Actually, the only ones I ever got myself to had speakers. They were pretty boring. No cookies, either.
It means nothing.
I learned very quickly not to give out my score after the reaction my “best friend” had to the whole thing. I only told her, because she knew I was taking the sit down test. I did that because I was feeling really low about myself, after my first ex had beat my self-esteem into the ground. One of the things he used to tell me was how stupid I was. My friend told me I should go take the test, I would feel a little better about myself, and then maybe my ex’s voice wouldn’t be knocking around in my head anymore, reminding me how stupid I was whenever I fucked something up. So I took it.
I felt better about myself - then. I don’t anymore, that’s for damn sure. When I told my friend my score, she suddenly turned sour, saying she didn’t need a test to know how smart she was. She quickly turned into an absolute beast; putting me on the spot in front of people, trying to make me prove how smart I was somehow, and if I somehow failed something she considered to be “common sense” (I used the wrong towels to clean a mess, for example), she would laugh and crow about it to all of our friends. It was very demeaning. It hurt.
And though she was quite rude about it, she’s still right: it doesn’t mean a thing. I’m still me. I still mess up, get tongue-tied, have brain farts where I don’t remember a thing. Hell, I often feel stupider the older I get. I really don’t know anything at all, but a tiny drop in the bucket. Big deal. I did well on a test. I still use the wrong towel to clean up a mess. :smack:
My husband has pointed out to me that I worry too much about being smart enough, or good enough. He’s taught me (slowly, still working on it) to settle down, and not worry about impressing anyone. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody, as long as I know who I am, that should be good enough. I’m working on it. Slowly. I’ve got a death grip on stupid when it comes to certain things, to be sure.
And I still suck at trivia night, and overuse the smilies! 
Used to be. That and fifty cents will buy me a really bad cup of coffee.
Hmm. Maybe I should join.
Mom said it was too elitist when I was a kid and wouldn’t let me join (assuming that I could qualify, of course).
I joined about 25 or so years ago but very quickly got bored with those blowhards. I found smarter (and more “real”) people just hopping down the bunny trail. Along the way, I learned to dislike and dispute labels.
I am pretty sure I would qualify. I always score in the top 2% of the many standardized and IQ tests I have taken. However, even if you are in the 98th percentile though, you could probably throw a rock and hit a dozen people smarter than you at a concert or baseball game (depends on the concert and team).
I am seriously not a joiner though. This board is about the only thing I have had consistent participation in my whole life and that is because it is there when I want it and goes away with just a click. Mensa people probably aren’t like that.
I am also an Ivy League Ph.D. program dropout.
For education, I have a Fud.
As for Mensa, though I do qualify (both IQ and SAT scores) I never join any club that would have me as a member [/Groucho]
Well, hell, that’s that then. Not worth joining if there’s no cookies.
I was told I was eligible based on my score of some test or other, but didn’t bother doing anything about it.
Ditto. I was tested nearly to death as a kid, and ended up skipping grade 3. They all had such amazement at my IQ. I couldn’t care less… unless they had cookies. Now that I know they still don’t, I’m not going back.
I probably could qualify for Mensa and I have a Master’s. I quit the first job I had where all of my coworkers had BS degrees and many had MS and PhD’s because my coworkers were either quitting or were assholes. Now I work with people who have high school diplomas and GED’s and they are much nicer people and much better to work with because they will actually work with you rather than competing with you to make themselves look and feel better. In my social circles, I mostly hang out with people ‘dumber’ than me and children. I guess that is an answer and an opinion on the question.
I’ve heard that ‘elitist’ thing a lot. Mensa is no more elitist than a club like “Tip Toppers,” which is open only to very tall people. I suspect that most of the folks who think Mensa is elitist have never had any actual exposure to Mensa events or publications. There are certainly some snobs in Mensa, but most Mensans are pretty down-to-earth. Mensa’s “Annual Gatherings” resemble science fiction conventions more than they resemble academic get-togethers.
Like Dr. Joel Fleischman on Northern Exposure said, “There’s nothing quite so pathetic as a 30 year old child prodigy. Once you grow up, you realise there are lots of people smarter than you. Then, you’re no longer special.”
That’s the best I can do from memory, IMDb didn’t have that particular quote.
That’s the reason I don’t join Mensa, too. I’m not a joiner. I have a long commute to and from work, and I pretty much just want to collapse by the time I get home. I’m definitely not up for driving any more. I’d rather stay at home and play Civ.
I’m merely a state school Ph.D. program dropout 
Where’s that gallon of chocolate ice cream?
I qualify but never bothered to join. Smart people can be very boring sometimes.
My post-grad work is all in Education: GATE Certification, secondary teaching credentials in English, Social Studies, Life Sciences, Earth Sciences. BFD.
And of course we all know what Bokonon had to say about granfalloons. Well said, pink.
In my freezer with all its friends…manufacturing work has its benefits 
I know that now. At the time, I was in my early teens, and anything that would have further separated me from the desired goal of Fitting In and Being Popular would have been a not-very-good thing.
There’s a group here in Toronto. I still haven’t decided whether I’ll attempt the test to get in.
Try the door.
I probably qualify for Mensa, but don’t see any point in joining officially. I have a Master’s and ABD in French Linguistics.
However, I think that the main reason SDMB might seem intellectual to a lot of people is that its members typically use and expect others to use correct grammar and spelling–basic skills that are taught in grade school, but which the majority of the population seems to forget how to use when they are not actually in an English class. It takes focus and understanding to phrase a sentence grammatically. It does not take genius.
Most SDMB members also try to keep an open mind about what they read and experience, rather than assume that everyone thinks the same way they do, or even worse, assume that everyone who doesn’t think the same way they do is automatically wrong. (Okay, well, yes, they ARE wrong, but I don’t go out of my way to point it out most of the time… )
Well, it depends what you attend. If you join and come to the Central New Jersey Regional Gathering (usually the first weekend in March) you will have cookies. And cake, pie, sandwiches, pizza, beer, wine, soda, candy, vegetables, cheese, crackers and lots more.
Actually most Mensans share with you a love of food. The best way to assure a large attendance at any local event, IMHO, is to list in the meeting notice that food will be served. The business meetings may not, but most social events include food of some sort, whether it’s bring your own to enjoy and share, or chip in to a common fund to reimburse the host/ess. Or they are held in a restaurant. When I first joined my local group, there was a regularly scheduled monthly event called “B.U.R.P.” Which stood for Bunch of Unruly Restaurant Patrons.