High IQs shine in Mensa

Brilliant minds think alike, and a famous club lets them share their thoughts.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Marilyn Carpenter learned long ago to be mindful about displaying what she calls her gift.
This gently smiling, soft-spoken grandmother from North Jackson sometimes doesn't say exactly what she thinks because she tends to think deeply and differently.
Her brilliant mind can turn people off, Carpenter has discovered. It can make them uncomfortable, or cause them to think she's being arrogant.
Carpenter's a long way from that. She's what some people would call a genius, though she doesn't use that term. Intelligence is a trait, like having red hair, she said, and knowing that makes her modest.
A retired nurse and longtime educator, Carpenter would rather ponder the logic puzzles she enjoys studying than talk about her college degrees, all four of them. And don't bother asking her IQ because she won't tell you. "It has nothing to do with me as a person," she insisted.
But the score was involved in Carpenter's being accepted into what may be the world's brightest social club, Mensa, which bases membership on intelligence test marks.
Carpenter brightens when she talks about the group.
Its rolls include the expected -- renowned scientists, doctors, authors and so on. But there's the unexpected, too, like a popular porn star.
Having a high IQ doesn't always translate to high achievement, either. Some Mensa members follow pretty ordinary occupations. Some have even used their smarts unwisely and have ended up destitute or in prison.
But for Carpenter, the group is a refuge, a place where she can be herself without fretting about being accused of showing off.
What group does
"It enriches your life," she said of the organization, which has about 100,000 members worldwide. Nearly 350 are from the group's East Central Ohio chapter, which includes Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.
Members gather regularly at local and national events. They do what you would picture smart people doing when they gather, like having thoughtful discussions and playing and analyzing board games. But they also engage in "normal" activities, like going out for dinner or taking belly-dancing classes.
Though it's common for people to fantasize about being a genius, Carpenter said she's known those who see it as a curse.
One fellow Mensa member once told her, "Sometimes I wish I could turn my mind off and not think of anything. I'd just like to enjoy life."
Carpenter doesn't share this sentiment, but she understands it.
People can be spiteful toward those regarded as especially bright.
"They revel in you making a mistake. They think you should know everything, and you don't," Carpenter said. Though possessing a powerful intellect, she also has the wisdom to be humble about it.
"Intelligence is a gift," Carpenter said. "There's nothing you do to earn it, and it doesn't make you a better person."