You're Already on Zoom. Interest You in a Theodore Talk?
- Aug 11, 2023
- Brad Lucht
Even when we aren’t living in a pandemic, there are a lot of members of our Local Group who can’t make it to in-person events. Our group covers a large area — the better part of Missouri and a chunk of Kansas — making for a lot of isolated members.
Fortunately, our RVC has stepped up and provided Mid-America Mensa with funding for a full Zoom license. This has allowed us to hold our monthly board meetings remotely, as well as our Book Lover SIG. In fact, Zoom has allowed former members to join us from Virginia and Florida.
With those considerations, I decided to organize a series of lectures that all members could attend, regardless of their location.
Our board approved my proposal to put together a monthly Theodore Talk. Not a TED Talk, which would probably be a copyright violation. Or an Ed Talk, which I thought was quite clever but already being used by a local community college. But a Theodore Talk, inspired by Lawrence, Kan., member Theodore “Ted” Johnson, Emeritus Professor of French at the University of Kansas. Ted has that rare combination of intellect and creativity that spans numerous fields, finding links to subjects one might never consider.
Of course, after the idea comes implementation. What might be of interest to members? We put a notice in our newsletter, Mension. No response. So I decided to select topics I was interested in, starting with our January speaker, Elle Jackson, the first Black author Harlequin has signed to write a series of historical romance novels. Her first book for Harlequin, A Blues Singer to Redeem Him, is set in the period of the Tulsa Massacre. Now, I have never read a romance novel in my life. I’m more of a history/biography reader, with the occasional detective novel or science fiction yarn thrown in. I am curious, though, as a writer and someone who’s been single his whole life, how to write romantic fiction.
Perhaps your Local Group would be interested in starting its own series. We’d love for you to attend ours.
Mid-America Mensa’s Theodore Talks
Theodore Talks take place on Zoom the fourth Sunday of each month at 2:30 p.m. (Central) and are open to all members
Oct. 22, 2023, 2:30 p.m. (Central)
Riddle Me This: Using Sudoku to Improve Your Problem Solving Skills
Sudoku is used as a pastime by approximately 10% of American adults, but its potential lies beyond that of casual diversion.
In Sudoku there is no luck that dice and cards impart; it is immune to influences of politics, religion, language, culture or nationalities. It is entirely objective, with no subjectivity. To be successful in solving this puzzle one must apply basic algorithms common to all logical processes; 100% accuracy is required.
Logic is what makes us all Mensans and is the foundation of all STEM subjects and the keystone of problem solving and creative solutions.