February 2012 IJ 1-4

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mensa international journal ebruary 2012

mensainternational journal

02

Nucleation is the situation in which

a particle becomes the core, or

nucleus, o a collection o particles.

Snowakes start out this way. So do

raindrops, mineral crystals, and gas

bubbles. Tat last case is very useul

or entertaining people at picnics:

i you drop the right kind o candy

into the right kind o carbonated

beverage, you get a oamy geyser

several meters high. Its a guaranteed

crowd pleaser.

Te most amous combination

is Mentos chewy mints and Diet

Coke. Tis is what the Eepy Bird

guys use in their You ube demon-

strations, though they now say Coke

Zero is best. Side by side tests

show that diet soda is more eective

than sugared soda. One can imagine

that some other combination works

even better. Let me know i you nd

something really good.

Why does this trick work so

well? Were told that the suraces

o the candy are covered with tiny

bumps and cracks that encourage the

ormation o carbon dioxide bubbles.

Im not sure this is perectly correct

in detail. I suspect the key is that the

hard candy surace dissolves quickly,

releasing a cloud o tiny crystals. Te

number o reaction sites in a cloud

o particles must be exponentially

greater than that o a surace, no

matter how bumpy. I can support

this idea with an observation: I you

look at the candies ater the geyser is

done, youll see that the hard outside

layer is entirely gone and only a

smooth white core remains.

Picnic Science

At the recent annual meeting in Soa, Bulgaria, the IBD approved a per-

manent program o promoting the exchange o leadership skills among

all countries with Mensa groups the Leadership Exchange Ambassador

Program (LEAP). Ater a two-year pilot program in which ourteen Mensans

participated, the outcome demonstrated that the initiative did indeed assist in

bringing orth new, energized leaders while enhancing the Mensa experience

worldwide or them and their audiences.

For 2012, current members o all National Mensas (FNMs, PNMs, and

ENMs) are encouraged to apply or this program. Selected members will

design and present their lectures/workshops/topics on some aspect o Mensa

management and/or leadership during two major Mensa gatherings.

Te participants will be expected to also evaluate other presentations and

report on their experiences to their home Mensa group and to the IBD. Most

expenses are covered by Mensa International.

o begin the process, consult your chairman and obtain an application

package to submit your name in nomination by10 March 2012 or email theLEAP committee at [email protected].

Prospective candidates must be nominated by their own national Mensa

group. As o this writing, the two gatherings where LEAP participants will

present their workshops are not yet determined, the events under considera-

tion being the American Mensa Annual Gathering in Reno, Nevada (AG, 4-8

July 2012), the European Mensas Gathering (EMAG, 8 12 August 2012),

or the Asian Mensas Gathering (AMAG, late September 2012). For more

inormation, see your chairman or email [email protected].

Leadership ExchangeAmbassador Program

(LEAP) 2012

Did you know ?

Mensa was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, anAustralian barrister, and Dr. Lance Ware, a British scientist andlawyer. Tey met on a train.

Mensa has three stated purposes: to identify and foster humanintelligence or the benet o humanity; to encourage researchinto the nature, characteristics and uses o intelligence, and topromote a stimulating intellectual and social environment or itsmembers.

john blinke

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What would you like tosee in the IJ?

More articles? Puzzles?Member communication

channels?

Send your ideas to me [email protected]

03

Why Do Some People Never

Forget a Face?

I the nucleation idea is basically

correct, then other things should

trigger the geysers. I tried drysand, and the result was wonderul!

Eventually, I might gure out how

much sand is equal to one candy.

For now, I can say it works well as

long as the sand doesnt clog the

exit nozzle.

Now ask: what happens i there

are no nucleation sites available? In

this case you get a supersaturated

solution or a supercooled liquidin which a tiny disturbance might

trigger a sudden phase change.

A glass o supercooled water can

reeze solid in an instant i the glass

is tapped sharply. A supersaturated

salt solution can suddenly rain a

precipitate o tiny crystals until the

remaining liquid is merely satu-

rated.

John [email protected]

Face recognition is an important

social skill, but not all o us are equally

good at it, says Beijing Normal Uni-

versity cognitive psychologist Jia Liu.

But what accounts or the dierence?

A new study by Liu and colleagues

Ruosi Wang, Jingguang Li, Huizhen

Fang, and Moqian Tian provides the

frst experimental evidence that theinequality o abilities is rooted in the

unique way in which the mind per-

ceives aces. Individuals who process

aces more holistically -- that is, as an

integrated whole -- are better at ace

recognition, says Liu.

In daily lie, we recognize aces

both holistically and also analyti-

cally - that is, picking out individual

parts, such as eyes or nose. But while

the brain uses analytical processing

or all kinds o objects - cars, houses,

animals - holistic processing is

thought to be especially critical to

ace recognition, says Liu.

o isolate holistic processing

as the key to ace recognition, the

researchers rst measured the abil-

ity o study participants - 337 male

and emale students - to rememberwhole aces, using a task in which

they had to select studied aces and

owers rom among unamiliar ones.

Te next two tasks measured per-

ormance in tasks that mark holistic

processing. Te composite-ace eect

(CFE) shows up when two aces are

split horizontally and stuck together.

Its easier to identiy the top hal-ace

when its misaligned with the bottomone than when the two halves are t-

ted smoothly together. Tats because

our brain automatically combines

them to orm a new - and unamiliar

- ace, says Liu: evidence o holistic

processing. Te other marker o holis-

tic processing is the whole-part eect

(WPE). In this one, people are shown

a ace, then asked to recognize a part

o it, say, the nose. Tey do betterwhen the eature is presented within

the whole ace than when it stands on

its own among other noses: again, we

remember the nose integrated into

the whole ace. Te researchers also

assessed participants general intel-

ligence.

Te results: those participants who

scored higher on CFE and WPE

- that is, who did well in holistic

processing - also perormed better

at the rst task o recognizing aces.

But there was no link between acial

recognition and general intelligence,

which is made up o various cogni-

tive processes - a suggestion that ace

processing is unique.

Our ndings partly explains why

some never orget aces, while oth-

ers misrecognize their riends and

relatives requently, says Liu. Tatswhy the research holds promise or

therapies or that second category

o people, who may suer disorders

such as prosopagnosia (ace blindness)

and autism. Knowing that the mind

receives a ace as one whole thing

and not as a collection o individual

parts, we may train people on holistic

processing to improve their ability in

recognizing aces, Liu says.ScienceDaily (Dec. 2, 2011)

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Te Mensa International Journal (MIJ) is produced under the auspices o the Mensa International Board o Directors. Pages 1-4 o eachissue o the MIJ must be published in every national Mensa magazine. Publication o pages 5-8 is recommended but optional. Opin-ions expressed in the MIJ are those o the authors and do not necessarily reect the views o any other individual or any ofcial Mensabody. Submission Guidelines: Language: English only. ext: MS Word (Windows), .rt (Word/Mac), plain text, PageMaker (Windows)Length: 500 word limit. Send by e-mail, ax, snail mail to the Editor. Te Editor reserves the right to include or edit submissions orspace and content considerations. All unoriginal submissions must be accompanied by written permission or publication rom the origi-nal author.Permission is granted or MIJ articles to be reprinted in any Mensa publication provided that the author, MIJ and MIJs edi-tor are acknowledged. Permission must be sought rom the MIJ editor or reprinting o any part o the MIJ in non-Mensa publications.

Chair: Mr Willem Bouwens rompenburgstraat 6-G, 1079 X Amsterdam Te [email protected] el: +31 (0)20 661 2718

Director Admin: Ms Sylvia Herbert 16 Farley St, St Johns, Worcester, Worcestershire WR2 6JD [email protected] el: +44(0)1905 422231Director Development: Ms Bibiana Balanyi Mensa HungarIQa, H-1426 Budapest 72, Postaok 99 [email protected] el: +36 209 135175

Treasurer: Cyndi Kuyper 2606 Henderson St, West Laayette, IN 47906-1537 el: +1 765 463 1393Cell Phone: +1 765 714 2272 [email protected]. Smaller National Mensas: Mr Bjrn Liljeqvist Knektvgen 1, 196 30 Kungsngen, Sweden +46 (0) 730 394199skype: bjorn.liljeqvist [email protected]. President: Dr Abbie Salny 407 Breckenridge, Wayne NJ 07470 USA el: +1 973 305 0055SIGHTCoordinator: Mr Richard Kingston [email protected]. SIG Coordinator: Mr Markus Schauler [email protected]:Mr Martyn Davies [email protected] Director: Mr Michael Feenan, Slate Barn, Church Lane, Caythorpe, Lincolnshire NG32 3EL, UKel/Fax+44(0)1400272 675 [email protected]

Editorial StafEditor: Ms Kate Nacard 407/23 Corunna Rd, Stanmore NSW 2048 Australia [email protected] el: +61 2 9516 1024Science: Mr John Blinke, [email protected]: Mr om Elliott, [email protected] Articles: Mr Tomas Hally, [email protected]

04

Log into the International website at www.mensa.org

for the calendar of national events

April 27-29 in Niagara Falls, Ontario

Mensa Falls or Niagara

Four South-western Ontario Mensa groups have come together to

plan this event. We have a website with ino on our program:

www.so-mensa.org. People can register online there. We also have

a Facebook Group, Mensa RG 2012 where we will post late-break-

ing news. People dont have to be registered or the event to join the

Facebook Group. Its intended as a meeting place or people inter-

ested in our event who would like to connect with other Mensans.

ofcer directory

Mensa Falls For niagara

suthwt ot

r gth

Marrio Gateway Hotel,

Niagara Falls Canada

April 27 29, 2012

www.so-mensa.org

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February 2012 IJ 1-4