Poll: Mensa

Would you be a member of Mensa?

  • Already a member

    Votes: 21 7.0%

  • Could be a member if I could be bothered

    Votes: 87 29.0%

  • I don't think I would get in

    Votes: 39 13.0%

  • I don't know if I'd get in or not (and I don't care)

    Votes: 153 51.0%
  • Total voters
    300
I applied around 5 years ago and missed out by 1 point. I applied at a time of endless job-hunting, having come from a film degree that most people look upon with "oh you must be a lazy art bum" eyes. I've always been intellectual as well as creative and I'm extremely logical, but just never enjoyed exams or had the memory for them. As such I wanted to 'prove' that I wasn't just some weed-smoking film-school loser, although had I actually got a job within the first 6 months of graduation it wouldn't have even crossed my mind to apply.

I obviously never got in so can't comment on the reaction I would have received, but I'd like to think that as long as you saved it for "other education" etc rather than the first sentence of your covering letter then it wouldn't be judged negatively. Having done the test I simply see it as showing an ability to be logical and solve problems with no pre-arranged instruction, revision or memory.
 
King Damager said:
I feel like you're being slightly critical. I'm not a member myself, but I have considered applying. Why? Why not? It's an achievement, of sorts. If I got in, I wouldn't brag to the world about it, ok, I might post it here, but probably only in TIAM, but apart from that, I'm hardly going to tell everyone I meet... I also feel it would be interesting to know my IQ, and it seems it's one of the easiest ways to do so. That said, becoming a member wouldn't change who I am. Why would it? I feel like my morals are strong enough not to be influenced by something that is effectively just a club. That said, now a days, I'm not sure I need justification to think I'm more intelligent than the average joe. Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't think I'm infallible, and I also would admit there's plenty of people smarter, and more knowledgeable in many many fields. I just don't have that much faith in the average joe :p Thankfully, I'd say that the majority of OcUKians are also more intelligent than the average joe as well... Frankly, the chances of me applying as well, are very slim. Why? As I said, I don't feel I need justification that I'm smarter than the average joe, I don't need to prove whether I'm intelligent or not, and I don't really care too much as I have no insecurity about my intelligence. As I say, now a days, the biggest appeal would probably be finding out my IQ.

Intelligence, is on the whole, of course a relatively good thing. Seeing as it has been discussed, my vague recollection of Tarantino, in particular, was that he used his vast IQ to remember huge amounts of details regarding films which he then applied to his directing.

That said, I agree that soft skills are often more important. They're certainly important on influencing how far you might advance in the world. You can be as intelligent as you like, if you're an arrogant **** who isn't particularly likeable, you're unlikely to ever make it in a business.

I also agree that it is even rarer to find someone with both intelligence and common sense, and the second is arguably more important than the first, although I would include logic under the umbrella 'common sense'.

Edit: I do however also agree with basically what David Mitchell said. Generally speaking, it is people that feel a need to justify and prove their intelligence that apply rather than those genuinely intelligent.

kd
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Intelligence, and a high IQ aren't necessarily the same thing though. There's most certainly a correlation, but as we know correlation doesn't indicate causation.

For the most part, a high IQ just shows how good you are at taking IQ tests.

This is generally why some people have an issue with IQ and Mensa as people just love to take its relevance out of context.
 
Nitefly said:
This was inspired from another thread that claimed Quentin Tarantino was a member of Mensa. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed.

I think when I was a bit younger I liked the idea of joining Mensa. The prestige and glory of being smarter than the average bear - how desirable. These days I tend to think it's a club for nobs.

Is intelligence a good thing? On the whole, the answer must be a resounding yes. But you need to know when to show it. Smartness for the sake of smartness is often pomposity. People that like to make out they are smart are often royal chumbers of the Nth degree. Sometimes people who are trying to be smartarses just come across as jackasses. I'm reminded of when someone on here tried to argue to the death on here that people with tattoos are probably more stupid - a needless argument that could only serve to alienate you from your peers.

Intelligence is a very subjective thing and I've made approximately 21,936 posts (give or take), splitting it up into raw intelligence, perseverance and common sense. I tend to find people with high amounts of the former often lack the latter. An abundance of 'merely' the latter two can take you places that most people could only dream of.

I tend to judge people on their soft skills - their friendliness, their charisma and charm. I find joining a club that displays your intellectuality needless and arrogant.

Is Mensa a club for nobs? Or am I being overly critical and cynical? Am I simply thick as ****? Maybe all three!
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Good post Nitefly. I agree with you re: pomposity. I think that it is a club not necesarily for nobs but for those who need to have a piece of paper and membership in a club in order to see their own worth.
 
Its all bit of a farce... the idea that 'intelligence' (which is a subjective term to start with) can be evaluated by a test and then quantified by a single parameter is a bit retarded to start with...

To then form a club based around this flawed test is even more farcical. The members are supposed to be 'intelligent' yet are also supposed to overlook the obvious flaws to the test that defines their membership in the first place.

Do many academic's feel the need to join? Doesn't seem like it... Seems more like its a club for low achievers who want to feel better about themselves and meet with like minded people who can all pretend that they're 'special' in some way...

I guess if you've self identified as having 'assburgers' and solved a lot of puzzle games as a kid then its likely the perfect club for you.
 
I used to like the idea of joining Mensa also. I went as far as getting an IQ test sent out to me and I was planning on doing it, sending it back to them and then arranging a proper appointment to do their test. Then the whole "I'm smarter than people" thing really wore off, and I started to think a bit like you - I'd be seen as a smartarse - so I let it go. Really glad I did.

I try hard now to never make people feel inferior to me, and if someone is perhaps a bit, say, slower, I'll try and get on their wavelength and just talk to them. There are countless other skills and traits etc I'd MUCH rather have over a high IQ and a silly card to prove it.
 
Nothing wrong with Mensa. It's like a Bentley owners club.

Only those who don't have it are jealous or don't understand it tbh.
 
We're recruiting for someone on my team at work at the moment so have been going through CVs.
One guy had the fact that he was a Mensa member with a 170 odd IQ on his CV.

To be honest I looked at that and nob was about what came to mind. He actually didn't have the experience we were looking for anyway, which was a shame as I would have quite liked to do a telephone interview with him!
 
so you took an IQ test and scored a certain amount, in reality it says absolutely nothing other than you took a test. If i saw it on a CV, id think douche and put it through the shredder
 
Had a mensa test when I was 15 as it looked good on my RAF A-Level scholarship application. IQ of 162, top 2% of the country and I was a member for 2 years but never actually attended anything.

My IQ states I am a genius. Do I think I am? not at all, in fact, quite the opposite. I have moments of clarity where my brain kicks in and whatever I am working on at the time turns out great. Majority of the time I feel foggy, unmotivated and bounce from one thing to another. I find it hard to focus on one thing and one thing only.

My brother has an IQ of 163 and spent his life working behind bars and can't say he's a genius.

It takes more than a high IQ to make someone super intelligent so MENSA doesn't really mean anything to me other than a club for people to meet and share ideas. It doesn't specifically mean "genius club" to me :)
 
Kamwah said:
It's like a Bentley owners club.
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My god father has raced vintage bentley's for years and is very passionate about them and once said to me 'the problem with the Bentley owners' club these days is people think all you have to do is own a Bentley and you're in'

As for mensa, I have no interest. I think if you need to wave your willy in public, may be it's because you are disappointed with it in private.
 
Kamwah said:
Nothing wrong with Mensa. It's like a Bentley owners club.

Only those who don't have it are jealous or don't understand it tbh.
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Please do elaborate. I'm just not seeing much gain here in joining so that's perhaps my fault for a lack of understanding. The main benefits I could see to either would be the potential for networking or discussions amongst like-minded individuals but that's a bit of a vague opportunity - you might share an IQ rating (using a loose definition) with someone or ownership of a particular item but have absolutely nothing in common with them and indeed nothing that you'd want to talk to them about. The other benefits would seem to be in relation to the value that the club could offer you, whether that be discounts/opportunities through the power of a united group or perhaps in presenting your interests as a body.

None of the above seems particularly compelling to me but maybe I'm missing something about it. Whatever the answer it's somewhat irrelevant whether I understand it or not - if the members see a benefit in joining up then good luck to them.
 
Skidder said:
My god father has raced vintage bentley's for years and is very passionate about them and once said to me 'the problem with the Bentley owners' club these days is people think all you have to do is own a Bentley and you're in'
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It's a bit of a rip-off if you can't get into the Bentley Owner's Club when you own a Bentley.
 
Skidder said:
My god father has raced vintage bentley's for years and is very passionate about them and once said to me 'the problem with the Bentley owners' club these days is people think all you have to do is own a Bentley and you're in'

As for mensa, I have no interest. I think if you need to wave your willy in public, may be it's because you are disappointed with it in private.
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Does he go to Silverstone when they have their meetups? My Gramp has sold the programs on the day for years. I've done it a few times, it's nice to go over and have a look through some of the new Bentleys they have on show during the event.

The reason I mentioned Jealousy in my previous post was because that's all I can see people doing in this thread mostly, if you don't understand why they have a club it doesn't mean you need to belittle it or say "it's just for willy waving"

I'd assume people with higher intellect understand concepts faster and with the way people act these days I'd want a club of people who probably aren't idiots tbh.
 
Kamwah said:
Does he go to Silverstone when they have their meetups? My Gramp has sold the programs on the day for years. I've done it a few times, it's nice to go over and have a look through some of the new Bentleys they have on show during the event.

The reason I mentioned Jealousy in my previous post was because that's all I can see people doing in this thread mostly, if you don't understand why they have a club it doesn't mean you need to belittle it or say "it's just for willy waving"

I'd assume people with higher intellect understand concepts faster and with the way people act these days I'd want a club of people who probably aren't idiots tbh.
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Yep, he does loads of events, his kids too, they've pretty much built their lives around old cars.

I know my IQ, I don't need anyone else to know it and I don't really need to know it either (I was told it). I certainly don't need to join a club to play with other similar boys.
 
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