I recently attended a three-day social gathering at which quite a few of the people happened to be involved professionally with computers. Sad to say, Y2K was mentioned only a few times, and then just in passing. I asked a few people what they thought and got the usual comments. "They" will make it a priority if things break down, chips dont care what the date is, etc. I didnt argue, since I know next to nothing about computer programming. On the ride back to the airport the shuttle driver asked what we thought about "this YK2 thing," so my husband told him about our new woodstove and other preparations. The only other rider, a medical secretary, said she was sure her utility company wouldnt allow anything to interfere with its income, and her computer at work was compliant so there wouldnt be any major problems. I had really hoped to discover that the awareness level was increasing, but it hasnt so far. The event was a Mensa convention, and I have usually found Mensans to be much better informed than the general public, so I came away discouraged about Y2K awareness. (But I did have a good time anyway, and tried to forget Y2K most of the time.)

-- Pearlie Sweetcake (storestuff@home.now), March 15, 1999

Answers

I'm sure the fact Mensa members are "DGI" would not strike anyone here as odd. After all, is anyone really any smarter than a GI? (grin)

-- Norm (nwo@hotmail.com), March 15, 1999.

> "After all, is anyone really any smarter than a GI?"

Yes, Charles Darwin.

--Greybear

- Got Decendants?

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), March 15, 1999.

descendants, even.

Yeah, them too.

-- Mary P. (CAgdma@home.com), March 15, 1999.

Gee- Imagine that. Your at a 3-day social gathering with a lot of intelligent people. Many of them computer people, and all of them obviously highly intelligent, and you have generally found them to be much more informed than the general public.

Maybe these intelligent people don't share the same extreme fears that you have about Y2K. Maybe they are better informed than you. Maybe your not totally correct in your Y2K assessment. Maybe you should send the "master" Gary North over to talk to them. He speaks the truth.

You sound like a hypochondriac, who says "I went to 25 doctors and not one of them thinks that I have a tumor. They're idiots. They don't know."

-- it's called a brain-use it (useyourhead@brain.com), March 15, 1999.

My experience with Mensans indicates that they are hardly a barometer concerning major events. Most of them live in well-buffered little worlds which allows them to use their intelligence to its fullest extent, and this isolation can lead to a somewhat skewed worldview. I was a member for a while, and while I found the company intellectually stimulating at times, it tended to become extremely boring due to the narrow focus. It doesn't surprise me that their ranks contain DGI's.

-- sparks (wireless@home.com), March 15, 1999.

Just out of curiosity I wonder how many on this forum are members/former members of Mensa ?

Put me down as former

Sean in Indy

-- (SONOSONO@AOL.com), March 15, 1999.

Former.

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@nevia.net), March 15, 1999.

If intelligence were the only barometer to use...one would suppose the computers themselves could tell us. A mensan seems to be a person with an inflated opinion of their own thinking ability. Stupid is as stupid does, as Forrest Gump's mom said. Intelligence without an honest heart is like a sailboat without wind. It's aimless wandering and meandering, and nothing is achieved. However, intelligence RIGHTLY applied, is wisdom....and a group of those types greatly outweighs a group of "intellectuals" As to the fact they don't get it.... MOST PEOPLE WILL NOT ADMIT THEIR FEARS, AND WHEN QUESTIONED AT LENGTH, WILL ADMIT THEY ARE WONDERING ABOUT IT...BUT WILL NOT WANT TO BE EXPOSED AS FANATICAL....SO WILL WAIT FOR UNCLE SAM TO TELL THEM WHAT TO DO...UNFORUNATELY....SAM WILL TAKE THE CAUTIOUS SIDE....AND WILL, BECAUSE OF POLITICAL RISKS...NOT ACT IN TIME TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC. THE INTERCONNECTIVITY CHAIN WILL BREAK AND WILL POP THE BUBBLE.

-- rick shade (Rickoshade@aol.com), March 15, 1999.

Rick,

and you're sure that this is the way it will happen because...

-- it's called a brain-use it (checkyour@head.com), March 16, 1999.

I qualify for membership in MENSA and I GET IT.

Not everybody who can make it into MENSA is a Star Trek-quoting, uncouthed dorkus maximus who can't use their brain beyond the myopic realm of their own little ivory tower!

-- coprolith (coprolith@rocketship.com), March 16, 1999.

Former Mensa Member.

I found them to be so self absorbed as to be laughable. The most common roundtables seemed to be who could come up with the most arcane and utterly worthless trivia possible.

2nd only to the Mensa brigade is perhaps the "Objectivist" or "Ayn Rand" devotees. Ostensibly rational and "objective". I found most of them to be close minded and contemptuous of others who didn't agree 100% with Mrs. O'Conner's works (inside joke, there).

Both seemed to me to follow the maxim "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it!"

Jolly dislikes prima donnae

-- Jollyprez (jolly@prez.com), March 16, 1999.

I'm a high school graduate, well informed (yes, I can read and write), and I have common sense. So, if a Mensa member doesn't get it, does that make me smarter than him/her.

-- Simpleminded (Simpleminded@simple.com), March 16, 1999.

The object of a verb takes the accusative case. I learned that long enough ago that I've forgotten the LAtin case endings. Owel.

-- NoMensa (bygolly@inanycase.edu), March 16, 1999.

Call Clindone at the Blackhouse for soulooshun.

-- US (white@house.was), March 16, 1999.

I'll wager that truly intelligent people are too busy to waste their time with MENSA.

-- coprolith (coprolith@rocketship.com), March 16, 1999.

Mrs driver qualified about the time we got married, and decided that she had better things to do with her time (HI HI). She decided this after a couple local meetings. They sent her the invitation to join and it never got mailed back.

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (reinzoo@en.com), March 16, 1999.

Of the three Mensa people that I know, they are all bright and articulate and nice and not one has the common sense God gave a goose. I'd rather have the common sense. If you are Mensa and have common sense, God must have given you the whole train. Glad you are here.

-- Valkyrie (aono@please.net), March 16, 1999.

Fascinating! An entire thread where non Mensan GIs rationalize on the reasons why they are smarter than DWGI Mensans. A thread worth keeping - to repost next January.

-- Helen Wheels (helen@noway.com), March 16, 1999.

An excellent FLAME thread. ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

-- SCOTTY (BLehman202@aol.com), March 16, 1999.

You're forgetting the most important words - and you wrote them yourself!

<>

So there were four people on the bus, and the bus driver (whom I'd figure is going to see more people per day than that whole room of Mensa's) brought up the subject (was a GI - and willing to talk about it to strangers he meets!) and the other rider knew about it, but decided that she would be unaffected after testing your PC - means she was aware, did a little thinking, but decided not to prepare.

So that makes 4 of 4 aware in the bus. 3 preparing, one not convinced yet based on the "business sense" of her utility.

Was in a hardware store checkout line Saturday - asked the clerk if "that thing" (indicating the card scanner) was going to work next year. She said "Oh you mean Y2K? Yeah - my grandmother is all over me trying to get me to prepare for it, but I'd rather get clothes, you know, CD's, stuff. What you think will happen?"

Told her I was expecting three-four weeks of irregular services locally, blackouts, bad water, etc., then things would probably start recovering. Said all she needed to do was get two cans of soup and some water each week this year - she'd be in pretty good shape. All 5 people in line agreed.

Means 11 out of 11 in two conversations were aware, 9 were preparing for some level of problems, 1 (the clerk - about 22 probably) didn't want to, and 1 decided not to.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 16, 1999.

Re Mensa, Groucho Marx said it best. When refused membership at a country club, the inestimable Groucho remarked that he wouldn't belong to any club that would have him as a member.

By the way, is that Troll Maria in a "It's called a brain-use it" costume?

-- Nonjoining Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), March 16, 1999.

<>

Well, if you're at an podiatrist's convention, and are complaining about a headache and blind spots, I'm not sure the foot doctors present could diagnose a brain tumor either - but I'd hope they would at least listen to the patient. At least the patient knows where it hurts.

Measureable brains do not always give one common sense, they do tend to inflate the imagined hat size though - I'm with the bus driver on this one.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 16, 1999.

I agree... besides being boring, the Mensans at the meetings I went to were insufferably pleased with themselves, to the point of self-adoration. You could've cut the hubris with a knife...

-- sparks (wireless@home.com), March 16, 1999.

I would not want to depend on mensa people in a pinch. All talk and theory, not what will be needed by me next year. I am not a social person, have my pet interest during normal times and suspect I will need to kick ass next year. Mensa people I have known know it all .....too much.

-- Doer and Thinker (There@along.timeago), March 16, 1999.