Mensa?

[jullia]

Mensa It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardized, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test.

I don't know if some of you are member of this. It's look like a bit an eugenic creepy association.
Are they hiding there true propuse behind some legitim goal?

[Deltathenia]

No, it is just for high-IQ people to meet and socialize with each other. I think you should be more scared of organizations such as the Triple Nine Society which accepts only the top 99.9% of IQs.

[Redistribute the Rep]

I was always confused about the purpose of it. I mean what do they even accomplish? Is it just to brag? If you're really that smart then you probably already accomplished something and should brag about that instead of being in Mensa.

[consuming negativity]

you can tell that iq tests don't actually measure intelligence by the fact that i am not, according to mensa, intelligent enough to be a member

they're probably plotting global domination and should all be destroyed

i'm not bitter, no; why do you ask?

[BIXX]

What even is the border that defines 98%?

Anyway, its just a social club if I remember correctly. I wouldn't worry about it.

[RA89]

I was a part of Gifted & Talented in secondary school (high school) which is run by Mensa. I believe I got in when I was 11 because of a high score in an IQ test.
I got to go on a few nice trips for free and that was about it tbh.

Then I fell off, became lazy and achieved average grades. :o

[BIXX]

TAG isn't Mensa I don't think. I was in TAG and I think its just a program that is supposedly to help "talented and gifted" kids not get bored.

[Ceallach_the_Witch]

The founders of MENSA acknowledged influence from Cyril Burt several times - he was a member of the British Eugenics Society - he suggested several times that a high-IQ society be founded to 'preserve the virility of the Anglo-Saxon Race.' Until as recently as a few years ago, the North American branch still had a page dedicated to eugenics on their website. More anecdotally there have been several cases of individual members, some of whom held important positions in the organisation, advocating eugenics, forced sterilisation and even extermination of the elderly, infirm and homeless.

regardless of its public statements MENSA and other similar societies often have their roots in the eugenics movement of the early 20th century and personally, I think that is a legacy that remains with them.

[jullia]

you can tell that iq tests don't actually measure intelligence by the fact that i am not, according to mensa, intelligent enough to be a member

they're probably plotting global domination and should all be destroyed

i'm not bitter, no; why do you ask?


Me? i didn't even try to go in.
I just beleive the propose of this organisation is very suspicious. And it seems i'am not the only one as rousing chorus said on her post.

But it's very funny to read you. First time i see an anarchist who don't care about the class society and a "club" who has for roots to discriminate people.

[Tim Cornelis]

They're part of the judeo-freemensa conspiracy for world domination.

[Ethics Gradient, Traitor For All Ages]

I work with a lady who is married to a mensa member. They're both deep into credit card debt and I'm pretty sure he's hooked on pain meds, so their members cant be all that intelligent. I'm pretty sure the 98th percentile of humanity or whatever is probably running certain corporations and tricking you into voting for them, not sitting around in a social club full of neckbeards feeling smug.

[Palmares]

Occupy were so close... We are the 98%!

[PhoenixAsh]

logical thought fallacis in this thread:

Intelligence equates to being well to do. Intelligence equates with having a good job. Intelligence means you live healthy. Intelligence equates to being impervious to addiction.

....

Intelligence does not mean any of these things however.

[Ethics Gradient, Traitor For All Ages]

Sorry I didn't realize we were having a serious discussion about this supposed conspiratorial group of nerds who get together to play boardgames

[jullia]

So if i understood good, Mensa is more a social group to satisfy ego of people?
They haven't any eugenic goal or stuff like this?

[consuming negativity]

Sorry I didn't realize we were having a serious discussion about this supposed conspiratorial group of nerds who get together to play boardgames

they play board games?

fuck, now i actually really want in

someone invite camus

[Ethics Gradient, Traitor For All Ages]

It wouldn't suprise me if individual members have stupid plans for the organization but yes in its day to day activities it acts as a social club for people with self esteem issues, who happen to be good at taking IQ tests.

The city I live in has a couple board game clubs and a bar specifically oriented towards board game enthusiasts, I would choose those over mensa I think. Unless you're really into bragging about being a member of mensa

[PhoenixAsh]

It is an interest group based on intelligence with respect to intelligence and how it can be applied and fostered.

So it is not merely a social club although it is its primary function. That function is fulfilled because people with extremely high intelligence usually get socially isolated.

The position Mensa has in society at large is usually not a big issue unless you derive status from it....which is predominantly the case in the Anglo-Saxon world.

[Ethics Gradient, Traitor For All Ages]

Haha are you in mensa? Im not trying to make fun of anyone but yes in the US it does not act in the way you describe.

[Palmares]

Sorry I didn't realize we were having a serious discussion about this supposed conspiratorial group of nerds who get together to play boardgames

This board game to be exact:

http://www.sjgames.com/illuminati/img/cover_lg.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminati_%28game%29

[TC]

I would predict that Mensa is likely full of underachieving nerds who want group acknowledgment of their self-perceived superiority that they can't get in mainstream society.

Smart interesting people can find their way to other smart interesting people in settings not purely defined by the exclusive intelligence of the people there, but by the interesting things they're working on.

[DAN E BOY]

I'm not sure i would want to be as intelligent or on the same ''level'' as Mensa members.

Jimmy saville was a member of Mensa. So if you've got people of this kind that help create or test the material that Mensa put out, would you want to be congruent or high performing at these tests?

[Invader Zim]

I'm not sure i would want to be as intelligent or on the same ''level'' as Mensa members.

Jimmy saville was a member of Mensa. So if you've got people of this kind that help create or test the material that Mensa put out, would you want to be congruent or high performing at these tests?

First, being a member of Mensa does not qualify a person as being intelligent, it shows that they can achieve a high score on an IQ test, whch is not the same thing. Second, why does Saville being a member imply anything about anybody else who happens to score highly in IQ tests?

[The Feral Underclass]

Mensa is actually the lowest high IQ groups, with members only having to score at least 130. There are a few other high IQ groups, such as the Prometheus Society and the Mega Society who require a score of at least 160 and at least 170 respectively.

[DAN E BOY]

First, being a member of Mensa does not qualify a person as being intelligent, it shows that they can achieve a high score on an IQ test, whch is not the same thing. Second, why does Saville being a member imply anything about anybody else who happens to score highly in IQ tests?


I didn't imply other members were like Saville. I was pondering if it would be beneficial or even healthy to be like minded to Mensa tests, when people like Saville were in the organisation, given the kind of disturbing things he's done.

[jullia]

What are the concrete activity of MENSA?
I read they want to improve the world. But what does that mean for them. They just talki about their vision of the world while drinking tea;

[The Feral Underclass]

What are the concrete activity of MENSA?
I read they want to improve the world. But what does that mean for them. They just talki about their vision of the world while drinking tea;

I think it's basically just a social group. They organise social activities for their members. the Mega Society and Prometheus Society talk about how they want to provide a social space for those with intellectual capabilities that might otherwise isolate them from other people. I guess the thinking is that if you're that smart, you might feel at odds in most social spaces and want to have some where to be able to be with people who share the same intellect.