Randy Cassingham's Blog

Posted by Neil from Calgary on July 12, 2008:

I first joined Mensa Canada in 1966 and retained membership for about 25 years until I let it lapse. I couldn't agree more with your comments about the diversity of characters in Mensa. Some are incredibly articulate and verbose, and others (like me) are so laid back that people are unbelieving when they find out I was in Mensa.

One of the most poignant observations I've heard was after one member was pontificating about something or another, another member reminded him that he was only one in fifty, not one in a million. I always loved that observation.

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Yep: that's what "98th percentile" means! I used to amuse myself by saying to people, "Do you realize that nearly HALF of all Americans are below average intelligence?!" Typical replies included "REALLY?!" and "Yeah, I'd be willing to believe that." -rc

Posted by Don in Nawlins on July 13, 2008:

I must shamefully admit that my Life Membership in MENSA has been sadly unused. It is the one group where you don't need to constantly explain yourself, since even those without the same knowledge set can still appreciate your views on complex concepts. My everyday contacts are seldom able to comprehend the majority of my esoteric comments and humor, so I have learned to 'dumb down' a lot of it. There is something to be said for being the smartest person in any given situation. ;-)

Posted by Jeremy from Sydney, Australia on July 13, 2008:

This all sounds pretty interesting, but I have never considered trying to join Mensa, or even testing my IQ, due to the attitude that Richard from the UK mentions. It seems that society considers it very egotistical and self-centered to promote yourself as smart, and thus I've always had an aversion to even thinking about it. Even if I'm not in the 98th percentile myself, I really love talking and meeting with smart people, for many of the reasons mentioned your post and the subsequent comments. So maybe I'll look into taking a test, but I still find the whole business a bit difficult, considering most of my life, I've been told not to be concerned about one's intelligence (or lack thereof).

Incidentally, my poor eyesight was diagnosed at age 7 - but my glasses were not particularly thick. :-)

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The people who tell you intelligence isn't important are the dumb ones, so you should take their opinions with a grain of salt. Intelligence shouldn't really be a matter of pride, since you're not responsible for it, but neither should it be a source of shame. You are, however, responsible for properly feeding your brain, and you can do that whether you're intelligent or not. It might be more satisfying to challenge yourself by hanging around other intelligent people, and that, in my opinion, is a decent reason to join Mensa. -rc

Posted by Bill, suburban Chicago on July 14, 2008:

At the Denver AG, I attended a program at which an audience member stated words to the effect of "That is the worst presentation I have ever seen." Someone on our side of the aisle suggested we drown the audience member out with applause. Since I felt the audience member had been rudely challenging the speaker regularly throughout the program, I started to applaud. After several seconds, another voice contributed an opinion that the applause might be misunderstood. I realized my error and stopped applauding. At the very end of the program, we applauded the speaker longer and louder then the prior effort.

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When I told the organizer of the upcoming Reno Regional Gathering the story, he was horrified. I think he'll be relieved by these further observations. -rc

Posted by Mark in NY on July 14, 2008:

I second what "Bill in suburban Chicago said" (I was sitting next to him at the talk in question), and have a bit to add.

The knucklehead (I'm being kind here) who stood up and stated, "That was the worst presentation I've ever attended," or words to that effect, was essentially saying that he didn't agree with the speaker's thesis -- even though the speaker was merely explaining WHY he agreed with SOMEONE ELSE'S (a third party's) point of view, and was eagerly telling audience members to where they could turn for more information. Just because the speaker could not articulately answer all of the aforementioned knucklehead's questions, he (the KH) decided that the speaker had to be embarrassed and his credibility destroyed. We were NOT amused, and did indeed applaud the speaker (even if misconstrued) after the idiot's remark.

I've been an active member of Mensa for 25 years, and have seen my share of boorish behavior, but that was absolutely the WORST example of it I'd ever seen at an event (or am ever likely to see again).

All that having been said, the Denver AG was, overall, quite a good one.

RC, we really do hope you'll consider Pittsburgh in '09 (I missed both of your talks this year).

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Thanks, Mark. -rc

Posted by Matt in Chicago on July 14, 2008:

First, let me say to Randy, I've been a reader since back when it was called "This Just In." Bravo and all that.

Second, I was in the audience, two rows behind the person I'm ashamed to call my fellow member, who said it was a terrible presentation and "If you were my attorney I'd fire you." The fact is, it was a poor presentation -- the speaker couldn't back up many of his claims and was very unacquainted with conflicting evidence. Nonetheless, I remain very sorry for the shabby treatment he got from that one jerk.

Posted by Andy in Parker, CO on July 14, 2008:

Just making a small correction to the definition of what it takes to be in Mensa, which is related to the comment, by a poster, about a particular Mensan only being one in 50, and not one in a million.

The requirement for being in Mensa is to be *above* the 98th percentile. Not at it. So any particular Mensan could well have an IQ of anything above 132, maybe 180, 200, whatever.

Many members also belong to one of the other, more elite, high IQ societies as well.

Thanks Randy, I've been reading True for a few years now. I did want to get to your talks at the AG, but wasn't able to make it.

Posted by Lynne, WI on July 20, 2008:

You say: "What I like about Mensan audiences is their ability to 'get' every joke."

That's a very common reaction of people who could join, who find Mensa for the first time.

I don't have to explain my jokes, I don't have to lose half my vocabulary, I don't have to hide the fact that I 'get' things much faster than the average person. I can just relax with friends who feel the same way.

If you make it, welcome aboard.

I'm ashamed to see the rumor substantiated by some of the other commenters here.

In all the Mensa conferences I've attended, I've never witnessed nor even heard of someone being that incredibly rude to a presenter. [Other Mensans, yes, but not a guest.]

I've seen presenters encouraged by their audience to take the test and join, and I've heard people in the hall after a seminar who tear apart a presentation, but generally if someone doesn't like a presentation / presenter, they'll just walk out and not waste their time. That's why poor presenters rarely know it - nobody tells them to their face, even diplomatically.

In fact, there's usually a reminder in the schedule book that many presenters are not Mensans, and to be extra nice to our guests, for guests you are. If people are fun, we want to be able to invite them back and have them say 'yes'.

And to Cathy in Philly, yes, they do revive memberships. If you have some proof (an old card or newsletter) it's easiest, but they can often look you up in their records. Look on the national site.

About the only topic which isn't discussed among Mensans is 'how smart are you?' and its variations.

People who say intelligence isn't important are either very intelligent, so it really isn't important, or are not intelligent, in which case it's a painful subject they don't want to deal with. (Aside from the extremely unintelligent, who generally seem to be pretty happy folks. Wonder if there's a moral there?)

On a resume, I'll include some of my volunteer service to Mensa if it helps my position, but tend not to out myself too often otherwise. It's just another characteristic, like having blue eyes or being tall, but some people feel threatened and need to try to belittle someone they know does better on tests than they did.

Posted by Greg in Seattle on October 6, 2008:

Their cutoff is only 132? Genius begins at 140. 132-139 is sub-genius. Hmmmph. Some clubs will let any riff-raff join.

But my main reason for not joining Mensa is derived from a famous Groucho Marx quote: "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member."

Posted by Vanda Mikoloski, CA on April 25, 2009:

Randy, Thanks for this! You totally created the whole world of it for me.

I am a stand-up comedian. Not a Mensan. I do comedy of a philosophical/metaphysical nature. One of your tribe came to my show and hooked me up to be a presenter at the Pittsburgh and San Diego conferences this year.

I'm so honored. I had a good degree of difficulty finishing high school and now I get to brag that the smart kids want me.

WOOO HOOO! They get jokes! I am delighted. I've got a few shows coming up in Colorado if you'd like to come as my guest.

Thanks Again!

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Just remember that trouble finishing school doesn't mean you're not smart: you may have just been bored (certainly I was!) Surely anyone who is successful at philosophical/metaphysical comedy is no slouch! I'd love to come to any show near me; I'm in Western Colorado, about 5 hours from Denver. -rc