November 24, 1999
Mensa: Never a dull conversation
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Conversation at the table flowed easily from one topic to another, with discussions ranging from religion, music and t'ai chi ch'uan to children, speed reading and education.
For the five people having dinner together last Friday night at the Horizon Shine Caf‚, the common thread weaving together these disparate topics was mutual curiosity and genuine interest. Each person was eager to learn more about what others had to say.
This is par for the course at the monthly evening meeting of the local group of Mensa members, where getting together with other highly intelligent people is always a stimulating time. And a dull conversation at the table would be a discussion of matte paint or the weather.
"I like the group because everyone is always fun to talk to, very diverse," said Joan Dasef of Traverse City, a Mensa member for more than 10 years. "There is never a lack of interesting conversation on any subject under the sun."
These Mensa members are a local branch of the western Michigan chapter based in Grand Rapids. The Grand Traverse region boasts 30 area Mensa members, six of whom meet regularly at two monthly meetings in the Traverse City area. Besides an evening dinner and music gathering, members also gather monthly for an informal brunch, where conversations fly fast and furious long into the afternoon.
"Our meetings provide a vehicle for bright people to get together and talk," said John Schultz of Lake Ann and member of Mensa for 32 years. "People who come have many special interests and there are a lot of different topics discussed. Everybody has a chance to talk, it is a laid back group."
Part of an international society of 100,000 people sharing a common trait of high intelligence, only people who are in the top two percent of intelligence can join. Worldwide, members range in age from three years old to 100 years old and come from all walks of life. Locally, there are teachers, an engineer, a stockbroker, electricians, a physicist/retired logger, a forester, students and a college professor.
Members must have completed one of more than 200 intelligence tests accepted by the society as a basis for admission. These include the Stanford Binet, Wechsler or one of many post-graduate tests, such as the MCAT, LSAT or GRE. Mensa also offers its own intelligence test, the Mensa Admission Test, developed just for the organization and administered periodically by Mensa chapters. Once a person qualifies using any test, they can join the organization anytime.
For Tom Barnhart of Traverse City, joining Mensa was a way to validate himself after years of denying his intellectual gifts. A long-time member, he still relishes thinking of himself as special in this way after years of wondering why he was different from most other people.
"I tried very hard for years to be Joe Ordinary," said Barnhart, a retired special education teacher. "It never seem to work. Joining Mensa for me was a self-esteem issue, a way of saying I am smart to all those who said I wasn't. I can socialize with other people like me who like to talk about anything."
One of the groups future goals is to reach out to other area members who do not attend regularly. Schultz noted that there are a number of members who are students at the Interlochen Academy for the Arts, though they do not come to regular meetings.
The group also plans to encourage more people to join by administering the Mensa Admission Test locally. A recent test in Traverse City drew four people and another test is planned for early next year.
"We are just beginning to talk about what we can do in the community," said Schultz, a retired forestry professor who organized the local meetings when he moved to the area 20 years ago. "Some of us already are involved as individuals, like Joan coaching students at school for Odyssey of the Mind competitions."
For more information about the local Mensa group or the upcoming Mensa Admission Test to be administered on January 29, contact John Schultz at 275-6735.