Straight Dopers vs MENSA…
Beforehand MENSA claims that this cannot happen as the Straight Dopers have not provided evidence in the form of IQ test results that they are worthy enough of MENSA’s attention. After a roundhouse and two right hooks MENSA can no longer complain as they lack teeth…
I hate those bastards. I truly wish a pox upon them.
Why?
dont bother me one bit…gotta 153 i.q
Yeah right!
concrete, that was the DOG IQ test. To convert your IQ to human standards, please substract 100 (one hundred). Can you do that for us?
My boss was into the local Mensa group, and tried to recruit me, since I’ve got high enough test scores to qualify.
Anyway, there was a whiteboard outside our computer room that we used to post messages. The computer needed repairs, so the sign read “Computer is DOWN” for a couple of days. When it was repaired, I changed it to “Computer is UP”. I walked in with the boss after lunch, boss looks at the sign, and tries to figure it out. “Computer is U… P… U… P…” like it’s some sort of acronym !!! I laughed so hard!
I don’t like 'em cause of the damn exclusivity.
Intelligence=X
If you don’t fall into the category of X, you can’t join…dumbass.
That’s the basic principle (albeit incredibly overstated) that annoys me. I like dopers better (in the month that I have known 'em) cause they’re an bit more diverse and in touch with this world. If I have to ask someone how to fix a car, I am asking a doper.<director’s note: asskissing sounds should be inserted here. i want volume!!!>
ben
Well, geez, Grendel, ALL clubs are exclusive.
To belong to Mensa, you have to have a high IQ.
To belong to the Menudo Fan Club, you have to like Menudo.
To belong to my club, you have to be a white male heterosexual Protestant with a trust fund. And no surnames ending in vowels, either, greaseball.
So what’s the problem?
– Uke, beating all the libertarians to the thread
Straight Dopers vs MENSA… ?
Sounds like there’s a few SDMensans out there.
How bad can an SDMensan be? They come here to live, love, laugh, and be happy. And rant and kvetch.
I was a member of Mensa about 15 years ago. They were a bit pretentious for my tastes, so I left.
Hmm, now that I think of it, the pretentious level on SD is above average as well.
Hmm, not that I really think of it, my personal pretentiosness is a bit on the high side too.
Maybe Mensa’s not so bad after all.
I was a member for a while, but became quite agitated and frustrated by the level of stupidity around me. Sure, they all have “high” IQ’s, but I continually had to explain how my IQ went off the scale and came back around so it likes like it’s a 65, but it’s really more like a 265. They never got that through their giant skulls so I’d tease them about how an anagram of “MENSA” is “SEMAN”. It works better when shouted at the top of one’s lungs while leaning forward with arms back.
Give me an ounce of common sense before a pound of book lernin’ anyday.
Last week I recieved my state certification as an industrial hydraulic tech. My daughter ask if I was going to frame it or put it in the drawer. My answer?..in the drawer with the others.
I now have a total of nine certificates- none framed. Why?
Because I worked for them and tested for them for my own satisfaction and (to the tune of the army jingle…be all that I can be…) I didn’t do it to show off or to wave them in anyones face. I did it for me, period! (Well…maybe to get a small raise at work so I can get off welfare) 
I don’t know if I could pass the Mensa test or not, but I really couldn’t care less. What would it get me other than a banner to wave and a sure means of alienating my friends?
If you feel secure about yourself, why brag?
…VaHermit!!! That’s what I was getting towards pretty much. Damn intelligence if one can’t apply it and use it in the real world. The SDMB people debate things that are applicable to their lives in many manners. Political issues (Kissinger’s foreign policy), functional things (the very recent ‘how to get rid of groundhogs’), and sometimes inane things that are simply for amusement and curiosity (most postsin the BBQ pit for instance). talking to MENSA-ites(?) it’s like a giant schlong comparison contest.
“my iq is 185!!!”
“mine is 190!!! HA!!!”
Ukele…but the degree of the exclusivity and the manner in which the criteria are determined and measured (a fricking test!!!) is bizarre.
Gren:
I am with you. I think. Maybe. I don’t know.
I paid the bastards $35 for the test, but they told me to take a hike.
Said I was close, and to try the test again. I don’t think so.
I’d think I’d rather be with the common people.
I’m a member of MANSA. I think it’s the same. Maybe it’s better. I’m not sure.
I got it off a matchbook cover. Or maybe it was an infomercial at 4 a.m. Anyway, all it required was a second mortgage - but for that kind of prestige …
I mean, those MANSA guys were getting the chicks.
What? I’ve been involved in four chapters in three states…and I’ve NEVER heard anyone comparing IQs. Ever. For that matter, they don’t really care if you’re the M or a family member or guest when you go to a meeting, at least in my experience.
It’s perfectly possible that this sort of thing goes on in every single chapter except the ones I’ve been in…but I rather doubt that it does. This sounds a lot more like someone’s conception of what an M meeting is like.
Well, I passed their tests, but I agree with VaHermit and Grendel69. What good is intelligence if you can’t apply it practically?
“You may be able to work out how long it takes to fill a bath with both taps full on and no plug, but you still bought those magic beans”
Why aren’t MENSA members all rich?
Intelligance is only one factor (and yes, it is a factor) in being succesful (ina material/financial sense), but it can be outweighed by other factors eg luck!
Hey! I’m fucking brilliant and I don’t make a lotta money, because it’s against Buddha Nature.
What makes you think we aren’t ?
Monsieur Ike d’ukelele is pulling your chaîne.
We all share in the conspiration globale called the IMF; le Fonds monétaire international.
And your Monsieur Greenspan works for us.
(We know where his bodies are buried. There are several Swiss attachés “M.I.A.” from a certain early meeting of his Fight Club.)
You’re not really supposed to take it. They want you to fill it out and give it back.
I wish someone had told me!
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 Mensa believes otherwise.