensa SA. It’s been a while since the last edition of The Chronicle, we know. I’d like to take the opportunity to apologise for the delays – the circumstances were beyond my control. Now however we are back up and running with the initiation of a brand-new Lenovo “Editor’s laptop” which is tasked solely with the duties of putting together this publication! Many thanks to the ExCo for their efforts in arranging and funding this acquisition. Although time constraints have yielded the Chronicle you’ve hopefully just cast your eye over - consisting entirely of articles from the Mensa World Journal which requirements dictate must be published by national chapters of our organisation, the intent remains to subsequently step beyond these rudimentary foundations and come up with a Chronicle far more representative of our uniquely South African charms, quirks, and vagaries. I’ve already enlisted the assistance of the go-getters among the Mensa SA membership and executive and am confident that the publication will next month have begun its journey of transformation. If you aren’t active on these forums but have your own interesting, inspiring, or simply creative story to tell please feel free to contact me at my email address listed in the directory above. Even if it’s just for a chat on a random subject which interests you for that matter! Although I’m no longer a publisher as such, I’m always interested in the telling of tales.
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from the executive committee...Planet MensaStockholm, Sweden. This time of year, you see the stars already at three in the afternoon. Tradition-ally, today on the first of Advent, people put up chandeliers in the windows everwhere, little triangles of light to brighten up the long night and remind us all of the returning sun. Thanks to Mensa, we also have interesting company and intelligent conversations to light up our days - but what of all those countries where there are no groups?
We at Mensa International are changing our procedures for testing in countries without a Mensa group, in order to have steady and orderly growth. As part of this, we are asking established groups and travelling members for help. Adopt a country! Full National Mensas can set up “off-spring” groups abroad. However, it is absolutely critical that no member starts crossing borders to test new people without first getting approval from Mensa International, from the Director of Development and the International Office. We want to expand, but in a controlled way. Each national Mensa has authority and responsibility to test within its own borders. Mensa International is here to coordinate what takes place elsewhere. Cooperation is the way forward. If you are a proctor in your country and you want to go abroad to test - do nothing until you have received a clear go-ahead from us.
Several Mensa members with connections to foreign countries have contacted us asking for help to set up Mensa abroad. Here are a few basic principles we want to follow:
1 - Get your board on board. The board of the established Mensa group should agree to help. We would much rather have the sup-port of an entire country behind the individuals who do the travel-ling and testing. 2 - Approved proctors only. The member who travels to another country in order to test and re-cruit has to be a proctor trained and approved by their own board, or their appointed testing com-mittee or similar body. The training of proctors in any country needs to have the approval of the National Supervisory Psychologist. 3 - Test as usual. Mostly. When test-ing abroad, make use of your domes-tic routines and processes for scoring and evaluation of the candidates. Notwithstanding, deciding what test to use should be done together with Mensa International. 4 - Recruit DIMs. The new members will become Direct International Members of Mensa. They will pay dues to Mensa International and not to the country who is generously assisting. 5 - Find a psychologist. Apart from recruting members, finding a psy-chologist to collaborate with is also important. This person may eventu-ally assume the role of National
Supervisory Psychologist, which is necessary for the new group to become independent and manage its own testing. 6 - Do not train new local proctors. Once you have a go ahead to start testing - do so. But refrain from teaching the locals to be proctors themselves. This is a very crucial step that requires cooperation from Mensa International. Any new test proctor in a new country must be approved by Mensa International until there is an established process in the new country, with its own NSP. 7 - No pay. We do not do this for the money, it is all volunteer work. The model described here depends on individuals travelling on their
Björn Liljeqvist
(continued)
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International S.I.G.H.T
tiring, I like being a SIGHT host as well. This feels like going on a holiday without actually going. Since I live in Vienna, I frequently get requests and am happy to host trav-ellers. So far, I’ve hosted Antonio, a translator from Mexico, and Vladan, a physics student from Serbia. Some-times, SIGHT guests do not require accommodation but are grateful for sightseeing advice or are simply in-terested in meeting other Mensans.
Dave from the US and I took a walk in the city centre of Vienna and enjoyed local cafés and pubs. Everyone I’ve met so far has been very agreeable and great company.
How SIGHT inspires the local Mensa groupHaving enjoy-able times with other Mensans is not the end
of the benefits of SIGHT. It can also inspire your local Mensa group because SIGHT hosting makes you aware of things to see you normally wouldn’t think of.
SIGHT - a member’s experiences by Gwen Korinek
Strange snoring sounds coming from your sofa, communication by e-mail only, visiting places you’ve never been before because you always walk past them as a local... Does this sound familiar? Welcome to the world of SIGHT!
Why participate in SIGHT?There are many ways to benefit from SIGHT. Personally, I use the service
when I need accommodation for tri-athlon competitions. It’s great to get to know fellow Mensans and couch-surf at the same time. I would like to thank my hosts Andreas, Roger and Tom. Another advantage of staying with SIGHT hosts is that they tend to know a lot of interesting sights and places to go – things you might miss by staying in a hotel! Although hosting others can be
from the SIGHT Coordinator of Mensa Austria...
I’d like to thank Gwen for her valu-able input. I have invited her to share one of her recent experiences as a SIGHT host, and it seems that she is enjoying meeting and hosting Men-sans from other parts of the world, just as travelling members from anywhere enjoy meeting local Mensans wherever they go. This is what makes my “job” - serv-ing for the benefit of our members - so special and enjoyable. Please feel free to join our facebook site, but of course you are welcome as well to contact me the “old fashioned way” through [email protected].
Can’t wait to hear from you!
Fritz SchachingerSIGHT Mensa Austria
The TRIGA Mark II reactor in the Viennese Prater is part of the Institute of Atomic and Subatomic Physics
continued on p05
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Since Vladan studies physics, we visited Austria’s only nuclear reac-tor currently in use. Located in the Viennese Prater, it is used by the Vienna University of Technology for scientific purposes only. Although this was a very spontaneous visit and others couldn’t join us, there was such a strong resonance in the local Mensa group that twelve people visited the reactor in a second excur-sion! This demonstrates that your local Mensa group can benefit from SIGHT activities.
SIGHT on FacebookFacebook is pretty useful for organ-ising (Mensa) events. Recently, quite
a lot of countries founded their own SIGHT group on facebook. In my view, this is a very positive develop-ment because it enables Mensans worldwide to get in touch with SIGHT hosts of their country of interest quickly and may facilitate organisation. If not already done, I would like to encourage everyone to found a SIGHT facebook group for their country! I founded a facebook group for Austrian SIGHT hosts and people who are interested in visiting Austria. There are also links to other national SIGHT facebook groups. If you like, feel free to join - and hopefully we’ll see you in Austria soon!
International SIGHT facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/176942022394979/Austrian SIGHT facebook group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/SIGHTMensaAustria/
Gwen Korinek
Gwen also coordinates the “Waghal-SIG” (freely translated to “dare-devil SIG”) in Austria ([email protected]).
For enquiries re International SIGHT, contact Pierpaolo Vittoria, the Interna-tional SIGHT Coordinator on [email protected]
from p04
Leadership Exchange Ambassador ProgramShare and gain knowledge with volunteers all over the world
Applications close March 1, 2015
For all details, see January 2015 Mensa World Journal or email [email protected] with your questions
own money, maybe with support from their national board. Of course, testing and PR material and the like are paid for by Mensa.
Of course, testing is not all. We also need PR, setting up posters at uni-versities, contacting the media etc, in order to at-tract people. The concept of a high-IQ society is still very novel in many parts of the world so the PR
potential is good. Many Full National Mensas already sit on lots of material that can be recycled and adapted to
the new territories. As soon as there are members, there must be activi-ties, starting with the basic building block of Mensa: the recurring
meeting at a local restaurant or coffee house. From this group must eventu-
ally emerge a team that will formalize a society, draft a constitution and get recognition from Mensa Interna-tional. It is not that difficult after all, since all current chapters have travelled this road.
If you, as a member reading this, want to help out, contact me and we will see how we can proceed.
Björn LiljeqvistDirector of Development
“As soon as there are members, there must be activities...”
continued
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International SIGs - Pakistan
Mensa Pakistan first became a Provisional Mensa in 2007, and just this year, they received considerable public-ity for admitting six-year-old Khulood Fatima Zia as the youngest member in Mensa Pakistan.
Knowing that getting Mensans to-gether to talk about shared interests is one of the best ways to keep them involved and interacting, Mensa Pakistan started growing their SIGs program right away. The large variety of SIGs offered in Pakistan include:
Gadgets SIG – As many SIGs tend to start, the Gadgets SIG began when local members in the capital city of Lahore, when Mensa mem-bers were passing their personal electronics around the table at a restaurant gathering.
Movies SIG – This SIG discusses anything from short films found on the internet to big blockbusters. They’ve held in-person movie gather-ings in Lahore and have discussed actually making a movie together!
Photography SIG – SIG members can post their photographic work on-line, discuss camera equipment, and meet for photography outings.
Book SIG – Members of Mensa Pakistan are no different from Mensans worldwide in that they love to read. This SIG also has a mechanism for sharing and trading books, both online and in person.
Game SIG – If you visit any of Mensa Pa-kistan’s online venues, it will become ap-parent that they love puzzles and games. Regular puzzles are posted on their Facebook page and of-ficial website, and also played in person.
For more information about Mensa Pakistan and its SIG program, visit http://www.mensapk.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/mensapakistan. You can also contact the SIG Coordina-tor, Dr. Wasiq Faraz, at [email protected] and the Chairman of Mensa Pakistan, Hasan Zuberi, at [email protected].
Barbara KryvkoInternational SIGs Coordinator
Khulood Fatima Zia
Deadline for submissions to
May 2015 issue isMarch 1, 2015
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I am pleased to present on the next two pages the abridged version of the official financial report for the shortened fiscal year (9 months only) ended Decem-ber 31, 2013, as required by our regulations. The numbers of the Statement of Income and Expen-ditures and of the Balance Sheet were checked and released by the auditors.
For your information, the values for the financial year from April 1, 2012 until March 31, 2013 are also provided. In case you compare the numbers directly, kindly take into consideration that this fiscal year consisted of 12 months.
The complete audited financial state-ments are available upon request to me ([email protected]) or by mail to MIL, Slate Barn, Church Lane, Caythorpe, Lincolnshire NG32 3EL, United Kingdom.
Please find following, a few words to make the interpretation of the values easier:
As discussed at the IBD 2013 in Calgary, an alignment of the fiscal year with the calendar year is benefi-cial to the administrative processes within Mensa International, especial-ly with regard to time for preparation
and auditing of the Mensa accounts and with the handover to a new Board in election years. Therefore the fiscal year was shortened by three months and ended on Dec. 31, 2013 instead of March 31, 2014.
The budget for the fiscal year 2013 was done by the past Treasurer Ms Cyndi Kuyper. The international component was fixed at 6% only, as it was intended by the IBD to reduce the financial assets. It was accepted at that time that the income would not be sufficient to cover all expenses.
Additionally, of course, a shortened year has some especially tricky chal-lenges. The most important thing to mention is the fact that the quarters of the big income (the first quarter of a calendar year) and of the big spending (the third or fourth quarter of a calendar year, depending on the exact date of the meeting of the IBD) are not in the same fiscal year. Hence an even bigger deficit will arise as a one-time-effect.
As we now have:• cutoffthequarterJan-March 2014 from the old fiscal year,• hadaratherexpensivemeet-ing of the IBD in Calgary in Canada and• hadtobookthe50%depositpayment for the 2014 IBD meeting,we had the significant once-only neg-ative impact in the financial situation
of a total of -144,976 GBP, which brought our assets down to 170,184 GBP, or roughly 60% of our annual expenses. But thanks to the wise decision concerning the actual fiscal year and fixing the component at 7%, Mensa International will develop successfully in the coming years.
Moreover, to ensure development and to search for potential cost-saving opportunities, a Finance Advisory Committee effected. There will be some changes to the team and in the processes to ensure a first-class per-formance. If any Mensan would like to nominate additional members, you are welcome to do so. Please contact me in the first instance.
Respectfully submittedRudi Challupner,
International [email protected]
TREASURER’S REPORTfor the shortened fiscal year April 2013 - December 2013
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MIL Positions/Committees Open for Appointment If you are interested in serving Mensa International in an appointed position, now is your opportunity to apply. These positions are open to all members worldwide. All are for terms of two years (unless otherwise stated), the term commencing after the IBD meeting in Serbia in October 2015. The following International positions/committees are due to be appointed in 2015:
- Constitutional Review Officer- Awards Committee member (MIL chair and past chair are members ex officio)
-Licensing Advisory Committee: members and chair- Web Board: members and chair
Members currently serving in a position or committee due to expire in October are requested to reapply if they wish to continue to serve in that role.
The application form is available on the Officers/Appointees page of the members-only section of the MIL web-site at https://www.mensa.org (you must be logged on). Job descriptions for each position are linked to each role/committee. Both form and/or job descriptions are also available from the Mensa International Office by emailing [email protected] or by post to the address given on page 11. Applications for the above posts, must be received by June 20, 2015 and must be sent to the International Office ([email protected]), copied to the Director of Administration (admin-mil@ mensa.org).
Therese Moodie-BloomDirector of Administration
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International S.I.G.H.T
Switzerland, showed Zurich to us while we were together at EMAG.
Architecture, lan-guage, politics, Swiss Army neutrality, bunkers, history… these and other sub-jects were covered during our morning walk where a Belgian, a Malaysian, a Swede, a Dutch and a Mexican had our first view over the city. After EMAG I travelled more, together with Zab from Malaysia, and made full use of SIGHT. The next city was Milan, Italy. Andrea Arru met us at the arrival hall and walked us downtown. As we learnt from him, most tourist go to Rome and Venice, but Florence and Milan are also worth a visit, because it was
here renascent artists were located. Milan was home to Leon-ardo Da Vinci and hosts “The Last Supper” fresco. Andrea had lunch and ice cream with us. Italian pizza is awesome… Italian ice cream is incompa-rable, and Zab and I had our first cannoli there, so we re-ally don’t have a comparison point, but it was good!
SIGHT-ing by Cinthia Reyes During this summer I trav-elled to meet some Mensans at EMAG. It was fun, with organ-ized gatherings and lectures, tourist activities and a gala din-ner. These are all are interesting and enjoyable, but there is also a different way of experiencing a place: SIGHT.
SIGHT is not about travelling around like a regular tourist. SIGHT gives you a different perspective, a perspective from a smart person who looks at things in different ways. Therefore, visiting a place with a “lo-cal” mensan is a particularly enriching experience. Our first SIGHT host was the new German SIGHT Coordinator, “TeeKay”, as he likes to be called, who, having lived quite some time in
The next day, Pierpaolo Vittoria drove us to different areas of the city, including the canals (Zab and I didn’t even know the canals existed) and to more gorgeous food. Venice was next. Our local SIGHT contact, Sabina Deligia, took us to a very cozy winery for dinner, where we ate traditional Venetian food. Sabina gave us a different perspective on the city. How do locals get their food and clothing when the city is all about tourism? What hap-pens when you study a non-touristic related career? How can someone become a gondolier? (I really had no idea that gondoliers studyfor about three years to become one, from sing-ing to languages… ) Working everyday with tourists herself, Sabina also told us some funny stories on tourists complains and some weird ideas people have about the city prior to their arrival.
A canal in Milan...
Mensa ‘gondoliers’ in Venice
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Deadline for submissions to
June 2015 issue isApril 1, 2015
Our last country to visit was The Netherlands. Our local Mensans took us to Heemstede, Zandvoort’s beach, Haarlem, Rotterdam, Am-sterdam, and Vianen. We went searching windmills, visited some local cemeteries, took boat rides, rode a bike, visited a cheese farm (made cheese and crafted a wooden clog!), visited the Kröller-Müller, an old water pump and the Rijksmu-seum. We were glad to meet other Mensans from The Netherlands and Belgium at the museum. Before joining Mensa, I hadn’t travelled that much really. Today I don’t know a better way to do so other than in the company of bright and very friendly people who accept you from the first moment and are willing to spend a wonderful day with you.
Cinthia Reyes, Mensa Mexico
For enquiries re International SIGHT, contact Pierpaolo Vittoria, the Interna-tional SIGHT Coordinator, on [email protected]
Unlike people, monkeys aren’t fooled by expensive brandsIn at least one respect, Capuchin monkeys are smarter than hu-mans - they don’t assume a higher price tag means better quality, according to a new Yale study appearing in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. People consistently tend to confuse the price of a good with its quality. For instance, one study showed that people think a wine labelled with an expensive price tag tastes better than the same wine labelled with a cheaper price tag. In other studies, people thought a painkiller worked better when they paid a higher price for it. The Yale study shows that mon-keys don’t buy that premise, although they share other irrational behaviors with their human relatives. “We know that capuchin mon-keys share a number of our own economic biases. Our previous work has shown that monkeys are loss-averse, irrational when it comes to dealing with risk, and even prone to rationalizing their own decisions, just like humans,” said Laurie Santos, a psychologist at Yale University and senior author of the study. “But this is one of the first domains we’ve tested in which monkeys show more rational behavior than humans do.” Rhia Catapano, a former Yale undergraduate who ran the study as part of her senior honours thesis, along with Santos and colleagues designed a series of four experiments to test whether capuchins would
prefer higher-priced but equivalent items. They taught monkeys to make choices in an experimental market and to buy novel foods at different prices. Control studies showed that monkeys understood the differences in price between the foods. But when the researchers tested whether mon-keys preferred the taste of the higher-priced goods, they were surprised to find that the monkeys didn’t show the same bias as humans. Santos and colleagues think that differences in the response of humans and capuchins could stem from the different experiences that monkeys and people have with markets and how they behave. “For humans, higher price tags often signal that other people like a particular good.” Santos noted. “Our richer social experiences with markets might be the very thing that leads us - and not monkeys - astray in this case.”
Science Daily
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from the Executive Committee...
I’ve been a member of Mensa for a long time, more than thirty years now. I have experienced Mensa in many parts of the United States, and, through international meetings, in many countries around the world. My philosophy of Mensa has never changed through all of that; rather, I have become more convinced of its truth. Here it is.
My philosophy of Mensa is simple: It is a gathering-place for intelligent people. Mensa is an amorphous body with no central goal around which everything is organized other than intelligence. This is a direct contrast to many membership organiza-tions, which exist to, for example, help the needy or run chess tourna-ments or collect stamps. We have special interest groups that do each of these things, but Mensa’s whole is much more than the sum of its parts. Mensans talk about the weather and sports and the latest political scandal just as the rest of the population does, but with a difference: These people are intellectual peers. It has been said that “During any Mensa party a seri-ous discussion is likely to break out, and during any serious Mensa discus-sion a party is likely to break out.” Mensans are quick, and lively, and conversations really move. Personally, I like the fact that I can make a pun
in a room full of Mensans and everyone “gets” it right away. We also have our more serious side, such as giving scholarships and trying to restock damaged libraries, but each activity is inevitably stamped by Mensa’s blend of wit and camaraderie. Whatever we do will be uniquely Men-san, and that makes all the difference.
“Mensa” is the Latin word for “table.” That name for our organization implies a round table or council of equals. Everyone who qualifies for member-ship is welcome in Mensa, regardless of political philosophy. This is true of a capitalist, or a socialist, or a fascist, or someone who occupies any other point on the political/economic spec-trum. Members are welcome regard-less of race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, income, and anything else other than intelligence. Each of us has something to learn from other members. Even if I can’t convert you to my point of view on (fill in the blank), your doubts force me to examine my position and sharpen my arguments in their favor. Perhaps you will convince me, or together we will find a third way that is even stronger.
Repeat this formula with every topic in which you are interested, for at least one other Mensan must know about every topic, no matter how obscure or esoteric. This is the rich-ness that Mensa has to offer. Mensa as a group holds no opinions, but its members have a full range of opin-ions on every subject of every shape and size. Were it otherwise, Mensa would be a dull group indeed; if all I wanted to do was look in a mirror, I would not need Mensa for that.
Dan BurgAmerican Mensa Chairman
My Mensa Philosophy by Dan Burg
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Mensa International Ltd. has very few assets. We have a small amount of money in the bank and a web site, but little else. In fact, we don’t even have an opinion. But we do have property – valu-able intellectual property in the form of trademarks. We are the exclusive owner of the word “MENSA” and of the Mensa symbol, so no other party can lawfully use our trademarks without our permission or license.
A trademark is a word, symbol, or phrase that identifies a particular manufacturer’s products or goods and distinguishes them from another manufacturer’s goods. For example, the trademark “TRUVIA” along with the image of a strawberry dipped in a sweetener, identify natural sweeten-ers manufactured and sold by Cargill, Inc. and distinguish them from sweeteners identified by other trade-marks like SPLENDA or SWEET ‘N LOW. When such marks are used to identify services, such as mem-bership in a high IQ society, rather than products, they are called service marks, although they are generally
treated as trademarks in courts of law. Trademark protection can also extend beyond words, symbols, and phrases to include other aspects of a product, such as its color, its fragrance, the sound it makes, or its packaging. The pink color of Owens-Corning fiberglass insulation or the unique shape of a Coca-Cola bottle might serve as identifying features. Such features fall generally under the term “trade dress,” and may be protected if consumers associate that feature with a particular manufactur-er rather than the product in general. Trademarks make it easier for consumers to identify the source of certain goods or services. Instead of reading the fine print on a package of sweetener, consumers can look for a particular word or identifying symbol, such as a strawberry. By making goods easier to identify, trademarks also give manufacturers an incentive to invest in the quality of their goods. Trademark law regulates the proper use of trademarks.
Types of MarksOver the years, courts and trademark offices have defined four types of trademarks based on the relationship between the mark and the underlying product or service: (1) arbitrary or fanciful, (2) suggestive, (3) descrip-tive, and (4) generic. An arbitrary or fanciful mark is a
mark that bears no logical relation-ship to the underlying product. For example, the words “Exxon” and “Ap-ple” bear no inherent relationship to their underlying products (respective-ly, gasoline or computers). Similarly, the Truvia mark bears no inherent relationship to sweeteners. Arbitrary or fanciful marks are inherently distinctive (i.e., capable of identifying an underlying product) and are given a high degree of protection. A suggestive mark is a mark that evokes or suggests a characteristic of the underlying good. For example, the word “Coppertone” is sugges-tive of sun-tan lotion, but does not specifically describe the underlying product. Some exercise of imagina-tion is needed to associate the word with the underlying product. Sugges-tive marks are inherently distinctive and are also given a high degree of protection. A descriptive mark is a mark that directly describes, rather than sug-gests, a characteristic or quality of the underlying product. For example, “All Bran,” and “Vision Center” both describe some aspect of the underly-ing product or service (respectively, breakfast cereal and optical services). Descriptive marks are not inherently distinctive and are protected only if they have acquired secondary mean-ing. Finally, a generic mark is a mark
Trademark Law for Mensansby Mark Levy, Chair, Name & Logo Protection Committee
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that describes the general category to which the underlying product belongs. For example, the term “Computer” is a generic term for computer equipment. Generic marks are entitled to no protec-tion under trademark law. Sometimes, terms that are not originally generic can become generic over time, and thus become unpro-tected. Marks like cellophane, shredded wheat, and aspirin have become generic and are not protect-able under the trade-mark law. Similarly, the term thermos has become a generic term and is no longer entitled to trademark protection. Although it once denoted a specific manufacturer, the term now stands for the general type of product. The companies that manufacture Xerox machines and Kleenex tissues and Frigidaire refrigerators are or were in danger of losing their trademark rights because their marks can be-come generic.
Trademark Rights Can be LostThe rights to a trademark can be lost through abandonment, improper li-censing or assignment, or by becom-ing generic. A trademark is aban-doned when its use is discontinued
with intent not to resume its use. Trademark rights can also be lost through improper licensing or assignment. Where the use of a
trademark is licensed (for example, to a franchisee) without adequate quality control or supervision by the trademark owner, that trademark will be canceled. Similarly, where the rights to a trademark are assigned to another party in gross, without the corresponding sale of any assets, the trademark will be canceled. The rationale for these rules is that, under these situations, the trademark no
longer serves its purpose of identify-ing the goods of a particular provider. As mentioned above, trademark rights can also be lost by becoming generic. Sometimes, trademarks that are originally distinctive can become generic over time, thereby losing its trademark protection. A word will be considered generic when, in the minds of a substantial majority of the public, the word denotes a broad genus or type of product and not a specific source or manufacturer. This is why we are required to vigorously protect our marks – in court, when necessary. If we don’t, the rights we have in the marks can be endangered.
Strength of the Mensa MarksIn Mensa, we are most concerned with our own national offices, chapters and members misusing our trademarks. It would be difficult or impossible to assert in court that another party is using a confusingly similar trademark to identify its goods or services if our own members are also misusing our marks. That is why the Name & Logo Protection Committee is so strict about the use of our marks. We have drafted policies and standards for the appearance and use of our trademarks. You can find the trademark manual and download it on the MIL web site, https://www.mensa.org/mil-governance-text. If you have any questions about the four mark types or the use of our trade-marks, or if you seek a decision about proposed use, feel free to contact the Name & Logo Protection Commit-tee at the address below. Mark Levy, Chair,
“In Mensa, we are most concerned with our own national offices, chapters and members misusing our trademarks. It would be difficult or impossible to assert in court that another party is using a confusingly similar trademark to identify its goods or servic-es if our own members are also misusing our marks. That is why the Name & Logo Protection Commit-tee is so strict about the use of our marks.”
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International SIGsThe most exciting SIG in Mensa Philippines, and one of the most exciting in the world, is SIG-A. The “A” is for “Adventure,” and they get a lot of it! In fact, as I write this,
Mensa members from the Philip-pines and Singapore joined to climb Mt. Kinabalu, an over 13,000 foot moun-tain in Borneo. Ten Mensans took the challenge, and sur-vived to enjoy lunch together afterward. Their last climb of
2014 was Mt. Gulugod-Baboy in Anilao, Batangas, in the rain. As if mountain-climbing weren’t enough, they are taking sailing lessons as a group.
In 1992 a group of Filipino inter-national members came together to form Mensa Philippines, the officially recognized Philippine chapter of Mensa International.
In October of that same year, Mensa Philippines launched its first major testing event, and membership has grown ever since. It wasn’t long after that when their vibrant SIG program came into being.
Honorary PresidentThe prestigious roles of Honorary President and Vice President of Mensa International are open for nomination every third year. The Honorary President has no official duties but is included in official lists of Mensa officers, and may participate in Board discussions both at the IBD meeting table and online if they so choose. Nominations can be made by the Chair of a national Mensa, by a national Mensa committee or by members. Please note that the IBD would only consider awarding these honours to those who have made a significant con-tribution to Mensa internationally over many years. Honorary Presidents may be reappointed. Nominations, which must be received by 1 September 2015, should include a supporting statement with a maximum of 300 words. Please note it is not usual to self-nominate for Honorary positions. Applications must be sent to the International Office ([email protected]) and to the Interna-tional Chairman ([email protected]). The term commences after the IBD meeting in Novi Sad, Serbia, in October 2015. There is a small discretionary budget for the Honorary President to assist with any travel costs. Elissa Rudolph, Chairman Mensa International
Other SIGs include the DBM SIG (Drink & Be Merry Special Interest Group) where members and their friends meet every month and have an inuman session (traditionally, a celebration involving drinking and eating), usually at a Mensan’s place. Mensa Philippines also has an RPG SIG (Role-Playing Games), a SIG for people taking online courses at Stanford (their last class was Machine Learning), and a Creative Writing SIG, which participates in the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) exercise each No-vember. For more information about Mensa Philippines SIGs, contact [email protected].
Barbara KryvkoInternational SIGs Coordinator
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online journalsCheck out the mensa.org website to read and download the full, colour, 12-page version of the Mensa World
Journal and many other national journals.You must be a member in good standing in your national Mensa. Register at www.mensa.org if you haven’t
already done so.Direct International Members contact [email protected] with any queries.
Serotonin, we know, is a neurotransmitter responsi-ble for mood balance, hence it being targeted in many antidepressant medica-tions. But do serotonin levels have something to say about patience, too? A new study published in the journal Current Biology says yes.
A team of scientists from the Cham-palimaud Centre for the Unknown (CCU) in Portugal conducted an animal study in which mice had to wait for a reward to arrive at random times. During some of the trials, sci-entists stimulated serotonin neurons using a technique called optogenet-ics, which is a relatively new method used to control the brain with light. And when applied to neurons, the light activated and released serotonin into the brain, CCU team member Madalena Fonseca said in a press release. After testing the different levels of activation on patience, the results showed the stronger activation, the longer mice were willing to wait
for their reward. To make sure this wasn’t a result of a separate serotonin function, scientists also tested to see if stimulat-ing these neurons alone was a reward for mice. The results, how-ever, showed the opposite. So scientists have found a causal link between activation and release of serotonin. This is on par with prior research published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience that used optogenetics to understand the release of dopamine, another neurotransmitter, and its ef-fect on addictive behavior. Dopamine helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers, and when activated to mimic tonic dopamine increases - low, but long-lasting levels - re-searchers found these spikes have a significant effect on drinking. According to McGill University in Canada, both dopamine and sero-
tonin are the chief operators of the accumbens nucleus, the part of the brain that plays a central role in the
reward circuit. Giv-en all this research, optogenetics could possibly be used to better understand the involvement of neurotransmit-ters in depression and other diseases: addiction, Parkin-son’s disease, and schizophrenia.
For now, neuroscientists are happy they’re starting to understand the effects of neural activation and release on brain function. “Because antidepressants are thought to increase serotonin, people assume that more serotonin neuron firing would feel good. Our results show that the story is not so simple,” said Zachary Mainen, lead study author and director of the CCU neu-roscience program. “That serotonin affects patience gives us an important clue that we hope will help us crack the serotonin mystery.”
http://www.medicaldaily.com
Good things come to those who wait?
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from the Executive Committee...
Nearly one year ago I proposed a forward-looking view on Strat-egy, thinking aloud on how to write, phrase and formulate the Strategy Document for the ben-efit of its yet-to-come execution. So, here’s the good news about the Advisory Strategy Committee, headed by Heather Poirier (US Mensa) since October 2014. The Committee has been developing the Strategy Docu-ment, and is moving towards proposing targets and ambitions to the strategy itself. The point in time, where I in the previous article asserted that the rest was easy, may now soon commence! But considering that Strategy is of little importance without objectives, I shall try to point out the ‘wheres and whys’.
Ambitions; have them!Objectives must be proposed and then decided. Are we aiming at maintain-ing the status quo or are we aiming at 1,000,000 members by a certain date? In the first case, a “keep calm and carry on” strategy is of no particular use. Of much more importance lies implicit in the one-million-goal (OMG!) and similar lofty ambitions regarding “intelligence for human kind”, if that too is going to improve substantially by such objective measures. It is essen-tial that we (Mensa) break down the objectives and constantly review them. They will collectively form part of one complex decision backdrop, compet-ing for funds and focus, so keep to the language of numbers!
Objectives! Funds! Time!Forget what we are, for a moment.Take some care not to taint the objective-setting with past operational performance. That Mensa International has not grown past 150,000 in 69 years, does not mean that it can’t grow past one million in the next ten. The link between descriptive and norma-tive strategies is weak, at best – and we need the normative more. Then adding the ambition and objectives to the normative targets, and knowing current performance in order to measure the gap, we have every-thing we need. We have the necessary ingredients for executing a plan and knowing how it goes. We even have the time-dimension, making it possible to measure not only where we should go, but also how much distance is left and even its derivative; the speed by which we are getting there.
Operationalize - and do not look back!Enter the ExComm and the Mensa International office, plus other available resources. How much of that growth target is up to Slovenia, USA and Russia? How much of that benefit-for-human-kind-target is up to National Mensas, Mensa International, MERF or new projects? Can we fund it? How shall we fund it? What is the gap between the current 0.1-ish percent of total global revenue designated to Mensa International development, and what we need? Every ‘gap’ will need a financial plan, but there is no rule say-ing that a not-for-profit organisation should stay poor. The purposes beg to differ!
Act on deviations from targetsAny failure to meet an already-planned target within the acceptance criteria should automatically require corrective actions. Failures should require auto-matic responses, rerouting of resources or any other mandate the executors have for getting the movement back on track. No revision of targets! Here is perhaps the biggest difference between a professional business with stakes and responsibilities, compared to a volun-teer-driven organization only answer-ing to itself: if the current structure keeps underperforming, you need to change it, not redefine the purpose or the targets. Learning from those with real risks, the biggest mistake we often make is to let the current structure lessen our ambitions, so we should free our minds of such a limitation and just keep managing the change. That may bode well for an interest-ing Future Mensa! It all starts with ambition.
Let’s have some!Lars Endre Kjølstad
Director, Smaller National [email protected]
Strategy... again!Lars Endre Kjølstad
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VALEOur dearest Antonio Casao Ibáñez passed away suddenly on February 17, 2015 in Zaragoza, his home town.
He was the founder and chairman when Mensa España started more than thirty years ago, and he nurtured our Spanish chapter wisely from its very beginning. It is really easy to explain in one word what sort of person he was; he was a gentleman, always caring for Mensa and any member in need of advice. Antonio was a renowned economist and professor, a great speaker, and a loving husband, father, Mensan and friend. It is difficult to find someone who has so many virtues as a human being.
We will miss him so much. Rest in Peace, dear friend.
Queen Letizia of Spain greets Mensa Spain’s first Chair-man, Antonio Casao Ibáñez, and current Chairman, Elena Sanz, at a reception in 2014.
MENSA PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITIONIntercontinental Project Convergence “IPC”
The Search for the International Mensa Photographer of the Year 2015
This year’s theme is UrgencyEntries close on July 31, 2015
Any general enquiries about the international competition should be directed to the Photo Convergence committee at [email protected]
International Elections 2015Your vote counts!
Closing date: May 15
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Here it is, straight from the horse’s mouth (so to speak). SIGHT is alive and flour-ishing - and absolutely amazing in New Zealand!
I’m just back from a family cruise from Sydney to NZ with day-long stops in seven ports along the east coast. A week before we left, my sister Therese (Moodie-Bloom) emailed the Acting Chair of NZ, Sue Greatbanks, to ask for a calendar of events just in case we happened to be in the right place at the right time to meet some NZ Mensans. To our great surprise and delight there was a flurry of emails, and before we set sail, it had been arranged by the acting SIGHT officer, Dr Aloma Parker, that we would be met in five - yes, five - of those ports by Mensans happy to show us around their towns! First stop was the Bay of Islands, a beautiful bay containing 144 is-lands, which is often referred to as the “birthplace of New Zealand”. We were met by Talia Mana who took us to a wonderful restaurant on the waterfront for lunch and then a mosey through the local markets. A lovely, relaxed couple of hours... In Auckland our hosts were Amanda Milne, a former Chairman of Mensa NZ and Games Designer and Publisher (SchilMil Games), and
David Wright. They whisked us off to Mt Eden where we had a panoramic view of the city and where we were joined by Vanessa Cozens. Then we visited the War Memorial Museum in the Domain - thank you Judy, our personal tour guide! - then drove along the waterfront to St Heliers for a delicious lunch. We finished the day with some wicked choco-late petits fours at Amanda’s home before she dropped us back dockside. Aloma Parker, Acting SIGHT Of-ficer, National Supervisory Psycholo-gist, an organiser of the first testing session in NZ in 1965 and a founding member, met us at Tauranga and took us to the ‘non-Disneyland’ Rotorua - a region of hot springs and bubbling mud pools, rich in Maori history and tradition. Thank you, Aloma - your knowledge of the area and of the Maori who live there was invaluable. In Napier, Acting Chairman Sue Greatbanks and her husband Jim treated us to a drive around Napier - a beautiful city, with a unique concentra-tion of 1930s Art Deco architecture. Lunch (gourmet plus!) was at nearby Craggy Range vineyard (one of many
vineyards in the area). This was very close to where the tectonic Pacific and Australian plates meet and overlap, forming a strange landscape. On the way back to the ship, we called in at their home where Sue gave us one of her bookmark calendars - each month becomes a bookmark when the month
is finished - which are made from her excellent photos of the area. The next day (Heavens - this makes five days in a row that we’ve been met and feted by NZ Mensans!), we had lunch with Jacek Cywinski
at an Italian restau-rant in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Jacek suggested a walk to the water’s edge where we meandered through the Art Gallery and the won-derful National Museum. We can’t thank Mensa New Zea-land enough for their hospitality and friendliness; each of our hosts not only gave us a day of their valuable time, but went to no end of trouble planning for us to see a New Zealand that tourists usually never see. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
For enquiries re International SIGHT, contact Pierpaolo Vittoria, International SIGHT Coordina-tor: [email protected]
International SIGHT:New Zealand by Kate Nacard
l-r: me, Therese and Sue at the vineyard
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Chair: Ms Elissa Rudolph, 14210 Nesting Way Apt C, Delray Beach, Florida 33484 USA [email protected] Director Admin: Ms Therese Moodie-Bloom, 17/23 Waiwera St, Lavender Bay 2060 Australia [email protected] Director Development: Mr Björn Liljeqvist, Knektvägen 1, 196 30 Kungsängen Sweden [email protected] Treasurer: Mr Rudy Challupner [email protected] Dir. Smaller National Mensas:: Mr Lars Endre Kjølstad, Grønligata 20a, NO3188 Horten, [email protected]. President: Dr Abbie Salny, 407 Breckenridge, Wayne NJ 07470 USA Tel: +1 973 305 0055SIGHTCoordinator: Mr Pierpaolo Vittorio [email protected]. SIG Coordinator: Ms Barbara Kryvko [email protected]: Mr Martyn Davies [email protected] Director: Mr Michael Feenan, Slate Barn, Church Lane, Caythorpe, Lincolnshire NG32 3EL, UKTel/Fax+44(0)1400272 675 [email protected]
Editorial StaffEditor: Ms Kate Nacard, 407/23 Corunna Rd, Stanmore NSW 2048 Australia [email protected] T: +61 2 9516 1024Science: Mr John Blinke [email protected]: Mr Tom Elliott [email protected]
officer directory
The Mensa World Journal (MWJ) is produced under the auspices of the Mensa International Board of Directors. Mandatory content as identified by the MWJ editor must be published in every national Mensa magazine. Publication of other content is recommended but optional. Opinions expressed in the MWJ are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of any other individual or any official Mensa body. Submission Guidelines: Language: English only. Text: MS Word (Windows), .rtf (Word/Mac), plain text, PageMaker (Windows), InDesign (Windows) Length: 500 word limit. Send by e-mail, fax, snail mail to the Editor. The Editor reserves the right to include or edit submissions for space and content considerations. All unoriginal submissions must be accompanied by written permis-sion for publication from the original author.Permission is granted for MWJ articles to be reprinted in any Mensa publication provided that the author, MWJ and MWJ’s editor are acknowledged. Permission must be sought from the MWJ editor for reprinting of any part of the MWJ in non-Mensa publications.
MENSA INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2015
The art of photography is an area where Mensans from over 50 countries with dif-ferent languages, customs and traditions can converge with a single, visual language! Use your creativity, skills, and technical expertise to produce your entry in this year’s
PhotoCup competition. The theme for 2015 is Urgency! Let your imagination run wild.
If your Mensa chapter is holding a national competition to select entries for the
International phase, a set of the rules and closing dates will be available from your national office or board. Direct International Members and members from coun-
tries not holding national contests are eligible to enter the International competition directly. Details of entry for Direct International Members will be in the March Mensa World Journal.
The Mensa International Photographer of the Year 2015 could be you!
Therese Moodie-Bloom, Director of Administration [email protected]
The Chronicle | May 2015
Get Ready – It’s Mensa SA National Gathering time!
Yes! It's time to start thinking about the AG. Because you KNOW you want to come - well, it's in Cape Town this year, so of course you do. We're still working on the details of the final program, but we can tell you that it's a murder themed weekend, with a mixture of fun, mental munchies and a really interesting keynote speaker! Date: 8 - 10th August Venue: Stellenbosch Lodge http://www.stblodge.co.za The expected cost pp will be under R2500 for the weekend, excluding airfares. Member's accommodation costs will be 25% subsided! Cape Town members will ferry you to and from the airport - like we did last time! Remember, the more of us there are the better the discounts...
So: Diarise, book the Leave, and start looking for Cheap Flights now! For more information as it becomes available and online registration forms visit our Facebook page. Cinzia AG 2015 Coordinator
The Chronicle | May 2015
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