Hey. I belong to Mensa, and I live in South Africa. personally i feel that Mensa is entirely overrated. I avoid telling people that i belong to Mensa because when they go "ohhhhhhhhhhh, she's so smart", which is an inappropriate way of perceiving things. i joined Mensa because i wanted to do something in my spare time. Being an undergrad at university, i was hoping that it would stimulate me in my field of interest, namely science. i was wondering, it is just South Africa, or do you guys abroad also have such a problem where Mensa does not cater specifically for the youth??? I mean all there ever is, is a monthly meeting, with drinks at a bar, and a guestspeaker. i'm interested as to what happens abroad? Do you guys have specific activities that young adults may enjoy? thanks guys=)
2006-09-15 00:52:32 · 11 answers · asked by abstract 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
I have been an active member of the Western Pennsylvania Mensa chapter of American Mensa for more that 20 years and I have had mostly positive experiences over that time.
The key thing that can make or break Mensa for a new member is the character of their local Mensa group - since those are the folks they will be interacting with most of the time. If my local group had consisted of bores or snobs when I first joined back in 1984 I would never have come back after the first few get-togethers. Fortunately, my locals were a pretty nice and pretty interesting bunch of folks. I made many friends back then that I still have today.
American Mensa has over 100 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) on topics from stamp collecting to skiing to handwriting analysis to dating. So even if you don't make many friends among the locals you can still connect to other members who share your interests. Some of these SIGs are specifically for kids or for young adults or for Gen-X, etc.
The main thing to keep in mind when considering Mensa is the very important distinction between "Elite" and "Elitist".
An Elite organization is measured at the top of it's specific qualifying attribute. Mensa is an organization of people with Elite I.Q.'s. A Basketball team is an organization of people with Elite heights. A Country Club is an organization of people with Elite incomes - and so on.
The members of an *Elitist* organization believe that their elite status makes them somehow "better" than others who aren't qualified to join. They think that their kind of people (smart people or white people or old people, or young people or left-handed people or...) are better than everyone else. This is a quite arrogant and rather stupid position to take.
I am a member of an elite IQ organization. This means that I tend to be smarter that most others - which doesn't mean I'm better than others. Basketball players are taller than most others, which doesn't mean that they are better than others. Country club members are richer than most others, but that doesn't mean that they are better... and so on.
I was born with my I.Q. - I didn't earn it and I can't take any credit for it any more than I can take credit for my hair color. HOWEVER - I can be mature enough to see that my high intelligence doesn't make me better than anyone else. And that is exactly the difference between elite and elitist.
If someone is curious about Mensa I strongly recommend that they look into it - most folks who do are qualified to join if they wish.
Thanks.
2006-09-15 05:36:13 · answer #1 · answered by Carbon-based 5 · 6⤊ 0⤋
i've got taken various IQ exams in my day, and from what I keep in mind, my variety is between 128 and 132 or so. i think of it relatively is close to to Mensa variety, yet i does no longer be attracted to paying a team money so i will get a certificates to coach people who i'm clever.
2016-09-30 23:46:01 · answer #2 · answered by haslinger 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I passed the requirements but didn't bother joining... my mother joined and thinks its the best think since buttered bread... but that's her...
I once mentioned Mensa to a coworker years ago and started getting called 'The Mensa Kid'...
I don't tell people anymore...
I enjoy reading Marilyn Vos Savants puzzles in the Sunday paper though...
2006-09-15 01:06:31 · answer #3 · answered by Andy FF1,2,CrTr,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 5 · 4⤊ 2⤋
I was a member for years, but finally dropped my membership and went on to live a fairly normal life. I discovered that other things were more fun, like Yahoo answers! :) I love to read the questions!
2006-09-15 01:01:41 · answer #4 · answered by Sarah E 4 · 5⤊ 1⤋
I agree - MENSA is a total bore, so dropped membership 20+ years ago.
2006-09-15 01:22:41 · answer #5 · answered by Prof. Cochise 7 · 2⤊ 5⤋
Donald Trump said that Mensa was overrated, too.
2006-09-15 01:01:41 · answer #6 · answered by First Lady 7 · 1⤊ 5⤋
Meh, Mensa accepts the top 2% by IQ test. Two percent, as in one in fifty people. I'm better than that, why lower myself to associate with the plebes?
2006-09-15 00:55:53 · answer #7 · answered by Sinai 3 · 3⤊ 6⤋
I'm a member of another group, for people who were too thick to gain membership to Mensa, we call it "Densa"
2006-09-15 00:58:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 4⤋
Yeah, thanks for admiting it. Mensa is an elitist bulls.h.i.t. organization. There is little you can get out of it other than networking with other self-obsessed, narcsstic people.
Yes, you get some "perks" with the membership fee, like free games and discounts.
I am not a member of Mensa, but I qualified and decided I didn't need to be around those people.
2006-09-15 01:04:10 · answer #9 · answered by allforasia 5 · 1⤊ 8⤋
hey, buddy! could you get me the URL for MENSA?
2006-09-15 01:03:54 · answer #10 · answered by kapilbansalagra 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋