Talk:Mensa International/Archive 3

message: I've only glanced through the article but does any one know why MENSA is called MENSA? Is it anything to do with the Latin word for table?Algebra man 21:27, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Please feel free to read the article. Avt tor 05:15, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Name 

message: I've deleted that claim that a particular kid was one of only 30 members under the age of 10.  It wasn't in the cited article, and it defies my own experience.
My own son joined Mensa at the age of 6, in 1992, with an IQ of 146.  At the time, looking over the membership information we were provided, he was one of two youngsters in our town under the age of 10 in Mensa—and we live in a merely mid-size town in the Southeastern US.  It seems likely to me that there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of under-ten Mensans across the US alone, given the propensity of present-day parents to parade their progeny's perceived precocity.  Unschool 02:14, 26 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Young members 

message: IQ tests are only a qualifying criterion for membership in Mensa, not the defining purpose of the organization. IQ test links might (emphasis might) belong on a "list of online IQ tests" which in turn might be linked from an article about IQ tests, but that doesn't belong on the Mensa page itself. Mensa is (somewhat) defined by the notion of IQ, not the other way around. As such, and as consistent with practice by past editors, I will remove a new link to an IQ test. Avt tor 13:06, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Heh. While I was on the Talk page, another editor was actually removing the link. Avt tor 13:10, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: IQ Tests

message: I just added that the life-memberships are generally non-transferrable. Goofy legalese, I'm sure. I've lived in five countries, each of which has a Mensa chapter. If I start a 2007 membership in Austria, and move to Slovakia, Mensa.sk will recognise me for the remainder of the year; I would however, have to buy a Mensa.sk membership for 2008 to be included then. Mensa.sk will not, however, recognise a lifetime Mensa.at membership, as it is Mensa.sk which has to cover it's own financial arse... paying for brochures, leaflets, magazines, etc. And just think, I'll be moving to Japan in March... samwaltz 13:21, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: It could be better worded.  When I see "non-transferrable", I think of person-to-person transfers, not country-to-country transfers by the same person. Jwolfe 13:35, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: D'oh! ... I think that I may have contributed the "Life Membership" sentence several months ago, so I took a crack at rewording the "non-transferrable" part. --72.75.126.37 17:20, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I removed the details about how much it costs for a Life Membership, because it appears to vary by national group.  In the U.S., it's a sliding scale based on age. Jwolfe 20:17, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Good call ... I purchased mine in 1988 (just got my 25-year member certificate a few weeks ago! :-) and I haven't attended any of the functions in over a decade, so I really haven't paid any attention to changes in the annual dues or Life Membership price ... anywho, I was still a newbie at the time, but now I can see that it's just unsourced Original Research (i.e., fancruft) that I wouldn't even contemplate adding today. --72.75.126.37 21:45, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Lifetime-membership

message: I have added a "" template to the article List of Mensa Select recipients, suggesting that it be deleted according to the proposed deletion process. All contributions are appreciated, but I don't believe it satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and I've explained why in the deletion notice (see also "What Wikipedia is not" and Wikipedia's deletion policy). Please either work to improve the article if the topic is worthy of inclusion in Wikipedia, or, if you disagree with the notice, discuss the issues at its talk page. Removing the deletion notice will prevent deletion through the proposed deletion process, but the article may still be sent to Articles for Deletion, where it may be deleted if consensus to delete is reached, or if it matches any of the speedy deletion criteria. — 18:00, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Are you arguing that American Mensa isn't part of Mensa International, that the information on the page doesn't agree with the provided external link, or that Mensa doesn't actually care about intellectual games, even though they offer an award for such? Avt tor 18:37, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm arguing that a few dozen people playing board games for a 48 hour marathon once a year is not WP:N for an article, regardless of who they are ... and I say this as a "judge" from one over ten years ago when I was still an active participant. (For a few years I was on the national committee that approved local group by-laws, and Ombudsman for one of the largest local groups in the American Mensa; I'm still a paid member after 25 years, but I just don't attend functions any longer for reasons that are not a topic for conversation.) --72.75.126.37 19:37, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: [[List of Mensa Select recipients]]

message: I was once approached by a member of Mensa in the USA––or someone purporting to be a member––who had been a coworker of mine and told that there are in fact other ways of gaining admission to Mensa than by scoring in the 98th percentile on the usual IQ tests.  This individual indicated that Mensa actually recognizes that there are many highly intelligent persons who do not test well, due to factors such as test anxiety and attention deficit.  He stated that exceptions are therefore made to the usual requirement, on occasion, and that it is possible to become a member of Mensa based upon demonstrated intellectual achievements of a high level and favorable recommendations from a sufficient number of members.  He further indicated that this was strictly on the QT.  This struck me as being unlikely.  I had no interest in joining in any case. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.167.48.61 (talk) 16:43, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: First to answer your question: Mensa isn't a secret society and would not have the ability to do anything "on the QT". There are other ways of proving intelligence other than the Stanford-Binet test that Mensa chapters proctor for potential new members from time to time; often the alternative methods of proof (typically other very generic standardized tests, like the old SATs) are listed on the national organization's web site, and at any rate you can contact the national organization and they can tell you what methods they'll accept. Second, Mensa is basically a social organization; I joined because I like the people who are members; if you don't like the people suggesting that you join, you probably shoudn't. Third, the talk page is only for discussion of the Wikipedia page; it isn't a forum for discussing the subject matter, so let's not have an extended discussion here. Avt tor 17:46, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The individual in question stated that there was a "back door" method of getting into Mensa, or some chapter thereof, that used criteria other than standardized test scores.  I presume this is false, but thought it worth mentioning just in case.  "If you don't like the people suggesting that you join, you probably shoudn't."  Agreed.  The Mensans I have met (and known to be such) have been a mixed bag, but several have had an elitist streak that I don't care for.  I can, however, relate to the need to socialize with others who have strong intellectual interests and aren't afraid to think.  End of discussion.  66.167.48.61 19:03, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Alternative Admissions? 

message: Do we have any clear guidelines as to what fits in the section "Members of Mensa"? After the recent entry "Another young member is Mikhail, aged three years, who recently appeared on Channel 4's Child Genius", I'm concerned that it might balloon into a list again.  Alternatively, if we changed the header to "Demographics of Mensa", I presume that random wikipedia editors would be less inclined to  include personal names; the term "members" focuses on indivuals, whereas "demographics" focuses on the group/statistics. samwaltz 14:08, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I would go with "Demographics of Mensa members", but otherwise, I agree with what you say.  I wouldn't strongly object to your proposed new header, either.  We don't need another unverified and unverifiable list of purported members. Jwolfe 18:19, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Good call. I also agree with you and like the way you've edited this. Adding any names to that section at all would be a slipperly slope, as editors would just want to start adding people. DanielEng 20:27, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

text: * samwaltz 12:54, 11 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Section: Members of Mensa

message: I just noticed that the previous edit to the main page (the one by IP 70.168.213.50 ) removed the logo from the page; it looks like s/he's removed it from the source file, too. Could someone upload a new one, and link it back in to the page? It's near midnight, and I need to get some sleep. samwaltz 22:53, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Done. This is the cleanest logo I could find. Unfortunately, it's a bit small for my tastes. If anyone happens to have access to a larger one, could you please upload it? Cheers, samwaltz 09:30, 15 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Vandalism watch / logo