Joining MENSA - How to Become a Member

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The discussion revolves around joining MENSA, a high IQ society, and the varying opinions on its value and the perception of its members. A participant expresses interest in joining MENSA, citing a qualifying IQ of around 135, but seeks clarification on the membership requirements, which are confirmed to be a score in the top 2% of the population, typically around 130. There are mixed feelings about MENSA; some view it as a gathering of egotistical individuals, while others believe it could provide intellectual stimulation. Concerns are raised about the nature of intelligence tests, particularly online versions, which are deemed less reliable than standardized tests like the Wechsler or Stanford-Binet. Participants share personal experiences with IQ testing, expressing skepticism about the significance of IQ scores and the social dynamics within MENSA. The conversation highlights a general ambivalence towards MENSA, with some members recalling negative experiences and others questioning the necessity of joining such a group for validation of intelligence.
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now, I know that everyone at PF hates MENSA immensly, but I don't care.

I'm wondering if anyone here know's how to join. it seems like the MENSA test is figuring out how to become a member. I know I'm qualified. I'm in the international high iq society, and my iq is about 135. but how to join?
 
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Why does everyone hate MENSA and what in the world is the international high iq society? I swear i remember hearing that on king of the hill...
 
http://www.highiqsociety.com

that's just a joke, click the link, take you to the real page
 
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Are you a member?
 
yes...
 
yomamma said:
http://www.highiqsociety.com

that's just a joke, click the link, take you to the real page

Man I feel like a moron, mine's 104 :frown:
 
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I only got 121... i guess watching family guy takes away a few points...

Something about that site makes me wonder though :P
 
:smile: :smile: I'm too busy to take th test!
 
I'm not quite sure but I think that you need a genius IQ to join MENSA which I think starts at 160. Maybe I should check first huh?
 
  • #10
i thought it was 130
 
  • #11
TheStatutoryApe said:
I'm not quite sure but I think that you need a genius IQ to join MENSA which I think starts at 160. Maybe I should check first huh?

Its 130. I heard you can get a discount on car insurance!
 
  • #12
http://www.mensa.org/
Ok.. so appearantly since scores can vary depending on the test you took the criteria stands at testing in the top 2% for whatever intelligence test you take. There's more info on the site.
Since geniuses tend to be absent minded I doubt they will mind your lack of ability to use Google. :-p
 
  • #13
I have a big problem in taking any kind of test which are abit long! I get tired and bored too soon and I just answer the last questions randomly! :smile: How can I be more patient?
 
  • #14
140 and up is near-genius/genius level.
In some countries apearantly Mensa members can get special credit cards and insurance. A friend of mine suggests that to quell an ignorant population all Mensa members should be issued a firearm and a liscence to shoot people for being idiots.
 
  • #15
TheStatutoryApe said:
140 and up is near-genius/genius level.
In some countries apearantly Mensa members can get special credit cards and insurance. A friend of mine suggests that to quell an ignorant population all Mensa members should be issued a firearm and a liscence to shoot people for being idiots.

Based on IQ or based on actions? Cause I don't feel like getting shot.
 
  • #16
Diencephalon said:
Based on IQ or based on actions? Cause I don't feel like getting shot.
Yeah I know, I didn't think it was avery good idea either. :wink:
 
  • #17
TheStatutoryApe said:
Yeah I know, I didn't think it was avery good idea either. :wink:

To me, IQ never mattered much because I never actually knew what mine was or could be until tonight. I never let it hinder me or haunt me throughout my life, you know?

Just becuase I'm 104 doesn't mean I can't achieve my goals of becoming a nuclear engineer. ;)
 
  • #18
I don't believe this test could say anything about our IQ! Most of time I fil the last questions randomly but I still get a high IQ!I think it means I'm lucky!
 
  • #19
I get distracted too easily to get an accurate score :|
 
  • #20
Hmm--I took the "Tickle" IQ test (searched google for "IQ test")-->and got 136. Where exactly does that fit in on the IQ curve? Can I really trust that IQ test??

**Btw, minimum IQ to join MENSA is 140, according to http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/archive/index.php/t-2433.html. Smart indeed, for them to have their own IQ test, b/c online is risky business; there are sites with really WEAK IQ tests...:frown:
 
  • #21
No its suppose to be 130... but I think they recently changed it to top 2%
 
  • #22
I knew a women who was in MENSA. She was quite incompetent at just about everything. Her apartment was disorderly and reeked of cat crap. She barely had any money and borrowed constantly from her rich parents (she was in her early thirties). She taught English as a second language and married one of her students (a Cuban) to get him citizenship. She was very intelligent and one of the most articulate and clever speakers I've ever met, but she radiated insecurity. I don't think she took part in any MENSA activities, if they even had any. She apparently joined on a whim just because she could.
 
  • #23
MENSA requirement is a score in the top 2% (standard deviation 2) of the population on a standardized and supervised IQ test. That means:

132- Stanford-Binet
148- Cattel
130- Wechsler

As you can see an IQ score doesn't mean much without indicating the relevant scale.
 
  • #24
MENSA is for people who is in possession of a particular form of intellect, and often very little besides. I know of very few accomplished scientists who are members of MENSA, but I do know about quite a few truck drivers and the like who are.
 
  • #25
arildno said:
MENSA is for people who is in possession of a particular form of intellect, and often very little besides. I know of very few accomplished scientists who are members of MENSA, but I do know about quite a few truck drivers and the like who are.
:bugeye: :bugeye: Maybe these truck drivershaven't had enough money to continue their educations! :cry:
 
  • #26
Lisa! said:
:bugeye: :bugeye: Maybe these truck drivershaven't had enough money to continue their educations! :cry:
That might well be the case in some instances.
However, the ability to pick out the right abstract pattern in a stylized test tells very little about the abilities of a person besides the obvious fact that he has the ability to pick out the right abstract pattern in a stylized test..
 
  • #27
arildno said:
MENSA is for people who is in possession of a particular form of intellect, and often very little besides. I know of very few accomplished scientists who are members of MENSA, but I do know about quite a few truck drivers and the like who are.

Not to mention ESL teachers.
 
  • #28
Pengwuino said:
I only got 121... i guess watching family guy takes away a few points...
Soooooo worth it.
 
  • #29
I joined a group many years ago. There meetings were a nightmare of people bickering, telling other people how much they know, to the point where it was really rude. One year was enough for me. And not one of them was smart enough to make a good cup of coffee.
I'm sure some groups of MENSA are better then others. The trick would be to find a good group in your area.
 
  • #30
hypatia said:
I joined a group many years ago. There meetings were a nightmare of people bickering, telling other people how much they know, to the point where it was really rude. One year was enough for me. And not one of them was smart enough to make a good cup of coffee.
.
This doesn't surprise me. I think MENSA is filled with individuals who feel their intellect isn't appreciated as it ought to have been, and who fail to see that the ability to solve logical puzzles isn't really an asset.
 
  • #31
hypatia said:
I joined a group many years ago. There meetings were a nightmare of people bickering, telling other people how much they know, to the point where it was really rude. One year was enough for me. And not one of them was smart enough to make a good cup of coffee.

Sounds like PF. :wink:
 
  • #32
Umm... Why join MENSA??
 
  • #33
From what I remember you can either submit a Revised Weshler, Standard Binet, and I also believe they take some other forms of standardized tests, I think Miller Analogies may be on there list. I don't think they take SAT/GRE scores anymore. Also you can schedule a test date to take a "standardized" MENSA test which may take place at a location close to you.

Keep in mind that MENSA, Weshler, Stanford Binet, Miller analogies, as well as most of their accepted tests, place a very high value on "verbal" intelligence. Tis partly why these standardized tests are correlated so highly with the SAT/GRE. Online tests, despite what they may claim, even the better ones, are simply not the same, they are drastically different (I've taken a couple of psych courses, including the higher level ones just for the fun of it). They also take a lot longer to complete.

-online tests evaluate a specific group of the population, most test takers who actually feel the need to engage in these online tests are actually "dumber" than those who don't feel the need to take them since they already have a good self assessment from early accomplishments.

-Online tests don't evaluate verbal intelligence, or nearly as much.

-Online tests don't evaluate memory, or the ability to regurgitate a sequence backwards from that stated from the test administrator (e.g. 1239849050, regurgitate it backwards. They fail to evaluate other components of intelligence.

-There is not nearly as much pressure from these online tests as when you're face to face with a test administrator and your concentration is being tested for hours.

Also, I would imagine that the top 2 percent assertion is not accurate. Most people who already have a good self assessment from their early academic accomplishments do not feel the need to take such tests as Weshler when they had already taken the SAT. But I don't think it's such a bad idea to join Mensa, nothing quite wrong with keeping yourself stimulated and busy by exercising your brain.
 
  • #34
GCT said:
I don't think they take SAT/GRE scores anymore.
members.shaw.ca/delajara/criteria.html

1994 is the infamous cutoff year. The SAT was modified in 1994. Average scores jumped higher from that year on and the yearly number of perfect scores multiplied compared to pre-1994.
 
  • #35
GCT said:
Also, I would imagine that the top 2 percent assertion is not accurate.
g does not conform to a normal distribution within 2σ of the mean?
 
  • #36
The IQ tests measures intelligence at the higher frequencies, I mean levels, as well as the Rayleigh Jeans formulation for blackbody radiation did energy. I feel it a logical assumption that the correlation would break there.

It seems foolish to assume that those who think so differently as to be labeled geniuses would do well on a test created for those of a different, more normal type of intelligence.

I wonder, what are the Love Quotient and Wisdom Quotient of you and I? Surely all people with a high LQ would answer that they would not let the fluffy, cute little kitten be eaten by the bear on an LQ test.

Prehaps I should start a HighWQ society, which hopefully, would have 0 members as they would all be wise enough to not fall for my underhanded money making scheme. :biggrin:
 
  • #37
I got 134 on the first test "Ultimate IQ test" thingy.
 
  • #38
Sir_Deenicus said:
The IQ tests measures intelligence at the higher frequencies, I mean levels, as well as the Rayleigh Jeans formulation for blackbody radiation did energy. I feel it a logical assumption that the correlation would break there.
I'm sorry, but what does "higher frequencies" mean??

What is high&noble about the ability to solve silly, logical puzzles?
(I'm quite good at them myself, but I don't regard that as my best asset.)
 
  • #39
I knew tis would turn into anoth PF thread where everyine *****es about MENSA
 
  • #40
where'd you get your "iq" of 135 from?
 
  • #41
some test I think at the high iq society
 
  • #42
well, it wouldn't be so bad to take an iq test, if you attend a university or college you may be able to schedule a Weshler Revised with one of the school psychologists (try university counseling services). They may charge you for the full fee, or perhaps give you a discount, or even deny your request; I imagine that most universities comply with such procedures, at least my previous university did (U of Iowa). You could also feign mental illness and they may give it to you for free, although they probably won't release your scores to you or MENSA, but rather tell you what your general weaknesses and strengths are, and your percentile :wink:

I would recommend Weshler over other tests, because it provides a comprehensive and completely professional/valid overview of where your strengths and weaknesses are. With other tests you'll just be dissatisfied and want to take more tests, in the end you'll eventually take Weshler and that'll be the end of your "iq" journey.
 
  • #43
hypatia said:
I joined a group many years ago. There meetings were a nightmare of people bickering, telling other people how much they know, to the point where it was really rude. One year was enough for me. And not one of them was smart enough to make a good cup of coffee.
I'm sure some groups of MENSA are better then others. The trick would be to find a good group in your area.
You really have to wonder what sort of people are going to pay money simply to have the ability to say they belong to a group of geniuses.
"I am in the top 2% of the population in regards to intelligence."
"I am in the top 2% of the population in regards to intelligence and I have my Mensa card to prove it!"
You kinda have to wonder just how bright they really are.

No offense Hypatia. :redface:
 
  • #44
Yomamma, join if you want to. But why do you want to? I know several people that were Mensa members (scientists at NASA that I knew) that quit because they said they had never met such a nasty, egotistical set of snobs in their life. They warned me not to join. Your score will put you at the bottom of the rankings, be ready to be looked down upon by those that scored higher. It seems to attract people that are insecure about their intelligence and need acknowledgment.

I don't know anyone that is currently a member that I can tolerate.
 
  • #45
yomamma said:
some test I think at the high iq society
Have you had a real IQ test? Those online tests aren't real. I was tested at the request of my teacher when I was 11. What I scored back then is probably higher than I would test now. If you are just interested in what your real score is, then paying the nominal MENSA fee for the tests they give is fine, just realize that it will not be like the online version.
 
  • #46
Evo said:
they said they had never met such a nasty, egotistical set of snobs in their life.
That's my experience exactly. I've never even thought of joining (since I was about 12). I'd far rather have a conversation with a construction worker or truck driver over some beers than be inundated by inanities from a bunch of jerks. (Ideally, of course, I'd prefer to be with PFers and some beers :biggrin: ) I've been in discussions of totally elementary subjects such as nuclear power generation with people who hadn't a clue what they were talking about except that they had to be right because they were geniuses in the top 2% of the population. I never had the heart to tell them that I'm in the top 1%, but it was tempting. The people who utilize their intelligence (any form thereof) in a useful manner are far more valuable than puff-balls who can't get over themselves.
 
  • #47
Evo said:
Yomamma, join if you want to. But why do you want to? I know several people that were Mensa members (scientists at NASA that I knew) that quit because they said they had never met such a nasty, egotistical set of snobs in their life. They warned me not to join. Your score will put you at the bottom of the rankings, be ready to be looked down upon by those that scored higher. It seems to attract people that are insecure about their intelligence and need acknowledgment.

Hmm maybe I should join. I want to see a real world example of General Discussion.
 
  • #48
Pengwuino said:
Hmm maybe I should join. I want to see a real world example of General Discussion.
It's GD without the humor or camaraderie.
 
  • #49
oh wait, so its like the political section of GD...
 
  • #50
Pengwuino said:
oh wait, so its like the political section of GD...
YES! That's it!
 

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