Mensa membership letter

[sailor2000]

Recent correspondence with American Mensa follows. I encourage others to write to them as well, e-mail address is in body of e-mail.


"Your headquarters building is posted with a 30.06, Holders of Texas CHLs may not carry here, sign. I had thought you folks were smarter than that.

That sign says, in effect, that you do not trust Texas Citizens who have undergone a more thorough background check than a DPS Trooper has, have been trained in the laws of the state governing the use of force, have been trained in non-violent conflict resolution and have demonstrated that they are proficient in the safe carry and use of a firearm, to carry a firearm within your premise.

I do not give my money to people or organizations who have explicitly stated that I cannot be trusted to act responsibly.

Please let me know when you have removed the sign and I, and many other CHL holding Texans, will be happy to join or re-join your organization."


-----Original Message-----
From: Rosa Foster [mailto:rosaf@americanmensa.org]
Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 8:44 AM
To: XXXX@earthlink.net
Subject: Your American Mensa Membership
Hi, Douglas,

I am writing you today because I noticed your American Mensa membership lapsed, and I wanted to check in with you to see if there was a problem with your membership that I could assist you with.

Of course, if there was no problem and we've just lost touch, you're welcome to renew online at http://www.us.mensa.org/renew?ID=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or by calling 888/294-8035 ext. 199. Your membership will extend through March 31, 2012, when you renew today.

We would love to have you back as a member.

Best regards,
Rosa

Rosa Foster
Membership Processing Coordinator
MemberProcessing@americanmensa.org
817-607-0060 ext 5517

American Mensa, Ltd.
http://www.us.mensa.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RPB]

I'd write to them, but I'm only a 148 IQ because due to having no left hand my jigsaw puzzle went slower than if I had two hands, otherwise I'd be on up there much higher .. (That's what the psychologist giving me the test said in 1980 when I was sent by Texas Rehabilitation Commission for testing to see if ... I wuz smart enuff to co to colldge ... Spose I wuz becuz I gat into 5 honor societies wile I wuz there and was in the top of the top 5% at U uv H )

Edited to add:
I always thought you had to be at 150 (Einstein's IQ) or higher to join ?
Looks like both my brother and I could have joined (He's almost as smart as I am, but lacks "common sense" ... he votes wrong) http://www.us.mensa.org/Content/AML/Nav ... Scores.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Maybe I will write them.

[A-R]

I had thought you folks were smarter than that.

[Crossfire]

I had thought you folks were smarter than that

That's just funny!
I do hope you get a good response from them.

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm smart enough not to join.

[sailor2000]

I had thought you folks were smarter than that

That's just funny!
I do hope you get a good response from them.

I don't know if you have to be a member to be an employee, but whomever made the decision to post the premise 30.06 is one dumb.... um... individual...

[OldSchool]

I'd write to them, but I'm only a 148 IQ because due to having no left hand my jigsaw puzzle went slower than if I had two hands, otherwise I'd be on up there much higher .. (That's what the psychologist giving me the test said in 1980 when I was sent by Texas Rehabilitation Commission for testing to see if ... I wuz smart enuff to co to colldge ... Spose I wuz becuz I gat into 5 honor societies wile I wuz there and was in the top of the top 5% at U uv H )

Edited to add:
I always thought you had to be at 150 (Einstein's IQ) or higher to join ?
Looks like both my brother and I could have joined (He's almost as smart as I am, but lacks "common sense" ... he votes wrong) http://www.us.mensa.org/Content/AML/Nav ... Scores.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Maybe I will write them.

I probably will as well, thanks for the heads-up.

Actually, Mensa is one of the easier High IQ groups to join. Mensa only requires a top 2% IQ, about 128. 150 is in the area of about 0.25%.

And, no, IQ has nothing to do with jigsaw puzzles. IQ is a comparative number relating to how well a person learns and adapts, nothing more, nothing less. Pattern recognition is a major part of IQ, and I fail to see how a jigsaw puzzle, which is designed to NOT have a consistent pattern, could possibly indicate anything about IQ.

I recommend you look into being tested by a person whose testing method is approved (for membership) by such societies as IQ Nexus/IIS or Colloquy. Here are their websites to check it out.
http://www.iisiq.org/home.htm
http://www.colloquysociety.org/

[RPB]

Remembering back, it was the Texas Rehab counselor who remarked about jigsaw puzzles while reading the results and report from the psychologist. Probably the Texas Rehab counselor's idea, not in the report. Now I'd like to get a copy of it The look on the counselors face was and she said "Did anyone ever tell you you were a genius? And I replied nope, but when the elementary school wanted to move me up several grades and my parents said no, I wish they would have, school was pretty boring.

I'm really not interested in joining. I didn't join yet another honor society in college I was invited to join, because I didn't care for some of their ideals, but I might write and express why I'm not interested in joining.

[Texas Size 11]

I ain't smart enuff to be a member...I have a publik skool edukation.

[Jasonw560]

I ain't smart enuff to be a member...I have a publik skool edukation.

Mi, to. Hookt awn foniks werkt fer mi.

Last time mine was tested, I scored in the 130's, but didn't finish he test. I got bored with it. The administrator said I would have scored in he 140's had i finished. Don't know how she came to that conclusion.

[rm9792]

They put me at 135 in junior high school and wanted me in accelerated classes but I was too lazy so I declined. Military had me at 145 but I question their testing methods. I have met a lot of high IQ folk who couldn't change their own spare tire so not too impressed with the numbers game.

[pbwalker]

They put me at 135 in junior high school and wanted me in accelerated classes but I was too lazy so I declined. Military had me at 145 but I question their testing methods. I have met a lot of high IQ folk who couldn't change their own spare tire so not too impressed with the numbers game.

Bingo! You hit the nail on the head.

I took the test in 3rd grade, scored a 142. Took it again with right out of high school and was somewhere in the 150's.

What I can tell you, is that there are several people who society might deem "dumb", that could run circles around me in so many ways. I just look at it as a number, for someone who is smarter than me, to use for some "research" that proves nothing.

I judge a person on what he or she has done as a measure of intelligence. If you are a good person who is a contributing member of society, I tend think that you've got a good head on your shoulders. If you are a societal leech, "ain't no numba gonna help ya!"

(I know...I shouldn't judge, but I am human. )

[surprise_i'm_armed]

A smart woman who was looking for a relationship joined Mensa, figuring that
the meetings would be full of intelligent men, and therfore - successful men.

She attended a few of the meetings and was disappointed because she felt that
the men there may have passed the IQ threshold, but were very socially awkward.

This was a true anecdote that I read somewhere.

***********************************************************************************************
We all know that there's middling IQ folks who are very successful,
and conversely, there's high IQ folks who couldn't pour water out of a boot if the
directions were on the heel. :-)

One example of this is a book I read recently about Bernie Madoff, the NYC Ponzi
schemer who was convicted of scamming billions of dollars from many investors.

A recurring theme from interviews with those who knew him as a child and youth was that he
was not a very good student due to not being very smart. His brother was the smart
scholastic achiever in the family, but the smart brother ended up working at Bernie's
investment firm for the dumb brother.

Although Madoff was not smart in the scholastic sense, he was able to schmooze billions
out of people, and keep a Ponzi scheme going for approximately 40 years. Evil, yes,
but also a prodigious feat. He got 150 years in the slammer for his troubles, and one of
his sons committed suicide recently.

SIA

[gigag04]

....A CHL applicant background check is nowhere near as thorough as a trooper applicant.

[OldSchool]

Just don't confuse High IQ with knowledge or accomplishments. High IQ is an ability (some would say "talent"), but, like the 7-foot-tall guy who doesn't like basketball, or the person with innate musical ability who doesn't want to perform, there are plenty of folks who don't care to use that particular ability. That's their choice.

On the other side, society has a tendency to label anyone "different" as "undesirable." Too many folks have gone through life thinking they were stupid, just because their peers kept telling them they were, only to find out later that the peers were really the ones who had no clue. Along that line, societal awkwardness is not a sin, but rather can be imposed on a person from the outside. It seems that most people want to be able to feel superior to others, in whatever way possible.