Forward, Four
By Matt Crawford, RVC4
Mensa, as we know, has no opinions. Members and groups of members do have. And one opinion from which I’ve never found dissent in Mensa is that having more members is good (so long as we hold our admission criterion fixed). Our numbers have been trending down for a while, but we’re going to try for a turnaround in the new term. Meanwhile, almost as universal is the enthusiasm for having more of our members turn out for events. We do get some new members, and we do see new people show up at events now and again. How is it working out in your locale? I’ve been sciencing it a little. I got as far as these observations and hypotheses.
I observe that sometimes a member will turn up to their first event and keep apart from other people. Like so many other behaviors we associate with Mensa, this is not unique to us—I had a high school classmate who would come to parties, sit in a corner and read a book for a few hours, then tell the host she had a good time and leave. That’s one example of the social self-marginalizer, the strong introvert who sometimes wants to be amid a social environment. There are more kinds.
There are the social anxiety sufferers who have pushed themselves almost to the limit in just showing up, and now want to completely control their rate of further immersion. Can we tell the difference between them and a third variety who just have trouble getting started in a new social group? The latter sort want some help over the initial barrier while the former want to see their options and choose among them. The former, in my experience, would like to observe a while and decide in their own good time.
Introverted, anxious or awkward, they can present somewhat alike. We’d like them to have as much participation as they wish. They’d like to have whatever constitutes a good time by their own measure. Who has the responsibility for identifying their needs? Is there a unified theory of engagement with each? I haven’t got the answers, but I would welcome the conversation in a more interactive medium, such as the “American Mensa - Region 4” Facebook group.
And speaking of interactivity, I would encourage those who want to keep an eye on the AMC to check agendas, reports and minutes on the American Mensa website under LEAD→Board of Directors→Meeting reports and raise your concerns by direct email to your favorite AMC members or on Mensa Connect, in General Discussion or Region 4 Member Communites. As I write this, there’s a controversial motion on the agenda for July 4, but it will be resolved one way or another before this column sees print.
Correction: Last month I wrote that nine new voting AMC members will have never been on the AMC before. It’s actually eight. One RVC is returning after a long absence. For most newsletters my correction was too late.