Mensa

[strange6]

I'm actually quite surprised and disappointed with some of the responses here. There seems to be a lot of hostility regarding MENSA membership and a complete misunderstanding as to why people join it. As far as i'm concerned, it's no different to joining a book club, a train enthusiasts group or any other social club of one kind or another. But then again, bright pupils always did get picked on at school so I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions with that one.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I'm not hostile, but on the surface it just looks a bit dull and pointless.

 

[strange6]

Gary Bushell (TV Critic, hack, ardent right-winger and ex-skinhead) WAS (may still be) a member of MENSA. If he is/was, I don't want to be.
Besides, I can have the letters B.Sc. Hons (Open) after my name (pity there's no means of putting 1st into it as well) if I want, so why should I need to be in MENSA?

Nobody was asking you if you wanted to be a member of MENSA. Like some others, you seem to miss the point of it.
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I'm not hostile, but on the surface it just looks a bit dull and pointless.

I agree but like I said in an earlier post, it provides an independently assessed mental challenge. No different to getting the puzzle book out on the train and having a good, long think!

 

[12CSVT]

Must admit I've always thought of MENSA as being full of university graduates with aspergers. (Apologies if my opinion offends anyone).

 

[strange6]

Must admit I've always thought of MENSA as being full of university graduates with aspergers. (Apologies if my opinion offends anyone).

I would have agreed with you back in the 1940's but absolutely anybody can get a degree today. Very commercialised are today's Universities. You fail any exam in the first and second years today, you resit and can still make a dogs dinner of it. But this time around you just manage to scrape a 40 percent somehow and pass. Your entry to the third and final year is granted!

 

[LE Greys]

How much did you pay for the privilege back then?

I was still in primary school. Presumably, my parents paid.
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I would have agreed with you back in the 1940's but absolutely anybody can get a degree today. Very commercialised are today's Universities. You fail any exam in the first and second years today, you resit and can still make a dogs dinner of it. But this time around you just manage to scrape a 40 percent somehow and pass. Your entry to the third and final year is granted!

How do you think I got a degree?

 

[strange6]

I was still in primary school. Presumably, my parents paid.
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How do you think I got a degree?

me too. I failed my 2nd part differential calculus module in the 2nd year. Retook it again in September, KNEW that I had done worse than the first attempt and then got 40 percent and a pass. Luckily, one of my house mates in that final year was a mathematical genius and she taught me very well in the subject for that final year. i will always be grateful to her for that

 

[90019]

but absolutely anybody can get a degree today.

Thanks for that.

 

[Nym]

Yeah, even those of us that need to work 30hrs a week and study at the same time, we can even get them now, without mummy and daddy paying.

Btw. Thats 30hrs/week even with a scholarship from various places.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Gary Bushell (TV Critic, hack, ardent right-winger and ex-skinhead) WAS (may still be) a member of MENSA. If he is/was, I don't want to be.
Besides, I can have the letters B.Sc. Hons (Open) after my name (pity there's no means of putting 1st into it as well) if I want, so why should I need to be in MENSA?

Like you, I have a First (mine is in Mathematics), but I have never needed to join MENSA to prove anything to myself....or others. I have made my own way in life following my own considered judgements. Even though I am now retired, I still hold these views to be true.

You make a comment about Gary Bushell above to say that if he was a member of MENSA, that you would not wish to be a member of the same organisation. You do yourself a very great injustice by thinking in those terms. Your own personal qualities are the only thing that should concern you, not your perceived view of those in others,

 

[HST Power]

Getting a degree is becoming harder. You've got to get to the University first and competition for the top spots is higher than ever. Then there's the small matter of pulling £9,000 a year from under your matress.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Getting a degree is becoming harder. You've got to get to the University first and competition for the top spots is higher than ever. Then there's the small matter of pulling £9,000 a year from under your matress.

And the rising living costs...

 

[HST Power]

And the rising living costs...

Indeed. Food, clothes, even mobile phones (Orange hiked up their prices not so long ago) are gettting more expensive. Though on a better note, the FT were predicting a fall in the price of oil the other day and it dropped by 3p the day after, as a result of fresh competition in the industry and a rapid sell off of barrels by a certain company whom I can't remember. There may be a brighter future ahead for the motorists if this phase continues. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw another drop sooner rather than later.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Indeed. Food, clothes, even mobile phones (Orange hiked up their prices not so long ago) are gettting more expensive. Though on a better note, the FT were predicting a fall in the price of oil the other day and it dropped by 3p the day after, as a result of fresh competition in the industry and a rapid sell off of barrels by a certain company whom I can't remember. There may be a brighter future ahead for the motorists if this phase continues. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw another drop sooner rather than later.

You do not need to be a member of MENSA to see that the arguments are beginning to go somewhat OFF-THREAD:roll:

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Indeed. Food, clothes, even mobile phones (Orange hiked up their prices not so long ago) are gettting more expensive. Though on a better note, the FT were predicting a fall in the price of oil the other day and it dropped by 3p the day after, as a result of fresh competition in the industry and a rapid sell off of barrels by a certain company whom I can't remember. There may be a brighter future ahead for the motorists if this phase continues. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw another drop sooner rather than later.

Which makes being a student far, far more difficult! Luckily though, I've just found out that if I go to a certain Uni for my course, the NHS will pay my tuition fees. Hopefully they will still do that in 2012, even with the fees increase.

 

[Nym]

And the rising living costs...

Tell me about it, luckily I dodged a bullet because I didn't apply through UCAS, I walked into the director of studdies office with my A level certificates and got a place. But I live 20 miles away from the UMIST campus, and god help me if I need to be on Oxford Road, but I still need a full time wage to afford all the living costs, even this far out of Manchester.

Sod food and mobiles, my leccy bill is going to double in September!

And the only reason I can afford my rent is because there may be a shortage of housing, but not my type of house, and a sitting tenant is worth it's weight in gold! (Get on the good side of your agent and they advise the vendor against it)

And when I have finished all of my low work being poor periods I'll have more letters after my name than in my name (BEng MIET MIEEE MIMechE MSc IEng PhD CEng) , so I don't see the need to join mensa. (An attempt to pull it back on topic)

Oh, I forgot the (hons.) on the end of the BEng...

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

And when I have finished all of my low work being poor periods I'll have more letters after my name than in my name (BEng MIET MIEEE MIMechE MSc IEng PhD CEng)...Oh, I forgot the (hons.) on the end of the BEng...

I can imagine how wide that your office door will be when the facilities team come round to put on your nameplate with all these qualifications after your name

 

[strange6]

The REALLY clever people are not the ones with letters after their name or with a membership to MENSA, but people who have made millions legally and above board from sweet FA. They're the cleverest in my eyes.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Or the luckiest...

 

[strange6]

Or the luckiest...

Nahhhhhh, unless you have inherited the money, there's nothing lucky in building up an empire and the millions that go with it.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Getting a break or opportunity is lucky. Sometimes the most intelligent men in the world are the ones who we don't know. No fortune or fame about it.

 

[strange6]

Getting a break or opportunity is lucky. Sometimes the most intelligent men in the world are the ones who we don't know. No fortune or fame about it.

I don't agree. You have got to see or seek out the opportunity in the first instance and then work bloody hard to make it work for you, quite often taking massive gambles in terms of going into serious debt and/or going broke. My friend Hassan has made many millions in the hazardous waste business only through hard work and determination. At one point it nearly broke him both financially and health-wise.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

But that's got nothing to do with intelligence, just grit and determination...

 

[ralphchadkirk]

I don't agree. You have got to see or seek out the opportunity in the first instance and then work bloody hard to make it work for you, quite often taking massive gambles in terms of going into serious debt and/or going broke. My friend Hassan has made many millions in the hazardous waste business only through hard work and determination. At one point it nearly broke him both financially and health-wise.

Some people do make it through sheer bloody hard work, others are just lucky. Luck even plays a part of it in people who work hard - read Richard Branson's autobiography to see how far luck got him!

 

[strange6]

Some people do make it through sheer bloody hard work, others are just lucky. Luck even plays a part of it in people who work hard - read Richard Branson's autobiography to see how far luck got him!

Yes, I suppose you must have an element of luck from time-to-time but you just can't do it on luck alone. And Richard Branson is just a legend. One of my heros

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Yes, I suppose you must have an element of luck from time-to-time but you just can't do it on luck alone. And Richard Branson is just a legend. One of my heros

One of mine as well. Of course, luck alone will only get you so far. The rest has to be achieved by working from 6 in the morning to 3 in the next morning every day.

 

[strange6]

One of mine as well. Of course, luck alone will only get you so far. The rest has to be achieved by working from 6 in the morning to 3 in the next morning every day.

Aye, if not longer. Just look at all those who have made their money with such things as Domino Pizza Franchises. They literally had to give up their lives for many years to do it. Is it worth it I ask myself?? All depends on how you value money and what it means to you!

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Aye, if not longer. Just look at all those who have made their money with such things as Domino Pizza Franchises. They literally had to give up their lives for many years to do it. Is it worth it I ask myself?? All depends on how you value money and what it means to you!

It's a balancing act. Money facilitates enjoyment, but I wouldn't drive myself into a state where I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself anyway because of ill health. I don't want to earn shedloads really; I want enough to be able to enjoy myself and live in relative comfort.

 

[90019]

All depends on how you value money and what it means to you!

Personally, I value having a job I enjoy over earning loads of money

The main thing for me is being able to run a car, along with a couple of other little things.

 

[strange6]

Personally, I value having a job I enjoy over earning loads of money

The main thing for me is being able to run a car, along with a couple of other little things.

Exactly the way I am too. As long as I can live comfortably, then I'm happy. You can't miss what you don't have!