From Shot From Guns posted qualifying scores list, I’d say yes.
You can qualify with an SAT score prior to 1974.
No sponsors. No exhibit hall, unless you count the merchandise booth selling Mensa garb & gear.
The hotel offers three catered meals which are optional. We bring in everything else, and much of it is homemade.
You know how Max Bialystock says “Never put your own money in the show”?
We say “Never pay for meeting space!”
P.S. RG = Regional Gathering
In thinking about this some more, it really kind of irks me that you would say this, Lynn. In fact, this attitude I find far more offensive than the idea of Mensa itself. I mean, is this really the only reason you can think of that someone might be turned off by the concept? Do you really think that if a person is smart enough to be accepted that they are automatically going to want to join?
What if I said something like, “For some reason, a lot of people seem to be very interested in the very idea of Mensa. I guess they are insecure and really have a need to have their intelligence validated.” Do you think that’s a valid assessment of why you joined? Because gosh darn it, that’s the only reason I can come up with.
Ok, how does this fit in? If I had to take a test today to join, I wouldn’t. If I had to take a test 30 years ago to join, I wouldn’t. Because I wouldn’t want to put myself out to be tested only to be found lacking. And yes, I think I’d be kind of resentful to be judged in such a manner, if I didn’t pass.
Lucky for me, I took a test 35 years ago that had a high enough score to qualify for membership. So if I want, I can join, and pretend that I haven’t been judged, and not have to worry about measuring the amount of my mental deterioration in the intervening years. Win win!
Gosh darn it? Stuart, is that you?
I have to disagree. In my managerial days I did a lot of hiring. If I saw a potential employee was a Mensa member, I would take this under consideration. If only to think the applicant would be a good learner, and could make intelligent decisions, if necessary.
I don’t know where you’d get this impression. I’ve never been in a group that sat around and did math games, though I’m sure that there’s a special interest group that does do this. In Las Vegas, we did sit around and do a word game, consisting of guessing letters in a random five letter word, something like Mastermind only with letters, and the words had to be real words.
OK, this has been thrown around. Mensans are not necessarily smart. We are, however, very, very good at getting high scores on IQ tests. I am not convinced that getting a high IQ score necessarily means that I’m smart in all ways. I know, for instance, that I am hopelessly navigationally challenged. And any D&D player knows that a high intelligence doesn’t mean great wisdom to go with it.
I joined Mensa partly because I have always been a bit odd, even as a child, and now I’m a lot odd. I can whip out my Mensa card and say that by definition, I am at the fringe of the bell curve. I’ve never actually pulled out the card, but I have made that statement to other Mensans. They all stop, think, and agree with me. That, right there, is a good part of the reason I STAY in Mensa. I don’t have to explain what a bell curve is, or why I’m on the fringe of it. I am able to communicate with people who are not qualified to be in Mensa…but it’s a lot more fun to talk to people when I don’t have to explain the basic concepts of whatever we’re discussing. I don’t work in a place where I’m surrounded by intelligent, interesting people. My husband’s IQ is on the low side of normal. He has other good qualities, but he’s not the most fascinating conversationalist, especially since I really don’t CARE about the plot of the latest TV show he’s watched. Mensa serves as a way for me to meet and talk to interesting people. Every Mensa member I’ve ever met has been an avid reader, and enjoys talking about whatever they’ve read last. This is in very sharp contrast to the average person, who can’t be bothered to read for fun, or who reads the latest Dan Brown or John Grisham novel.
The SDMB is dedicated to stomping out ignorance, and most regular posters agree that this message board is more interesting than most MBs. It’s interesting because of the intelligence that most posters display. We don’t speak l33+ here, we think about what we say, and we assume a basic intellectual level among the posters. It’s quite a bit like Mensa, really, except that the SDMB requires only the most minimal of tests to get in.
A cousin of mine and his wife met at Mensa. I think I’d have joined, myself, if I were living in Tulsa, particularly in pre-Internet days.
You realize this isn’t doesn’t really work as an argument in favor of exclusion, right? It works as a criticism of it, though.
I seriously doubt it. I’m fairly confident that you could open wide the doors of Mensa without much risk of being over-run. If your national convention just slays at that point, well, good for you. You should make lots of money, be able to do even more fun stuff. If Joe Off-The-Street wants to pay 100 bucks to learn Ways To Save Money At The Pharmacy, it seems to me pointlessly exclusionary to say “no no – you’re not smart enough for this.”
Mensans are allowed in Oklahoma?
It’s not that I don’t think that Mensans are smart, it’s that I don’t know what they’re smart AT. I know a lot of people who score high on IQ tests and they all are good at different things and interested in different things.
Those readers can also be found at the reading group of your local library. My point was that being interested in a particular subject, such as reading, doesn’t necessarily correlate to scoring high on IQ tests. I dispute that Mensa is the only, or even the best, way to find interesting people to talk to, even if your IQ scores are sky-high.
And most of the people here probably wouldn’t qualify for Mensa, so what does that tell you?
I was referring specifically to the convention, not to the group itself. And the convention is not designed to make money, though it usually does.
Joe Off-the-Street might BE smart enough. Or he might come in and not understand any of the fast-flying puns, or might understand them and not LIKE puns, and feel he’d wasted his money and rather be at the birdwatchers’ breakfast. How will Joe know? Talk to some Mensans and come to something.
I say this with all due respect, and the hope that I’m not being insulting, which I don’t mean to be, but . . .
This is exactly the attitude that makes me think Mensa members would not be a great fit in a professionally mixed group. In a Mensan’s world, people don’t know what a bell curve is. Basic concepts of whatever is being discussed must be explained. The average person doesn’t read for fun, or only reads lowbrow stuff.
I’m not challenging your experience at all, but if I were faced with someone who found daily interaction with less intelligent people to be such a chore and who found themselves unable to communicate easily with the less-smart, I definitely would not think they would be a good fit for any job that involved public interaction or any degree of teamwork, which describes, of course, the vast majority of jobs. IOW – and again, I’m truly not insulting you, I hope, because I really like you – this reads like a serious liability to me, not a successful attribute, which is why I wouldn’t be thrilled to see “Mensa” on a resume.
But that’s really the key difference, isn’t it? ANYBODY can join the SDMB. There’s not a “most minimal of tests to get in,” there’s NO test to get in. All are welcome. That is THE crucial distinction, IMO.
But it’s not enough to talk to some Mensans and come to something. That’s actually how *non-*exclusionary organizations work, not Mensa.
Well, I can’t dispute that there are qualifications for membership. It seems that you want me to agree with you that the group should not exist, and that I will not do. I will answer any questions anyone has about Mensa, but I won’t be apologizing for its being or for me being in it.
I’m pretty sure the “most minimal of tests” the poster was referring to were:
1.) Being able to operate a computer.
2.) Being able to access the internet and navigate to this site.
3.) Being able to register for a forum.
So, pretty minimal–just not nonexistant.
Oh, and… The only time I actually considered joining Mensa was when I was the socially awkward smart kid in my grade school class. So go ahead and make of that what you will.
Okay, this is a little weird. If it’s about puns and getting puns, what does that have to do with IQ (as measured from flawed tests - cultural, gendered, and class norms factor heavily into one’s facility with these measures)? So have a punner’s club.
I think I’m Jodi’s camp here. I belong to a lot of clubs and organizations, but the general trend is a shared interest and time to commit to it. Mensans presumably have tons of varied interests; but the only common trait shared among the members is a score on a test. Which some have extrapolated to mean they occupy high status in society, which I find bizarre.
If the criteria were simply “people who score well on standardized tests,” all well and good. But “top 2%?” Surely you know that this is at best an estimation.
Some of you have hinted at social awkwardness, and I admit that this is perhaps what sticks in my craw. I certainly have weird or awkward traits, but I also know when it’s appropriate to exhibit those traits. It sort of reminds me of being in talented & gifted class where kids were allowed to act like asses and idiots because they were clever. I think part of intelligence is, as Kipling said, to be able to “walk with kings, but not lose the common touch.”
I suppose my thought is that social awkwardness doesn’t correlate to intelligence. There are tons of folks who aren’t too bright that are awkward, and vice-versa.
Last point, I guess, is that “elite” clubs bother me a bit. What if there was a club of people admitted to Ivy League schools? (There are actually several such clubs, and I roll my eyes at them.) Note I said “admitted.” I wouldn’t necessarily be amiss to joining a Harvard Club, but the difference is that there’s a shared experience of living in Cambridge, commencement, etc. But just meeting a criterion strikes me as weird. You can be an axe-wielding maniac, a sociopath… as long as you scored in the top 2%!
I certainly think it’s wonderful that Mensans here have discussed their membership with enthusiasm, and I suspect there’s a certain “I don’t get it” to the way it makes me feel. I say more power to y’all, though, as long as you don’t hurt anybody…
[sniff] It’s enough to know that I could join if I were so inclined. Pre-1989 ACT score. I don’t remember any of my other numbers.
Oh, I can interact and communicate with less intelligent people just fine. I worked in a deli/liquor/convenience store in Las Vegas, on the swing shift for a while, and was able to get along with most of the customers and my coworkers. I just want MORE in the way of mental stimulation. It’s like…I can subsist on rice and beans, but every now and then I will want some steak or prime rib. Most Mensans, I think, or at least most Mensans who come to the meetings, are pretty much the same way. They can get along with non-Mensans, but they go to the meetings for stimulation that they don’t get elsewhere.
And yes, the SDMB does have some tests to get in. We require registration, which includes reading a damn captcha, and following the emailed instructions on completing the registration. This is to keep out spambots. We also have some tests to keep a poster in…for instance, if someone signs up and immediately starts spamming, we ban. If someone signs up and starts making what we consider trolling posts, we ban. If a regular poster cannot or will not abide by the registration agreement, we ban. The SDMB really isn’t open to everyone. We have whole domains that we don’t accept registrations from, because we have found that we get only spammers from those domains.
I don’t know that Mensans are champs at teamwork. Some probably are. I can work in a team, and have in the past (I’ve played a LOT of D&D, which requires teamwork), but I can also work on my own and be happy about it. I think that your assumptions about Mensa are wrong, in at least some cases. I would urge you to not assume that Mensans all have the same personality.
And I really like you too, I find your posts interesting even when I don’t agree with them.
I need to check those groups out again, yes. Last time, they were discussing Robert Jordan, John Grisham, and Stephen King. All popular authors, but not ones that I will read if given my choice of reading material.
And no, Mensa isn’t the only way to find interesting people to talk to, for everyone. However, it’s the best way I’ve found. It works FOR ME. If you don’t think it would work for you, then I certainly won’t hold a gun to your head and insist that you attend a meeting or two. Although, of course, you could. Your local group would probably let you attend to see if you like it, even if you aren’t a member right now. I know that all of the local groups/chapters that I’ve been in have welcomed curious guests. For that matter, we also welcome speakers who aren’t in Mensa.
Seems my SAT qualifies me. But I can’t think of anything more dreadful than a conversation filled fast-flying puns. Give me the birdwatchers’ breakfast any time.
I’ve never been much interested in joining. And this thread has really turned me off.