“I’m A Mensan Now”
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So I’m a member of Mensa, and I couldn’t help but notice how some Mensans (not me) have a big attitude and a superiority complex about being a member, and I couldn’t help but notice that there’s this Creative Commons song out there called “I’m A Mason Now” about somebody else with a big attitude and a superiority complex about his organization, and I couldn’t help but think that there should be some way to write a new version to poke fun at the egotistical Mensans that I know are out there, a few of whom I know personally.
Unfortunately, all my creative muse has given me so far is an idea and a title. Is there anybody on here who knows the song and would be interested in giving me a hand with this? I’d be especially happy to get some help on this from other current or former Mensa members.
I might take a stab at this, but I’d need to do some research. I’m inclined to have the narrator boast about being able to solve the sorts of (dubiously practical) problems stereotypically associated with IQ tests. I need to learn more about what people in Mensa actually do, though.
Just brainstorming… what are some typical IQ test questions?
Which is next in the series?
How many cubes are there in this structure?
X is to Y as Z is to…?There must be a way to get some of those into the ‘should we talk about…’ or ‘of the guy who’s’
Guess what, I’m a Mensan now
And you’d better get smart if you want to stay
On the good side
Of the guy who
knows the next [one-syllable word for number, or maybe ‘pic’] in the list [or other one-syllable word for sequence](I don’t think this makes it very clear what it’s about, but my brain has been shut off by a 2.5-hour meeting.)
I’m resisting the temptation to add a verse in which the narrator gets p0wned by someone from one of the more exclusive high-IQ societies.
Of the guy who…
…”knows the next point on the line”..?
…”does his crosswords with a pen”..?
…”has a brain like Einstein”..? (Einstein stretched to three syllables)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.orgI 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.htmAlternatively, 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.
I had to start a new post for my part two of my final thoughts, because my previous post was going over the character limit… I tend to run a little long when I get started. 🙂
So anyway… it looks like you guys have totally got the right idea for the right direction to go with the new version, but I just want to make sure it’s stated clearly for the record… just as “I’m A Mason Now” is not so much poking fun at the Masons but at some fictional guy who has got way too big of an ego and an attitude about being a Mason, I want to see “I’m A Mensan Now” not really poke fun at Mensa but at the same kind of fictional guy. I’m a Mensa member and I like Mensa, and personally I could do without some of the people in Mensa who think and act like they’re a superior life form because they’re in Mensa. I’ll give you one example of this kind of thinking that I see every so often in our national magazine that makes me cringe every time I see it, and maybe this can somehow be thrown into the song in a good way… every once in a while someone will write a letter to the editor that essentially says: “Hey guys… we all know that we’re all very smart here and everyone else in the world knows it too, and the world has so many problems that need to be fixed by people with the brainpower needed to come up with the right solutions… why don’t we invite the leaders of the world to consult with us about how to solve the problems of the world and use our big brains for the good of humanity?” Ugh. I could make this long post twice as long by describing in detail every problem that I have with that kind of egotism, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll just say that that’s merely one example of the kind of attitude that makes me shake my head sadly and want to write a song poking fun at a fictional Mensan who’s got way too big a head about being a Mensan. 🙂
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 only know the first few dozen digits.
Alternatively, you can think back to the kind of questions that you saw on your SATs
I’d prefer to refer to more classic IQ test puzzles, but it might be amusing to include reference to an SAT score which qualifies… just barely. 1250 or so. They’ve stopped accepting recent scores for most of the common tests, so mentioning those tests would imply that the narrator isn’t particularly young.
We could make this bitter, imply that this guy hasn’t been much of a success outside of Mensa, but I’m not sure I want to go there.
One question: how rational is it to suggest that someone would join Mensa to meet girls? I ask because I’d like the narrator to do something irrational. 😉
One more thing to add, because I haven’t devoted nearly enough space to writing about this yet… 🙂
The American Mensa website and the national events I mentioned earlier give a better idea about what happens in Mensa on the national level, but I thought it might help to talk a bit about what happens on the local level. At the local level, it’s something along the lines of a social club where local chapters organize different kinds of get-together events to suit the tastes of the local members. In our chapter, this is how we roll…
We see arty and/or thought-provoking movies and talk about them over dinner afterwards. We get together at members’ houses for potluck dinners, movie nights, holiday parties and game nights (usually involving the same kind of brainy games that were talked about two posts ago). We get together for dinner and conversation at restaurants we like. We put out a newsletter that talks about local, regional and national Mensa events and issues, along with whatever the various people who contribute articles feel like writing about that they think would interest the group. Some Mensa groups organize field trips to interesting and/or scenic places in the region or they’ll attend or teach classes that cover topics of interest to the local members… we haven’t done too much of that ourselves, I think we tend to focus more on socializing locally.
To be totally honest, I see the same basic mix of people and personalities at local and national Mensa gatherings that I see at any other geeky gathering I go to, and I think it’s the same basic mix that anyone else would see at their geeky gathering of choice… comic book convention, sci-fi convention, game convention, JoCo concert, JoCo internet forum, take your pick. Think about what the group dynamics of those gatherings are, and you’ll see pretty much the same thing at a Mensa gathering of comparable size.
We could make this bitter, imply that this guy hasn’t been much of a success outside of Mensa, but I’m not sure I want to go there.
The original song had a hint of that implication in there… you’ve got a trophy wife and a nice car, but I’m better than you because I’m A Mason Now. I’d like to keep that “I’m better than you” aspect in there, but it leaves the question open of what and who he’s declaring himself to be better than. Somebody else with a trophy wife and a nice car? Nah, already been done. An average Joe? Somebody who’s more into sports or other physical pursuits than brainy and nerdy ones? I don’t know.
One question: how rational is it to suggest that someone would join Mensa to meet girls? I ask because I’d like the narrator to do something irrational. 😉
I’d say, probably not very rational. In the case of my own local group, *definitely* not rational. I do know people who have met and married someone through Mensa, but typically the social motivation has far more to do with meeting “people who are more like me” or “people who get me” than finding a date.
I’m resisting the temptation to add a verse in which the narrator gets p0wned by someone from one of the more exclusive high-IQ societies.
Maybe Black Mensa?
(That was a joke. Haha…)Nice! 😀
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.)
I actually wouldn’t expect a Mensan to be particularly drawn to Trivial Pursuit; that’s all about knowledge rather than intelligence. Same with memorising pi; anyone geeky enough (or autistic enough?) can memorise a few hundred digits without necessarily being eligible for Mensa, though admittedly being geeky enough does imply intelligence. But I suppose while mentioning other games he’s good at, he could say something like, ‘don’t tell me it’s a trivial pursuit’.
Hehe I should apply for Mensa. If I got in and went to some gatherings, it’d be amusing speaking French like a shy four-year-old when they all know I’m super smart.
Oh, the Mensa Switzerland website says it’s for people with an IQ above 130… that’s way less than the top 2%, surely.
@Angel
Mileage varies among different Mensa groups of course, but my experience has been that trivia games are very popular among Mensans. I can think of three different kinds of trivia games off the top of my head that were played at recent game nights. I own a trivia game that won a prize for being voted one of the best games at MindGames that year. The Mensans I know, myself included, tend to love crossword puzzles, which usually could also be considered a trivia quiz with a few extra conditions thrown in to help narrow the answers down. Then there’s the annual CultureQuest event where all the Mensa groups in the country compete to try to get the highest score on an insanely difficult trivia quiz.
Having said all of that, once again I like the phrase you’ve come up with: “don’t tell me it’s a trivial pursuit”. There’s got to be some good way to use that phrase in this song… one possibility that comes to my mind goes something like: “I aced the test at CultureQuest/Don’t tell me it’s a trivial pursuit”… something along those lines. Or something along some better lines that somebody here may come up with.
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