Reply To: “I’m A Mensan Now”
Wow, so much to respond to. Here we go…
@mtgordon: Bragging about being able to solve brainy puzzles of some kind, especially the kind that show up on the IQ tests and similar tests that are acceptable for Mensa membership, will definitely have a place in this song. I’m thinking some kind of braggadocio about being the best at games that you would expect to see a Mensan be drawn to (Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, chess, etc.) also has a place here. Brainy but of dubious practicality is definitely the way to go here.
I also had thoughts about throwing in something involving some even more exclusive high-IQ organization(s)… I was thinking that maybe the narrator wanted to join one or more of them to prove himself to be even more superior than Mensa membership already has in his mind.
And I totally hear you about needing some more knowledge about what typically goes on in Mensa… that’s why I’m hoping that another Mensan on the forum might come along to help out at some point. I also have someone in mind in my local chapter who I can show whatever we come up with to and I think he’d have some fun and creative ideas of his own to contribute. But for now, here’s a couple of links that can help you or anyone else with some quick research…
Wikipedia page for Mensa International: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensa_International
Home page for American Mensa: http://www.us.mensa.org
I think the national Mensa events that you’ll see links to on the American Mensa home page may hold some potential for our purposes… CultureQuest, MindGames and the Annual Gathering. CultureQuest is, in essence, an impossibly difficult trivia quiz that is tackled by teams annually in every Mensa chapter nationwide to see which chapter can score the highest. MindGames is essentially Origins or GenCon for Mensans, with the slight difference that every game is a brainy kind of game that was published recently and Mensans give feedback on them and vote for their favorites and the games with the most votes get an award they can put in their advertising. The Annual Gatherings (and smaller Regional Gatherings) are essentially Mensan conventions… the activities and events that (hopefully) you’ll see listed in descriptions of the AGs and RGs should give you a better idea of what Mensans like to do when they get together in large groups. The name of the national publication is Mensa Bulletin, in case that tidbit of knowledge helps with a song hook or something.
Personally, I think the phrase “mind games” belongs in the song somewhere… the best idea that’s come to my mind so far is to put it at the end of the chorus: “… of a guy who’s got all the mind games dooooooowwwnnn…” I’m pretty sure there’s a better way to use it that’ll come to somebody at some point… like Angelastic says, we’re in the brainstorming phase at this point. Speaking of whom…
@Angel:
And you’d better get smart if you want to stay
I *like* it. That’s a keeper, as far as I’m concerned.
And as far as typical IQ test questions go, here’s a couple of links that should help…
A sample test from Mensa International: http://www.mensa.org/workout2.php
A sample of test questions from IQ Test Labs: http://www.intelligencetest.com/questions/index.htm
Alternatively, you can think back to the kind of questions that you saw on your SATs or other scholastic achievement tests… during the time period that most of us took them, high scores on those tests were acceptable for eligibility for Mensa. That’s how I got in.
A couple more thoughts to toss out before I wrap up…
I can’t help but think that knowing the first hundred or so digits of pi might be one of the brainy and nearly completely impractical things our narrator might brag about. I also can’t help but think that since testing well on the right test at some point in your life is the Mensa eligibility requirement, the word “testy” should go into the song in a good and clever way, somewhere somehow.