What does it mean to be a member of Mensa?
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No, being intelligent gives you a high IQ. :) Maybe IQ tests measure your potential to cope.
I'm not a programmer but I play one at the office
I have taken Mensa tests and I am quite satisfied they don't measure anything useful. And no, that is not sour grapes because I got a low score; according to Mensa my IQ is (was) 148. It still means nothing.
Unrequited desire is character building. OriginalGriff
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It means you passed a test to qualify for membership. This test supposedly tells you your IQ. I'm a member, for the record. I looked through the membership directory at one point long ago and saw that Piers Anthony[^] was also a member. Of course, the people that have posted insults probably consider him a loser too, despite his dozens of best selling novels. I'd be willing to bet there are many respectable geeks that are members. The best thing about membership is being able to talk to other intelligent people that don't feel important by insulting people on message boards.
It's interesting that even among those typically considered "nerds" like some of us programmers, that there is a subgroup who catches flak. You'd think we would, as a whole, understand that we don't like it and therefore not do it to ourselves. You can see it in other groups too, like wargamers making fun of D&D players, who in turn make fun of LARPers, etc.
Machaira wrote:
The best thing about membership is being able to talk to other intelligent people that don't feel important by insulting people on message boards.
Well really though, who's to say trolling forums isn't a form of escapist entertainment? I'm pretty sure a lot of otherwise intelligent people do that. I imagine getting back at the people who make fun of you IRL would be pretty satisfying. I know there are people on other sites not-to-be-mentioned that get away with it, either via anonymity or sock-puppeting. Not that I do or would do that, mind you. I get my anger-kicks by winning (or helping my team win) at online video games while the other team is busy typing insults and getting agitated all on their own. Nothing better than to play all game without responding to a single insult, and then win, and know that they're eating a big old slice of humble pie. Just an alternative viewpoint! I like to remind people: be nice to nerds, because you'll probably work for one! :)
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I have a colleague who is a member of this organization. However, I think the ID cards got mixed up because this person is actually retarded. So I ask of you members of the project that is code, what does it mean to be a member of Mensa? In case you haven't heard of it[^]
Just along for the ride. "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
Being a member means you convinced your country's Mensa Association that you have an IQ in the top 2% of the population. IQ tests do not measure intelligence, social skills, congeniality, culture, manners or any other aspect of personality that are actually useful to the person and society. They measure the capacity to perform on IQ tests... I am sure a lot of members of Mensa are actively engaged in their various programmes and charities. They are probably the salt of the earth and all that. The card-waving ones, I play poker with when I am low on beer money. They get an expensive but valuable lesson in Probabilities and Applied Psychology.
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I am a member of American Mensa. All it "means" to be a member is that I have a qualifying test score (national organizations have varying lists; here is the US list[^]) that places me in the 98th or 99th percentile. In general, Mensans have a kind of intellectual ADD: if you listen to a group of us talking, the conversation might well start out about cars, then move to the theory of interstellar space travel, to cosmology, to stellar physics, to nuclear power, to global warming and back to cars, all in about ten minutes time. It is a given that sex and food will be mentioned several times during that same ten minutes. This doesn't mean we're "retarded", just that our discussions are given more lead to wander where they will. A lot of people find such conversations difficult to follow; to be honest, we feel just as frustrated talking you. The result is that many high IQ people (Mensans and not) tend to be socially maladjusted: we don't get the kind of practice and positive feedback that you get for being social. That is why Mensa exists, to be a social organization that makes it easier for us to meet one another and engage people at our level.
Gregory.Gadow wrote:
In general, Mensans have a kind of intellectual ADD: if you listen to a group of us talking, the conversation might well start out about cars, then move to the theory of interstellar space travel, to cosmology, to stellar physics, to nuclear power, to global warming and back to cars, all in about ten minutes time. It is a given that sex and food will be mentioned several times during that same ten minutes. This doesn't mean we're "retarded", just that our discussions are given more lead to wander where they will.
I doubt pretty much all of the assumptions in there. Some of them that are wrong. 1. That intelligence has has anything to do with diversity of topics. 2. That frequency of topic change has anything to do with it. 3. That intelligent people do not focus on single subjects for long periods of time.
Gregory.Gadow wrote:
A lot of people find such conversations difficult to follow; to be honest, we feel just as frustrated talking you.
If person A is claiming to be more 'intelligent' than person B then person A is responsible for any problems that might arise from any communication. And even more so if person A is claiming to be significantly more 'intelligent'. If person A is incapable of doing that then they not more 'intelligent'.
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0bx wrote:
Having a high IQ doesn't mean you're smart. It just means you're good at some things most people are really bad at.
It it's that, really. Most people have either an in-depth knowledge of one or two fields (just football, or just gardening, or just computer coding), or they have a dabbling interest in many fields (they'll cook, knit, play World of Warcraft and strum a guitar, but only a little bit in all of these.) In my experience, Mensans tend to have a strong interest in and knowledge of many fields: they might be great cooks, have an excellent flower garden, be active in the local dodgeball league, read several books every week and sit on a couple of charity boards. It is not that we are good that things that most people are really bad at; its that we typically have more things that we are good at than is typical. Mind you, though, that doesn't mean we are good at everything, even though a lot of us like to pretend that we are. :rolleyes: We may have more fields of expertise, but outside of those we're just as ignorant as everyone else.
Gregory.Gadow wrote:
In my experience, Mensans tend to have a strong interest in and knowledge of many fields: they might be great cooks, have an excellent flower garden, be active in the local dodgeball league, read several books every week and sit on a couple of charity boards. It is not that we are good that things that most people are really bad at; its that we typically have more things that we are good at than is typical.
First I doubt it is "many". Second I doubt what 'good' means in context. There are probably hundreds of thousands of areas in which one might become interested. Being interested in 10 versus 4 is not significant in that context. Second there is the conclusion that what they are interested in makes them 'good' at it. I suspect there are very few people that maintain an 'interest' in anything to which they also feel that they are 'bad' at it. They either think they are at least average or better than average at it. Regardless of their actual abilitity. Given that exactly how many olympic gold medal winners with their own network cooking shows, national gardening prizes, book review columns and publicly recognized charity contributors do you really know? And how many are also holding down a full time job (besides the cooking show and review column), managing a long time relationship and raising children at the same time? Although perhaps succeeding at thoses is not considered 'intelligent'?
Gregory.Gadow wrote:
...even though a lot of us like to pretend that we are
I would suspect that a non-trivial number suffer from elitism as well.
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It means you passed a test to qualify for membership. This test supposedly tells you your IQ. I'm a member, for the record. I looked through the membership directory at one point long ago and saw that Piers Anthony[^] was also a member. Of course, the people that have posted insults probably consider him a loser too, despite his dozens of best selling novels. I'd be willing to bet there are many respectable geeks that are members. The best thing about membership is being able to talk to other intelligent people that don't feel important by insulting people on message boards.
Machaira wrote:
I'd be willing to bet there are many respectable geeks that are members
Which means nothing. There is no filter that differentiates between 'respectable' and non-respectable (but still intelligent in terms of the limited measurement of the test.)
Machaira wrote:
The best thing about membership is being able to talk to other intelligent people that don't feel important by insulting people on message boards.
Sorry? Exactly what part of the test precludes intelligent people that do that? Or are you claiming that 'intelligent' people don't ever insult anyone? Or perhaps they insult them but that they do not do it to make themselves feel self important? And does this mean that you never insulted anyone? (Given that you are a member.)
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I have a colleague who is a member of this organization. However, I think the ID cards got mixed up because this person is actually retarded. So I ask of you members of the project that is code, what does it mean to be a member of Mensa? In case you haven't heard of it[^]
Just along for the ride. "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
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I have a colleague who is a member of this organization. However, I think the ID cards got mixed up because this person is actually retarded. So I ask of you members of the project that is code, what does it mean to be a member of Mensa? In case you haven't heard of it[^]
Just along for the ride. "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
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It means you have convinced a bunch of charmless losers that you should hang out with them doing logic problems instead of getting a life! They really are a sad collection of introverted tossers, I have never met a mensa member who is more interesting than the table the group is named after.
------------------------------------ I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] Trolls[^]
Joke: How do you know if someone is a Mensa member? They tell you.
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Gregory.Gadow wrote:
In general, Mensans have a kind of intellectual ADD: if you listen to a group of us talking, the conversation might well start out about cars, then move to the theory of interstellar space travel, to cosmology, to stellar physics, to nuclear power, to global warming and back to cars, all in about ten minutes time. It is a given that sex and food will be mentioned several times during that same ten minutes. This doesn't mean we're "retarded", just that our discussions are given more lead to wander where they will.
I doubt pretty much all of the assumptions in there. Some of them that are wrong. 1. That intelligence has has anything to do with diversity of topics. 2. That frequency of topic change has anything to do with it. 3. That intelligent people do not focus on single subjects for long periods of time.
Gregory.Gadow wrote:
A lot of people find such conversations difficult to follow; to be honest, we feel just as frustrated talking you.
If person A is claiming to be more 'intelligent' than person B then person A is responsible for any problems that might arise from any communication. And even more so if person A is claiming to be significantly more 'intelligent'. If person A is incapable of doing that then they not more 'intelligent'.
Looking at this and other posts you've made to this thread, you seem to be a tad bitter. I can only speak of my own experiences, as some who have been a Mensan for several years. Your experience, of course, may vary.
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Being a member means you convinced your country's Mensa Association that you have an IQ in the top 2% of the population. IQ tests do not measure intelligence, social skills, congeniality, culture, manners or any other aspect of personality that are actually useful to the person and society. They measure the capacity to perform on IQ tests... I am sure a lot of members of Mensa are actively engaged in their various programmes and charities. They are probably the salt of the earth and all that. The card-waving ones, I play poker with when I am low on beer money. They get an expensive but valuable lesson in Probabilities and Applied Psychology.
FDemers wrote:
The card-waving ones, I play poker with when I am low on beer money. They get an expensive but valuable lesson in Probabilities and Applied Psychology.
On a related note, I believe Howard Lederer[^] is a Mensan.
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I have a colleague who is a member of this organization. However, I think the ID cards got mixed up because this person is actually retarded. So I ask of you members of the project that is code, what does it mean to be a member of Mensa? In case you haven't heard of it[^]
Just along for the ride. "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
This is an interesting question. I was a member of Mensa and the local coordinator for Northern Illinois for several years so my input is interesting but perhaps a bit dated. I haven't renewed my membership this year nor gone out to the local meetings. The bottom line answer is that it's really a social club. The people on the outside think it's full of geniuses who they expect to be snobbish and unintelligible. On the inside there's quite a mix of people. Years ago I was told by a local secretary for a major city (the guy running the groups for that city) that Mensa is really the top 20% not the top 2% in his opinion. And he was a member at the time for over 15 years. I think that he is correct. Most people get in with standardized test scores from high school or college (yes, I did too). I used to find the Mensa meetings that I ran very necessary. Here was a group of people that I could talk intelligently with. Our conversations would be very, very hyper-dimensional spanning a vast variety of topics all within a short time span. It was very nice to be able to talk "normally"! Regular folks would get all upset at not being able to follow or comprehend such talk and get upset saying to "stop using such big words" or "no one can know all that!". Well, I miss those meetings (and the good pizza...a universal food amongst Mensan). I've been out occassionally to other Mensa meetings in other states but none matched that great conversation so I've dropped out. So there you have a bit of the inside scoop. Intelligence is at a premium today as is intelligent conversation unfortunately. - Grant
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I have a colleague who is a member of this organization. However, I think the ID cards got mixed up because this person is actually retarded. So I ask of you members of the project that is code, what does it mean to be a member of Mensa? In case you haven't heard of it[^]
Just along for the ride. "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
I've been a member of Mensa for a while now, and let me tell you, I as well, have met some of the most retarded ppl in my life there. For many members, they believe that being a part of this club makes them smarter than most people. All it means is that (at one point in time) you are on a similar level of intelligence as the tossers who designed the entrance test.
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I have a colleague who is a member of this organization. However, I think the ID cards got mixed up because this person is actually retarded. So I ask of you members of the project that is code, what does it mean to be a member of Mensa? In case you haven't heard of it[^]
Just along for the ride. "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
I qualified for Mensa and got a copy of their magazine. After looking through it, it seemed to be no more than a fairly snobby clique who, like most somewhat exclusive groups, believe that they are smarter than the average person...ignoring the fact that 'smart' and 'can do well on a specific type of test' are completely different concepts. Ignored them ever since. Sean
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This is an interesting question. I was a member of Mensa and the local coordinator for Northern Illinois for several years so my input is interesting but perhaps a bit dated. I haven't renewed my membership this year nor gone out to the local meetings. The bottom line answer is that it's really a social club. The people on the outside think it's full of geniuses who they expect to be snobbish and unintelligible. On the inside there's quite a mix of people. Years ago I was told by a local secretary for a major city (the guy running the groups for that city) that Mensa is really the top 20% not the top 2% in his opinion. And he was a member at the time for over 15 years. I think that he is correct. Most people get in with standardized test scores from high school or college (yes, I did too). I used to find the Mensa meetings that I ran very necessary. Here was a group of people that I could talk intelligently with. Our conversations would be very, very hyper-dimensional spanning a vast variety of topics all within a short time span. It was very nice to be able to talk "normally"! Regular folks would get all upset at not being able to follow or comprehend such talk and get upset saying to "stop using such big words" or "no one can know all that!". Well, I miss those meetings (and the good pizza...a universal food amongst Mensan). I've been out occassionally to other Mensa meetings in other states but none matched that great conversation so I've dropped out. So there you have a bit of the inside scoop. Intelligence is at a premium today as is intelligent conversation unfortunately. - Grant
Sounds like more a matter of who you are talking to and good communication skills rather than a lack of 'intelligent' conversation.
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I may have poor sample, but it seems to me that it means your IQ is in the upper 1.95% - 2.0% of the population.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
Mensa members are in the top 2% of intelligence, based on any number of IQ tests. Not all math - a lot of word and association problems. Pass the test, pay your dues, and you're in. The meetings I found rather boring. Likely the area of the country. Not too much to attract and keep intelligence around these parts. They have a yearly gathering which may be fun. Never went to one, but the follow-up reports say they have a blast. So being Mensa means 1) you're certifiably "gifted", 2) you paid your annual (or lifetime) dues, 3) you're embarrassed to tell anyone, 4) you get a certificate and membership card, 5) you get a (cheaply made) magazine to impress the Postal Workers, 6) you get something to slide in your resume, and 7) when people call you a stupid moron you can show/tell them you are actually a genius (maybe still a moron, just not a stupid moron. :-O ) It does NOT mean you are good at anything other than thinking (or really good at multiple choice questions). I find that I am very good at too many things and loose interest in anything after a period of time. Intertel is one step above, at the upper 1% of IQ. Generally, you are more intelligent than 99 people standing around you. This, of course, would not include when being surrounded by all you clowns. From http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologicaltesting/f/genius-iq-score.htm[^] The average score on an IQ test is 100. Sixty-eight percent of IQ scores fall within one standard deviation of the mean. So that means that the majority of people have an IQ score between 85 and 115. 1 to 24 - Profound mental disability 25 to 39 - Severe mental disability 40 to 54 - Moderate mental disability 55 to 69 - Mild mental disability 70 to 84 - Borderline mental disability 85 to 114 - Average intelligence 115 to 129 - Above average; bright 130 to 144 - Moderately gifted 145 to 159 - Highly gifted 160 to 179 - Exceptionally gifted 180 and up - Profoundly gifted
Gary
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Not much, apparently, if you take into consideration the grammar and punctuation of the member who is representing the organization in this thread!
Intelligence and spelling and keyboarding ability are not related. Our problem is by the time we type something, we are already thinking about 3 other subjects. I find it common to have two disjoint thoughts in ... and then ignite the remaining fuel and in two hours you'll be at the moon. ;P
Gary
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What does it mean to be a member of Mensa? Not a lot really.
Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads
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I know way too many highly intelligent people who are under-achievers, and quite a few people with relatively average intelligence who've accomplished a lot. It's more about curiosity and desire. Einstein has been quoted as saying, "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."