What do you think of mensa (high iq society)?

23 Comments

I discovered recently that according to the Stanford Binet Intelligence test (SD 16), my IQ is above that of 99.5 percent of the population, and I am therefore invited to join Mensa UK. I've heard good and bad things about Mensa, and was wondering wether the entry and yearly membership renewal fees (respectively 55 and 35 pounds) would be worth the bragging rights that joining it would entrail.

Summing up what you think of it in one scentence, you would say that Mensa is…

a way for great minds to come into contact with eachother. 11
a scam which makes money by flattering people. 7
a mutual masturbation group for nerds who were bullied at school. 16
a place where boring old farts play scrabble and chess. 3
a CIA hunting ground where new cryptologists are recruited from. 3
a super-cool genius club that I would give anything to join. 3
something that looks good on a CV / University application form. 9
a group for stupid people who use a three digit number to feel smart. 5
a loony-bin in disguise that keeps psycopaths out of trouble. 0
something not mentioned here. 2
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Comments ( 23 )
  • Acerbic
    10 years ago | pl

    I joined MENSA a good while back and while I like it, I was pretty underwhelmed from all the fuss there was about it beforehand. I think whether or not it's right for you is dependent upon a few things, like what you plan to do with your membership.

    In some larger cities, there are activities MENSA puts on for members to get together and do things. I, unfortunately, couldn't do it because of where I live, but it sounds great.
    Like you said, it does look good on a resume so if you're planning on trying to get into a school or job, there's that.

    However, a word of caution about "bragging rights"- I've found that a lot of people tend to react negatively when they're told of someone's "superior" intelligence as it can unintentionally make them feel threatened or demeaned.

    You could also do a little research on their website if you haven't already to find out what they offer in your area.

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    • RoseIsabella
      10 years ago

      My God that was genius! Sorry, I couldn't resist... but your comments really were quite brilliant regarding the question.

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    • Mister_Nobody
      10 years ago

      "Bragging rights" was probably a bad choice of words. I was referring to situations where some proof of intellectual capability is needed, not waving my MENSA membership card in the air and telling everyone how clever I am. Speaking for myself though, I'd find it more amusing than insulting if someone did do this.
      I have heard funnily enough that the most prestigious universities sometimes dissaprove of organisations such as MENSA, since candidates who are members tend to be too self-satisfied and resistant to criticism for sucess in difficult courses. I'll be applying to Cambridge in a couple of years, so perhaps membership wouldn't benefit me in that area.
      I have checked out their website, and some of the activities look interesting, but being honest with myself I'd probably never end up attending them.
      My main reason for joining would be the much needed boost to my self-esteem.
      Thanks for sharing your experience.

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  • dom180
    10 years ago

    I wouldn't want to. I know it's entirely my own bias, based on no evidence of any kind, but I feel like MENSA is for people who don't want to let their intelligence speak for itself. Perhaps they are insecure about their intelligence, and feel like a membership card (something which holds no objective value of any kind) can prove their worth. I hope that doesn't sound too judgmental, and I'm sure my attitude towards MENSA says a lot more about me than it does about them, but that's how I instinctively feel.

    Perhaps MENSA is for some people, but it isn't for me. IQ tests aren't for me either. Even though I'm occasionally tempted to take one, I know they mean nothing and no good can come of them.

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    • Mister_Nobody
      10 years ago

      I know that IQ tests are only useful for mesuring very specific areas of intelligence, but they aren't as ludicrous as some people think. Salary, life expetancy and number of children all strongly correlate with the results of these tests.
      You will notice though that I only said that my IQ is above that of 99.5 percent of the population, and not that I'm a really smart guy. It's just a number really. Take it however you want.

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      • dom180
        10 years ago

        I'm not sure that correlation with life expectancy, salary and number of children is good evidence to validate the efficacy of a measure. A lot of people think living a long life is prolonging your suffering, that providing children is detrimental to the life of the planet, and that salary-chasing is both dishonourable and prevents you from achieving the higher goal of contributing to society. IQ might correlate with those traits, but that doesn't mean those traits are indicative of intelligence or success.

        IQ tests are typically designed by financially successful, Western academics. These sort of tests almost always include a self-selecting bias; that is, biases in the nature of the questions (stemming from the researcher's view of what "intelligence" means and how it should be measured) which lead to selection of people who are alike the designer of the measure, rather than those who are truly intelligent. In this case... self-selecting bias results in a semi-representative proxy, meaning it will probably select more intelligent people than a random sample but will still get a lot wrong.

        Anyway, I think MENSA is pretty clearly an ego-boosting organisation rather than something that serves any purpose, and since I hate people who brag about their intelligence as if it's something they can control I don't have much time for it.

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  • [Old Memory]
    10 years ago

    Where can you take the test? I've had several iq test's and they're very inconsistent. I've gotten up to 170 on internet ones though.

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    • Mister_Nobody
      10 years ago

      There is at least one test like the one I took (with a standard deviation of 16) online, but if you want the full 'IQ test experience', it usually means going to a psychologist or attending one held by MENSA. If you poke around a bit on the MENSA website, you should be able to find a centre near you. This will cost you around twenty pounds. Being smart isn't a cheap business nowadays…

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      • [Old Memory]
        10 years ago

        20 pounds? That's about 20 dollars. I've had my insurance pay thousands for a single psych evaluations so that's nothing.

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        • Mister_Nobody
          10 years ago

          20 pounds still seems a bit much considering that all the psychologist has to do is count up your score and type it into a calculator. There's no one on one therapy or interaction involved to justify the cost.

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          • [Old Memory]
            10 years ago

            That is very cheap compared to any other type of psychological service. Most tests cost hundreds.

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  • GinnyWeasley
    10 years ago

    The little boy from modern family joined MENSA in real life

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    • Mister_Nobody
      10 years ago

      Yes, I'm sure I've heard that somewhere.

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  • [Old Memory]
    10 years ago

    I took that same IQ test and missed out on Mensa by 5 points, in all honesty I wish I had passed it but that's probably more because of the ego boost being in Mensa would give, which would probably be fleeting.

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    • Mister_Nobody
      10 years ago

      That's still a pretty hefty score. These tests are never really accurate because of the many variables that are impossible to take into account. Being slightly tired or thirsty can put a huge dent in your cognitive performance.
      If I ever joined it would be for the sake of raising my self-esteem and giving myself some concrete evidence of my worth.

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      • [Old Memory]
        10 years ago

        All you would need for that is a mirror

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        • penisdump
          10 years ago

          he might be deformed, stop making people cry

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          • [Old Memory]
            10 years ago

            Penisdump

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            • penisdump
              10 years ago

              thats better.

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  • [Old Memory]
    10 years ago

    its nice to have the choice , Your list made it hard to decide (they all sound probable) but i say maybe a cool club

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    • Mister_Nobody
      10 years ago

      I guess I really should have put an "all of above" option, but one never thinks of these things at the spare of the moment.

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      • [Old Memory]
        10 years ago

        your choices are cool

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  • Teh4HorsMen
    10 years ago

    sounds BORING AS FUCK.

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