Why I Applied To Mensa
And Why You Should Too
What is Mensa about?
Mensa is an international organization open to people who score in the top 2% of the general population on a standardized, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test. It was founded in 1946 by Roland Berrill and Lancelot Ware in England, and today has over 100,000 members in 100 countries.
What are the advantages of being a Mensa member?
There are many benefits to joining Mensa, but one of the key points that was stressed was that Mensa helps you to network with other smart people and help each other learn new things. In some cases, this could be useful in your career where you can bounce ideas off of your peers and improve your own productivity or efficiency.
I had been toying with the idea of applying for Mensa membership over 6 months before applying, but every time I went to the website, I just felt that my IQ wasn’t high enough.
But in a moment of weakness, I decided to apply anyway. My rationale was that I would only be disappointed if I didn’t make it, so there was no harm in taking a shot anyway.
Mensa Singapore IQ Test
The actual test is actually paper-based and is quite different from what most people would expect. It’s simpler than what I expected and is not as hard as many would think.
The test comprises of just 4 sections (some tests have 5 sections). The 4 sections are:
General Knowledge: questions based on current affairs, history and pop culture
Logical Reasoning: puzzles and matrix type questions
Verbal Reasoning: basic reading comprehension analogy
Number Series: need to figure out which number goes next in sequence of numbers within one minute
How it felt when I got my scores back
When I first got my results back from Mensa Singapore, it was a mix of emotions. In some ways, a sense of relief that this was over and done with (i.e., the test).
But on the other hand, also some disappointment that my score wasn’t higher than what it turned out to be (i.e., 134).
It didn’t feel much different than getting an A+ or 90% for an exam at school when you were younger.
To put things into perspective — 134 puts you in the top 1% or 2% of population who are accepted into MENSA.
Perhaps this explains why no matter how good you are at certain subjects, there will always be someone who can consistently beat you at them — they have higher IQs than you!
So although getting accepted into Mensa is an achievement for many people, don’t get too cocky about your own intelligence or over-estimate your capabilities because ultimately we all fall into place within a certain spectrum — with some being brighter than others!
I guess this is also why we shouldn’t get too carried away when we see our children excel — they may not be able to keep up with the pace when the rest of the world steps up a gear.
I wasn’t a straight A student in school, and more of a B and C student, but I’m a member of Mensa now!
I hope that sharing my experience with Mensa Singapore 2018 IQ Test will help you get an idea of what to expect and perhaps quell any fears or anxieties that you may have about it.
If you are thinking of joining Mensa, I’d recommend that you take the test regardless because it’s a good way to get a better sense of where your IQ lies.
It certainly isn’t the be-all and end-all of intelligence, so don’t think too highly or lowly of yourself if you do or do not make it in.
Overall, I’m pleased that I got accepted into Mensa Singapore and hope to use it for its intended purpose — to help me get smarter!
But more importantly, I think it’s important to note that despite having an above average IQ, there are many things in life that you can never control.
There may be certain areas where people with higher IQs than you will always win out at because they have factors within them that you may not have.
Of course, these are not necessarily permanent advantages but being aware of this will hopefully help us cope better when things don’t go our way or when we come up short against others on certain things — like school exams!
About the Author
I am an educator have over 3 years of experience in product management, technology leadership, startups, angel investing and Edtech. I an EdTech startup Cudy Technologies (www.cudy.co) to help teachers teach better and students learn better using videos and interactive activities. If you are a teacher or student, signup for free at https://cudy.co/sg/register to start teaching and learning better today.
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