Date: December 1, 1997
From: Kevin Langdon, Regent [old e-mail address omitted]
To: TNS E-mail List
Both TNS "ExComs"
Others on TNS ExCom Memo List
Subj: TNS ExCom Memo
It has been seven months since the last ExCom Memo. There has been intense controversy
within TNS, even as to who is a member of the ExCom and the pace with which events have
unfolded has made e-mail the primary venue for the business of the society. A
paper-and-snail Memo would have been out of date before it reached the members. I have
communicated frequently with readers of the e-mail list, though without presenting what I
had to say as a formal ExCom Memo.
You've seen only a small sample of the battling between "factions" and within the "reform" group--about a megabyte of it--but it should be possible for discerning readers to sort out whose positions are more temperate and reasonable and, through considering the motives and evasions of certain parties, to come to a reasonably accurate representation of what these parties are up to.
With this issue we are switching over to e-mail as the primary vehicle for the Memo, with hard copy going only to those who don't have e-mail (I suggest that this accommodation be continued through December 2000 with the Memo by e-mail only in the new millenium).
Non-ExCom (either) and non-e-mailers: Please either give me an e-mail address or write to me requesting hard copy.
Because of the comparative ease of working in this medium, I expect to be able to publish the Memo more frequently (I'll try to get it out monthly).
Anyone who wishes to have his or her remarks placed into an orderly context may submit them to me for incorporation in the ExCom Memo.
I'm sorry that my communication with the Executive Committee and interested members has been somewhat disorganized over the past few months; I expect that these Memos will pick up many loose threads.
Because of the complexity of the business transacted in the ExCom in recent months (in two "ExComs" since August), I am not including old correspondence or a summary of all motions in this Memo; I will summarize all motions for 1997 in the January 1 ExCom Memo.
WHAT AM I DOING HERE?
I've avoided executive office in these societies until recently, because I wanted to avoid any possible appearance of a conflict of interest with my testing business.
Cyd Bergdorf asked me if I'd be willing to take over as Regent when she resigned for reasons unconnected with TNS. Having accepted the job, I hoped to be able to correct certain problems I saw in TNS at that time.
These problems included:
1. Vidya's irregular publication schedule (Bob Kopp brought this under control);
2. Many flaws in the TNS Constitution, which continue to cause problems (twenty-two amendments proposed by me appeared in Vidya #151/152 but almost nobody responded);
3. Updating TNS' admission standards (the Psychometrics Committee had made good progress with this until the "Psychometrician" appointed by the "reform" ExCom undermined and interfered with its work).
Other problems appeared later, in the form of people who thought they knew better than the TNS Constitution and the membership how the Triple Nine Society should be organized. These people include Paul Maxim, John Kormes, John Hook, Wilson Ogg, and Jacquelinne White. The latter three were among the "reform" ExCom members who usurped power in TNS through the Financial Officer's recognition of an invalid motion, leading to a sequence of other invalid motions changing the composition of the Executive Committee, and who rejected a compromise that would have placed the determination of who was on the ExCom directly in the hands of the membership, with each member allowed to state his or her views on the situation in time to influence the vote. (The full text of the compromise is contained in an appendix to my November 23 message "The Latest Twists.")
While I understand members' dismay at the controversy and personal attacks which have filled too many of the pages of Vidya over the past year, my (prominent) contributions to this logjam have consisted almost entirely of official reports and responses to attacks on me.
I have sought only to serve the Triple Nine membership and the higher-I.Q.-societies community. This has, of necessity, included opposing thetyrannical actions of officers of the various societies and other abuses perpetrated by people of ill-will within the societies community, when they have become known to me.
My intellectual contributions to the journals of the societies are well-known. I attempt to be well-read and knowledgeable and to present as comprehensive a view of the world as possible. Pursuant to this, I offer commentary on a wide variety of material in the journals. This seems to touch a nerve only when my commentary is in response to unjustified and reprehensible charges against me.
Far more offensive is the systematic campaign of character assassination perpetrated by Paul Maxim and John Hook. Mr. Hook's demonization of me in Vidya is outrageous--and reminiscent of Clint Williams' treatment of Kent Shultz and his unfortunate essay, "The Mind of the Molester."
RESIGNATION OF BOB GULLEY
Member-at-Large ("reform" ExCom) Bob Gulley submitted his resignation in a message to the Executive Committee, confirmed by several subsequent messages. A motion by Mr. Hook not to accept Mr. Gulley's resignation has been withdrawn. Bob Gulley's Member-at-Large seat is currently vacant. I'd like to thank Bob Gulley for his service to TNS. Although there are points on which we disagree, I've found his participation in TNS affairs helpful and constructive.
This vacancy offers us an excellent opportunity to try to agree on one ExCom.
MOTION TO REPLACE THE EDITOR OF VIDYA
Although the ExCom that I consider to be official has already approved the appointment of Heather Preston as Editor, I now move once again, in the "reform" ExCom, that John Hook be replaced as Editor by Heather Preston. Heather is a person known to all of you as a nonpartisan hard worker. She has assured me that, subject to a planned two-week period away from home in December, she is willing and able to serve. Anyone who doubts this has only to ask Heather.
Now, for the benefit of those who might be inclined to raise the point that voting on the motion for a new Editor has already been completed and is thus now closed, I cite Article II, Section 1:
The Regent shall serve as Chairman of the Executive Committee. He shall make monthly written reports to the Committee in which he (1) outlines the current status of the Society, (2) discusses recommendations for the Society's improvement, and (3) calls for votes by Committee members whenever appropriate.
A vote on this motion is now highly appropriate, despite the recent vote on the same subject which failed narrowly (for: Adams, Cooper, Langdon, Poukey; against: Gulley, Jess, White, Woodruff; this is hardly the "overwhelming rejection" claimed by Mr. Hook), in the light of Mr. Hook's blatantly unconstitutional actions and increasingly bizarre and violent rhetoric--and the Constitution clearly provides that the question of appropriateness of a call for a vote is up to me, as Regent and Chairman of the Executive Committee.
"Reform" ExCom members: please communicate your votes (directly to the Chairman; proxies not accepted). I request that John Cooper contact Larry Jess and Jacquelinne White, to give them prompt notice of the vote.
Other readers, this is for your information and your comments. Bear in mind that there's a lot of "reform"-ExCom-only e-mail you haven't seen.
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
One of the most pressing unresolved isses before us has to do with the method by which the society establishes qualifying scores. The TNS Constitution as it now stands calls for a "psychometrician," but TNS has always had a Psychometrics Committee instead.
This function is too important to be delegated to one person. Therefore, I am presenting, by itself, a petition for the first of my twenty-two amendments from Vidya #151/152, in the hope that we can make this needed change in the near future.
Here is the text of the amendment:
Article I, Section 1, now ends with the words: "...folowing standards established by the Society's psychometrician."
Change "psychometrician" to "Psychometrics Committee."
Similarly, in Article II, Section 4, in the phrase "admission criteria established by the Society's psychometrician," substitute "Psychometrics Committee" for "psychometrician."
Add a section to Article III:
The Psychometrics Committee shall be responsible for examining available intelligence and aptitude tests, for selecting the tests used for admission to the Society, and for setting qualifying scores on the tests accepted. The Committee shall consist of five members appointed by the Executive Committee.
PETITION
We, the undersigned members of TNS hereby petition for the proposed Constitutional amendment above to be voted on by the membership of the Triple Nine Society.
| Name (please print) | Signature | Membership Number |
| ________________________ | ______________________ | _________________ |
| ________________________ | ______________________ | _________________ |
Please print out the petition form, sign, and mail to the Regent (P.O. Box 795, Berkeley, CA 94701).
Addendum, December 10
The motion to appoint Heather Preston Editor of Vidya passed on December 6. Voting against the motion were Larry Jess and Jacquelinne White. Heather Preston is our new Editor. Distribution of this Memo was delayed pending this result.
Anyone planning to run for office in the 1997/98 election: send your statement of candidacy to Heather by December 15. Heather's addresses are: [snail mail and e-mail addresses omitted].