Mensa - anybody here joined.

lanos

On Tuesday, the Irish examiner ran a piece on Mensa and the application process.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/video-want-to-find-out-how-clever-you-are-ellie-obyrne-takes-on-the-mensa-test-292197.html

Does anybody here have any experience of the organisation. Is it a complete waste of time and money, or Is there anything positive in gaining membership apart from stroking the ego a little and the chance to feel superior to the 98% of the worlds population who can never join (allegedly)

biko

You get 5% off in libraries.

Sunnyisland

Well Brendan o Carroll is a member so it must be good,but I will have to ask the mammy...

Hande hoche!

Had a friend who joined or else he forged a card. Didn't know that Jimmy Savile was in it.

coffee_cake

lanos wrote: »

Is it a complete waste of time and money

yes

Axel Lamp

Tough entrance exam, very tough

Saipanne

I have two memberships, such is the size of my brain.

For Forks Sake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhrfhjLd9e4

Turtwig

bluewolf wrote: »

yes

What isn't though?

the article wrote:

We were all in agreement that it’s not an achievement in the same way that completing a triathlon or achieving grade eight in piano would be, because it’s not something over which we have control.

The sooner we get of rid of this myth the better. There's natural variations to everything but you can improve your IQ in a similar way you can improve from being a sedentary couch potato to ultra marathon runner - A person's level of intellect isn't fixed for life.

Sky King

I'm wary of holding in high regard people with such a limited set of specific skills. Sure... you can arrange the shapes in the correct logical order, but can you make someone laugh, empathise with someone who is depressed, write a beautiful song, raise a family, compose a compelling tale, run a great business? Where are the exclusive societies for people who can do that?


TLDR: I have an inferiority complex.

lanos

lanos wrote: »

Does anybody here have any experience of the organisation. Is it a complete waste of time and money

bluewolf wrote: »

yes

Is this opinion based on first or second-hand information, or did you just feel like criticizing Mensa for the heck of it.

coffee_cake

lanos wrote: »

Is this opinion based on first or second-hand information, or did you just feel like criticizing Mensa for the heck of it.

First hand. A magazine every month and going to a meet up where I was glared at til I left again
No interest since
That was the under 18s branch. maybe it's different for the adult one but I wouldn't be interested

Turtwig

Sky King wrote: »

I'm wary of holding in high regard people with such a limited set of specific skills. Sure... you can arrange the shapes in the correct logical order, but can you make someone laugh, empathise with someone who is depressed, write a beautiful song, raise a family, compose a compelling tale, run a great business? Where are the exclusive societies for people who can do that?


TLDR: I have an inferiority complex.

The above would mostly be Emotional Intelligence or EQ. Don't know if there's a society established for one, but imo there should be. It'd sure be nice to know the empathetic people in this world are when times get tough.

bluewolf wrote: »

First hand. A magazine every month and going to a meet up where I was glared at til I left again
No interest since

Well, I suppose, in the stereotypical culture of geeks seeing a 'wolf' in their society would be a little bit of a "there are no wolves on the internet" moment?

Tail Docker

I applied to Mensa but I fecked up the address and ended up a member of a mens spa. Dunno about the high IQ of the members, but they certainly loved their assless chaps. And moustaches.

Sky King

The above would mostly be Emotional Intelligence or EQ. Don't know if there's a society established for one, but imo there should be. It'd sure be nice to know the empathetic people in this world are when times get tough.

What about creativity?

lanos

Axel Lamp wrote: »

Tough entrance exam, very tough

Did you join ?
I might give it a go.
Only problem is that there is no test centre in limerick.

Turtwig

Sky King wrote: »

What about creativity?

Don't know the specifics. It does come under some category (categories?) of intelligence.

biko

My Mensa cert brings all the chicks to the yard.

Axel Lamp

lanos wrote: »

Did you join ?
I might give it a go.
Only problem is that there is no test centre in limerick.

No, as I didn't make the cut :-( too thick for mensa.

I did the test in Cork. IMO It'd be worth travelling to Dublin or Cork to do it if you're genuinely interested.

Deenie123

Did the test, "passed", but didn't see the point so didn't join.

biko

Did you try some of the their pre-test activities?
https://www.mensa.org/workout

Scuid Mhór

I never understood how anyone who was supposedly three deviations from the mean of intelligence could pay money to join a club that exists to endorse how smart they are.

Guy:Incognito

Mensa tried to join me. They failed.

_Whimsical_

Nobody who is demonstrably intelligent joins Mensa anymore. It's ranks are swelled with glamour models,ex politicians,actors and assorted people who require a badge and a monthly magazine in the letterbox that they can point to if they need to assert the fact that they're smart.
It's a mugs game, you're not going to find Stephen Hawking or his like joining Mensa.

GerB40

Scuid Mhór wrote: »

I never understood how anyone who was supposedly three deviations from the mean of intelligence could pay money to join a club that exists to endorse how smart they are.

Bragging rights..

steddyeddy

People who make great discoveries, publish scientific papers or further knowledge in a particular field are intelligent. People who join a club because they think they are intelligent aren't particularly. The biggest load of wasters going tbh.

mackg

bluewolf wrote: »

First hand. A magazine every month and going to a meet up where I was glared at til I left again
No interest since
That was the under 18s branch. maybe it's different for the adult one but I wouldn't be interested

Any particular reason they were dicks to you? that you're aware of.

Teyla Emmagan

mackg wrote: »

Any particular reason they were dicks to you? that you're aware of.

They were clearly intimidated by her intelligence!

The_Minister

I was a member - very pleasant group of people but it just wasn't for me.

If you lack intelligent (educated / well-read etc ) conversation in your work and social life, then I can see how valuable it would be to have as an outlet, but if you have that in your life anyway, I don't think it adds anything really.

It's basically like a rarefied MeetUp.


You just have to view it in the context that until recently there was a serious strain of anti-intellectualism in parts of Irish society, and there weren't that many outlets for people who were particularly intelligent/educated/well-read.

The internet has probably taken a lot of the purpose out of Mensa.

steddyeddy

The_Minister wrote: »

I was a member - very pleasant group of people but it just wasn't for me.

If you lack intelligent (educated / well-read etc ) conversation in your work and social life, then I can see how valuable it would be to have as an outlet, but if you have that in your life anyway, I don't think it adds anything really.

It's basically like a rarefied MeetUp.


You just have to view it in the context that until recently there was a serious strain of anti-intellectualism in parts of Irish society, and there weren't that many outlets for people who were particularly intelligent/educated/well-read.

The internet has probably taken a lot of the purpose out of Mensa.

Ireland has a long history of intellectualism. You're not looking hard enough.

Turtwig

steddyeddy wrote: »

Ireland has a long history of intellectualism. You're not looking hard enough.

S/he said parts of society were anti intellectual. Not the whole of it.