Ask A Genius 1095: ‘Community’ and Support in the Mensa-Mega Axis
Author(s): Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/08/20
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: This would be a follow-up, perhaps even the most recent one. Did you ever feel like you discovered any new community, particularly one with a high intellectual acuity, like Mensa or Mega?
Rick Rosner: Not really.
I joined Mensa around 1980 or 1985—I cannot recall exactly. Playboy Magazineonce featured an article showcasing women of Mensa who had high IQs, accompanied by nude photographs. That prompted me to join Mensa. I did not hold Mensa in high regard—I found it somewhat unimpressive—but I felt compelled to join because I thought Playgirl Magazine might imitate Playboy and do a similar feature titled “The Men of Mensa,” with nude photographs of men. At the time, I had been weightlifting for a while and was confident in my appearance.
Exposure leads to romantic opportunities. However, as I have mentioned before, I did not realize that most of Playgirl’s readership consisted of gay men, so nothing came of it. I did attend a few Mensa meetings, but they were far from enjoyable.
The gatherings were mostly filled with individuals who, like myself, could be described as disillusioned blowhards. We once had a lunch meeting at Banana’s Restaurant on 30th Street in Boulder. There were just enough Mensa guys to fill one table, and unsurprisingly, no women since Mensa’s membership is predominantly male—probably about 93% men. One attendee looked a bit like the comic book store owner from The Simpsons, somewhat portly and with a noticeable paunch.
At the time, leaving a few buttons of your shirt undone was fashionable, which this guy did, wearing a disco-style shirt with a medallion. While this was not entirely out of place for the disco era, by 1985, it was decidedly late in the trend—maybe two or three years behind the times. Disco had already faded from prominence in New York, but it might still have lingered in Colorado.
What struck me as particularly absurd was that the medallion was a hologram. I found that utterly ridiculous. Around that time, I was developing a stand-up comedy routine in which I played a character with an IQ of 76 who was frustrated by his lack of intelligence. Though intellectually deficient, this character was still aware enough to recognize his limitations—something that predates the formalization of the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Unlike many people with lower intelligence, this character was aware of his shortcomings. I would perform this character on stage—a man who was angry about how stupid he was. The routine was well-received because my muscular build and facial expression made me convincingly appear as an unintelligent yet physically imposing guy. I decided to embody this character during the Mensa meeting, curious how people would react.
So, I pretended to be someone with an IQ of 76 at a Mensa meeting. Remarkably, despite the attendees’ self-important attitudes and poor social skills, no one noticed I was pretending to be intellectually challenged for the entire month. So, no, I did not find a sense of community within Mensa. However, when I joined Mega, I found a bit of a community. Chris Cole, in particular, helped me tremendously by guiding me out of a difficult period in my life.
He appointed me as the editor of Noesis and encouraged me to take on some responsibilities, offering significant support. He continues to be a source of encouragement. So yes, to some extent, I did find a community in Mega. I also met Dean Inada, an intriguing and likable person.
In Mega, Chris Cole provided more of a sense of community and considerable tolerance and patience. Chris is highly functional in the world, and while I’m not entirely dysfunctional, I am certainly less functional than he is. Nevertheless, he has always been willing to listen to my concerns and provide assistance.
Rick Rosner, American Comedy Writer, www.rickrosner.org
Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Independent Journalist, www.in-sightpublishing.
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