What Happens at The Roundtable Discussion Club
Burwood Neighbourhood House holds the weekly Roundtable Discussion Club every Tuesday at 1:30 pm. But what exactly gets discussed at the Club?
We have a peer presentation format. So instead of inviting guest speakers, one member of the group presents their chosen favourite topic for 20-30 minutes, this is followed by an open response/discussion on that presentation. The next week, it will be another member’s turn.
Here is a sample of what has been recently presented:
Proof in Mathematics & The Monty Hall Brain Teaser
Our presenter for the day discussed mathematical proofs and presented the Monty Hall problem - a brain teaser where a game show host has three doors, behind which one is a Lamborghini and the other two a goat. The player is asked to commit to a door, then a door is opened to show where one of the goats is. At this stage, the player is allowed to switch doors. Should they? The presenter discusses his own proof to the counter-intuitive solution to this brain teaser (hint: imagine if it was 10 doors instead of 3, and Monty opens 8 doors)!
HMS Nemesis - Britain's Secret Weapon in The Opium Wars
The secret weapon that Britain took to the Opium Wars was the HMS Nemesis. Our presenter for the day discussed the technological advances that made the HMS Nemesis so devastatingly effective. This boat was the first iron-hulled paddle steamer used by the British Navy; being a steamer, it didn't need a keel, so it could sail all the way into the Canton river where other battleships could not go (and the Chinese were not expecting it to). It was armed with a pivot-mounting gun, the precursor to the rotating gun turret that is featured in modern ships and tanks. The presenter explains how the HMS Nemesis heralded the age of gunboat diplomacy.
Joice NanKivell Loch
Today’s presenter introduced us to Joice NanKivell Loch (1887–1982), an extraordinary Australian humanitarian, author, and journalist who became the most decorated woman in Australia’s history. Born in Queensland, she left Australia during World War I and spent decades providing lifesaving relief and education to war refugees in Poland and Greece alongside her husband, Sydney. Settling in a Byzantine tower in Ouranoupolis, she famously revitalized the local economy by teaching refugees traditional rug-weaving. The presenter details her tireless devotion to displaced people through two World Wars, which earned her prestigious honours from Greece, Poland, and Britain.
If you’re interested in joining our Roundtable Discussion Club and hearing and delivering presentations like these, please contact the House at 9808-6292 or register online!