Greetings everyone! I hope you're all staying SAFE and SANE during these turbulent and tumultuous times. I know it's been really tough for some, but I hope that you have also experienced some positive change this year.

And speaking of positive change, it's time to elect a new Executive Committee (ExComm) for Richmond Area Mensa (RAM). And the positive part of this change applies to the President and Vice President positions, where you'll be getting an upgrade, as I am in the middle of moving state and Allan S did not wish to continue as Vice President.

Allan also volunteered as Social Media Coordinator and Proof Reader, so I'd like to thank him, along with all the other volunteers who are still staying on, for their service over the past years. I hope you, too, appreciate all they've done and continue to do for RAM.

We are a little behind schedule, but the ExComm has appointed a Nominating Committee (NomComm). This year, the ExComm appointed Catherine S, Aravind T and Brendan D as the members of the NomComm, with Aravind serving as the Chair.

A list of individuals willing to serve in each position has been determined by the NomComm, but additional nominations may be made by any member, in writing, by a petition signed by three RAM members and delivered to the Chair of the Nominating Committee. These petitions must be received by 11:59 pm on September 15, 2020 and may be mailed, or scanned and emailed. Members may nominate themselves, or may nominate other members (as long as they confirm that the other members are willing and able to serve in the office for which they are being nominated).

The following have been nominated by the NomComm (see the newsletter for the full names):

• President: Victoria M
  
• Vice President: Andrew W
  
• Treasurer: John C
  
• Member-at-Large: Deb G
  
• Member-at-Large: Fred D
  

Any petitions for additional nominations should be sent to the chair. RAM members can check the newsletter (see your email) for Aravind's mailing and email addresses.

Thank you for your time and consideration, Santi

There's a great article in the latest edition of Richmond Magazine, on how members of the Richmond Area Mensa chapter forge connections through games and fellowship. It looks at how our social gatherings have changed, under the current pandemic, and other ways that Mensa looks to bring people together.

Our thanks to journalist and writer Eileen Abbott.

Why not join our monthly games meet-ups? They continue in a virtual form, until it's safe to return to in-person meetings. Watch your emails for how to join us, or get in touch if you have any questions.

Members can watch from home on Google Meet on August 10 as other members give short (10 minute) presentations on various topics with a question/answer period following the presentation. This is a new series volunteers devised so that we can connect online in the safety of our homes. You can see our presenters local expert Deb Gribben and her student Tejas Muthusamy in the Netflix movie "Spelling the Dream." It is a fascinating, motivating movie. See earlier post for more information about "Spelling the Dream."

DO YOU LIKE BOARD GAMES? Do you really like board games? Mensans are among the most avid game players in the country, but if you're a next-level player, Mind Games is for you.

This four-day board-game-judging marathon, scheduled April 22-25 in Portland, Maine, lets you evaluate the year's best new-to-market tabletop games. Registration is open, but hurry — it sells out each year.

The new documentary Spelling the Dream – A Netflix Original follows four students as they vie for the top prize at the National Spelling Bee. One of them, Tejas Muthusamy, is a student of local Mensan Deb Gribben, and she had the honor of accompanying him all four years that he qualified for the annual National Spelling Bee event, held in Washington, D.C.

Both she and Tejas are featured in this family friendly movie, which was filmed three years ago when Tejas was an eighth grader and in his final year of eligibility. Director Sam Rega wonderfully captured the hard work and dedication that these students and their families put into the “sport of spelling,” as well as the tension and stress of participating on stage!

You can watch Spelling the Dream - a Netflix Original on Netflix.

Is your home now a classroom? Home school is potentially rewarding, but it can be challenging at the bests of times, even if you had time to plan and prepare for it. For those of us who find ourselves with kids home due to school closures, and perhaps holding down a job at the same time, it's a whole new bewildering adventure.

We want the best for our kids, and we value education, but there are only so many hours in the day, and only so many episodes of shows on Netflix we can convince ourselves are legitimately educational.

Well some help is at hand, from the Mensa Foundation. Mensa Kids has collected together a curated list of free and low-cost educational resources to help keep them learning and engaged with education.

You'll find Lesson and Activity Plans, TED Connections, and even ways to explore academic principles using kids games you may already have in the house.

Take a look at www.mensaforkids.org today. What are you finding useful for your home-classroom? Let us know in the comments below, via the contact page or - for members - on the Facebook group.

In light of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, Richmond Area Mensa has taken the decision to postpone or cancel all in-person activities until we hear that gatherings are safe and responsible again.

Life goes on, however, and for many of us it's important to maintain social connections. Some of our events offer a sense of community that's important to our members. We encourage you to stay in touch with one another electronically, and take advantage of online forums including our own Facebook group.

Let us know if there are particular events you want to see because many of us will be itching to get out again at the end of this... until then, best wishes to you and your loved ones.

Age of Irrationality

I like The Lord of the Rings. One of the reasons, I think, that it resonates so well is not just the films’ pioneering CGI nor J.R.R. Tolkien’s superb storytelling, but that source material is an overtly cautionary tale for modern times. That it was written almost 75 years ago and still pertinent today says something. We live in an Age of Irrationality. Never have humans been more organized yet have less sense.

We’ve all had giggles and outrages at the hypocrisy, beliefs, and actions in many segments of society. It’s our sad attempt to rebel without power against things we have bluntly little control over. So, we express passive-aggressive. However, even when “logical discussion” is attempted, it is too little beneficial end anymore. Contrary to convention though, a logic system does NOT imply rationality.

Everyone is logical; NOT everyone is rational. Few to any walk around consistently thinking, “Hey, I’m a terribly stupid person doing all the wrong things in life.” That’s a recipe for insanity. People do however walk around effectively thinking, “1+1=3.” They’re right too, to them. Truth though is not a relative concept. Truth is objective. Otherwise, it is not truth – merely opinion based on mercurial emotion.

Critical Thinking – Not WHAT to feel but HOW to think…and the WHY

If we live in an age absent rationality, how are we to know what to do? Critical Thinking. Objective analysis to form a sound judgement.  Not what to feel, but rather how to think and why of the matter. That’s it. So easy to say; so hard to practice in society today.  Simply improving quality of our thought via the critical thinking process; there is, for lack of a better descriptor, no critical depth to our thought.

Why can’t we…IMPEACHMENT! …



To read the entire article, see https://andrewgrantwhite.com/articles/f/on-the-importance-of-critical-thinking