h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We were invited to join Mensa based on SAT scores, lo these 24 years ago or more. I went to a (1) meeting. Perhaps it was a function of that particular NYC chapter - though we doubt it - but a more self-satisfied, self-important, ill-mannered, arrogant, socially deformed (that part was not their fault), and repulsive group of 30-some males and 2 females have only ever assembled, before or since, at Mensa meetings.

Everyone there was so pleased to be a Mensan, as though it were an end in itself. It is an end, by way of being around other people like oneself. Mensa is a peer-support-group for intelligent boys with social problems, where they do not have to make an effort to be sociable, and can use long words without worrying. It was almost as boring as the one Harvard Law School party I attended, which was less interesting than Bowling for Dollars, televised golf, and being on demerol after surgery. The only saving feature of that Mensa meeting was the comic mileage it provided me in later years. It was not the intelligence, or the lack of social skills that made those people ridiculous. It was the fact that they took themselves, and especially Mensa, seriously. They took it very seriously. Mensans tend to do that.

Ex was a card-carrying Mensan. It offended some people, that they felt the need to say so. It impressed some people. Those people made me laugh. The fact that ex needed to tell people is one of the reasons she's ex. I always found myself not saying, but wanting to say, 'They invited me. I told them they were too dull to live and dropped out. Why are you impressed that she took the test to get in?' But I didn't say it, because why embarrass her? She got very uptight if the subject came up, because I jeered. Well?

There was a test Omni magazine published about 20 years ago, called 'The World's Hardest IQ Test'. It was designed by the Four Sigma Society, who may or may not still exist, so-called because the minimum requirement (and only requirement) for entry was that a person test out at four standard-deviations above the norm. Of course, using the normal mean and median set to 100 IQ test, any such results would be invalid. A standard deviation is 16, and anyone who scores 164 on that test can be sure the results are somwhere between 130 and 210. Statistically, the value is nil. So Four Sigma designed a test which moved the median to 164.

It actually was somewhat challenging, and as magazine tests go, it was virtually impossible. It was untimed. They said, 'work on this as long as you need to, because if you can't do it, no amount of time will help'. That was probably true. For a lark, I actually sent the thing in to be scored after a week or so of fiddling with it, half-heartedly at best. They regretted to inform me that since I had left an entire section blank (because it was dull), my score was two questions shy of allowing me to join Four Sigma, but would I please fill out that section, which they enclosed.

Why would I want to join? It would be Mensa, only more smug, self-satisfied, and self-important. Mensa readmitted me after my GREs. They're persistent. I think it's the gender ratio thing. I couldn't be bothered to send them a 'go away' letter, so I got their self-applaudatory junk mail until I moved house.

Yes, it is refreshing to not have to worry about whether the people one is talking to can keep up. Yes it is nice for intellectually advantaged social retards to have a refuge. And also yes, there are as many intellectually advantage females as males. Excluding the 'boys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses' sociocultural block against girls and women admitting intelligence (which the truly intelligent think is too stupid to worry about), the whole Mensa *feel* was Monster Truck for Nerds. It was a guy place where guys got together to out-genius one another. This is a socially important and meaningful thing? Not to females, obviously.

Anti-Mensa and other such support-groups (because they do not admit they are support-groups, and end up being intellectual circle-jerks) for all time,

Sara Barnes, irritable person
for LeKZ

My experience with them isn't very much like yours, but, at the same time, I'm not sure what to make of them. There is quite a balance of men and women, as far as I've seen. 30-something? Huh. I wish. My good friend and coworker invited me along to a couple of functions. I was the youngest present. She was the next youngest. She's in her 40's.

I never would have become involved with them if I hadn't found their chat channel on the Undernet. I stayed and talked because they weren't utter morons... if you haven't been on IRC on the Undernet or elsewhere, don't. I got to know some of them fairly well as cyber-buddies, and even met some of them when I was invited to the Annual Gathering, which happened to be in my backyard that year, in Long Beach. I was never really interested in joining them, and didn't think I would make it if I tried. It wasn't until they told me that my SAT score many years ago already qualified me. And yet, here I am, several years later, and I still haven't joined.

The people I have met through Mensa can be placed in two categories: those that feel the need to impress, and those that don't. My take is that once you've made it to that level, you don't have anything left to prove. And I've found it to be something of a novelty to be able to have some of the conversations I've had with such a large group. There I was at a party, drunk off my ass, and having the sort of reasonable, intellectual conversation on the subject of religion that I set up the FFFF to have. An inner observer was laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

I've had a few extremely positive experiences with the Mensans. One was at a Regional Gathering, invited again by my friend (they allow guests who are good prospects, and my pre-qualifying score certainly grants me that status). I attended a lecture by a guy who does screenplays for television. I learned a lot from him, and the whole thing was entertaining and absurd.

The other is more significant, though. My friend and coworker became my friend through the Mensans chat channel. She became my coworker when she hired me. That opening came about at a time when I was getting so frustrated with trying to get civilians to recognize my far better military technical education that I was about to scrap it and pursue law enforcement... something I would definitely *not* have enjoyed.

And yes, I've seen the whole social retard aspect. There are some of those in there still. There are definitely the ones who feel like they have to out-intellect everyone else. The thing that really bothered me is that it seemed like everyone was trying to recreate the free-loving 60's. I don't really go for that sort of thing anyway, but seeing that behavior among people 40-60 made me very uncomfortable... after all, as a young and not-entirely-too-ugly man, I felt like a side of beef.

I looked to the group to find more people like me. If there were some younger members, I probably would. As it stands, I'm just not terribly interested.

I joined Mensa just to have an additional place to meet people. Thus far, it's been relatively successful in that regards. They have a group around here that's just us Gen-X'ers, so I can meet people my age. There's also an amusing women's group. Yeah, there are some arrogant jacka***s, but you find those just about everywhere. But I've definitely met some fun, nice, interesting people that I would never have met anywhere else. Which was my goal.

Mikey

It sounds as though Mensa has taken a distinct turn for the better since 1979. It certainly could not have taken much of a turn for the worse.

I know a woman who retains her membership because they have good group health insurance. Whatever works, I guess. I was so put off that I have not looked into it in 22 years. Maybe I shall, again.

Thanks Mikey, Colonel Sellers...

LOOK, Muffy, a PEER-group for UH-us!

Arpeggio, for LeKZ

Fittingly (or not, depending on your standard deviation from the median), "mensa" is an adjective used in Spanish to specify someone as an imbecile, or something as generally stupid. "Mensa" f. and "Menso" m.. This is somewhat similar to calling someone "tonto" or "tonta".

Needles to say, the version of the "Lone Ranger" TV series dubbed for Mexico substituted the name "Toro" (bull) for "Tonto"(stupid). The Lone Ranger's buddy was after all pretty smart looking after "El que no sabe" (He who does not know) - OK well that's a bit of a stretch... perhaps.

Hello:

I'm from Spain, and I am a member of MensaSpain.

Inside MensaSpain, we are in a small town, and make a small sub-grup inside MensaSpain (a so-called regional group).

Our group has lately started making "suppers" in restaurants, to meet each other, and I must say that out of 8 people, there are normally 2 or 3 females, none of them ugly. Also, the only nerd in the table uses to be, casually, me. All other people have more or less fullfilling lifes, and even organize events, play in concerts, win prizes in photography contests, etc.

Also, one day, I had a supper with university fellows, the day before a Mensa supper. In the Mensa supper, we talked and listened to photography, art, fails of educational systems...

I felt relieved I could use "long words". I understand the need to socialize, but I REALLY feel the need to have long discusions on "important" matters sometimes. Other times I have talked about politics, religion, etc with "people like me" (but out of Mensa), and other people listening us simply felt "out of place" and unable to join or even understand the discusion (it's what they said).

I've had once a simple conversation with other person "like me", and a third, normal, person. All fellows of the same University and classroom. The conversation started with friendly references to the possible bastardy of the interlocutor, and consisted mainly of mocking of each other.
During that conversation, we also talked about other minor things I don't even remember. I remember, however, making efforts as to not talk about too complicated matters, and as to not to talk too technically.
Later, the third person said in the classroom (in front of us), that he hadn't got a single clue about what we were talking about.
The other people, who also knew us well, agreed that, effectively, when that person and I talked, nobody would understand neither what was going on, nor what we were talking about, nor even why we had engaged in a discussion.
The person "like me" told me later that he had learnt to avoid certain themes, and that he felt relieved to talk to me, because it was "different".

Someone could listen this and think: "Hey, he must in love with him.". Well, this is not the case

This has happened to with many persons (sometimes, even some girls). Some engaged in furious discusions or relaxed wanderings in the land of philosofical definitions of "God", "right-left political positioning", "meaning of life depending on birth place, IQ, social-economical level" and so on.
Other avoided talking about this, at least in private. Other rejected me as if I was a leprechaun, and made visible efforts to socialize, mainly passing unadvertised, and relying only on certain people.
Other, finally, socialized, talked about rare things, and simply switched behaviours (I have learnt doing so lately).

Whenever I want to make "real talk" to someone, I attemp that no one "normal" is near.... because sometimes they feel really uncomfortable during the conversation and I mean no harm to them.

Of course, there are more nerds in Mensa than many other places.
Of course, socially-successfull high-IQ people normally find Mensa has nothing interesting to them.
But, we are not a bunch of nerds. Just strange people, talking to strange people. Just like football fans, joining their favourite sports club, starting long discussions about things uncomprehensible to people otuside the club, drinking beer and of course... boasting about their very important club.


Sorry for the long posting and have a good day.

PD: Oh, by the way, "the irritable person" who wrote the posting I am replying to should really look at her belly and wonder whether she is a bit too harsh on people. And she should really stop going to Mensa meetings, otherwise we'll think that she likes them.