From: ecsd@tfs.com (Eric C. S. Dynamic)
Subject: Re: Muchow, D.: About Nothing
Organization: TRW Financial Systems
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 12:05:05 GMT

muchow@venus.iex.com (Don Muchow) writes:
>
>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.

I hung around Gainesville Mensa before ever joining. They accepted me
without my being a member. Joining does not mean you are trying to prove
anything, but especially as you are a member, there's no reason to join.
For her sake, anyway. You get the MB and other info, so she can use yours.
The only argument I would make here is that Mensa could use her support,
if she endorses any of its social goals (education for gifted children
being one that comes to mind.)

>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.

I've observed a phenomenon which I call 'dryness', which has to do with
*feeling* you have to prove something. It's really weird - like people
feel like they have to come off as professors, erudite, etc. You'd think
membership itself would be enough of a sap to the ego, but I wonder if
some Mensans ever exactly believe it about themselves. I think there is
a large and mistaken equation between intelligence and how you use it.
E.g. since I'm so smart, I have to be an authority on X subject. This
traps people in a false image. In the Boston area the local rag was the
Beacon, and I went to a Beacon folding party at some lady's house. She
was a professional (I think), and a housewife (otherwise) - and held no
such pretensions. She was just smart. She didn't give lectures, and
didn't make any fuss about it.

Sex, you may have a point. :) Misfits have a hard time there unless they
can find other misfits. It may be that mental capacity gives the person
the room to be self-analytical, and verbose as some Mensans are, it can
be awful. (Where's my mirror?) Intelligent people tend to be more complex,
so they have more things to work out. Sometimes you have to look at the
other people and say, fuck this endless wheezing, let's go skinny-dipping!
If that won't break the ice, it may break your nose.

>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.

Fuck this wheezing, let's go skinny-dipping. :)
Actually, the editors have a lot to do with that - I'd write to them.

>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.

We need more weirdos, who prove that a fast brain is good for *lots* of
things, apart from differential equations. I agree.
Don't worry, there's hope.

>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!

Nope. Enough wheezing. I'm going skinny-dipping.
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa