The Mensa Challenge

Who?

Kring…

…together with Benj, Coy, Fritz, and Winston.

How?

Before I went to the Elation party the other day, I got a call from Kring asking me if I wanted to be part of a group of bloggers to take the Mensa qualifying test. I didn’t know about it so K quickly filled me in on how, if you pass, you’re allegedly one of the top 2% in the world (in terms of intelligence, apparently). 

I was a bit intrigued–so to speak. When I got home, I researched on Mensa and tried out the Mensa Workout!

When?

So after I had my AIMS interview in Ateneo (which deserves its own blog entry) earlier that day, I ended up taking an MRT to Edsa station. By that time, my feet were killing me–I was dancing nonstop last night (because I like dancing and I dun care if you think I suck HMPH), and the super high pumps that I was using didn’t help at all. 

Kring, Fritz, Benj, and I met at Starbucks before 3PM and then walked the way to Kring’s office. Her boss, Chris, is currently the big boss for Mensa Philippines, and he welcomed us warmly and shook all our hands! So before we started the test, we were able to talk a bit and basically worry ourselves silly about not passing the test. 

What?

According to our proctor, they can have as high as a 30% passing rate when the test is conducted in a school setting. But otherwise, it’s usually around 5-10%. You can take the test as many times as you want but at 6-month intervals. The test we took is a 45-item test which is composed of abstract reasoning. Abstract reasoning because language can be culturally bound. The test costs 300Php for students, and 500Php for the rest. If you pass the test, you are offered a membership to Mensa. 

Although, if you asked me, it really wouldn’t help if they put in some math or logic questions (sarcasm) — I’m bad at abstract reasoning and that’s practically all that there is. We were advised to breeze through the first numbers because the last ones would be harder. 

QUOTABLE QUOTES

Fritz: Para akong na-rape
Coy: It was like an alien sucked my brain.
Winston: It was draining.
Benj: I’m interested in finding out how well I did.
Kring: Mensa?! What’s Mensa? Where am I?
Tiffy: I don’t know what logic is anymore!

WHY?

When was the last time you took an IQ test? High school? So it may be interesting to see how well you fare now. According to Chris, the Mensa test is very accurate (although maybe Benj can dispute that). Although he claims that the test doesn’t breed elitism, you can’t expect it not to. Remember: membership is only extended to those who pass the test.