MENSA

[JoJo]

To be fair only a small minority of people here actually mention their IQ score, most don't say anything at-all, maybe those who get a higher score are more likely to mention it in public? Of course some might be lying too, but I've had experience online (particularly with Asperger's syndrome) where people have dismissed my claims because apparently it's something that people claim for attention or to be "cool" and it's pretty hurtful when I know I'm telling the truth, so I tend to take people's word for what they say unless it's ridiculously outlandish.

You just can't take people's word for it, I know I stopped a lot time ago, particularly in relation to IQ and mental conditions. I'm sorry that people don't take you seriously if you genuinely do have it but every second person on here claims to be autistic/sociopathic/ADHD/ADD/super genius/asexual or all of the above. These are two examples of IQ threads on these forums. The average IQ, even from the first page, is about 140. Seriously? They could at least make up something believable.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.226706-What-is-your-IQ?page=1
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.274072-whats-your-IQ-score?page=1

Don't forget that if there's a thread on XXX condition, then people with XXX condition will be far more likely to enter than people with no stake in the topic, which must go some way to explaining why lots of Asperger's or asexuals will arrive in their respective threads. At the end of day, you don't lose anything from taking people's word for what they say online, it's never going to actually affect you, and that way you don't end up dismissing genuine claims like mine. Personally I wish for once that I could partake in an Asperger's/Autism thread where I was actually discussing my frankly quite interesting stories and experiences of the condition, rather than having to defend myself from the inevitable sceptics with a chip of their shoulder. If you want to have your doubts then sure, go ahead, just please don't bring it up in every thread on the topic, it gets tiring after a while.

In the case of those IQ threads however, I'm with you in that I don't believe all those scores, though I don't think it's down to lying. I suspect that taking phoney free online tests is the reason for many of the inflated scores, those are notoriously unreliable. When a few years back I took one with a friend, I thought a number of the questions of the "IQ test" were knowledge rather than logic and I was very suspicious that my friend managed to get a score of 118 when I've known him for almost a decade and he's a thoroughly average person brains-wise.

 

[LauriJ]

So, what are you going to do in Mensa?

 

[DevilWithaHalo]

You just can't take people's word for it, I know I stopped a lot time ago, particularly in relation to IQ and mental conditions. I'm sorry that people don't take you seriously if you genuinely do have it but every second person on here claims to be autistic/sociopathic/ADHD/ADD/super genius/asexual or all of the above.

To be fair on a few of them... ADD/ADHD has been highly overly diagnosed in the grand scheme of things. Pretty much anyone who gets bored of a lecture and can't focus when they have other problems plaguing them get's diagnosed with it. The same way that some people get diagnosed with depression when they're stuck in a vicious cycle of an unfulfilling life.

The super genius thing is understandable; who doesn't want to be one? But the sociopath/psychopath one; who the hell wants to be one? What's wrong with you people?!

 

[LetalisK]

MENSA: An organization for people who are good at taking tests.

That's all it means.

 

[Hateren47]

I was tested (for free mind you), by a Mensa psychometric psychologist, 11 years ago and scored 131-137 g and is, or were, in the top 3% intelligence vise in Denmark. A little annoying at the time not being able to join the intelligentsia but hey, who cares. I can still go on their open forums and talk to clever people if I want/need to.

Mensa is not that special anyway, 1 in 50 people, or the 98th percentile, can join. Mega Society on the other hand is for the the 99.9999th percentile.

So, what are you going to do in Mensa?

I assume Mensans (or whatever) use their society to discuss things without having to "dumb themselves down" for the average intelligence (80 to 120-ish g) folks they are usually around. It sounds more elitist than it is because it's about intelligence but I see it more as a space of their own and no more elitist than a Mr. Universe-, beauty-, or hot-dog eating contest.

MENSA: An organization for people who are good at taking IQ-tests.

That's all it means.

Fixed.

 

[Woodsey]

I can think of more interesting clubs to be a member of than the "I'm good at IQ tests" one. Namely, strip clubs.

 

[I.N.producer]

I have one friend who was qualified to join MENSA, and he told me he didn't because he thought it's ultimately pointless. You pay for a membership to a smart people club, and that's it.

It's like being a certified origami expert who only works with wet tissue paper. It sounds impressive, but you're really throwing away that certification money for a label.

 

[Colour Scientist]

The super genius thing is understandable; who doesn't want to be one? But the sociopath/psychopath one; who the hell wants to be one? What's wrong with you people?!

Lacking empathy and not being able to process emotions properly is edgy now.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Don't forget that if there's a thread on XXX condition, then people with XXX condition will be far more likely to enter than people with no stake in the topic, which must go some way to explaining why lots of Asperger's or asexuals will arrive in their respective threads. At the end of day, you don't lose anything from taking people's word for what they say online, it's never going to actually affect you, and that way you don't end up dismissing genuine claims like mine. Personally I wish for once that I could partake in an Asperger's/Autism thread where I was actually discussing my frankly quite interesting stories and experiences of the condition, rather than having to defend myself from the inevitable sceptics with a chip of their shoulder. If you want to have your doubts then sure, go ahead, just please don't bring it up in every thread on the topic, it gets tiring after a while.

It's still highly, highly unlikely that that many people are autistic/asexual here. Especially seeing that a lot of teenagers love self-diagnosing themselves with conditions that make them stand out. I'm sure a lot of them have autistic spectrum traits but I doubt that everyone here who claims to be autistic, genuinely is. Not even a small percentage.

Would I like to have an interesting conversation with someone who genuinely does have a mild form of autism, sure, but it's kind of like the boy who cried wolf. So many people claim to have it that it just becomes irritating. It's shit that people don't believe you but when so many people here use it as an excuse for something they say or do, others can't help but be skeptical.

 

[Eri]

It's still highly, highly unlikely that that many people are autistic/asexual here. Especially seeing that a lot of teenagers love self-diagnosing themselves with conditions that make them stand out. I'm sure a lot of them have autistic spectrum traits but I doubt that everyone here who claims to be autistic, genuinely is. Not even a small percentage.

Would I like to have an interesting conversation with someone who genuinely does have a mild form of autism, sure, but it's kind of like the boy who cried wolf. So many people claim to have it that it just becomes irritating. It's shit that people don't believe you but when so many people here use it as an excuse for something they say or do, others can't help but be skeptical.

I have to kinda agree. Even taking into account they'd be more likely to go into threads, it's almost obscene how many people claim to be a different kind of sexual or autistic or "brilliant".

 

[geK0]

What are the requirements for MENSA anyway? I had an IQ test a few years ago and scored 126 (After a major head injury however), is that MENSA worthy? : \

What does MENSA do, and why should I join it? I've Googled it, but I am not finding anything specific.....

edit: apparently you must by in the 98th percentile to join Mensa, I'm only in the 90th(according to the test I had several years ago).

MENSA seems a little pointless anyway...

 

[Silas13013]

I stopped taking MENSA seriously after one of my mates got in. This man was the stupidest asshole in the galaxy. He has accidentally lit himself on fire, swallowed dry ice (three times), got high off of smelling scented markers, glued a BB rifle to his hand, ate an entire paper mache globe (supporting balloon and all), arrested for public nudity, set off a small bomb in his hand because he forgot to throw it, drank an entire bottle of mint extract(much puking ensued), did the cinnamon challenge three times in a row to make sure his failure wasn't a fluke, used a staple gun to put staples in his arm, pierced his tongue with a nail and ate a light bulb. He very nearly failed out of school multiple times as well.

Anyway, one day a group of us decided to take the test for shits and giggles. The numbers were pretty standard, the "smartest" of us almost got in with a score of 130, but then we got the "dumb" ones score back. 142. We had taken bets before hand on who would get in. His bet was that he would be the only one. He made enough to buy several dozen packs of scented markers on the way home.

 

[The Abhorrent]

My guess is that people would be hostile towards MENSA members due to the implied arrogance it implies. Quite simply, people don't like to feel inferior and/or stupid compared to another person; saying you're a member of MENSA just gets the ball rolling, and it's difficult to get people to stop dwelling on the fact. The effect could be described as wounding their pride, in which case they'll do all they can to regain it; unsurprisingly, this manifests as hostility to whomever made them feel inferior in the first place (even if they did so unintentionally). This isn't exclusive to MENSA, but the correlation is already there in the minds of the general public.

That being said... what exactly is the point of joining MENSA?

No offense intended, but I don't really see the point of a high-IQ society; well, beyond inflating your own ego. If you're looking for a mental challenge, there are plenty of routes one could take; some are academic pursuits (obtaining post-graduate degress), others are very prestigious careers. For example, I'm trying to get going in structural engineering (getting my bachelor's degree after my exams are complete); and doing so will involve plenty of challenges over the next few years (including a master's degree, which is more of an expectation than official requirement). Compared to that, MENSA seems somewhat... irrelevant. At most, it seems to be smug & meaningless pride; there are plenty of other venues if you want to challenge yourself or learn new things, and they don't require you to be apart of a high-IQ society to join them. You just go out and start learning them; starting with an academic institution or even the local library is a good place to start.

Perhaps there is a reason why there's outward hostility towards members of MENSA, if their pride indeed rings hollow. Perhaps they could have some actual accomplishments and qualifications to go along with it, but at that point membership to MENSA would seem superflous or incidental. In both cases, it just seems meaningless; assuming I'm not missing or overlooking something.

---

And for a good giggle, here's a classic comedy sketch concerning "MENS"A:
Mike from Canmore applies to MENSA[/youtube]

 

[Ickorus]

MENSA seems like a bit of a circlejerk to me and I legitimately question the intelligence of people who would pay good money to join it, surely you could easily find other intellectuals in the local area simply by posting an ad online.

But what do I know, my mind is not advanced enough to grasp such complexities.

 

[Trivun]

I joined age six, it was big news at the time since I was the youngest member to join the UK Mensa then. Ended up in the paper and everything, we actually have the clippings hidden away somewhere along with my membership certificate framed and on the wall. Since then we've had people as young as three getting in, so I don't really care that much anyway. All I get for it is a magazine each month that's like a socil thing crossed with New Scientific (which is actually pretty interesting), and bragging rights that I hardly ever use. And it looks great on my CV too.

That being said, despite having a high IQ (135 when I was six, Ihaven't tested it anytime in the past few years though), it hasn't been a massive boon. Sure, I'm smart, but although my GCSEs were amazing I had average A-Level results (even though I did do five, and most people only do three or four), and I failed university (having to do resits now to get my degree), so there are loads of people out there who have done much better than me that probably have average IQs, or slightly above average, and have never even bothered with Mensa. My point being that IQ isn't everything, and being in Mensa doesn't make you any better than other people, it's simply a fairly impressive yet ultimately meaningless title, and nothing more.

 

[dyre]

Unless MENSA comes with a good networking program, I don't see why people would pay to join a group that accepts you solely for your IQ, not your achievements (indeed, they accept people who are way to young to have achievements). It just seems...juvenile. Like the threads that sometimes pop up where people can post their excellent IQs. I can just imagine the MENSA meetings...

Member 1: "Hey, so what do you do for a living?"
Member 2: "I'm a management consultant, how about you?"
1: "I pump gas at a BP station"
2: "Huh, what?"
1: "Turns out IQ isn't everything..."
Member 3: *shakes rattle and cries because his mom forgot to bring a milk bottle*

Also, if the cutoff is 130, shouldn't MENSA have millions upon millions of members? And probably earn more subscription revenue than most charities get donations? I hope they're doing something useful with that money.

 

[geK0]

-

I've fallen for your avatar three times now!!! I keep attempting to squish that little bug, only to leave thumb prints on my screen!!

obviously I am not MENSA material!

 

[Iron Criterion]

Also, if the cutoff is 130, shouldn't MENSA have millions upon millions of members? And probably earn more subscription revenue than most charities get donations? I hope they're doing something useful with that money.

A high percentage of that number would come from this forum alone. /sarcasm.

 

[Eri]

Unless MENSA comes with a good networking program, I don't see why people would pay to join a group that accepts you solely for your IQ, not your achievements (indeed, they accept people who are way to young to have achievements). It just seems...juvenile. Like the threads that sometimes pop up where people can post their excellent IQs. I can just imagine the MENSA meetings...

Member 1: "Hey, so what do you do for a living?"
Member 2: "I'm a management consultant, how about you?"
1: "I pump gas at a BP station"
2: "Huh, what?"
1: "Turns out IQ isn't everything..."
Member 3: *shakes rattle and cries because his mom forgot to bring a milk bottle*

Also, if the cutoff is 130, shouldn't MENSA have millions upon millions of members? And probably earn more subscription revenue than most charities get donations? I hope they're doing something useful with that money.

Most tests 132 is the minimum to get in. I'm not sure if you meant to actually say cutoff. Also, no, there's only about 110,000 members, nowhere close to millions.

 

[dyre]

Unless MENSA comes with a good networking program, I don't see why people would pay to join a group that accepts you solely for your IQ, not your achievements (indeed, they accept people who are way to young to have achievements). It just seems...juvenile. Like the threads that sometimes pop up where people can post their excellent IQs. I can just imagine the MENSA meetings...

Member 1: "Hey, so what do you do for a living?"
Member 2: "I'm a management consultant, how about you?"
1: "I pump gas at a BP station"
2: "Huh, what?"
1: "Turns out IQ isn't everything..."
Member 3: *shakes rattle and cries because his mom forgot to bring a milk bottle*

Also, if the cutoff is 130, shouldn't MENSA have millions upon millions of members? And probably earn more subscription revenue than most charities get donations? I hope they're doing something useful with that money.

Most tests 132 is the minimum to get in. I'm not sure if you meant to actually say cutoff. Also, no, there's only about 110,000 members, nowhere close to millions.

I'm sure there's a spectacular difference between 130 and 132
Then again, I haven't taken an IQ test, so I wouldn't know.

Yeah, I figured they would only have around that many members (actually, I would've guessed around 50,000). I was just trying to highlight the amusing reality that having a MENSA-qualified IQ would make someone one of maybe 100 million people, most of which have not taken it upon themselves to join that organization.

OT: I wouldn't put it on your resume, since it's not really any more of an achievement than putting your IQ (which would look really stupid on a resume), but look up if you can use MENSA membership as a means to connect with other people who might offer you employment in the future (I mean, if they're the top 2% in terms of IQ, at least some of them should work for decent companies). If so, it might be worth it. If it's just an ego trip and an annual meeting, it's probably not worth it.