I just got back from spending 5 days at the Mensa World Gathering in Orlando. According to the
press, over 2000 people from over 38 countries attended. I'm not really sure how to describe the experience.
I spent most of my time with the Gen-X SIG, some of whom are part of my core group of friends in Phoenix, some were people that I met at previous gatherings, and a number were new people that I just met. The Gen-X events were well attended and a lot of fun - even when the Disney cops made us disperse to the hospitality room. In fact, the hospitality room was a great place to really get to know individuals better. A group of 6 of us spent the entire night in hospitality talking until the mid-hours of the morning (I went to bed at 9:45 am).
One person in the group of 6 that stayed up all night (and in the group of 3 that stayed up until 3:30 the following night) was a guy named John. He was cute, fun, witty, nice, smart (I guess that one's a given at a Mensa event) and just so adorable I wanted to take him home with me! We exchanged emails, so hopefully we will remain in touch.
Another of those in the group was
Shawn, from the reality TV show
Beauty and the Geek. Shawn gave a presentation the previous day on what it was like to be on the show. His presentation was fun, light, and very funny. In addition to having a "cute geekiness" to him, it turned out that he was a very fun, witty, funny, and genuinely nice guy. (I know guys hate to be called "nice" but Shawn really is - and in a good way.)
In addition to all the good memories, I also had too many encounters with creepy lecherous men who lacked social skills - they stood too close when they talked, they stared at inappropriate places on your body, they opened conversations with off-color jokes, and they tried to ignore the "hug dots".
Hug dots come in three colors:
- green indicates that the wearer is willing to be hugged by anyone - friend, foe, pedophile, letch, leper, etc;
- yellow tells potential huggers to ask the wearer for permission before touching;
- red means "hands off!"
As far as I know, Mensa is the only organization that implements these hug dots, for a membership that obviously can't read social signals on their own. This makes me question the whole premise of Mensans being the top 2% of the population in intelligence. Obviously the tests used to determine Mensa eligibility do not include all 7 of Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. I think it probably only measures three of them:
- Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
- Linguistic Intelligence
- Spatial Intelligence
It leaves the other 4 intelligences out:
- Musical Intelligence
- Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
- Intrapersonal Intelligence
- Interpersonal Intelligence
It seems like there should be a test that requires Mensans to score at least in the 50th percentile for interpersonal intelligence - although it seems like too many are in the bottom 2%.
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence was something else that was lacking in some members. The Gen-X group hosted a dodgeball tournament. Two people were injured - one enough to require a wheelchair for the duration of the gathering (and probably the next month or so). I feel sorry for him when he gets home and back to work. Imagine having to explain to your friends and coworkers that you are in a wheelchair because a bunch of nerds and geeks kicked your @ss in dodgeball!
