Haven’t been around (not that I was an institution that would be missed otherwise) but I had something mundane and pointless that I wanted to share - took the Mensa test this morning. It’s on a whim, and it’s hard to explain to friends and family just why I want to take the “genius test”. It’s not even out of vanity, moreso curiosity.
There were some people there whose competitive fire really burned brightly and took it more seriously than I did.
Took the wonderlic, which was ridiculously paced. Then the Mensa admission test was also fast but at least finish-able, although I did skip one of the picture association questions. I also thought that the test required more background/context/baseline knowledge than I originally anticipated. Nothing major, but definitely not as pure an IQ test that I was anticipating. The story section was kind of neat though.
I took the Mensa test back in the 70’s. It consisted of taking two different IQ tests, the California Test of Mental Maturity and the Cattell. During the CTMM I had a total brain lock. I don’t think I could have told you my name for a minute or two.
I passed and had the highest percentile score on the CTMM even with the brain lock. My Cattell score (150) looked more impressive; however the CTMM at 138 was actually higher. The Cattell had a higher standard deviation or something like that.
Mensa has been fun for me, but I haven’t gone to a meeting in decades. I still read the Mensa Bulletin and I’m a member of a few Special Interest Groups (SIGs).
The one I took was all picture logic. That had the advantage, in theory, of being language-irrelevant, but the disadvantages that one, people actually do get trained or not in how to deal with slashes and dots and wavy lines (my sister in law didn’t, I did), and two, it leaves out linguistic intelligence.
The problem with measuring IQ is that in the end, the most real definition boils down to “that thing IQ tests put numbers on”. Depending on the test the same individual will not just end up with different numbers but in different areas of the scale.
OK, well, my first thought was how long before someone comes in a poops on the idea having a high IQ in general and of being in MENSA in particular. That only came a couple of posts later, so I guess you win. :rolleyes:
Anyway, it would be nice to have a thread on being a MENSAn without it making those of us so cursed try to feel bad about ourselves.
pancakes, I get what you are saying about the curiosity factor. I came to MENSA later in life when I happened to find my GREs from the late 80s. As a sign of how little a high IQ can mean if you don’t have education in a given area, I did not appreciate exactly what percentile scores meant at the time. Kind of saw them as getting a high mark on the test. So fast forward almost three decades, by that point, I had a better sense of the implications of percentiles. Out of curiosity, googled correlation between GREs and IQ, and found that at the time GREs were correlated enough that MENSA accepts them. Applied. Got in.
What I’m curious about is how life would have been different if I had known that all along instead of in my early 50s.
Anyway, what I find fascinating isn’t the benefits of having a high IQ but rather, my limitations in spite of having a high IQ. It’s meant something but not everything.
And you’re brave posting that you took the test before getting the results!
And I wouldn’t say not getting in the 98th percentile is a failure. You’ll be in or out, yes. But it’s not a fail if you don’t.
I still don’t get it… if I’m viewed as intelligent by my peers that is good enough for me. If I’m viewed as an idiot by my peers, a membership card probably won’t sway their opinion.
I’m sorry if I’m the one this is directed at… it was not my intent. I guess I’m “cursed” as well, as are all three of my kids. I just don’t see the point of joining the club, but I don’t think any less of those who do.
Then there’s the “I know my score from eighth grade; since then I’ve verified it with free tests, first in magazines and later online; but I still wonder why, if I’m so smart, why ain’t I rich?” post, which I am providing now. Taking the test looks like fun because I’m weird like that, but not worth the time and expense to reinforce what I already know.
