Just back from a MENSA lunch, first time, one person there really ruined my appetite.
This is my first ever foray into the organization, and first time joining in any sort of meeting.
There were only five of us and conversation was mostly good, except for one very nasty thing:
One guest brought their Mr. Peabody and Sherman birthday card which had a lot of conversation starters, including the question, "If you could go back in time where would you go and what would you do?"
I went first and we proceeded around the table and all was good until it was Ronny's turn.
"Mine's kind of dark. I'd go back to whenever and kill whoever started Islam."
Follow up question was "what would you bring back?"
"His head."
The absence of shock on the others' faces suggested that this is how Ronny rolls and, in the groups' defense, I think he has either had a stroke or has cognitive and motor challenges. His head stays bowed and he stared at me a lot and much of what he said was unintelligible. He maybe he's there only as the husband of his wife, the actual member.
They do a game night and this dinner, once a month each. I will probably try game night, maybe that will be a bit more lively.
And less dark.
Lots of Fox News, I reckon.
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MENSA! And, I always wondered why you thought I was "Slow on the Uptake." Hey "Different Strokes for Different Intelligentsia." We are ALL GOOD.
Sorry you had that experience. BUT, Maniacal Brains can be MENSA, too. 
We have seen TOO Much of that lately....haven't we?
Learned your lesson did ya?
Hopefully "Game Night" will be better. 
I hear Scrabble is popular.
And if we are, I'm screwn!
Think you might be miles ahead of that. Are you sure you want to continue with this?
I would have thought they'd be discussing more "Intellectual Subjects."
Well.......Whatever...... "To Each His or Her Own"....I guess.
Don't see you as comfortable there with such lack of intellectual discussion that you would have hoped to find in a "MENSA" group.
They've been meeting for years and nothing intellectual or political came up.
It could have been a bridge group or a church group.
Plus, I'm leaving this town soon, maybe the Bay Area/Central Coast groups are different.
Who knows. I'm pretty happy with the people I've met in the service organization, not sure I need a Mensa group but I had to go see.
And game night might be fun, I'd like to see new games though, not Scrabble.
Check things out...I'm with you on that..
If nothing else, it'd be really nice to meet a fellow DUer. 
Just got home from Games Night. We had just enough for a game of Monopoly. I got the Oriental property early on and insisted it was a family run chop suey parlor; when I was persuaded to sell it I ended up losing dreadfully. My husband wasn't playing -- he said class resentment was setting in.
It's not about showing how smart you are; it's about having fun. But you knew that....
There is a large family that I've adopted, in a way, and games have always been a big part of their lives.
It's always been interesting to see how they'll always help anyone who needs a hint or is losing badly, and they don't it with a lot of forethought or fanfare, they just do it.
I'm impressed and it tells a lot about how they behave in their lives in general, they're supportive and not competitive.
Also, games say a lot about cultures. I took several cultural anthropology courses in my college years and remember one study conducted that compared game play among Central American girls and girls in the US.
The game was one that could be played competitively or cooperatively and was cleverly designed so that cooperative play resulted in more points or prizes for both teams than competitive play would.
Guess how the the two groups chose to play.
Also, I'm reminded of Dr. W Edwards Deming, who describes (I'm paraphrasing from memory) the case of two competing gas stations at the same intersection, both with tow trucks.
Instead of each paying the full cost of truck and driver and having to be available all night long, and only getting half the tow jobs, they decide to cooperate.
The new arrangement is that they share one truck and alternate nights to stay open for tow service.
Games, they tell us a lot!
James Randi himself got into Mensa once upon a time; and promptly resigned after being booed off a podium because of a speech he gave indicating that Mensa members were the must susceptible to beliefs of the paranormal.
Niners fans stick together, Drug Addicts stick together, Bibliophiles stick together.
Why do you find it necessary to be so snarky?
Maybe some of us just like some good conversation that doesn't revolve around shitting on other people.
I see you're posting insults on an Internet discussion board. Shouldn't you be out with your "actual smart people" "doing smart things"?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Aspire to inspire.[/center][/font][hr]
I just like being able to say I'm a Mensan.
I try not to burst their bubble. 
It's possible your assessment of Ronny may be right. He sounds impaired. The group didn't encourage him, did they? They kind of let him do his thing within limits, demonstrating tolerance for him as an individual. If he had a stroke, they knew the man before he became impaired.
You might contact the Loc Sec or someone you know and just sound them out about Ronny -- or just wait and see. Give the group some more chances, especially as there are a variety of activities and SIGS to try out.
First and foremost, understand that Mensa is a group with only one requirement for admission. A lot of members live in their heads, so their politics will be a matter of what they have logically figured out and it may not be the way you have logically figured things out. I have met some wingnuts locally, though not many. I met my first Libertarian at Mensa. It did not go well.
First Friday and Games Night were always the social highlight for us, with a lot of attendees. One woman with a swimming pool hosted what she called the Ecdysial SIG -- skinny dipping to you. One thing you could always count on: lively conversation.
As regards people who are socially awkward: most Mensans I've met are socially well-adapted, but there are the others. One thing I noticed many years ago is how tolerant the group is toward people who are different. From reading posts on DU I realized we've probably been dealing with Aspies, but just taking it as a matter of course. Also, since I've been a member for decades, I've watched my closest friends age -- once a person is your friend you try to keep him or her around as long as they are able. My dear friend with dementia is finally in assisted living in another town close to family but far from us; in her time she was the Loc Sec, the Editor, the Proctor, and all-round core of the local group for probably 40 years, but for the past several years I and others made a point of picking her up in our cars so she could continue to participate, until she was moved away.
Just trying to give a bit of possible context for you.
OTOH, Ronny might just be a jerk. It happens.
On a much cheerier note, some of my friends are in love with the RGs and AGs (Regional Gatherings and Annual Gatherings) and attend every one of them they can. Mobs of people to meet there, tons of things to do, and they love it.
Well, that's more than enough for now. I hope you settle in and get as much enjoyment out of membership as I have.
I really appreciate your insight.
This is a tiny group of eight or ten regulars for the monthly lunch, and older. They didn't share much about regional meetings or other organizational things.
I have always been curious about it and only recently have found that I have time for this sort of socializing.
In the village that will become my new home I've joined an international service organization with a large membership but wanted to see what Mensa would be like.
As someone who doesn't like drinking or watching sports, and who is single and has no children, and doesn't attend services, there just aren't a lot of options for meeting new friends.
And it's not about being around other "smart people". I work for a national organization and my "smart friends" are all over the map, I need a few local connections who are thoughtful people.
I think game night will be fun but once I move over to the coast I'll have to look for a new local group.
I hope that by joining I might be able to find people in my zipcode or county, at least.
Thanks very much for sharing your experience, Hekate.
When my (ex) husband moved us here I felt very uprooted. The kids (now well into their thirties) were pre-schoolers, and everyone I knew was several thousand miles away. I tried a church, but felt like an awkward misfit. Suddenly I remembered that I had once been a member of an international club with chapters in every state and every country in the world: Mensa. While still trying to remember how to contact them, I saw a small article in the paper about some activity the local group was doing, giving the name of the Loc Sec.
The rest is history. At the time it was a very lively group indeed, and our immediate area was the center of gravity so to speak. I headed up the Book Group for about a dozen years. I met my second (and final) husband, and several of my closest friends. I've done a lot of fun things with my best friends that are not Mensa-related at all -- that's just how we met in the first place, and going to the movies/theater/whatever is an activity that brings in other people from other areas of our lives.
The only sad part is that we aged, and as we were not personally interested in recruiting, the immediate group became smaller and less lively. OTOH, the center of gravity has shifted -- if I were inclined to drive an hour in either direction, the newsletter informs me that there are a multiplicity of activities still on offer.
So keep trying -- it really is a big organization.
Aint that the truth!!
Tell them that you're a truck driver and they all move away and give you the hairy eyeball or something. It's yet another (or used to be when I did that decades ago) elite group that the stay in place society can't really grasp and are somewhat scared or intimidated by the concept. It's such an "out there" kind of lifestyle that most can barely imagine what it's like or that anyone in that group could have more than two functioning brain cells let alone have anything remotely close to a rather high IQ.
You're not at liberty to disclose the details.
They wouldn't understand anyway!
Actually, my group was pretty pedestrian and I only learned what one of them does, she's a clinical psychologist that works with inmates.
This just happened in Canada, someone just defaced a Mosque:
And this is how the neighbors responded:
http://mrscorpio.tumblr.com/post/100985001799/da-pakistani-non-muslim-cold-lake-citizens-are
But as I said, this was a nice group of people and I think Ronny is just a victim of aging or stroke or these types of things.
My stepfather got worse and worse in the same way and couldn't self-regulate.
IMO, the words that he expressed were representative of feelings he held for years and years.
PS, thank you for responding to the topic and not to bashing Mensa or Mensa members.
What they did in Canada is awesome!
No? Then I guess I'll have to settle for 
Of course I was the only one new to this man, Ronny.
As I said, he probably has had a stroke and is suffering from dementia, doesn't have an inner voice moderating what is appropriate.
It's an older group, and it's more sad than disgusting.
And, there actually is an eyeroll emoticon.
He said "whoever", then Leslie asked, "You mean Muhammed?", and he nodded "yes".
But I think it's just sad and he's sick.
Now it's almost funny because in this town some folks are backward and one could make a joke about the small size of the club. 
But I won't.
and it got lost in the mail or something, because I didn't get it...
If I give you my home address, can you make sure they invite me? 
I'd expect a rejection letter soon.
The Siren has Risen!
Art and science and UU.
I'm familiar with the 999 but have no idea if they have a chapter near me.
My MAT score meets their criteria, maybe I'll give it a shot.
What do you know about them, what kinds of meetings or activities do they provide?
Thanks!
How could a MENSA member not be bright enough to know who started Islam?
And the head is the most identifiable part that one might bring back to prove the death of the target, pre-fingerprints and DNA.
I suppose some penii are unique identifiers, and tongues!