> At 06:51 AM 10/30/96 +0000, Hakeeb A. Nandalal wrote:
> >Excerpts taken from : Mensa - FAQ: What is Mensa?
> >http://www.nectec.or.th/pub/mirrors/faq/mensa/faq
> >
> >Mensa is an international society that has one - and only one - unique
> >qualification for membership: you must score in the top 2% of the
> >population on a standardized IQ test.
> >
> >MENSA DEMOGRAPHICS (USA)
> >
> >Just over half have no children
> >12.4% have one child
> >18.66% have 2,
> >9.95% have 3
> >4.37% have 4
> >1.29% have 9+
> >
> >49% Christian
> >3% Unitarian
> >9% Jewish
> >7% agnostic
> >3.6% atheist,
> >9% no religion
> >
> >14% only children
> >19+% older of two
> >12.5% younger of two
> >11.5% oldest of three
> >6.8% middle of three
> >5.8% youngest of three
> >9.7% oldest of more than three
> >10.8% middle of four or more
> >4.4% youngest of four or more
> >
>
> It is true Mensa represents some people who fall in the top 2% of
> some category, but undoubtably most who qualify either shun it or
> are indifferent to it (and hence do not join). This additional
> selection factor for Mensa renders it (IMHO) inappropriate as a
> statistical pool of "smart" people.
>
> Not that the above statistics are uninteresting.
>
> BTW - what kind of person DOES join Mensa? For what purpose
> (put on their resume. status symbol with friends, self satisfaction,
> others)? Are there members of this list who have joined? Are
> there members who have qualified (say through GRE's or SAT's or
> whatever) and NOT joined?
>
> ken
I would think scoring at 3 standard deviations above average on voth
verbal and nonverbal indices for several IQ tests over a decade would
qualify. Frankly, I find the notion of this organization egotistical.
And I already have too much of THAT.
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/ Towards the conversion of data into information....
/
/ Kenneth Boyd
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