science

The Men's Table

The Men's Table is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Men's Table rather than just read about it. In short: The Men's Table is an Australian non-profit community organisation that provides opportunities for men to meet and talk about issues in their personal lives, and listen to others, "in a confidential and non-judgemental environment". It is structured around groups of 8-12 men (known as "tables"), who meet once a month for a meal.

Key takeaways

The Men's Table belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Men's Table to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Men's Table from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Men's Table is an Australian non-profit community organisation that provides opportunities for men to meet and talk about issues in their personal lives, and listen to others, "in a confidential and non-judgemental environment". It is structured around groups of 8-12 men (known as "tables"), who meet once a month for a meal. The tables are largely self-organising, with support from the organisation. As of May 2024 there were 200 tables with 2,000 men across Australia, in all states and territories, with the first Northern Territory table having been formed in October 2023. New tables are formed when there is sufficient interest in a local area. The table members range in age from 20 to 93, with most being 45–65. Most tables meet in private rooms at pubs or restaurants, however in September 2023 the first alcohol-free table was formed. The cost of the meals is paid by those attending. The organisation itself is a registered charity, and is funded by grants from government and philanthropic groups. As of December 2021, it employed the equivalent of 4.6 full time staff, with plans to expand.

History The first table was established in Surry Hills, Sydney in June 2011 by Ben Hughes as a peer support group discussing personal issues, after he revealed at a business networking group that he was having problems due to work stress and a divorce. A group of men met once a month for dinner, to discuss "what’s really going on for them". That original table's membership fluctuated, before stabilising with a core group of 12 men; the group has met each month since then. They created a set of guidelines based on what had worked for their group, including how they resolved disagreements within the group, and in 2019 Hughes and another member of the original table, David Pointon, formed a non-profit organisation to set up other tables with the same principles. By the end of 2019, there were 15 tables, comprising 148 members, most in New South Wales, with one table each in Western Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. By March 2023 there were 100 tables, and the 200th table was formed in June 2024. In September 2023 the first alcohol-free table was formed, in Western Australia. Hughes left the organisation in April 2024.

Fundamental principles The Men's Table operates on several fundamental principles. These were originally created by the members of the first table, so that other tables could learn from their experiences. The structure and details have evolved over time, but common elements include:

Limited table size (12) with static membership Sharing personal feelings and experiences, with table members listening without judging or (unless specifically invited to) offering advice An ongoing commitment to meet in-person regularly Equality and independence of tables and members

See also Australian Men's Shed Association

Notes

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Men's Table

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Men's Table claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Men's Table before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Men's Table ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Men's Table

In research: The Men's Table appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Men's Table in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Men's Table is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2011 establishments in Australia, 2019 establishments in Australia, Health charities in Australia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Men's Table outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Men's Table in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Men's Table means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Men's Table out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Men's Table in simple terms?

Why does The Men's Table matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Men's Table?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Men's Table.