Marnie Posted June 22, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 811 Topics Per Day: 0.12 Content Count: 7,338 Content Per Day: 1.08 Reputation: 76 Days Won: 2 Joined: 10/06/2005 Status: Offline Author Share Posted June 22, 2007 i fail to see anything truly remarkable. so she's a gifted child... so what? Well, what's remarkable is that she is a member of MENSA. To be a member at that age you have to take and pass a test, which she obviously did. I know because I took my first MENSA test at age 6 and passed. She has an IQ of 153 (I think it said), which is just shy of being a genius by most scales. At 6 my IQ was somewhere around 140, so this kid is beyond gifted. What she becomes--a normal little girl or a freak--will be determined by her parents. MENSA for me made it possible to learn at levels beyond other children my age. My parents elected to keep me in regular schools (although there were private). I was never kept "out of the loop" and always had friends. It's not the brains, it's the raising of the child that is the determinative factor. marnie, i respectfully have to disagree here.... i'm not trying to be offensive, i just think iq scores are overrated. That's certainly your prerogative. And IQ scores are overrated, however, there are those that need societies like MENSA just to be able to fit in with their peers; they teach the common sense and life skill that those with extremely high IQ's seem to lack. A lot of members are like savants. I think that's what I meant by "the raising," this kid's parents did the right thing hooking her up with them. Believe me, having a high IQ is just as bad as having a very low one. Both can be very dysfunctional without the special treatment these societies provide. Intelligence is not always a blessing nor does it mean you are smart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaches Posted June 22, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 95 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 2,315 Content Per Day: 0.30 Reputation: 14 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/25/2003 Status: Offline Share Posted June 22, 2007 Well, what's remarkable is that she is a member of MENSA. To be a member at that age you have to take and pass a test, which she obviously did. I know because I took my first MENSA test at age 6 and passed. She has an IQ of 153 (I think it said), which is just shy of being a genius by most scales. At 6 my IQ was somewhere around 140, so this kid is beyond gifted. What she becomes--a normal little girl or a freak--will be determined by her parents. MENSA for me made it possible to learn at levels beyond other children my age. My parents elected to keep me in regular schools (although there were private). I was never kept "out of the loop" and always had friends. It's not the brains, it's the raising of the child that is the determinative factor. why didn't you become a rocket scientist Marn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marnie Posted June 22, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 811 Topics Per Day: 0.12 Content Count: 7,338 Content Per Day: 1.08 Reputation: 76 Days Won: 2 Joined: 10/06/2005 Status: Offline Author Share Posted June 22, 2007 why didn't you become a rocket scientist Marn! There's no money in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marnie Posted June 22, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 811 Topics Per Day: 0.12 Content Count: 7,338 Content Per Day: 1.08 Reputation: 76 Days Won: 2 Joined: 10/06/2005 Status: Offline Author Share Posted June 22, 2007 Okay, I re-read something I wrote and I see my brains once again got in the way of what I meant to say. LadyC, you are no doubt a good mother and I regret one of my posts may have suggested otherwise. I had edited that post way down because it was getting too long and hence I gutted the whole point of the post in favor of brevity. I in no way meant to suggest you were anything but a good mother; what I was trying to say was that all things being equal a child with special needs, when given special consideration, has a very good chance of growing up "normal," and I dislike that term but it seems to fit here. Of course, it is up to the child to take that consideration and make it work for them. Some children do, others do not. I know one child who was a member with me is, last time I heard, was in and out of rehab because he can't hold job, can't stay married and has pretty much ruined his life. This is why I say that a high IQ often can cripple a person, depending on a variety of things; parenting being one and temperament being another. I am highly socially inept, although not nearly to the extent of my friend. His parents are wonderful, but his temperament, and the fact that he doesn't have Christ I am sure is a contributing factor, got in the way of his being able to integrate into society. Anyway, all that is a lengthy way to say I'm sorry coming across the wrong way earlier. I was going to PM this to you, but you deserve better, so.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 why didn't you become a rocket scientist Marn!There's no money in it. Maybe because she knew her life's work would go up in smoke? OK - OK Self Entertaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted June 23, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.94 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Ca-ching! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkNebulaWelder Posted June 23, 2007 Group: Senior Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 98 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 580 Content Per Day: 0.09 Reputation: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 04/18/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted June 23, 2007 Well, I think that, even if they don't admit it, most people would LOVE to have a genius-level IQ...not only because of the noteriety that it brings, but the ability to have a deep understanding of complex subjects I can imagine would be very cerebrally fulfilling. As for me, I was never overly-intelligent, and never really grew up with anyone that was, either. My teachers said I was, but I didn't really care about all that.......It's pretty hard to worry about your IQ when you're 14 and you're mom's always in the hospital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LadyC Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 marnie, i appreciate your posts, and your second-to-last one opened up my eyes a bit... i never really looked into what "mensa" was all about below the surface. i wasn't aware that they had a function other than to just be an elite little club of smart folks to peer down their noses at dumb folks, LOL. i really had no idea that they taught life and social skills to people who (IMO) have the misfortune to be so highly intelligent. i'm assuming you know what you're talking about on that point, in which case i retract any statements that may have been negatively biased! such a group may have been very beneficial to rana. i didn't take my first (and only) iq test til rana was about 12. and i don't even know why i did it. just an impulse i guess. so i really never knew how intelligent i was til i was in my 30s. in fact, i always thought i was rather dumb because my weakness is in the areas of math and science. i guess i tested high enough in other areas to compensate. i just knew growing up that being 'teacher's pet' in most of my classes set me apart from the crowd in a way that wasn't good for my social life. for the record, if your friend tested at 153, she would have qualified for mensa under either standardized test they use.... it's not the score but the percentile that counts. using one of the tests, anything over 148 qualifies a person, and with the other test the score has to be 132. i actually did some thinking about this yesterday after i got offline... i'm sending the rest in a PM, because it's really not necessary to air in public what i'm about to say. it's deeply personal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marnie Posted June 23, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 811 Topics Per Day: 0.12 Content Count: 7,338 Content Per Day: 1.08 Reputation: 76 Days Won: 2 Joined: 10/06/2005 Status: Offline Author Share Posted June 23, 2007 Yeah, we're good. MENSA is a great organization and was a great benefit to me growing up. It's much more accessible now than it was years ago, thanks to the 'net. And thanks to the 'net it's purposes are disseminated more effectively. It was the friendship and mentoring of fellow members that helped me the most. At any rate, thanks for this post and the private one. Like I said, we're good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaches Posted June 23, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 95 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 2,315 Content Per Day: 0.30 Reputation: 14 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/25/2003 Status: Offline Share Posted June 23, 2007 is there a MENSA version of dumb people? cos i really wanna join sometihng. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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