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From: rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn)
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Re: Mensa and elitism
Message-ID: <1006@opus.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 27-Dec-84 16:18:46 EST
Article-I.D.: opus.1006
Posted: Thu Dec 27 16:18:46 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 29-Dec-84 22:48:30 EST
References: <166@ttidcc.UUCP> <722@ames.UUCP>
Organization: NBI,Inc, Boulder CO
Lines: 40

> > As usual, the point has been raised that Mensa is an elitist  organization.
> > This  is  true.  It  is  also  true  of highschool football teams, symphony
> > orchestras,...
>   ...
> 	The other organizations you mention could be called elitist,
> but their standards for membership are based on *accomplishment*, not
> innate ability.
> ...The premise of mensa seems to be that you qualify
> for membership by what you *are*, not what you've done. Formally,
> you could argue that you qualify by the accomplishment of scoring well
> on certain tests, but, as you here imply, that is not the premise
> of mensa. The premise is that these tests actually measure something
> meaningful about you, something innate...

Of course, there's plenty of room to question whether the tests measure
anything meaningful about something as ephemeral as "intelligence".  They
ATTEMPT to do so and seem to succeed a little bit...if there were better
ways to determine intelligence, they'd be used.

> 	I think there are two things about mensa that some people find
> objectionable. One is the idea of a group which restricts membership
> according to traits that are (at least supposedly) innate...

The argument about innate abilities vs. accomplishments is hair-splitting.
Measuring a person by accomplishments can be every bit as empty as
measuring by (apparent) innate ability.  What constitutes a "meaningful"
accomplishment, anyway?

Moreover, one of Mensa's real concerns is in helping people deal with the
(supposed) innate abilities they have, which they may often be unable to
use as they feel they should.  If an organization wants to try to deal with
something like the disparity between ability and accomplishment, it seems
only logical to base membership on ability.

In fact, the angry reaction that some folks (NOT the parent article to this
one, though) have to Mensa and its members indicates some need for its
existence.
-- 
Dick Dunn	{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd		(303)444-5710 x3086
   ...Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.