Public urged to take July 16 Mensa test

WHAT DO the famous sci-fi author Sir Isaac Asimov, astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams, Hollywood actors James Woods, Glenne Headly, Sharon Stone, Steve Martin and Geena Davis have in common?

They are all members of the ultra high-IQ society Mensa, an international organization with over 100,000 members in over 80 countries. Asimov was honorary chair, while Adams loved poking fun at the organization.

Come July 16, you can become a part of this elite, brainy society.

Art Ilano, Mensa Philippines president, announced that on July 16, Mensa Philippines will conduct a qualifying exam at the University Hotel, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tests will be done every hour. The tests are open for all.

Ilano said the official Mensa cutoff is the top 2 percent in terms of IQ score. “This actually means that if you got a 98 or 99 in the NCEE, you have a good chance of being in Mensa. Unfortunately NCEE scores are not valid as IQ scores, so we still use our own certified IQ test as a basis.”

Vegetarians

July being the National Nutrition Month, Mensa makes special mention of vegetarians for the July tests. “Studies have shown that people with high IQ during childhood and adolescence are most likely to become vegetarians as adults,” said Custer Deocaris, a molecular biologist and Mensa-Philippines’ public relations officer.

The Mensa website (https://ph.mensa.org) specifies that only 14-year-olds and above are allowed to take the test.

Dr. Kalangitan Gutierrez, an anatomic pathologist of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, and the testing director of Mensa-Philippines, described the Mensa test as a 45-item exam composed entirely of abstract reasoning questions. The examinee has 30 minutes to complete the test. “Questions get more and more complex as one goes along the exam questions. It is a multiple choice exam, no verbal or essay questions.”

Gutierrez explained that on the average, Mensa Philippines receives over a hundred examinees during a scheduled testing session (The group usually holds three qualifying sessions a year). Gutierrez said the number of successful passers is not a measure of the number of test takers. The basis of qualifying falls within the 98-99 percentile based on the world IQ standards for that specific exam.

Deocaris explained the link between intelligence and a plant-based diet. “High intelligence quotient (IQ) helps contribute to a person’s ability to make smart choices. Conversely, vegetables, particularly the leafy greens, are an anti-aging regimen for the brain. People who eat more veggies have less risk for Alzheimer’s disease. An elderly who consumes greater than two vegetable servings per day during midlife has a brain five years younger than a colleague who eats less vegetables and more meats.”

Deocaris also added that as this Mensa event is “aligned to the call of the UN for a global shift toward a meat-free, dairy-free diet to address the impact of climate change, the proposition is to bring the message that it is important for our people who are gifted with talent and high IQ to take on the challenge of making a difference in society and to uphold social responsibility that goes with their gifts.

“We are particularly interested in issues concerning the neuroscience of intelligence as it is one of the aims of Mensa to provide intellectual and social opportunities and to nurture such mental gifts for the benefit of society,” Deocaris said.

First step

Ilano added: “We want to have an impact on how we view the gifted. We should nurture them. Not be afraid of them. Not treat them as oddballs or eccentrics. As a sort of sanctuary—kind of like the X-Men’s school for the gifted—Mensa is a first step toward giving them a support system. We want to see what we can do for them. And that will be the thrust of our upcoming programs.”

Mensa Philippines has been around since 1992. Being a Mensa member means you get a chance to contribute to programs that will help nurture intelligence, education and the gifted in the country.

Someone with no formal education can take the Mensa test, Ilano said. “The only catch: If the test taker has never seen an abstract reasoning test in his or her life, then this would be a disadvantage, at least at first, because once the test taker gets the hang of how it works, then the rest is a breeze. And if the test taker is a potential Mensa member, then this should be a quick study.”

For the mass testing, Mensa will charge P500 per person. One-on-one tests, by appointment, usually cost P800.

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