To be honest, yes, I used to. I was proud of it, and yes, I considered it an accomplishment…still do.
I don’t talk about it much anymore off this board because (a) I am prone to being boastful and people can only take so much of that, (b) for some reason, people take pride in shaming Mensa members, and (c) other than a few meetings and a Snowball I attended, I don’t realize much value, other than bragging rights, from my membership.
I can’t remember when I actually opened, much less read the Mensa Bulletin, but it has been years.
Well, OK, I phrased it poorly. But my underlying point is along the lines of what Spud said, that intelligence, or whatever it is that mensa rates, is something that one either has a facility for or does not. I, for example, might have at one time broken 20s in the 100m, but that would have been rather physically taxing. I could see my limitations, so I chose not to pursue developing an ability that would end up leaving me frustrated.
Similarly, that guy over there will never be able to make sense of algebra, but he can cut a straight line through a 4x4 with a handsaw barely glancing at what he is doing. If I score a zillion on the brainyguys test, that shows that I have that ability, which is at least partly innate. Would that somehow make me justified in feeling superior to the carpenter or the sprinter? I really get the feeling that cliquishness is not a net positive.
I knew a guy who in Mensa and he liked to wear a shirt that let everybody know. He would never bring it up in conversation, though. I guess he was too smart for that.
I qualify for MENSA based on my GRE scores. I have no interesting in joining, though.
I don’t feel like I’m superior to people because of my scores. But I do take pride in them, especially since I’ll be the first to admit that I worked my ass off to earn them. Perhaps I have been endowed with extraordinary innate intelligence (I’ve never taken an IQ test to verify this), but that’s not where my pride comes from. For me, those scores represent my victory over constant self-doubt. I’d spent the greater part of my youth questioning my own intellectual capabilities. My scores are a giant “fuck you” to everyone in my life (including myself) who have ever put me down.
I take pride in my work ethic, which has allowed me to get the most out of my brain. But you know what? Work ethic is no more an accomplishment than intelligence. I’ve always had an amazing ability to focus on a single subject until I have it figured out. Laser-like focus and the ability to delay gratification are traits the same as working memory and spatial reasoning. There really isn’t much about me that I have done all on my own, without the credit going to an innate characteristic or something else external to me. Should I never feel pride of myself? Of course not.
Pride is okay as long as a person keeps it to a reasonable degree.
Very few people know that I’m in Mensa - family members mostly. I certainly don’t put it on my resume or flaunt it at parties. One of my coworkers knows because he’s also in Mensa. None of the other coworkers know about either of us.
I went to a Catholic school in the 60’s. IQ tests were a big deal back then. I don’t know if they test that much now days. It might hurt the student’s self-esteem. On the other hand, an average student getting a 100 might help!
I’ve been a Mensa member for about 30 years. No one that I’ve ever met in the organization ever brags about his IQ. Back when I was applying for jobs (I’m retired now) I didn’t put membership on my resume. If asked about experience with leadership positions, I would mention the officer positions I held, along with my term on my local board of education.
I once had a co-worker who was also a member and we used to give each other knowing looks when our boss (who could never have qualified) said something stupid. After the boss found out about my Mensa membership, she was always looking for any mistake I made so she could snipe about how I wasn’t all that smart.
In fact, many Mensans derive great enjoyment out of sharing the less-than-brilliant things they have done.
I’ve found my best friends and had some of the best times of my life in Mensa.
It varies a lot by country. Americans are a lot more likely to do it than people from Spain or Sweden, but then, Americans also list their work in a High School newspaper or their membership in a fraternity in their CVs, or tell you what sports they played back when the dinosaurs walked the Earth…
There’s three groups of Mensans based on their reaction to their first meeting.
There’s those who have spent their whole lives being told they looked prettier with their mouth shut, and who are overjoyed to find themselves among their peers. Yes! Finally! I can say whatever crazy notion I just thought up, and jump from one item to another without spelling out every single little step in the middle, and people follow!
Then there’s those who have spent their whole lives being told they were so smart and so great and so wonderful and who are chagrined to discover themselves among their peers. Oh shit! I can’t just dazzle people with polysyllabic yet unrelated to the subject verbiage! They can see through my act! These are relatively likely to have been telling people they were oh so smart (even if they did it in a “little me won national prize oh gosh” kind of way).
And then…
then…
then there’s the invisible ones. There’s people who have been Mensa members for years, yet never joined an email list, facebook group, or attended a meeting. What do they get from a card which, depending on country, may not even have their picture? The rest of us have no idea. But apparently it makes them feel all warm and fuzzy, or something?
“Soooo… we’re agreed, right, that you don’t need to actually be smart, you just need to have passed the test, right?” Said after someone has made a big blunder, or simply demonstrated a complete inability to use their car’s built-in GPS.
“That was smart! Have you considered testing for Mensa?” Said either straight or sarcastically.
Some years back I was tending the registration desk at the local group’s Regional Gathering* when I was approached by one of the speakers. She wondered if I could provide a lead-in for this particular group, and I suggested a variation on “if you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?”: “if you’re so intelligent, why ain’t you smart?” She liked the idea, and afterwards said it segued very smoothly into her topic (something motivational, IIRC).
*Kind of a regional convention. Some groups have them annually, some sporadically, some not at all.
The only ones who knew until now were my immediate family and my friends from the Spanish Mensa group. Eh… And now I got out of the closet for everybody in the SDMB who is reading this thread, obviously
I have never used my membership in Mensa in order to achieve status or “profit” from it. In fact, I have the strong suspicion that it would be rather counter-productive.
I know that where I work there are many members. However, I only know the identity of another one, and we have not even seen each other personally.
In my experience, people tend to be very discreet when it comes to their Mensa membership.
True. The organization used to provide actual scores. The volunteer proctors, people who administer the tests, are qualified and trained to do it, but few of them are licensed psychologists. It was found that in some states offering “IQ tests” was considered practicing psychology, so almost all proctors would have been disqualified, leaving the group at a huge disadvantage. Therefore, the proctors now offer “Mensa admission tests” and applicants are told only if they pass or do not pass.
My husband and I do; we met in Mensa and a huge part of our social life consists of our Mensa friends. We just moved to another state where we knew no one, so the first thing we did was hook up with the local group.
We place ads in some publications, and send press releases for testing sessions. Some groups have meet-and-greets at malls and bookstores. But we don’t go door-to-door.
I put it on my resume, because it’s relevant. I’m a writer and editor, and I write regular columns for our newsletter, one of which won a national award. I also have done public relations for two different groups, which is part of my job history.
I qualified for membership based on my SAT scores, which were 1320 on the pre-1974 test and 1420 on the post 1974 test. I don’t think the scores expire, so I could even join today, but I’m not really a joiner, and I feel like I’ve mostly aged out of the demographic. Most of the members are between 20 and 60 years old. It’s not like the dues are that onerous, but the benefits are nebulous, at best. No judgement on those who do belong, it’s just not for me.
And that’s why I do so well on that sort of test. I learned how to take multiple-choice tests–hell, I learned what a #2 pencil was–five or more years before most people my age, in the first grade. It was a huge advantage that allowed me to test higher than my peers, and 55 years later I can still sniff out the right answer because I’ve played the game so long. Doesn’t mean I’m smart, just that I have a well-practiced skill.
No, I was alluding to him working in the European Patent Office. He’s got some total bloppers about patent applications they’ve had and about addled old patents officers, but they come from all nations.
