I’ve hung out in some mensa newsgroups and read some mensa newsletters, and it seems like all these people do when they get together is solve ridiculous puzzles. I don’t know about you, but this seems like an incredible waste of human talent. Why don’t they try solving puzzles like, “Given a planet of 5 billion people and signifigantly depleted natural resources, how do you ensure that these people, with different religious and cultural backgrounds, live without war, famine, disease, or completely degrading the environment?” That’s what I call a real brain teaser!
According to their mission statement, Mensa is supposed to be a forum for all points of view, hence they don’t take a stand on social, religious, or political issues. This seems like an easy way out to me. Mensa doesn’t have to take an official position for its members to devote their time solving real world problems. Sure, the members will disagree on the best solution, but resolving those differences can be part of the puzzle.
All I really know is the reason that I didn’t want to join Mensa is because I couldn’t find any practical purpose to it. All it seems to be is a way of bragging about your IQ (which doesn’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things anyway). A high IQ doesn’t mean that you can solve the worlds problems, just that you can solve puzzles, IMHO. I’m good at solving puzzles, I do well on IQ tests. Doesn’t make me special or anything.
As a Mensan, I have to say you are full of it. Mensa is a social group for bright people to get together where they can meet other bright people who have common interests.
Mensa, as you posted, takes no stands on anything; however, there are Special Interest Groups(SIGs)formed by members who have interests in everything from body-building to macrame to you name it. Besides, you saw the episode of “The Simpsons” where Lisa joined Mensa and they completely botched ruling Springfield as the Council of Alphas. 
Beside, anyone knows that raw intelligence is not the same as wisdom. FYI, you have to score better on any IQ test better than 98 percent of the population.
And better than 99% to be in TOPS.
I screwed up the last post. See, we’re not all that smart.
I meant to write:
FYI, you have to score on any IQ test better than 98% of the population, but that is no guarantee of anything useful except a high IQ score.
goboy,
Yeah, I saw that episode of the Simpsons. I thought it was hilarious.
But I’m not saying that Mensans should have any authority. Just that there are plenty of real problems that need solving.
When you said I was “full of it” did you mean that Mensans don’t spend hours solving brain teasers? I know that mensa has social functions, but aren’t they designed to stimulate thinking?
No, I was being too harsh. But Mensa exists as a social group; the only purpose is to solve puzzles and have fun. If people want to get involved with causes, there are advocacy groups they can join, like the Sierra Club or Amnesty International.
Yeah, they can join those groups, but most of them don't ask their members to use their brains, just their wallets and pens.
Frankly, I don't think its that fun to solve puzzles that don't have any meaning. That's one of the primary reasons I haven't joined. Maybe no one would listen to what the mensans decided on (if they could decide on something) but the members would be enriched by the process. Not only would they have exercised their brains and enjoyed stimulating discussion, they might actually have come to a better understanding of the world around them.
One of the other purposes of mensa is supposed to be to promote and foster intelligence. But the only evidence of this I've seen has been solving brain teasers and a few scholarships for gifted students that were already probably getting enough financial aid already. Couldn't some of the world's smartest people come up with something more than that?
Maybe as a member, you or someone else can tell me something of more significance that this group has done with it's member's time.How smart can an organization be when its very name sounds like they’re on their period? 
Who says having fun isn’t significant? I don’t particiapte in a lot of things, but I go to the Science SIG meeting at Ballston, I show up at the Friday evening Happy Hour at zorba’s Cafe in Dupont Circle, and I keep meaning to go to the Scifi and Gay SIG meetings.
Nobody wants a bunch of loud-mouthed, self-proclaimed smart peopel telling leaders how to lead. Mensa, much like the SDMB, is a place for me to meet interesting people who I can talk to about more than TV and sports, and if some beer gets consumed in the process, great! If Mensa were full of serious people planning to change the world, I would not have joined. I already work enough at my job(well, except for posting here), why should I work on my off time, too? I’d rather have fun.
The thing I have seen MENSA folks do more often than anything else is brag about the fact that they’re in MENSA. I have deliberately never tested nor applied.
Just me. Had to get my two cents’ worth in. I’d probably fail to qualify based merely on the fact that I’m an elitist pig already.
“I refuse to be a member of any club that would be so classless as to invite me.” (or something close to it) - Groucho Marx
You can also judge by my many typos that I don’t proof my posts first before I reply, so how smart can I be? Maybe I should join the other organization, Densa.
goboy,
I’m not knocking fun. It can be easy for smart people to feel isolated. I think it’s great that smart people can get together and have fun. OTOH, do folks have to “pass” an IQ test to drink beer with you? I think the purpose of mensa was a little bit broader than that.
The brain teasers I’ve seen on the mensa news boards didn’t look like any less work than physics problems. If you’re using your head, why not use it well?
The problem with Mensa is that they actually believe an IQ is an accurate representation of intelligence. The stated purpose of their organization is “to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity.” Yet, the best solution 100,000 Mensans could come up with is an IQ test.
Sure, being able to recognize anagrams, decode cryptograms and figure out which picture is different from the others measures one ASPECT of intelligence, but it doesn’t come close to measuring the whole package.
I don’t see Mensa sending out invitations to people who represent the top 2% of artists or comedians. Clearly, artistic ability is an aspect of intelligence, as is the ability to recognize humor in various situations. For that matter, I don’t see Mensa kicking people out because they are not in the top 2% of socialization abilities.
Mensa is a club of people who can solve certain types of puzzles. Period. It is unfortunate that Mensans believes otherwise.
Morgan makes an excellent point. There are many forms of intelligence, and the conventional IQ test measures only one
verbal ability and spatial orientation. IQ tests are inherently flawed anyway(see The Mismeasure of Man by Steven Jay Gould, since they are biased toward one segment of the population.
That said, I don’t think anyone in Mensa, certainly nobody I’ve met, takes it all that seriously.
He also makes a good point about socialization skills because there is a high geek quotient in Mensa. I have met some really sad folks in Mensa who cling to their membership as a proof of self-worth, but they are a small percentage of the membership. Some people joined Mensa for ego validation, and others joined, as I did, to find people who were tired of having to self-censor their vocabulary and who enjoyed similar interests.
As far as M3’s comment about using their heads, well, remember that Mensa was never meant to be anything other than a social group for intelligent people. Given that there are so many SIGS dedicated to astrology, parapsychology, and the like, I’m definitely unconvinced that IQ tests reliably measure intelligence. After all, I got in, and I’m a moron!
as an ex-mensan, expired 1986, i’m inclined to agree with the Mensa is useless crowd. we’d had sunday brunches and socialized and played idiotic mindgames, occasionally fun but what’s the point. i tried suggesting creating a recommended reading list, non-fiction. i figured people in the top 2% should be able to learn any subject they wanted without a teacher if they just had well written books. i’d think the organization the size of mensa should have knowledgable people in just about every area of knowledge. i was told point blank by some people they weren’t interested.
out of curiosity i’ve e-mailed ECONOMIC WARGAMES to Mensans around the country. not a single response. almost as bad as economists. i must be a bore. LOL!
Dal Timgar
Not a member. Never have been. probably never will be.
That said, I still think of Aesop’s fables whenever I see a “mensa is lame” thread. You are correct, mensa is not solving the world’s problems. So what.
Back when I was teaching martial arts there was a fairly large, inter school group of black belts who would get together twice a month to beat on each other and then go drink beer. It was a social gathering for which their was a definite “entrance exam”. Amazingly enough, this elitest group of self-defenders didn’t devote itself to stomping muggers, patroling city parks, or turning victims into self-actualized supermen. We just kicked each other around and then drank beer and traded stories.
If solving the world’s problems is your only standards for any organization, then I guess we were pretty lame. Thing is, we were just out to have a good time pursuing something that we enjoyed with others who shared our interest.
Works for me.
Because of their membership rules, Mensans are smart. At least they’re good at taking tests that purport to measure intelligence.
That being said, a lot of Mensans are members because they like to show off how smart they are. A lot of other Mensans are members because their local Mensa chapter is a fun group with whom they can socialize, often without having to flex mental muscle.
My perception of Mensa is that it’s populated by brainiac bullies, who act as if they had a chip on their shoulder all the time, and have to prove they’re smarter than you. Fluffinator, however, has a completely different view of Mensa and Mensans, and finds them to be fun and fascinating.
I didn’t want to join the local chapter of Mensa because of the dickheads who were members, but if it was more like the one to which Fluffinator belongs, I’d sign up in a New York minute.
I joined for one dues cycle about 2 years ago. THought it would be a good way to meet people. NOT!
And as far as the smarts thing goes, lookit the stupid stuff I post here all the time.
I was at a bar a while back when I ran into a college roommate - he was with a Mensa group. I hung out with them for a few hours and came away with this impression:
Mensa = Support group for underachievers.