In Mensa!

Greebo said:
Hence somebody who say joined Mensa 50 years ago with an IQ of 132 and be in the top 2% then might only score 117 today and be in the top 5 or 10% only and hence would never get into Mensa.
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Think about your last statement - how would raising the IQ requirement for entry fix that? The IQ requirement is based on the top X % as of Y day. Everyone is measured against the same yardstick when they are judged for entry, it's just the yardstick happens to be relative to the intelligence of the rest of the population. If the population changes over time, then that person doesn't become any more or less intelligent absolutely, only relatively. Raising the IQ entry requirement would not change that. If you raised it to 150, then in 10 years the people who get 150 will be more intelligent than the people who get 150 today :)

The only way to ensure that MENSA always represents a certain intellectual ability is to re-test all members when there is a new yardstick. That's somewhat impractical.
 
PMKeates said:
Think about your last statement - how would raising the IQ requirement for entry fix that? The IQ requirement is based on the top X % as of Y day. Everyone is measured against the same yardstick when they are judged for entry, it's just the yardstick happens to be relative to the intelligence of the rest of the population. If the population changes over time, then that person doesn't become any more or less intelligent absolutely, only relatively. Raising the IQ entry requirement would not change that. If you raised it to 150, then in 10 years the people who get 150 will be more intelligent than the people who get 150 today :)

The only way to ensure that MENSA always represents a certain intellectual ability is to re-test all members when there is a new yardstick. That's somewhat impractical.
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Or change it and those tested under the old requirements will die out over time. :p

Or realise what a rip it is. One of the two.
 
kylew said:
What is the advantage, and why do you think it makes you look more attractive to an employer?
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It shows you can apply yourself for one. I would point out that the Mensa test you do online or via the post/newpapers etc are not true IQ tests.

To be invited to join you must have sat the supervised examination at one of their centres. It is based on the Cattell Fair and Cattell B tests which are accepted as a true indicator of IQ.

Their only real use besides the social aspect (I didn't fit in at all) is just personal. I wanted to know so I sat the test. When I applied for my job, I shoved it on the CV and in my second interview it was the main topic of conversation and in my opinion it changed my interview from a strictly professional "what can you bring to this position" to a more personal informal conversation about me and how I think and organise myself. This is what got me the Job. You should consider the level of employment that you are applying to before including it on your CV however, I doubt the local supermarket manager will be overly impressed.

I accept that some can find it elitist and that's fine, but it is not normally something I bring up, and it was only because of this thread that I did now.
 
It's often said that the lottery is a tax on the stupid, is Mensa a tax on the intelligent then? And if so then what's the distinction except that the stupid can occasionally win money via their tax?

I've got absolutely no idea whether I'd get into Mensa or not but my suspicion is strongly in the negative, that's fine though as I'm getting by ok just now.
 
PMKeates said:
The typical IQ has been pretty close to 100 for some time.
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That's because Iq tests are normalised so that the average person (the the time they are made/used) will get 100, because the average IQ goes up over time (roughly 3 points every 10 years) someone who say the test 10 years ago and got exactly 100, should get 97 in a test from this year.
 
Tefal said:
That's because Iq tests are normalised so that the average person (the the time they are made/used) will get 100, because the average IQ goes up over time (roughly 3 points every 10 years) someone who say the test 10 years ago and got exactly 100, should get 97 in a test from this year.
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The Flynn Effect to which you refer is believed to have levelled off in most developed countries since the early to mid 1990's. In all likelihood, someone who took a test in 2000 would score the same today, in this country at least.
 
Castiel said:
The Flynn Effect to which you refer is believed to have levelled off in most developed countries since the early to mid 1990's. In all likelihood, someone who took a test in 2000 would score the same today, in this country at least.
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When did you take your mensa test, we could do a little experiment :p


Although I don't think we do any standardised and required IQ tests as part of our education system so any evidence is going to be from 3rd party studies who could manipulate the groups easily to get any result.

Ie if you take a lot of first/second generation migrants from a less developed country they could well score lower and drag the score down.
 
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Then it's your turn to pay Scrooge. :p


Edit: good lord we're going to use up the forum stock of tongue smilies at this rate.
 
sniffy said:
I wouldn't personally put it on my CV. It might come across as a little arrogant to some. The fact you have an IQ high enough to get into Mensa is advantage enough.
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It would come across as a little bit dumb too. There are likely at least a million other people within the UK who could join mensa if they chose to.

Hiring someone who thinks he's very smart but in reality isn't smart enough to realise that he perhaps isn't all *that* smart after all isn't a good thing.
 
Sounds like the high IQ was just a chance result because it appears you can't figure out what you can use it for :p
 
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