Are you a member of Mensa and why?

[Grojlach]

Never even heard of Mensa...? Except that it's the name of the special students' restaurant here at the University, which closed down due to a lack of interest in the end. Which wasn't a bad thing after all, as the food even tasted worse there than when I'm cooking myself.
And is an IQ-test the only thing necessary to apply? I mean, I'm pretty good at IQ-tests myself, but that still doesn't make me intelligent; It just makes me good and handy with the kind of questions in an IQ-test, which tend to be made in a certain style. Someone who takes 5 hours upfront to get familiar with the kind of questions asked in an IQ-test and scores a 158 in result, is he any more intelligent than someone who doesn't do any preparations and scores a 150? How about someone just out of bed with a hangover getting a score of 144? I've always thought of IQ-tests to measure someone's intelligence to be somewhat overrated...

[Vedran]

Originally posted by Grojlach: Someone who takes 5 hours upfront to get familiar with the kind of questions asked in an IQ-test and scores a 158 in result, is he any more intelligent than someone who doesn't do any preparations and scores a 150?

Perhaps. Preparation is intelligent thing to do, isn't it?

Intelligence quotient is very popular measure, but it doesn't accurately show person's intelligence, especially if the person is older than 25 years.

[Grojlach]

Originally posted by Vedran: Perhaps. Preparation is intelligent thing to do, isn't it?

Bah, wanted to include a remark about that myself in my post, but I forgot it completely... But I think that's more of a wiser thing to do (or perhaps actually not, depending on how fair you want the results to be), not necessarily intelligent.
But I'm merely trying to point out how difficult it is to compare one's intelligence to that of another; unless all of the circumstances are more or less equal, it doesn't really say that much at all. In some occasions, it's more of a "I slept better last night than you and I'm therefore a bit sharper" than a "I'm smarter than you" test.
Never really understood why people would boast about their IQ, anyways.

[ 05-06-2003, 05:49 AM: Message edited by: Grojlach ]

[Epona]

Hohoho - using mensa membership to seduce women hohoho!

I think not. It has 'geek' written all over it. Not only that, why do you feel the need to boast about your IQ? Women run a mile from men who feel the need to brag about things like that. All it does is show that your brain works well in a particular way doing a particular type of test. I'm brilliant at logical tests, but couldn't build a house - I know which of those skills is more useful to society. I would never bother to join Mensa. It sounds dismally boring. I'd rather spend my money going to gigs and socialising with my mates.

[/)eathKiller]

Hey! I tried to get into that thing before! they said they wouldnt let me in becasue 1: Im in cuba and 2: My IQ was too high...

[realbinky]

I took the tests 5 years ago or so, and got in. I joined for a year, never went to any SIGs (a SIG is a Special Interest Group - a group of like minded folks doing some hobby or such that they all enjoy). Never went to anything else, read 1 out of the 12 newslwetters, and didn't bother to renew. I wouldn't bother. Now that you have been accepted, you can join any time without having to test again.

Originally posted by Flaming Fist Enforcer: My IQ was 154, and his somewhere around that number as well. ~SNIP~ Well... yes, around that number. It was 172 actually (don't be ashamed of it, Vedran ), though it was just one side of man's intelligence.

If I am not mistaken if your intelligence were actually 172, you would be among the top .001% of the entire human population. Scores over 150 tend to bring government officials around to try and assess your potential as a national asset. (Used to work at DISA where they keep some of these "national" assets.) The average human IQ is roughly 110. A very intelligent person might sit aroun 120-130...you guys should be shopping around to see whos gonna pay your ticket through life because with those scores there will be someone who would recruit you.

From a list of average IQ's around the world on the net [img]smile.gif[/img]

Country City Mean IQ

Holland Amsterdam 109.4
Germany Hamburg 109.3
Poland Warsaw 108.3
Sweden Stockholm 105.8
Yugoslavia Zagreb 105.7
Italy Rome 103.8
Austria Vienna 103.5
Switzerland Zurich 102.8
Portugal Lisbon 102.6
Great Britain London 102.0
Norway Oslo 101.8
Denmark Copenhagen 100.7
Hungary Budapest 100.5
Czechoslovakia Bratislava 100.4
Spain Madrid 100.3
Belgium Brussels 99.7 (This explains Jean Claude Van Damme)
Greece Athens 99.4
Ireland Dublin 99.2
Finland Helsinki 98.1
Bulgaria Sofia 96.3
France Paris 96.1


I note that apparently we US types were too stoopid to qualify

[Cloudbringer]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: I've taken the practice tests and thought about it, but never found the time or inclination. While I appreciate your humility, it is actually a club for those who are quite technically geniuses (geniui? - ROFL, actually genii is plural for genie). Anywho, the perks are (a) meeting with other geniuses to genuflect on your grandeur, (b) being in at least one club Sharon Stone is in, and (c) lots of little savings perks -- for instance, Hertz will give you a discount, as will several HMO's (of course that helps me little because lawyers enjoy many of the same perks). Anyway, wear your pocket protector proudly, and rest assured you can get laid by the girl of your choice at any Star Trek convention.

Not too far off the mark as I know it, TL! The only members of MENSA that I've personally met, were social misfits who had unhappy lives and couldn't figure out why or how to fit in with the rest of the community. One woman was always bragging about her whopping IQ and MENSA membership (she WAS intelligent by the iq test standards) and yet in her late 40's or so was living with her mother and trying yet another profession out (was taking electrician's courses). She'd been going from job to job all her life. (I understood she didn't 'get along' with anyone). She had a loser husband who sponged off the government instead of working (he was fit, just didn't look for work!) and their 3 kids (all in their late teens )were constantly in trouble. Despite her IQ test and MENSA membership, she wasn't a happy woman and had fights with everyone.

I guess my point here is that you can join any group or club, just don't expect it to make your life alot better. You have to do that yourself! [img]smile.gif[/img] IMO Numbers on IQ test don't make a person 'street savvy' or 'people smart' and you need those things in addition to the 'book-smarts' to prosper in the world. [img]smile.gif[/img]

In your case, Vedran, I'd have to ask if they'd let you join later or is this a one shot deal? Your post sounds like it would be a financial hardship right now.

edt: Just saw realbinky's post! So it sounds like you can wait til you can afford it and/or decide if it matters to you, then, Vedran!

[ 05-06-2003, 01:21 PM: Message edited by: Cloudbringer ]

[Cloudbringer]

Originally posted by Reeka: I could be wrong, but I have always gotten the impression that they are rather elitist.

I've gotten the same impression, Reeka.