Mensa World


Unofficial New Members’ Guide "The Extrovert’s Approach" "The Introvert’s Approach” More Who Was That Strange Mensan I Saw You With Last Night? How Do You Handle Annoying Mensans? A Brief History What is a Mensan? Mensa - A True Meeting of Minds Explaining Mensa to Friends Annual Gatherings Mensa and the Internet A Mensa Dictionary	The Unofficial New Members’ Guide – an Intro to Mensa... A Mensa Dictionary Annual Gathering (AG): The annual meeting of British Mensa, usually a four- or five-day event held over or around a weekend. It is held at a hotel with speakers, food, games, dances, contests, plenty of opportunity for conversation and the opportunity to meet Mensans from across the country and often other countries as well. The Annual General Meeting occurs at the AG. Annual General Meeting: The annual meeting at which the BMC reports to the membership on the state of British Mensa. Members may propose amendments to the bylaws or make motions for the Annual General Meeting, which is usually held during the AG. Articles of Association (or Memorandum & Articles of Association): The guiding rules or “laws” that govern the activities British Mensa. BMC derives its authority from these bylaws (available upon request from the National Office in Wolverhampton). British Mensa Committee (BMC): The Board of Elected Officers responsible for the running of British Mensa. Chairman (BMC): Elected chairman of the BMC and frequently the spokesman for BMC. Chairman (Mensa International): Elected chairman of the International Board of Directors (IBD), chief officer of Mensa International and spokesman for Mensa. Elected by the members. May serve no more than two consecutive terms. Complaints Officer: Appointed to handle disputes within British Mensa. Constitution (Mensa International): The guiding rules or “laws” that govern the activities of National Mensas. The IBD derives its authority from the constitution (available upon request from the National Office). Dues: Membership dues are paid annually to fund Mensa. A portion pays for your subscription to the Magazine; a percentage is paid to Mensa International for international dues. Honorary President: (Mensa International): Appointed by the IBD in recognition of outstanding service to Mensa. Victor Serebriakoff, who helped keep Mensa alive during its early years, held this post for many years. Honorary Vice President: (Mensa International): Appointed by the IBD in recognition of outstanding service to Mensa. Isaac Asimov and Jean M. Auel have both served as Honorary Vice President. International Board of Directors (IBD) (Mensa International): The governing body of Mensa, composed of the four elected officers and one representative from each national Mensa having at least 500 members. (Larger Mensas are entitled to more representatives than smaller Mensas.) International General Council (IGC): (Mensa International): An advisory body to the IBD. Composed of the Chief Executive Officer of each national Mensa and the International Chairman. International Member: A member of Mensa living in a country that has no national Mensa. IQ Testing: There are many standard IQ tests in use around the world. On most tests, average IQ is 100, but some tests give different numerical values to the level required for entry into Mensa, in the same way that the same temperature is expressed by different numerical values on the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales. One way of comparing scores from different IQ tests is to convert them to a ranking, or percentile, score which tells you in which band you fit. A percentile score of 99% means that you are in the top 1%, a percentile score of 98% puts you in the top 2% and so on. In the UK, Mensa uses two main tests to identify people’s IQ scores, the Cattell B Test and the Culture Free Test. A pass level which puts you in the top 2% will qualify you for membership of Mensa. A middle aged adult can only get a maximum IQ of 161 on the Cattell “B” test, for example. A top 2% mark in any of the tests below qualifies you for entry to Mensa. The minimum test mark to get into Mensa is: Cattell B - 148 Culture Free - 133 Ravens Advanced Matrices 148 Ravens Standard Matrices -131 Wechsler Scales - 132 Isolated M: A Special Interest Group (SIG) that functions like a local group, for Mensans who may not live in geographical proximity to a local group. Local Group: A geographical subdivision of British Mensa, LocSec (Local Secretary): Common term for a local group’s facilitator. Local Groups Officer: Member of the BMC with overall responsibility for Local Groups in British Mensa. M: A Mensan of either sex. Plural is Ms (pronounced “emz,” not “miz”). FM and MM denote the gender. Mensa: The word “Mensa” is Latin for table. Mensa is a round table society where all members are equal. The society welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top 2% of the population, with the objective of enjoying each other’s company and participating in a wide range of social and cultural activities. Mensa does not hold, or express, any political or religious views, though many of its members do express their personal opinions on a variety of subjects. Mensa Magazine: Every Mensa member receives each month a personal copy of the Mensa Magazine, packed with news, features, ideas, puzzles and competitions as well as full details of Local Group meetings organised in your area in the coming month. National Office: The administrative headquarters. For British Mensa, it is located in Wolverhampton, England. The professional and clerical staff are charged with carrying out the policies and procedures set by the BMC. The National Office staff handles the day-to-day management and administrative functions of our organisation, including membership services, accounts payable and receivable, marketing, computer services, mail services and order fulfilment. Ombudsman (Mensa International): Appointed by the IBD for a three-year term. The official “arbitrator” of Mensa International. Resolves disputes between direct international members, or between international members and the IBO, or between national Mensas. Mensa Yearbook: Every member is included in the Yearbook. This enables you to contact other Mensans and others to contact you. The Yearbook also gives many members’ interests as well as listing the society’s currently serving Officers, LocSecs and Contact Members. Procedures Body: A committee independent of the BMC, formed to advise on technicalities of procedure, interpretation of the Bylaws etc. Region: One of geographical subdivisions of British Mensa. Regional Groups Officer (RGO): Appointed by the BMC through the Local Groups Officer, representing members of a particular region. In Scotland: Scottish Groups Officer (SGO). Regional Newsletter: Locally produced newsletter for your region that comes free with the Mensa Magazine. SIGHT (Service of International Guidance and Hospitality to Travellers): An international network of Mensans who have volunteered to host foreign travellers in their homes, or simply show them around the local area, or put them in contact with the local group and local activities. Special Interest Group (SIG): A group of members sharing a common interest. National SIGs communicate mostly through SIG newsletters (paid for by SIG dues). Some SIGs meet at the AG, and a few host their own events. A list of all SIGs can be obtained from the SIGs Officer or from Mensa House. Several have internet home pages. Nearly all will send a sample newsletter free on receipt of a stamped addressed envelope.

International Mensa The Intelligence Page Mensa Websites Guidelines

Copyright (c) 1999-2000 International Mensa
The Mensa logo is a registered trademark of Mensa International Limited, all rights reserved.
Mensa does not hold any opinion or have, or express, any political or religious views.

The Unofficial New Members’ Guide – an Intro to Mensa...

A Mensa Dictionary