|
| Home > About Mensa | |||||||||
|
What is Mensa?
Mensa is an international soceity of high IQ people. Intelligence is the only criterion for joining Mensa. The word mensa means 'table' in Latin. The name implies that Mensa is a round-table soceity where all members are equal regardless of their nationality, race, age, sex or religion. Goals of Mensa Mensa seeks "to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity, to encourage research in the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence, and to promote stimulating intellectual and social opportunities for its members". Who are Mensans? Mensa has nearly 100,000 members in about 100 countries. Mensa members include people from all walks of life, and nearly from all age-groups, from 4 to 94 (although the majority are between 20 and 60). A Mensan is distinguished solely by his intelligence, measured by his IQ, which places him in an elite group. How old is Mensa? In 1945, Professor Cyril Burt suggested in a BBC radio talk that a panel of highly intelligent people may be useful in many ways. Roland Berril, a barrister and Dr Lance Ware, a scientist formed Mensa in England in 1946. By 1963, Mensa had about 4,000 members, but three-fourths of them were in UK alone. In the sixties Mensa grew very fast under the leadership of Victor Serebriakoff. Read about the initial decades of Mensa in Victor Serebriakoff's words here. The membership crossed the 20,000 mark around 1972.By then about half the membership of Mensa was in USA, and this has been so ever since.The membership reached 87,000 in Octoer 2001. How does one become a Mensan? A member of Mensa has to be in the top 2 percent of the world's population in intelligence. Intelligence is measured by a person's IQ, or Intelligence Quotient. To more about intelligence tests and how you can join Mensa, click here Mensa around the world There are active Mensa organisations in about 40 countries of the world. The National Mensa groups have local and regional chapters. You can view a complete and up-to-date list of all Mensa national groups and chapters at the Mensa Global Directory site. | ||||||||
