SFRM: Spy School 4:30 PM. Have you ever wondered what “Spy School” was like during the age of the Cold War? Find out from someone who was there.

Don Grayson has a BS in Physics and obtained an MS in engineering at Purdue in 1972. He had 30-year career as a civilian engineer for the U.S. Navy in engineering management at the Naval Avionics Center Indianapolis. His assignments included U.S. NATO rep to Sweden, classified courier, project manager and technical analysis to various military radar and weapon guidance systems. Don is a sailboat hobbyist.

For more details, visit the SFRM Zoom RSVPs FB Group or the SFRM List of Presentations. To register, visit San Francisco Regional Mensa (SFRM)’s registration signup for this event.
Virtual Event!!

Inquiring Minds: Neurodiversity Around the World: Respect, Responsibility and Resilience 2 PM. What if autism is the key to bridging the communication gap between dynamic societies and individuals? Felicia M. L. Davis, a Mensan with a master’s in organizational management, utilizes her autism to unlock the world of communication creating bridges to communicate fluidly.

In this talk, Felicia will encourage discussion and questions about Autism Spectrum Disorder and will discuss attitudes towards ASD and resources available to people with ASD in various countries.

See the full write-up and find contact info on the American Mensa Events website. All attendees must preregister.
Virtual Event!!

Irish Mensa Lecture and Discussion: Bach’s Invention: The Divine Trickery of J .S. Bach 1 PM. Irish Mensa meets virtually on the third Monday of each month at 7 PM Irish Time; a discussion then follows the lecture.

Behind the sublime precision and expressive power of Bach’s music lies a mischievous spirit. From puzzle canons (where the performer must solve a riddle to reach the score), melodies that run upside-down and backwards against themselves, hidden symbols, endless loops, to the embedding of numbers and names into the music, this lecture explores Bach’s ingenious trickery. Unravelling this thread enhances an appreciation—and sense of humanity and playfulness—to his transcendent music.

Our Speaker: Professor Milton Mermikides is a composer, guitarist, technologist, academic and educator in a wide range of musical styles. He has collaborated with artists and scientists as diverse as Evelyn Glennie, Tim Minchin, Pat Martino, Peter Zinovieff, John Williams and Brian Eno. Son of a CERN nuclear physicist, he was raised with an enthusiasm for both the arts and sciences, an eclecticism which has been maintained throughout his teaching, research and creative career. Mermikides is a Professor of Music at the University of Surrey, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics (BSc), Berklee College of Music (BMus) and the University of Surrey (PhD).

For the full write-up and to join, visit the American Mensa event. One does not have to register early for the event—simply click on the Zoom link before the session starts (check back here for that link on Monday, July 21st).
Virtual Event!!

MWW: Nonfiction Book Discussion 4:30 PM CDT. Please join us in discussing Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (revised and updated), by Robert D. Putnam. We generally discuss what we liked about the book or found challenging. We also discuss what we would like more or less of, what format we read the book in, and whether it was a recent read. Can’t make it this month? Future books will be: The Backyard Bird Chronicles, by Amy Tan (August 27) and The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource, by Chris Hayes (September 24).

See the full write-up and find contact info on the American Mensa Events website.
Virtual Event!!

Theodore Talk: Free Speech Opportunist: Elon Musk’s Degradation of the Town Square 4:30 PM. Social media is often considered to be a democratic space. The platforms make it easy for nearly anyone to say nearly anything to seemingly everyone, and many people hail the results as the purest form of free speech. Elon Musk latched onto that notion as one of the reasons he decided to buy Twitter and promote it as the world’s town square. But as the platform faced criticism from users and advertisers, Musk’s attempt to enshrine it as a marketplace of ideas has been challenged by the marketplace of commerce. One of his reactions: restrict speech.

Professor Stephen Wolgast, Knight Chair in Audience and Community Engagement for News and professor of the practice of journalism at the University of Kansas, will demonstrate how the man who calls himself a free-speech absolutist places a higher value on the dollar than others’ ideas, and show how the notion that is a town square fails on a number of counts.

To register for this Theodore Talk, visit the American Mensa Events website or, on or after Friday, July 25th, tap/click on the Zoom link that will be available here on our website. See a list of all the Theodore talks on the American Mensa Events website. Even if you can’t attend the live talk, provided you register, you will receive a link to a recording of the event. Closed captioning enabled.
Virtual Event!!

ChiMe Activ­ity Bulletin and Ad­vertising Dead­lines. Last day for these submissions to the September ChiMe. Interested in organizing and hosting a virtual or in-person event? There’s bound to be an activity or a restaurant you want to try, but you just want some other people to experience it with you. So invite your fellow Mensans. Find out how by visiting our guide to hosting events.

ChiMe Editorial Dead­line. Last day for editorial submissions to the September ChiMe. Please submit original ar­ticles, insights, puzzles, brain teasers, photographs, or short poems. Your fellow Chicago Area Mensa members would love to hear from you.