MENSA: Congregation of the brainy people

Article by Niranjan N Kaggere

Everyday we get to hear about so many associations or unions. But have you ever heard about an association meant exclusively for the intelligent people irrespective of their nationality, race and culture. Here is one and it's been called MENSA.
You must have been wondering by this time thinking what is this Mensa?. It is a congregation/club of brainy or intelligent people across the globe. The bank balance you possess, the positio you hold on, the high influence from the corridors of power or even the pressure from the mighty babudom will fail to fetch you a seat but the intelligent level of your brain can take you inside the club. Mensa was founded at Oxford (England) in 1946 by Roland Berrill who was a barister by profession and Dr Lance Ware, a scientist and a lawyer by profession. But even much earlier to these persons, Mensa was the brain child of Prof Ciril Bert.
Etymologically, Mensa doesn't have much. It owes its origin to Latin. In Latin the word mean a table of people with same mentality and intelligence. While launching the club they had the idea of forming a society for brightk people. Then the only qualification which they put forward was of high IQ(Intelligence Quotient). The original aims were, as they are today, to create a society that is non-political and free from all racial or religious distinctions. The club or the society welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top 2% of the population
Mensa has three stated purposes of identifying and fostering human intelligence for the benefit of humanity, to encourage research in the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence and to promote stimulatiing intellectual and social opportunities for its members. But today the club has varied goals. They include identification of intelligents for the welfare of human society and to nurture those talents, Introducing different facets of intelligence and encourage the enthusiasts to take up research activities in the respective fields.
Members of the clubs are called as "Mensans". Mensa, has never compromised with the memberships allocation. It has always rigid on its admitting procedures. to get a membership you need to prove yourself in the intenationnal level IQ exams conducted by Mensa which is full of puzzles and problems posing chllenges for your mighty brain.Mensans range in age from 4 to 94, but most are between 20 and 60. In education they range from preschoolers to high school dropouts to people with multiple doctorates. As a result we see taxi drivers, small scholl teachers, small scale business persons, unemployed persons, along with many other doctors, egineeers, lecturers and scientists. This is the legaccy of the club.
Mensa members operate from their respective countries to propagate about their concepts and make the people aware of Mensa and its activities through workshops, seminars, discussions and many other creative activities. Unlike the rigid admission procedures, for these functions any body can take part. Despite their intelligent level all mensans live like common people without any difference. But many of them possess good sense of humour.
For the past 59 years, Mensa not only grown but even it has nurtured many talents and brought reputation to such people
Today there are some 100,000 Mensans in 100 countries throughout the world. There are active Mensa organizations in over 40 countries on every continent except Antarctica. Membership numbers are also available for specific National Groups.
Generally, there are two ways to prove that you qualify for Mensa: either take the Mensa test, or submit a qualifying test score from another test. There are a large number of intelligence tests that are "approved". More information on whether a test you have taken is approved, as well as information on the procedure for taking the Mensa test, can be obtained from the nearest Mensa office. There are no on-line tests that can be used for admission to Mensa. Feel free to contact Mensa for specific details about eligibility. Mensa has no other eligibility requirements other than IQ testing.
If you've never taken an IQ test, or don't want to bother with getting official copies of your test scores, then Mensa can test you. You will be put in contact with the local testing coordinator who will tell you about specific testing dates and places. In some countries, a pre-test is available which you can take in the privacy of your home. To find out whether such a test is available in your country, please see National Groups. When you"ve finished the pre-test, send it back to the address instructed. It will be scored, and you will be notified of the results. If your score is high enough, you'll be invited to take a qualifying supervised test. The pre-test is just for practice; you can't use it to qualify for Mensa even if you score at or above the 98th percentile. Taking a pre-test is not required for admission, however, many people take it simply for the challenge.

Grades of Intelligence:
00 to 24 Idiot

25 to 49 Imbecile

50 to 69 Moron

70 to 79 Border line

80 to 89 below normal line

90 to 109 Normal line

110 to 119 Superior

120 to 139 Very superior

140 and More Genius!!!