Problem with Mensa....

[Guy Fawkes]

I don't know if this applies to all places- I hope it doesn't- but the Wisconsin chapter of Mensa has *a lot* of freeper types. There is (or was) an email newsletter that circulated with topics like "the jewish problem."

My siblings and all of their friends quit after seeing some of the crap these people pass for intelligence.

[Lex]

1. Truly smart people laugh at the Mensa people

from what I have observed.

[yorgatron]

2. if you have to pay dues so someone can call you smart,well

that sounds pretty dumb to me :evilgrin:

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. That's one of the main reasons why I've never joined

I always thought it would be nice to put on the resumes. But on the other hand, I don't feel the need to find my validation from the outside. It's not like its a professional organization - it's just for high IQ people. And quite many of them are smug, self-absorbed high IQ people (or low self-esteem high IQ people; probably both).

[Midlodemocrat]

14. I concur.

I belonged once to a chapter in a different state, but I find that the guerrilla intelligence method works better for me.

[AlienGirl]

34. It'd go over poorly on resumes

Even if the chapter *you* belonged to was completely cool, if you put "Mensa Member" on a resume, the people who read it will automatically feel threatened: "Uh-oh, this person thinks they're smarter than all of us!"

Besides, I think it's tacky to put something on a resume that's basically an intrinsic characteristic (like having green eyes or having an IQ above 140) and not something you've earned.

Tucker

[DrWeird]

3. It's like a club for guys with small penises

who think it's a club for guys with big penises.

[Lex]

6. LOL!

A pretty apt description, I'd say.

I'll have to remember that description. Hee hee.

[Speck Tater]

4. If they raised Mensa IQ requirements

...high enough to disqualify 98% of the members, I'd still qualify. I refuse to hang with such bottom-of-the-barrel riff-raff.

[Cadence]

7. Ahhh! You did this because of my post didn't you?

It's a ridiculous organization, I didn't think much of it when I was offered membership and never did anything with it, that was a long time ago. I think labeling yourself as genius actually decreases your intelligence.
True intelligence comes in many forms and not all of which are quantifiable. The people that I want to hear from are the ones that will tell you that they are a perpetual student, because the second that you declare "I know" and become impressed with yourself, you are no longer open to taking yourself to the next level..... you're no longer open to learning more.

"If you use the mind to study reality, you won't understand mind or reality. If you study reality without using mind, you'll understand both."
That's one of my favorite quotes..

[Spider Jerusalem]

9. Genius is impossible to quantify, anyway.

Case in point: "Blind Tom" Bethune, blind, mentally retarded, quite probably an autistic savant, who could play complex piano pieces after hearing them once and who produced many original compositions.

The human mind is a strange and wonderful thing, and remains so despite attempts to reduce it to something measurable by tests.

[Cadence]

17. Yeah. You feel me!

:D

[fluffernutter]

19. good post

:thumbsup:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

20. Exquisitely stated.

[murielm99]

8. The Mensa bashing I see on DU is

very much like the Christian bashing I see here.

If you see one group of Christians you don't like, then by all means, judge all Christians by their behavior. If you see one group of Mensans you don't like, then, of course, they are all bad.

Your siblings and friends should have reported the e-mails to the Wisconsin chapter, or to the national office.

The people who responded to your thread should listen to themselves. They sound very much like the ant-intellectual freepers we refer to here as morans.

People join Mensa for a larger variety of reasons than you smug assholes can imagine.

[DrWeird]

10. lol!

Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!

[Pithlet]

12. Mensa bashing. Lord, I've seen it all.

Poor, poor Mensans.

[mr blur]

25. Each to his/her own.

It's no worse than collecting baseball cards or stamps, I guess. I was invited to join Mensa after completing one of their "tests" but I said no, thanks. Seems rather sad, really. Reminds me of the Simpsons:
"Welcome, Super Friend. I am called Ham, because I enjoy ham radio. This is Email...Cosine...Report Card...Database...and Lisa. Your nickname will be Cosmos."

[Pithlet]

31. Actually, I don't have a solid opinion either way.

All I know about it is it's a group that you need to take an IQ test and pass above a certain level to join. Beyond that, I don't know what they do or what kind of people join. I just thought "Mensa bashing" was hilarious. I have noticed however, that on the internet, a lot of freeperish posts are finished with "I'm a member of Mensa" which always tickles me.

[Cadence]

15. LOL! Ahhh, God that's good.

Smug asshole #1 reporting for duty! Humility? What's humility?

[Lex]

18. You're kidding, right?

OMG.

[yardwork]

29. This is the funniest thread I've read in ages

[Rabrrrrrr]

21. OMG! The Mensa bashing is just awful here!

Oh, Lordy lordy, let my people go! Swing Low sweet chariot and hie us outta this Mensa-oppressing community!

[Guy Fawkes]

22. Good job on reading the whole message instead of just the title...

" don't know if this applies to all places- I hope it doesn't- but the Wisconsin chapter of Mensa..."

[murielm99]

24. As I said, your siblings and friends should have reported

this to the Wisconsin chapter or the national.

Mensa is apolitical.

And pardon me for expressing an opinion contrary to the DU groupthink.

I will try to march in lockstep in the future.

[Guy Fawkes]

26. See, this was the Wisconsin Mensa groupthink:

"minorities are bad." So many of the wisconsin members believe it that they just left.

[murielm99]

28. If you can provide a link, I will be glad to report this myself.

Otherwise, I cannot accept this generalization, any more than I can accept the other generalizations I am seeing in this thread.

[yardwork]

30. Who are you going to report this to?

Just out of curiousity.

[Cadence]

27. LOL! Stop, Stop! You're gonna

make me pee! :D

[ScreamingMeemie]

35. Oh please....it's a snitty snot society here in MI as well. I'd never

spend the money, as I don't need the validation. If it works for you than yeeehaaa goody....but I'd rather put my I.Q. to better use. :hi:

[Pithlet]

37. Hey, MrsG!

How are you feeling? :hi:

[Crankie Avalon]

11. Maybe at the chapter meetings they all...

...try to design and build the contraption that will finally catch that Roadrunner ("Wile Coyote...suuuuuuper geeeeenius").

[yardwork]

13. ROTFL!!!!

Without making any generalizations, I will say that the only Mensa member I've ever known was very conservative, and a bit of an ass.

[Orsino]

16. Cults *Always* Pump Up the Faithful...

...by telling them they're better than the rest of humanity. The Republican Party being one of the world's larger cults, it tends to attract people who crave that sort of validation. Add to this the elitist nature of GOP policy, and you have desperate to justify its power and privelege--and/or to assuage whatever traces of guilt might remain.

How else do they talk themselves into driving SUVs just because they can?

[Ron Green]

23. Some years ago, "IQ" was considered a significant number....

Recently the concept of "EQ" (emotional quotient) has come into more general awareness, and may be at least as important as IQ in describing practical intelligence. I, for one, would rather spend time with a good-hearted dimwit than a facile asshole.

[Enraged_Ape]

32. I ran into this in the Dallas, TX, MENSA

Plus my wife and I got tired of EVERYONE talking about their health problems, which just happened to be of a very strange variety, and often embarrassingly personal.

Let's face it: The one thing people have in common with others in MENSA is that they scored very highly, at one time, on some sort of test. Other than that, what is there to talk about?

[AlienGirl]

33. OK, that is creepy!

My experience with Mensans has been mixed. Quite a few of them seemed basically insecure about their intelligence and felt like they had to keep proving it by competing with each other on logic puzzles.

I wonder if the people at the national level know that the Wisconsin chapter is full of bigots?

Tucker

[HalfManHalfBiscuit]

36. Douchebags

I can't help but laugh at them.