Mensa - organization for intelligent people

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It's german for university cafeteria, as well.

I don't even want to say what menses means in english!

So, if you're in the top 2%, you're menstrual!

[/childish menstrual jokes]

I'm going to take their test as soon as i reach the required age of 18. I don't know about other countries, but Mensa Sweden lets us do a progressive matrices test for ~30 euros. I don't think that's a lot of money for an IQ test. Of course, there are more comprehensive tests than progressive matrices, but such tests can also be much more expensive.

On online matrices tests i've scored around 120. On the other hand, i've scored a fair bit higher on a verbal tests. So i don't know if could reach their 98th percentile or not. Probably not.

Speaking about Mensa in general, it doesn't interest me. Why should i join a community of intelligent people? The only thing they have in common is their high IQ. An IQ score doesn't say much about a person. I'd choose Wrongplanet over Mensa every day.

But no, it's not very expensive to be a member. 300 SEK a year here, a bit more than 30 euros.

The IQ test is PROBABLY mensa's test, which is probably not recognized elsewhere. As for expense? *I* agree with you! I once heard of a book everyone called the BEST in its class, advised getting, but said was VERY expensive! I BOUGHT it! HARD COVER! NEW!! !! It cost about $20! So I guess expense is in the eye of the beholder. BTW to put this into perspective, I once saw another book that was best in its class that cost many HUNDREDS of dollars. The DSM can cost about $100 hardcover.

What, no Wo-mensa? topic

To me, intelligence is not just a score for a bunch of questions that measure spatial, patterns, math, and logical reasoning. I have certain information processing deficits and so this will drag my IQ down, according to professionals. This also slows my reaction time in understanding questions and figuring out what is required.

Because of these deficits, I have had difficulty in learning and understanding. I use various problem solving techniques I have discovered and refined over the years to help me succeed. I may never be superfast both mentally and physically but I am still able to function. To me, this is what constitutes intelligence--using the cards you are dealt with to stay in the game!

I talked to gifted teenagers and young adults who are members of Mensa. Mensa German though.

What they said sounded very positive and normal. They'd meet up with other people in a pub, chat some. Form contacts, talk about common interest, that kind of stuff.

Generally, nobody would talk about IQ and intelligence. But Germans are generally knit up about IQ. So, maybe, it's just the Germans being German with this. Americans are probably different. There is more recognition and acceptance of the IQ in the US after all, really.

I doubt I could get into Mensa doing a Mensa test. I sincerely doubt I'd score 130+ on an all-verbal test.


There are supposed to be a fair share of aspies in Mensa, you guys are aware of that right? Some get into Mensa only to get to know other aspies.

If you're really interested in joining Mensa, the only requirement (aside from dues, of course) is that you score in the top two percent on any standardized IQ test. If you don't already have such a score, you can take a proctored test - when I took it, back in the late '70s, they used the Weschler and CTMM tests in the proctored session. If you do have such a score, they just need the documentation. And no, no one will ever require you to take a test again to re-prove your bona fides (it's a running gag in the community, with a slight tinge of fear - quite a few members agree that the test means nothing, and fear that if they ever had to take it again, they'd fail miserably).

Remember the tale of M. Binet, inventor of the first IQ test, who, when asked what intelligence was, allegedly replied, "It is what my test measures."

I admit I'd like to join. Mostly because of people my age being members there and all. However, the Wechsler for kids that I did wasn't fit for my age any more (I was between a year and two too old) and thus doesn't really count.

I know I can easily score in the 140+ in a non-verbal/performance test to even out a low verbal score. But where I live, they only do all-verbal tests at Mensa.

I've met many egomaniacs who are not that smart or in mensa. This is certainly not a requirement. As a matter of fact, the biggest snoots are sometimes compensating for a lack of something and a fear of being discovered.

Smarter people are not exactly snooty but rather self-absorbed in their particular field and if you don't want to examine the particulars what good are you--oh, and they are usually quite blunt (I find it refreshing).

I'm not mensa, but I'll surely take a smart person over a dimwit any day. They are, actually, more tolerant and inclusive.

There's nothing more dangerous than a half-wit with a phd, or a pseudo-intellectual--They are empowered in all the wrong ways and just don't get it!

There are a LOT of stereotypes of Germans. Some are as you described, some are more funloving/carefree, and others aren't so great. I guess the same is true of the US. Frankly, I used to be the EPITOME of the first german stereotype.(Clean, Honest, Punctual, Precise)

I don't think anyone here is really saying anything against mensa or IQ. I have known people in Mensa that say what we are saying, and an earlier thread here said the same.



YEP! Some LEFT because people seemed to set on a number, etc... The idea of the number is to QUANTIFY intelligence, not to be the end goal. It is almost like the "ESTIMATED" value of a portfolio of stock. People look at a price $400, figure they have 1000 shares, and figure they have $400,000 worth of stock! WRONG! The stocks value could change in an instance, and what is the likelyhood that someone wants 1000 shares of that stock? At the end, it is the currency you want. It is the same with an IQ. Besides, you may not know a fact you NEED, and end up asking a person that, while they aren't that bright, know that one fact.

That isn't to say ANYTHING against IQ. That $400,000 is as good an estimate as you could get and, outside of collusion, fraud, or market turmoil, probably IS a good estimate. Likewise, IQ is about the only game in town. Still, like that $400,000, it is ONLY an estimation.

When I think of mensa, 2 people come to mind, that I knew personally. One was a nice woman that seemed smart, and just happened to mention she was in mensa. She was unassuming, and seemed a bit disappointed at the behavior of some mensans.

Another never said, to the best of my knowledge, that she was a member of mensa, but she kept mensa magazines all over, spoke of how she was the ONLY one that could "teach" the class, regarded the "teachers" of other classes(totally unrelated subjects) as jealous idiots that were upset with her because she was "teaching" their subjects. She said that in almost as many words! All those subjects were interests of mine, and she got EVERYTHING wrong, and even misnamed 2 products!

Granted, it is possible neither was in mensa, but a lot of people claim those two extremes ARE represented in mensa.

Now there's a common misconception - IQ, in fact, has nothing to do with what you know. Unfortunately, some people, on finding they have such IQs, assume that excuses the worst arrogance they can demonstrate. ("Of course I'm better than you! My number is higher!") In certain areas, one can easily find "normal" people with deep knowledge of the topic. (The mechanic at my local garage is no Hawking, but if he sniffs the dipstick and says it's time to change the transmission fluid, change the transmission fluid. One of his customers didn't - I was there when the car was towed in, transmission dead.)

Should you actually join, you'd find that most members find that discussing one's score is much akin to two guys comparing - well - a certain other number that isn't really relevant, but the one whose number is larger always seems to feel that makes him superior. For most, it's not a game of who's got the heavier-hung brain - it's just the fun of hanging out with people who won't look at you like you're a Martian if, for instance, you mention the name Schopenhauer. (They might argue, if they're familiar with modern philosophy, but they won't try to make you feel weird for just knowing something.)

I am good at the things which are scored in an IQ test - logic, puzzles, maths etc, but not so good at general knowledge (despite all the reading I do, it just doesnt stay in the brain) and very bad at discussing what I know as I never have enough self-confidence to believe myself and trust in my memory. I know a lot of people who seem to me to be intellectual - they can discuss many classical subjects - science, philosophy, literature etc, yet when I get to know them I realise that in terms of logic, maths, puzzles etc, they are probably below me. I would love to be this type of intellectual person - they come across as intelligent and interesting, yet according to an IQ test I am more intelligent than them. I am not sure I would have anything to say if I were a member of Mensa - they would be discussing what they know and I would be lost in the discussion, with nothing to add, and verbal reflexes too slow, but aching to be able to join in. This type of inability makes me feel stupid compared to these people who can discuss anything.

Hopefully I didn't give the impression I felt it dealt only with what you know. Knowing some things DOES help though. If you are SMART enough, and sensitive enough, you might be able to tell a lot from the smell of oil based on logic and imagination, but your mechanic probably doesn't care about that, and simply knows the smell based on memory. And your description of the mensa members is the intent. It seems it often doesn't work that way, but I am glad if you found differently.

And it is odd about the brain. Some go through life seeming the opposite of what their brainsize may imply. Maybe it is like Muscles. A person can have BIG muscles, and not really be strong, and vice/versa. Or batteries.... Hook them up in serial, and they can provide a lot of voltage for a relatively short time. Hook them up in parallel, and they will last longer, but have less voltage. Size may mean a lot, but not what you expect.

Intertel is a smaller organization but, IMO, a better one:

http://www.intertel-iq.org/

Mensa is top 2%. Intertel is top 1%.

You're certainly right about that. There are a LOT of things to learn, and nobody knows everything, so it is funny if someone looks at you dumbstruck if you don't know an odd bit of trivia.

HECK, two people in my industry are known for "inventing" certain concepts, and I may get to "learn" the specifics of their CLAIMS at some point. The FACT is *I* had more to do with inventing them than THEY did, because I was using those concepts EARLIER! And I don't claim to have invented them, because they are OLD concepts, and just common sense. Yet I would be ridiculed for no knowing all the particular details of their claims. Sometimes, it is ASTOUNDING what some will believe. Still, the very people, that might ridicule me, recognize me as an EXPERT!

Still, the knowledge of the specifics of their claims is of no consequence. I have done things "their" way for DECADES, even though that is like a decade before they hit the scene.

Still, I could spend decades just trying to learn everything in my one current specialty.

damn aspies, social butterflies!