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Good enough that I joined Mensa for a year. Quit after that because I found them to be the most boring people I have ever met. Took a Reader's Digest "test" one day and did pretty well. The article advised to contact Mensa to take a proctored exam, which I did. I don't really consider myself all that intelligent, only that I do well on a certain type of examination. One where you recognize patterns and then decide what comes next. I've done some real dumb stuff in my life, so I can't be all that smart.
MENSA members are not an accurate representation of the high IQ population. We tend to be generalists, rather than specialists. When I last checked many years ago, there were fewer members with doctorates and professional degrees than would be found in a balanced population.
MENSA members are not an accurate representation of the high IQ population. We tend to be generalists, rather than specialists. When I last checked many years ago, there were fewer members with doctorates and professional degrees than would be found in a balanced population.
Having a high IQ doesn't mean that someone is more likely to seek post graduate degrees. In fact most of the people with those degrees have IQ's closer to average than genius level. High IQ people are often underachievers perhaps because our education system doesn't challenge them or the way they learn and the way our schools teach are in conflict.
I.Q. tests measures one's ability… to take I.Q.tests. I've always been very good at multiple choice testing, verbal stuff, etc. but it doesn't show anything about the quality of one's thinking or all the many kinds of intelligences that aren't measured by multiple choice.
Where I live, the vast majority of men in MENSA are engineers/software wonks, because there's so much work around here in those areas. Easy to measure on tests. The women are much more generalists and much more interesting overall. When I attended some MENSA things, I encountered several trust fund babies and a couple of guys who I had as violent mental patients many years ago in my first job. I dropped my membership because I don't like parties and social gatherings, don't find them of interest and didn't know how to make a gathering be of intellectual interest. (The one mental patient, on SSDI, did run a Current Events discussion for a while, but seemed to steer everything to Medicaid and benefits).
MENSA, like I.Q. tests, runs on tests that measure the ability to take those tests. No more, no less.
Most of the IQs posted are far above the statistical average since those with sub-average scores likely don't want to post.
I took the Stanford Binet V when I was younger, but didn't realize it was a scored test and didn't try very hard. I believe I scored in the 125-135 range. I was in the 95%+ percentile in every category except spatial reasoning. I got bored so I gave up.
My guess would be that that would be common on a bulletin board where we hide behind screen names...about IQ's and everything else.
I wonder how boring this board would be if everyone only told the truth. I've admitted before that most of my posts are embellished to make the discussion more lively. I take day to day occurrences and think "What if this happened?" and then post it as if it did. This is just passing the time. It's not like we know each other in real life or that anyone expects that we're completely honest with our lives when hiding behind a screen name and talking to other people who are hiding behind their screen names. I also answer posts assuming that what I'm reading has been embellished or there are omissions. There have been a few times when I've posted what was real but I learned quickly not to do that. People on BB's would rather pounce than help if you really need help.
I have noticed that people are meaner on line. I think they feel that they can be because no one knows who they are. I'm thinking that deep down inside most people are just mean but don't show it in real life because they have to get along with the people around them.
I have noticed that people are meaner on line. I think they feel that they can be because no one knows who they are. I'm thinking that deep down inside most people are just mean but don't show it in real life because they have to get along with the people around them.
I don't doubt that is true but how often are people more honest on line? Can you go to work and tell your boss or coworkers what you really think when you may have to deal with them for years?
I listened to my boss talking about trying to decide whether or not to lease a Porsche in his office when we had to discuss buying a batch of computers. I hadn't been to an auto show in more than 20 years at the time and could not have cared less about any car but I pretended to be interested. Would it have been "mean" of me to tell him what I really thought? We don't need to do that on line with people we don't know.
So are people being more dishonest with each other in real life because it just makes them easier to deal with?
Don't know. But I do know those with high iq's mensa types tend to be social retards.
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My guess would be that that would be common on a bulletin board where we hide behind screen names...about IQ's and everything else. 
I've admitted before that most of my posts are embellished to make the discussion more lively. I take day to day occurrences and think "What if this happened?" and then post it as if it did. This is just passing the time. It's not like we know each other in real life or that anyone expects that we're completely honest with our lives when hiding behind a screen name and talking to other people who are hiding behind their screen names. I also answer posts assuming that what I'm reading has been embellished or there are omissions. There have been a few times when I've posted what was real but I learned quickly not to do that. People on BB's would rather pounce than help if you really need help. 
