Anybody on here a member of MENSA?

[Deleted]

I've always known I was eligible based on my GRE verbal score, but I was never interested for a couple of reasons. One is that I'm actually not that smart.  I had an IQ test as a child, and it stated that I was high gifted or something like that. But since I wasn't genius level, it's merely gifted to me and not "that" smart.  It would annoy me to go to a convention or something and feel "dumb" since I really only feel dumb when around something mechanical.  The rest of the time I am several steps ahead and annoyed at how slowly stuff is moving.

The other reason is a slight paranoia. I have read way too many thriller type books, and it always seemed like the bad guys wanted the "smart" people for their evil ends. If nobody really knows how smart I am, the reasoning goes, I can slide under the radar.   Cue card: please quit laughing now. 

But now I wonder in my older age if this group offers anything I might find interesting.  Do they play Scrabble or other board games?  Or is it only chess, which bores me because it is too slow?  What do they actually do?

I know you guys are basically smart so I figured someone could clue me in. 

[Nazgul Girl]

   My first husband and I qualified, and we went to a couple of meetings, but we moved right after we joined the group in New England.    We hosted a couple of meetings of the group in the new city that we moved to, but we were amazed at how uncouth and downright rude some of the members were.   There was one family that we liked, but a lot of were unkempt men and women still living in their parents' basements.   We didn't continue our memberships  .   One guy, who scornfully corrected me on how I pronounced "Elgin" marbles ( he was correct, but still), announced that he had a fight with his mom "again," and told her that he "might" move out and get a job !!!   I said to my first husband later, " A job as WHAT ?!  A fungus ? "

  

[Deleted]

Ok, I am curious as to how you pronounce Elgin other than L-gen. Is it with a hard g?   Can you enlighten me?

[Deleted]

I joined Mensa 30 years ago because I thought it would be a great place to meet guys . Intelligence was an important quality for me. Frankly, I found they were smart but most of them were in fields that didn't require a genius IQ: dog trainer, probation officer , toll collector, for example. I got the feeling they joined Mensa for mental stimulation they didn't get elsewhere .

They had all kinds of activities; I remember being intrigued by an "Anything but English" party (Pig Latin was permitted) but never attended one.

[MarleyKeezy78]

I took a online pre test and qualified to take the actual test but never did. I would love to take the test and pass only to mess with my BIL and SILs' heads, they are both engineers and have always looked down on me for not going to college<<little do they know I am actually very smart just can't focus in a school setting>>

Take the test already!!!

[chiver78]

my mom was inundated with mail from them after she had my IQ tested in K/1st-ish*, but she never did anything with it. for where I am now, I'm totally with the OP on feeling like I'm smart, but not "that smart" and would feel way out of place at gatherings and such. I've taken the internet tests that have come around in recent years, and still place that I would likely qualify.....but I'm not really all that interested in it.

*I could read grade 1 material and had managed to "un-sinister" myself   by learning to write with my right hand by preschool, but was lagging way behind socially - the thought being that b/c I was the only kid in the neighborhood, I was just lagging socially. she wanted to know whether my IQ had something to do with the social stuff. looking back now, who knows.....

[The Captain]

Most truly intelligent peeps I know don't need to join a club to prove it.

[Nazgul Girl]

Jun 4, 2014 20:35:16 GMT -5 @southernsusana said:

Ok, I am curious as to how you pronounce Elgin other than L-gen. Is it with a hard g?   Can you enlighten me?

   Yes, it's pronounced with the hard "g."   The Elgin Marbles were the statuary stolen off of the Parthenon's frieze by Lord Elgin (with a hard "g" ) and are now in the British Museum.   I guess he went up to the Acropolis, and just had his workers chisel off the marble status from the Parhenon and other buildings on the Acropolis, had them crated up, and shipped his stolen goods home.   How nice for him.   

[The Captain]

Jun 4, 2014 21:26:01 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

Jun 4, 2014 20:35:16 GMT -5 @southernsusana said:

Ok, I am curious as to how you pronounce Elgin other than L-gen. Is it with a hard g?   Can you enlighten me?

   Yes, it's pronounced with the hard "g."   The Elgin Marbles were the statuary stolen off of the Parthenon's frieze by Lord Elgin (with a hard "g" ) and are now in the British Museum.   I guess he went up to the Acropolis, and just had his workers chisel off the marble status from the Parhenon and other buildings on the Acropolis, had them crated up, and shipped his stolen goods home.   How nice for him.   

I had not heard of these until your post and had to look up their history.


 Interesting.  

In all fairness he did have permission and based on historical accounts likely saved at least some from further damage or destruction.  His goal was to get them into a British Museum which he did eventually accomplish by selling them to one for less then what he paid in shipping.

[tallguy]

My ex-wife joined.  She went to some local meetings and activities, and a national convention as I recall.  I seem to remember her talking about playing and testing a bunch of different board games at one meeting, and I think she even brought one or two home afterwards.  I never bothered.  I was not about to pay dues to join a social club.  

[Sunnyday]

Jun 4, 2014 21:26:01 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

Jun 4, 2014 20:35:16 GMT -5 @southernsusana said:

Ok, I am curious as to how you pronounce Elgin other than L-gen. Is it with a hard g?   Can you enlighten me?

   Yes, it's pronounced with the hard "g."   The Elgin Marbles were the statuary stolen off of the Parthenon's frieze by Lord Elgin (with a hard "g" ) and are now in the British Museum.   I guess he went up to the Acropolis, and just had his workers chisel off the marble status from the Parhenon and other buildings on the Acropolis, had them crated up, and shipped his stolen goods home.   How nice for him.   

this is such a pet peeve of mine!! yes, the pronunciation is with a hard g, because it's a proper name. But I'll be damn if someone tries to tell me that it's phonetically correct!'

[shanendoah]

C's a member, as in another friend of ours. Neither of them have ever gone to a meeting. In their cases, it was for resume purposes- neither has a college degree (though C will by end of summer!), so the point of getting the MENSA membership was kind of like the "education" section on their resume. It lets employers know they're smart and creative in absence of that degree.

[achelois]

Jun 4, 2014 22:16:13 GMT -5 Sunnyday said:

Jun 4, 2014 21:26:01 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

   Yes, it's pronounced with the hard "g."   The Elgin Marbles were the statuary stolen off of the Parthenon's frieze by Lord Elgin (with a hard "g" ) and are now in the British Museum.   I guess he went up to the Acropolis, and just had his workers chisel off the marble status from the Parhenon and other buildings on the Acropolis, had them crated up, and shipped his stolen goods home.   How nice for him.   

this is such a pet peeve of mine!! yes, the pronunciation is with a hard g, because it's a proper name. But I'll be damn if someone tries to tell me that it's phonetically correct!'

It is British. You know they talk funny over there. 

My brother was a member of Mensa at one point. I don't know if he still is. 

[zibazinski]

Okay, my ex boyfriend, the doctor, and I did the online test because we had been drinking and he always thought he was smarter than me and I just decided WTH. I scored 2 points above him and basically, that started the end of our relationship. DF celebrates my smartness. I forgot the qualifying score now. I just remember mine and his scores.

[Sunnyday]

Jun 5, 2014 5:57:39 GMT -5 achelois said:

Jun 4, 2014 22:16:13 GMT -5 Sunnyday said:

this is such a pet peeve of mine!! yes, the pronunciation is with a hard g, because it's a proper name. But I'll be damn if someone tries to tell me that it's phonetically correct!'

It is British. You know they talk funny over there. 

My brother was a member of Mensa at one point. I don't know if he still is. 

lol, according to them, it's us that speaks funny. Something about English being their language!


 It's the victors that get to take home the spoils.  So, I don't know what they are talking about.

[Bonny]

I was eligible based on an IQ test I took in High School but after spending a short time with high IQ kids I knew I needed to spend time with "normal" people. No way would I join a club to be around more of them! 

And today I probably wouldn't qualify. Too many smacks to the head and glasses of wine over the years.

[Bonny]

Jun 5, 2014 9:07:54 GMT -5 Ratchets said:

I don't know what their requirements are and haven't taken an IQ test but I'm sure I could based off of scores on various placement tests until going down to the local pub killed my eligibility  .

Fixed!  

[Phoenix84]

You're eligable for Mensa and teaching?  Some might say you're wasting your talents.

[kent]

Here's a sample - amuse yourself

articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-01-04/entertainment/8902220824_1_typists-chickens-eggs

1. If two typists can type two pages in two minutes, how many typists will it take to type 18 pages in six minutes?

2. If it were two hours later, it would be half as long until midnight as it would be if it were an hour later. What time is it now?

3. Pear is to apple as potato is to: (a) banana, (b) radish, (c)
strawberry, (d) peach, (e) lettuce.

4. Continue the following number series with the pair of numbers below that best continues the series: 10 3 9 5 8 7 7 9 6 . . .

(a) 11, 5; (b) 10, 5; (c) 10, 4; (d) 11, 6.

5. Which of the following is least like the others? (a) poem, (b) novel,

(c) painting, (d) statue, (e) flower.

6. What is the following word.......

[shanendoah]

1) 6 typists to type 18 pages in 6 minutes
2) It is 9pm (3 hours until midnight)
3) (b)radish
4) (a)11,5
5) (e)flower
6) What

[Spellbound454]

How nice for him.

He preserved them.....the ones that are still on the Parthenon are in ruins.

Greece wants them back.....but then.... any country could ask for artifacts back from museums all over the world.
There wold be nothing left in museums.

I've seen them...they are displayed in a dimly lit room so they don't get damaged, and are preserved for prosterity.

If they weren't taken when they were....they would be gone forever.

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2014 9:39:13 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

You're eligible for Mensa and teaching?  Some might say you're wasting your talents.

Lol.  Don't you think smart people should be teaching the kids?  It's the result of my generation.  Women were encouraged to become one of three things: teacher, nurse, or secretary.  Of course, there were exceptions.  But when we are gone, I'm not sure what will happen to the teaching profession.

Meanwhile, I am an English teacher.  What do other people do with English degrees?  They don't usually do something high paying.  I should be writing the great American novel (it's the best paying thing to do with it).  I'm a good writer, but I'm way too concise.  The pay isn't as great for the great American short story.