February 2025 Monthly Gathering – Meet the Beatles You Thought You Knew

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in
1960, and are widely regarded as the most influential band of all
time. Whether you liked them or not, they were integral to the
development of the 1960s counterculture and the recognition of
popular music as an art form.

The Beatles were a cultural tsunami that forever changed fashion,
manners, humor, media, values, and style while influencing
musical genres and future musicians long after the group’s
demise.

Join us at 7 pm (EST) on Saturday, February 15, when Kansas
University’s “Professor of Rock”, and lifelong educator Steve
Lopes will lead us in a review of the Beatles’ origin story and
Beatlemania, and how they became so fabulous. Participants
wishing to do so will also have an opportunity to engage in a trivia
quiz and a discussion of the “Fab Four’s” legacy.

Steve Lopes was a technology educator for fifteen years before
becoming a union organizer. After 30 years with the Kansas
National Education Association, he returned to teaching, this time
leading history of rock classes for Lifelong Learners at the
University of Kansas, University of Missouri- Kansas City, and
Washburn University. Steve enjoys researching Rock ‘n’ Roll
history and sharing it with his students. He also donates his
organizing skills in support of progressive causes and candidates.

Please note that this program will be presented only via
Zoom.

The Zoom room opens at 6:30 pm (EST) for mingling. The
program starts at 7:00 pm (EST). 

There is no charge for the Zoom presentation, but due to rising
costs, (Meetup charges alone are up 70% this year!) your
donation via PayPal is greatly appreciated. Please donate $5! To
donate go to paypal.com, login, and click on the “Send” button.
Enter the e-mail address: treasurer@nullmensadetroit.com, click on
“Next”, fill in your payment amount, and in the “What’s this for”
dialogue box enter: “SEMM Zoom Presentations.” Click “Next”,
select your payment method, and click “Send”.

Please remember that all attendees need to pre-register by
clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/SEMM-2025-Gathering.

January Monthly Gathering – The Einstein Effect: How the world’s favorite genius got into our cars, our bathrooms and our minds

Almost all of us have heard of Albert Einstein, best known for developing the theory of relativity, as well as important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, has been called “the world’s most famous equation.” He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. But Albert Einstein’s genius continues to impact our everyday lives in so many ways you may not realize – from science and technology to his status as a pop culture icon and his legacy as a humanitarian rescuing refugees and fighting in the civil rights movement. For his book, “The Einstein Effect,” our guest speaker journalist Benyamin Cohen spent years tracking down lesser-known stories about Einstein (e.g., Did you know the pathologist performing Einstein’s autopsy stole his brain?) to learn why Einstein is more relevant today than ever.

Albert Einstein was the first modern-day celebrity and, decades after his death still has the world’s most recognizable face. His influence is seen in much of the technology we use every day: GPS, remote controls, weather forecasts, and even toothpaste. His legacy underpins the search for aliens, rescue of refugees, quest for time machines, and debunking fake news. He appears in new books, TV shows, and movies, and fans are paying millions for Einstein relics at auction.

Join us at 7 p.m., on Saturday, January 18, when Benyamin Cohen, journalist and award-winning author of “The Einstein Effect: How the world’s favorite genius got into our cars, our bathrooms and our minds”, gives us a fascinating and funny overview of history’s favorite genius?and explains why he still matters. 

Benyamin Cohen is the News Director of “The Forward” and was the founding editor of both “Jewsweek” and “American Jewish Life” magazine. Cohen is also the author of “My Jesus Year: A Rabbi’s Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith”, named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly and for which he received the Georgia Author of the Year award. He is based in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he lives with his wife, three dogs, and a flock of chickens known as the Co-Hens. For more information: www.benyamincohen.com.

Please note that this program will be presented only via Zoom.

The Zoom room opens at 6:30 pm (EST) for mingling. The program starts at 7:00 pm (EST).  

There is no charge for the Zoom presentation, but, due to rising costs, (Meetup charges alone are up 70% this year!) your donation via PayPal is greatly appreciated. Please donate $5! To donate go to paypal.com, login, and click on the “Send” button. Enter the e-mail address: treasurer@nullmensadetroit.com , click on “Next”, fill in your payment amount, and in the “What’s this for” dialogue box enter: “SEMM Zoom Presentations.” Click “Next”, select your payment method, and click “Send”.

Please remember that all attendees need to pre-register by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/SEMM-2025-Gathering.

December Monthly Gathering – Is the truth out there? Can we find alien technology?

Can we find evidence of alien technology? That is the ambitious goal of the Galileo Project, directed by our guest speaker Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb. The project is far from the first attempt to detect signs of civilizations beyond Earth. You may be aware of the “Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence”, or “SETI”, a project that has been operational for 40 years. However, there are striking differences between SETI and Project Galileo. According to Dr. Loeb: “Traditional SETI focused on the search for electromagnetic signals from extraterrestrial civilizations, without success. This method is similar to waiting for a phone call at home when nobody intends to call. Alternatively, the Galileo Project searches for physical objects near Earth that were manufactured technologically by distant civilizations. 

Join us at 7 pm (EST) on Saturday, December 14, when we will hear from Dr. Avi Loeb about why he and his collaborators think they have a chance of finding something where others have failed, and why he believes that an alien artifact passed through our solar system in 2017. 

Dr. Avi Loeb received a PhD in plasma physics at age 24 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1986 and was subsequently a long-term member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (1988-1993), where he started to work in theoretical astrophysics. In 1993, he moved to Harvard University where he was tenured three years later. He is now Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science, director of the Institute for Theory and Computation, and former Astronomy department chair (2011-2020). Dr. Loeb is also the bestselling author of “Extraterrestrial” and “Interstellar”.

Please note that this program will be presented only via Zoom.

The Zoom room opens at 6:30 pm (EST) for mingling. The program starts at 7:00 pm (EST).  

There is no charge for the Zoom presentation, but, due to rising costs, (Meetup charges alone are up 70% this year!) your donation via PayPal is greatly appreciated. Please donate $5! To donate go to paypal.com, login, and click on the “Send” button. Enter the e-mail address: treasurer@nullmensadetroit.com , click on “Next”, fill in your payment amount, and in the “What’s this for” dialogue box enter: “SEMM Zoom Presentations.” Click “Next”, select your payment method, and click “send”.Please remember that all attendees need to pre-register by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/SEMM-2024-Gathering.

October Monthly Gathering – Alien lifeforms: Probably not what you’re thinking

Program 7:00pm (EDT), Saturday, October 19, 2024: 

The search for alien life outside our Solar System has centered on searching for radio signals or laser signals from exoplanets orbiting distant stars. This search is supported by the discovery of thousands of exoplanets, with the reasonable expectation that there are billions of them in our galaxy. However, after several decades of listening for such signals, none have been found. 

None. 

In our own solar system, the hope is now that we may find microbial life on places like Mars or Jupiter’s moon Europa, or at least evidence that such life once existed there. 

The newest technique for searching for alien life is to examine exoplanet atmospheres for biogases such as oxygen that would at least be indicative of primitive life. This field of study is in its infancy. 

Finally, there are claims that intelligent aliens are already here on Earth, and that possibility will also be discussed.

Join us at 7:00 P.M., on Saturday, October 19, when Dr Dale Partin will lead us in our search for life elsewhere in the universe. Dr. Partin has been a member of the Warren Astronomical Society since 1998, and has been an officer for many of those years. He  currently serves as WAS’s First Vice President. He has a B.S. and M.S. in physics and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. His work has been published in over 80 scientific journals, he has 38 patents, is a fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of Sigma Xi and of the American Scientific Affiliation. He had a career in industrial research, and now teaches astronomy at Macomb Community College.

Please note that this program will be presented live and on Zoom. You can attend the live presentation, for a chance to also mingle with your fellow Mensans and guests, at our usual location:

Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church in Southfield
23925 Northwestern Highway
Southfield, MI 48075

Doors open at 6:30pm (EDT). The program begins at 7:00pm. 

Ticket prices for the in-person program are:

Adult members: $5m or buy a strip of 4 tickets for $15. Adult guests: $6, Children 12 & under: $2
Members receive free admission in the month of their birthday.

Following the presentation, please join us for dinner at Buddy’s Pizza, located at 31646 Northwestern Highway, in Farmington Hills, just northeast of Middlebelt Road.

If you can’t join us in person, the Zoom room opens at 6:30pm (EDT) for mingling. 

There is no charge for the Zoom presentation, but, due to rising costs, (Meetup charges alone are up 70% this year!) your donation via PayPal is greatly appreciated. Please donate $5! To donate go to paypal.com , log in, and click on the “Send” button. Enter the e-mail address: treasurer@nullmensadetroit.com , click on “Next”, fill-in your payment amount, and in the “What’s this for” dialogue box enter: “SEMM Zoom Presentations.” Click “next”, select your payment method, and click “send”.

Please remember that all attendees need to pre-register by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/SEMM-2024-Gathering.