From: muchow@venus.iex.com (Don Muchow)
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Muchow, D.: About Nothing
Date: 2 Oct 92 13:49:52 GMT
Organization: iex


I am a member of Mensa.  My wife is not, though she qualifies.  She reads
the Mensa Bulletin and the local Mensa newsletter.  She and I discuss the
articles we read in the MB, and we are both interested in seeing what new
SIGs are formed and so forth.

So why won't she join?  I think this question is at the heart of Mensa's
declining membership problem.  People out there who could belong choose not to.

I asked her why she wouldn't take that last step.  Interestingly, the 
substance of her response rang familiar in my own mind--although I chose
to move past the same misgivings and join, I HAVE had them, and I think we
should take a look at why such problems exist.

Before I go any further, I would like to clarify for the reader that this
is not meant to be a b*tch and moan session, and I would like to see any
responses to this posting take on a constructive character.  Here goes.

1.	My wife says she doesn't need to prove anything to herself.  I add
	to that the fact that she graduated high school early, scored an
	almost perfect score on the GRE verbal section (and a respectable
	score on the math section), has two master's degrees, and is
	currently the controller of a $25M company, and I can hardly doubt
	that she is correct.  Joining Mensa would prove to her neither
	her intelligence nor her ability to achieve difficult goals.

2.	She also says that most of the articles she sees in the MB remind
	her of ridiculous philosophical rhetoric about how many angels can
	dance on the head of a pin.  I differe with her here, but she's not
	the first person I've ever heard say that.

3.	The M's she's met come off as snotty, holier-than-thou misfits
	who don't get enough hugs or sex.  Again, I've met a certain number
	of M's who match this description, but the only difference between
	M's and the rest of society here is that M's talk about it (it
	seems).  In Mensa, I see less denial of human nature and more
	acknowledg(e?)ment of some human foibles.  This behavior is more
	therapeutic but also comes off more like therapy.

Those are her main three gripes about Mensa.  I think they are legitimate.
So, having acknowledged that we can be better, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO
ABOUT IT?

I certainly don't have the end-all, be-all answer to that question.  However,
I have had some musings on it, and here is a sampling.


1.	Let's just up and decide that when we write to the MB, we'll be
	talking about what someone else would like to read.  Guilty parties,
	you know who you are.  What I'm talking about here is applying the
	cocktail party rule (I made that up).  If you were talking to someone
	at a cocktail (or mocktail if you wanted to be politically correct)
	party, would your listener get up and walk away to get some fresh air,
	another drink, or some peace and quiet?  Read through your own work
	before you submit it and be brutally frank with yourself about whether
	you are boring the hell out of the reader.  For practice, do it to
	me with this posting.  If I can dish it out, I ought to be able to
	take it.
	
2.	I think that talking about real-people stuff and not EXCLUSIVELY
	the angst of giftedness may (MAY, not WILL) improve the MB's readership
	and help folks like my wife get over some of her objections.  It would
	also probably improve the attitude most people have about Mensans.

3.	Don't you think this posting should end right here?  Good.  Enough
	of this Bolshevik Storytelling and on to the next posting.  Happy
	reading!
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa