Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa
Community Service/Non-Profit
Los Angeles, CA 90001
I biked to Caltech in Pasadena. I paid $40. I took the test. I failed!
The classroom included about twelve or thirteen people from all walks of life, but mostly younger people, followed by trickles of people as old as 80 years old.
The intelligence test includes a section on math, a section on patterns and a section on memory. The key is you have ten minutes to finish 40 questions for each section. The pattern section is like:
{/o} }o|{ {|o} … which comes next?
or:
:-* ~_^ =D :-[ … which is least like the other?
The math section is like:
What is the square root of four divided by three cubed?
The memory section is an audio you listen to at the beginning of the test. Ours was about details of an ancient ritual in Greece. They then ask a question an hour later, which god(s) were they worshiping?
Even though I failed, it was a lot of fun. Upon receiving my results, the admissions person seemed eager to have the failing test taker submit any other proof that he or she can join Mensa, including SAT and GRE scores that she would assess for free. (I believe normally showing proof of other scores in the 98 percentile would be a $40 assessment fee.)
Mensans knows that people use this stuff on their resumes. You can tick this option on their application for why you wish to join. What I learned from not being smart enough is that people are as happy to hear I failed the Mensa test as they would be to hear I got in. It seems to make a good anecdote.
From the looks of a monthly booklet, a Mensan doesn’t collectively use his or her brainpower to save the world, but more to play challenging puzzles with each other during their weekly meetup.
I sadly will not be playing any complicated puzzles.
Useful: 3 Funny: 8 Cool: 2