Mensa

Trojan · 08-09-2003 7:08pm #1

Hey y'all!

This "Test the Nation" thread got me wondering about Mensa, and whether people would join if they qualified.

I'm interested to hear other peoples views on whether they'd join, and why, given the hypothetical situation that they have the required IQ (let's say just over the requirement[1])...

It seems a bit cliquey/old boys club or just plain dumb: I don't see any benefits that hiring an expensive escort for the evening couldn't beat. And as for the Mensa branded credit cards...

I reckon there's a lot of people out there who qualify but who have not signed up.

hehe

Thoughts?
Al.

1. I think it's around 145 or 148 but the only official statement I found in a (brief) google was "in the top 2% of the population".

PHB · 08-09-2003 7:16pm

You essentially do a test to see if you are smart enough, and if you are you pay them money to tell you that you are smart.

one-angry-dwarf · 08-09-2003 7:23pm

(see signature)

po0k · 08-09-2003 8:08pm

Originally posted by PHB
You essentially do a test to see if you are smart enough, and if you are you pay them money to tell you that you are smart.

Afaik you must also complete and return tests which they send to you each month/time interval and should you fail to complete/pass these tests/puzzles you're kicked out.

Afaik.

The cutest Mensan I know of is Geena Davis (Long Kiss Goodnight skating across the frozen pond firing a 9mm pistol at the car)

Trojan · 08-09-2003 8:09pm

And the sultriest must be Sharon.

Mercury_Tilt · 08-09-2003 8:27pm

This post has been deleted.

Amz · 08-09-2003 8:30pm

Was in MENSA when I was younger, got bored of it as the dream of popularity and respect from my peers which I had hoped to get by joining never materialised.

/me books self in for more counselling

Capt'n Midnight · 08-09-2003 8:39pm

"I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have me as a memeber"

DeVore · 08-09-2003 8:55pm

I could join as I (apparently) rank high enough but to be honest, who the hell would want to hang out with a bunch of insecure geeks!

/me looks around... oh...

Those tests are good for people who are good at tests and who can pattern match and recall stuff on demand. Ok, thats a fair stab at one kind of intelligence but think about this... what if the Aborigines had written the first IQ test...

"Which of these beetles is safe to eat"... "Wrong!"

They'd be looking at us like we were all fncking morons!

"What do you *mean* you cant Dreamwalk!?... what sort of idiot are you!?"

We are "intelligent" because it was we who chose how "intelligence" would be ascertained...

DeV.

Cake Fiend · 08-09-2003 9:43pm

I qualify (at least I used to, I think my brain might have been slowly eroded by years of #fortress.ie and the like...) but I've never joined. The real brains in Mensa are the people making money out of all these geeks' insecurities.

It could look well on a CV - if the employer was into that sort of thing. But it could also come across as pretentious.

Gordon · 08-09-2003 9:56pm

I was just thinking something similar while watching Mastermind and University Challenge. It made me think that all these "General Knowledge" quizzes are not a measure of intelligence but of memory.

I'd be interested to see how well or badly I did in a true mensa challenge - not the ones on the back of the magazine of the Sunday newspapers but I wouldn't join as it would puff my big head ever more so I wouldn't be able to walk through the front door.

Seifer · 08-09-2003 10:04pm

The leaving cert is a memory test that also has very little to do with intelligence.

Capt'n Midnight · 08-09-2003 10:09pm

Certain native american tribes have a tradition of finishing one problem before going on to the next - they'd be snookered on an IQ test where by definition there are lots of questions that most people can't answer ...

And don't forget that your IQ is just a measure of how well you do IQ tests....

Ok as far as multiple choice goes - does anyone believe that MCSE's represent the pinacle of expertise in M$ software ?

Any one got MENSA or BBC Brain dumps - so we can prove online that the Irish are more intelligent .....

mneylon · 08-09-2003 10:28pm

I was a member for a couple of years but I lost interest and didn't renew. I think I've still got the gold card lying about somewhere.

sceptre · 09-09-2003 4:20am

IQ tests, as Dev has mentioned, rely far too much on memory rather than pure intelligence. There isn't a great emphasis on memory but there's enough that the things are only accurate enough to indicate whether you're as smart as the average bear, smarter, much smarter or not as smart. They do try to make them culture-independent but the memory requirement skews the results a little. You can get better with practice (at least that's what I've been told by people who run aptitude tests and from my experience doing the very occasional one I tend to agree) so it isn't much of a "pure" test then. It's a rough indicator, nothing more, nothing less. Get over 180 and you can regard yourself as being top of the pile - whoopee for you, you need never do anything with your life[1].

I'd qualify but I wouldn't join. Can't think of a single reason why I'd want to. Besides you'd just get embarrassed when the day arrives when the late nights and beer sessions finally take their toll and you can confirm that you're not as smart as you usederbe. I'm totally convinced that I was smarter before I started staying up till 5am.

I'd join if I got to meet Geena Davis while Rene Harlin wasn't watching. Sod it, he can watch. I'm not fussy. If you're smarter than the average bear and you can find the occasional pic-i-nic basket, why would you really be bothered?

(The last question isn't rhetorical. I'd actually be quite interested in hearing from members what they think they get out of it)

[1]Like Bob Metcalfe's (Mr Ethernet) college roommate. Total genius apparently. Could finish the NY Times crossword while waiting for an egg to boil and that was just something he did in his spare time. Bob chose to prove himself. His roomie didn't have to. Obviously none of us have to but you can see where I'm getting

LegacyUser · 09-09-2003 7:30am

Ok as far as multiple choice goes - does anyone believe that MCSE's represent the pinacle of expertise in M$ software ?

[/B]

i did 8 of these in 8 weeks cause work was payin, two hours before each test went through about 10 braindumps 100 times, flew through the tests without even reading the questions, hmm 8 line two paragraph question with the last line having 3 words, answer is b,
just a money spinner, I know FA about some of topics i took but according to MS am a certified engineer, he he,

not that I'm saying all you other guys who got mcse's didn't study for weeks and deserve the title, just talkin bout me here

vibe666 · 09-09-2003 7:50am

i did the tests when I was 6 and got 116 which they said was higher than a lot of adults would get, so I got loads of attention and 'special' schooling to bring out my 'higher' intelligence, by the time I was 13 and I had taken more and more fo their tests I was at 147 (one below the top 2% thingy) but i felt like a complete geek, and spent my teens messing round in school and p*ssed it all down the drain. I stayed smart, but turned more into a smart ar*e, using any brains I had to continually get one up on my teachers.

then I discovered booze and other recreational activities

and any remaining brain cells that hadn't fallen asleep were killed off over time, and now I have trouble doing simple mathematics without a calculator, so be warned.

The moral of this story is: Don't let them make you think you're better than you are, it's a long way to fall when you find out it doesnt really mean anything.

incidentally, I did the test the nation thing last year, and only just beat my score when I was 6 so, I guess I really did mess my grey stuff up.

Havelock · 09-09-2003 8:43am

These tests are mostly pointless, everyone has their own talents or abilities, the commen form of intelligence tested by these organisation is only one of many types. I for example excell at these type of tests, I can't play a musical instrument and am hopless at football. Thats a rather simple example, but what I'm trying to say is these tests are only to guage the types of intelligence that are "intellectual". It plays no part in what you do in life. Take me for example again, I score between 147 to 167 in IQ tests on a regular bases, but I'm doing a FAS course in Mutlimedia because I dropped out of college.

I'd never join MENSA. Why would anyone? Be confident in your abilities and be happy in your self.

Capt'n Midnight · 09-09-2003 1:04pm

RE Mastemind

Anyone remember the Krypton factor - a bit fairer - had obstacle course / 3D puzzles / short term memory tests and and the quiz.

If you have SKY - L!VE TV - they have Strip Masterbrain

Gordon · 09-09-2003 2:03pm

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
If you have SKY - L!VE TV - they have Strip Masterbrain

Does performing in this show mean that you are taking part in "Strip Masterbraintion"?

smiles · 09-09-2003 3:39pm

mensa is a club for people who like to tell other people that they are smart.

<< Fio >>

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 09-09-2003 3:41pm

sort of like #boards.ie ..?

mneylon · 09-09-2003 3:44pm

The president of Mensa was quoted as saying:
"It's where the eggheads get laid"

vibe666 · 09-09-2003 5:38pm

bet all the eggheads all think its a real shame he meant it in the chicken sense rather than the nudge, nudge, wink, wink sense.

Cake Fiend · 09-09-2003 8:33pm

Originally posted by bananayoghurt
I know FA about some of topics i took but according to MS am a certified engineer, he he

D1ckhead - it's greedy, self-serving **** like you that are the reason for the MS exams being devalued in the eyes of the IT industry.

GSS.

sionnach · 09-09-2003 9:08pm

i qualify but ive never really seen the benefits of joining, except that it looks good on ur CV

simu · 09-09-2003 11:32pm

I wouldn't join.

I'd rather show my intelligence by writing a really good thesis at uni/creating some amazing piece of art/inventing something useful or whatever.

Mensa sounds to me like a club for ppl who are insecure and need to feel intelligent but have no way of showing how intelligent they are (or they want others to think they are) apart from filling in a multiple choice quiz correctly.

CriminallyInsane · 10-09-2003 1:33am

Yeah that test the nation thing is a load of crap. I took it last time and got a score of 62 out of 70. This gave me an IQ of 135 and Philip Scholfield(?) said that an IQ of over 130 qualifies you for MENSA. However, we all know that you need an IQ of like 145 or something. So, I'm led to believe one of two things:

1) Brits are dumber than us;
2) The show producers fúckéd up.

vibe666 · 10-09-2003 6:34am

Taken From Mensa Homepage:

The term "IQ score" is widely used but poorly defined. There are a large number of tests with different scales. The result on one test of 132 can be the same as a score 148 on another test. Some intelligence tests don't use IQ scores at all. Mensa has set a percentile as cutoff to avoid this confusion. Candidates for membership in Mensa must achieve a score at or above the 98th percentile (a score that is greater than or equal to 98 percent of the general population taking the test) on a standard test of intelligence.

so it's not necessarily the exact score of an IQ test, as long as you are in the top 2% of whatever intelligence test was done. Kinda.

Mensa

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