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No Smart Alecks: Two Dozen Strivers Sit For Test That Determines Eligibility For Exclusive Mensa, Which Recognizes Intellectual Superiority And Ensures Someone Will Get Your Jokes(Hartford Courant, The (CT) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Oct. 29--MANCHESTER -- A stand-up comedian, chemical engineer, law student, insurance agent and two teenagers sat at plastic tables in a VFW hall Saturday with the same hope -- to prove they are smarter than 98 percent of the world. Together with 19 other eager test takers, they lined their No. 2 pencils on the table in front of them to take the entrance exam for Mensa, an exclusive organization for smart people. To qualify -- and the possible reason for every sweaty brow and caffeine twitch in the room -- one must be in the top 2 percent of the population in intelligence, which means scoring about 130 on an IQ test. The timed exam, made up of questions to test logic and deductive reasoning, was offered as part of Mensa's national testing effort. There are 52,000 members nationwide, and 700 in the Connecticut and western Massachusetts chapter. Those who win entrance gain access to a social network that holds a diverse set of social events and networking opportunities -- from Scrabble nights to rock climbing and scuba diving -- and offers, as one member described it, a place where "everyone understands your jokes." "It is no guarantee you are going to be rich, and no guarantee you're going to be right," said Dave Collier, a lawyer and Mensa member who helped proctor the exam. "It is just a group of people you know are going to get you." Michael Nichols, a 23-year-old law student at UConn, smirked to himself as his fellow test takers bombarded the proctor with questions: "Is the test scored by the percentage we get right of the questions we answered? Or just the total we get right?" one person asked. But Nichols asked no questions. For him, this was a resume builder, not a self-esteem booster or a stab at joining a social group, he said. "I'm not really interested in Scrabble nights," Nichols said. "But it is an easy way to distinguish yourself from 150 people who are all thought to be as smart as you are." Easy? That depends on the question and the person answering it. For example, can you think of an American tree whose name contains all five vowels? And what is the 11-letter word that all smart people spell incorrectly? For those who took the test Saturday, each will learn their fate in two weeks when a simple pass or fail result will be sent to their homes. Some will have to forever face the fact that they are only in the 97th percentile. Mensa was founded in 1946 in England by two barristers, Roland Berrill and Dr. Lionel Ware. Its first American chapter opened in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1960. The organization aims to encourage intelligence for the benefit of humanity, research into the nature, use and characteristics of intelligence and to offer social and intellectual stimulation for its members. The word itself has a triple meaning in Latin of "mind, table, month," which suggests a monthly meeting of minds around a table, according to the organization's website. It is the social aspect that drew some to take the test. "For me, I want it to be a social networking kind of thing," said Sarah Arsenault, a chemical engineer working in research and development at United Technologies Corp. "And, I'm big into puzzles. I guess I'm just a dork." Others, like Mari O'Rourke, a math teacher, hoped it would be a type of affirmation. "I took the test to prove something to myself," she said. "That I'm good enough, I guess." Notable members of Mensa hail from all types of backgrounds: Isaac Asimov, a science fiction writer; Geena Davis, an Academy-award winning actress; Grace Hopper, a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy; and Marilyn Vos Savant, the author of a weekly column in Parade magazine. But Mensa's broad reach is not limited by reality, according to the organization's website. There are several fictional characters who claim Mensan status, such as Lisa Simpson on Fox's "The Simpsons," and the Blue Power Ranger on the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers." As organizations go, Mensa is as diverse as any and has its own social rules, said Bob Smith and Gisela Rodriguez, a married couple who administered the test. In Mensa, married couples are called "M&Ms," Smith said, and it is considered a social blunder to ask -- or announce -- one's IQ. In the end, the hopes of joining Mensa for those who don't pass the exam are not dashed, Rodriguez said. "The organization accepts 200 other tests in the world, that are just not given by us," she said, such as the LSATs for law school and the GRE test for graduate school. To learn more, people can visit the Mensa website at www.us.mensa.org. Contact Daniel E. Goren at [email protected]. Copyright (c) 2006, The Hartford Courant, Conn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |