Southeast Michigan Mensa

By now you’ve probably heard about cryptocurrency. A family member, friend, neighbor, doctor, Uber driver, sales associate, server, barista, or passer-by on the street, has probably told you how he or she is getting rich quick with virtual currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, or one of the lesser-known 1,300-plus investable cryptocurrencies.

But how much do you really know about them? If you’re like most folks (Including me), not much. Well, let’s fix that!

Join us for an introductory, but comprehensive, overview of the fast-moving world of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency, and Blockchain, the technology that makes it work. 

We will tackle the history, as well as extremely volatile, exotic, and often confusing nature of cryptocurrencies, that exists together with blockchain, in this quickly evolving space. We will also explore the varied practical and theoretical applications of the blockchain technology, which go far beyond its potential implications within the business sector. 

Guiding us will be Angela Palacios, CFP®, AIF®, and registered representative with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., where she specializes in investment and macro-economic research.

The program takes place on Saturday, March 16th, at
Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church in Southfield.
23925 Northwestern Hwy
Southfield, MI 48075

Doors open at 5pm. The program begins at 6pm. Please note the new starting time!

Adult members: $4, or a strip of 4 tickets – $12
Adult guests: $5
Children 12 and under: $2
Members receive free admission in the month of their birthday

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This presentation explores symbolic annihilation: the use of words, images and ideas to devalue, marginalize, and objectify the experiences and contributions of specific groups in society. To understand the permanence of racism as a cultural normality, this presentation interrogates the operation of Blackness in structurally imposed, traditional White spaces. The term space is used here to identify both the ideological and material constructs that perpetuate, maintain and justify systems of racial stratification in society

Guiding us will be Dr. Kalvin D. Harvell. Born and raised in Flint, Michigan, he earned a B.S. and M.A. in sociology, an Ed.S. in educational leadership (Specialist), and a Ph.D. in global leadership.

Dr. Harvell is a professor of sociology at Henry Ford College in Dearborn and has taught an array of courses, including but not limited to, Ethnic and Racial Diversity in Society, Independent Studies, and Leadership in Diverse Communities and Organizations. Furthermore, Dr. Harvell taught in a learning community designed for under-represented males. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Harvell and his esteemed colleagues coordinate the Black Male and Quintessential Unique Essence of Ebony Necessary Sisters (QUEENS) Focus Group, an academic and social support network designed to address equity on the campus of Henry Ford College.

Currently, Dr. Harvell also serves as the president of the Michigan Sociological Association. Additionally, he is the chief intellectual officer (CIO) at Harvell & Associates, an educational consulting firm involved in the production of asset-focused, culturally responsive educational programming. However, of all of his accomplishments and letters, the letters he is most proud and passionate about are D A D D Y!

The program takes place on Saturday, February 16th , at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church in Southfield. Doors open at 5pm. The program begins at 6pm. Please note the new starting time!

Adult members: $4, or a strip of 4 tickets – $12
Adult guests: $5
Children 12 and under: $2
Members receive free admission in the month of their birthday

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There’s no Monthly Meeting (or ExComm Meeting) this month. Have a great holiday season!

We’ll see you next month for Winter Bash! on Saturday January 19th from 6pm-11pm. Guests of members are welcome. Ticket information is available on the Winter Bash! page.

Regular meetings will resume in February.

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A critical route for over 500 years, the Saginaw Trail began as a Native American earthen walking path. Since European settlers began coming to the area in the 1800s, it has grown steadily into a concrete thoroughfare, including Woodward Avenue. It is also a part of the Dixie Highway, which stretches from Sault St. Marie all the way to Miami, Florida.

Join us on Saturday, October 20 at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church in Southfield, when Oakland University Special Lecturer Carol Bacak-Egbo will guide us along a pathway into the past. Come learn about the fascinating history of 23 miles of the Dixie Highway which is now known as the “Dixie Corridor,” and the relevance of a fiddler, a horse farm and a harvest of ice. Doors open at 7pm. The program begins at 8pm.

Adult members: $4, or a strip of 4 tickets – $12
Adult guests: $5
Children 12 and under: $2
Members receive free admission in the month of their birthday

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Grossed out by that maggot squirming in your apple?

Your ancestors weren’t. In fact, they probably would have popped the offending creature into their mouths and relished its savory flavor. At least, that’s what Wayne State’s assistant professor of anthropology Julie Lesnik thinks. Dr. Lesnik studies how people (and their prehistoric relatives) have gathered, farmed, and cooked insects for food.

Dr. Lesnik’s presentation will draw from her new book, “Edible Insects and Human Evolution”, where she argues that people have been eating bugs for millennia, and our current disgust is a relatively new phenomenon. She incorporates research in human ecology, primatology, and paleoanthropology in order to reconstruct what insect consumption looked like in our earliest ancestors, and advocates for insects as a sustainable protein source that should be used more today, to feed the world’s growing population.

Julie Lesnik received her B.S. in Anthropology from Northern Illinois University in 2003 and her M.S. in Kinesiology and PhD in Anthropology from the University of Michigan in 2011. She joined the faculty in the Department of Anthropology at Wayne State in 2014. Her work has been supported by the Leakey Foundation, the American Association of University Women, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her book, “Edible Insects and Human Evolution”, was recently published by the University Press of Florida and has been featured by NPR and National Geographic.

Join us on Saturday, October 20 at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church in Southfield, to hear Dr. Lesnik’s view on the past and future use of insects as a food source, and for a free sample of Crickets! Doors open at 7pm. The program begins at 8pm.

Adult members: $4, or a strip of 4 tickets – $12
Adult guests: $5
Children 12 and under: $2
Members receive free admission in the month of their birthday

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