Notes on Nerd Camp, WG 2021

24 August 2021 (Tuesday)

With baited excitement, mixed with apprehension… I gazed around the room, looking for familiar faces. Some, I recognized immediately, others left me feeling unsure because their faces were partially obscured by face masks. The pandemic had definitely impacted the World Gathering in terms of numbers, as well as with interactions amongst the attendees.

NOTE: Socially, Mensans can be broken down into a few groups. Some are very outgoing and love physical contact, to include hugging. Others can be quite reserved and can resent their personal space being violated. And, as you can imagine, Mensans can fall somewhere between these extremes. Using colored dot stickers, placed upon our name badges, helps to identify which Mensan prefers what. But the mask mandates in place rendered the dot system non-essential.

25 August 2021 (Wednesday)

During breakfast in Hospitality, an old familiar realization came upon me. I had made a mental note of it before… People were walking around the room, some towards tables, others to pick up food and beverages. In their faces, I observed blank stares, joy and laughter, and varying degrees of weariness. I’m not any sort of expert on the subject, but it was easy to see social awkwardness in some of their faces and in their behaviors… and maybe even flashes of autism. Witnessing some of the interactions between Mensans kinda ‘confirmed’ my suspicions. It was hard for me to see it. I felt sadness, but also, some sense of relief. They could’ve been me. And, to a certain degree, they were. As I sat there thinking about them, I wondered if that was how other people… ‘regular’ people, thought about me.

I’m sure, to many folks, I can come off as a bit eccentric and awkward. I try to manage my actions and quirks to present, what I think to be, a favorable impression… or at least a neutral one. But what if, just maybe… I was being viewed by others in much the same way as these fellow Mensans I was observing?

Before and after…

 

Did people treat you differently after they found out you were a Mensa member?

First of all, I’d like to say that I do not think my personal experiences are unique. I do get reminded on a regular basis that I’m viewed and treated differently in certain situations. On occasion I can quite readily spot when the ‘atmosphere’ changes when interacting with people. I’m referring to how you’re treated when others don’t know you’re highly intelligent vs when they find out you’re not the fool they thought. This kinda goes to the heart of my post, ‘Before and after’.

Several years ago I approached an engineer where I was employed at the time and asked about an opening in programming. This engineer was highly respected and had been with the company for a long time. So, I knocked on his office door and was invited in to take a seat. I asked about the job and his thoughts about me applying for the position. I was taken aback when he actually told me ‘I don’t think you’re smart enough to do the job’. Wow! That was totally unexpected. Never mind that I was hired into my then, current position by this engineer and had worked for him too. I didn’t respond to his comment. I just politely thanked him for his time and walked out of his office. I formed a few opinions about the engineer that day, 1) I would never seek to work for him in any capacity, ever again, 2) the engineer was obviously not a good judge of a person’s abilities, 3) he must have either not read my resume, or had forgotten that I once owned a CNC machine shop and wrote programs for all the parts I ran through my shop. So, my qualifications should not have been in doubt… but it was. A few years later I happened to be working on a project he was involved in. We got to talking and he noticed that I was wearing a shirt with the Mensa logo emblazoned on the front. He looked at me and asked if I was in Mensa. ‘Yes’, I responded, ‘I’m also the current president of San Diego Mensa’. If ever there was a time that I could read the facial cues on another’s face, it was then. I could see the progression of realization from our previous conversation to then… when he figured out that he had made a gross assumption and he now looked like an asshole. For my part, I’ve never reminded him of his ‘I don’t think you’re smart enough to do the job’ comment. But, I will admit, he did change his approach to me from condescension to more or less as a peer. Some people just have much too big an ego to ever apologize. I respect the guy professionally, but not personally.

This same type of story happens to me constantly with a few twists here and there. The assumptions are that I’m somehow less a person to them for whatever reason. Maybe they look down upon me because I chose a blue collar profession… it could be that they’re just egotistical cunts. Who knows? Once these people find out that I’m not the dumbass they thought I was, I’m treated in one of three ways. Their treatment towards me becomes courteous and mutually respectful, they try to prove they’re smarter than me, or they simply try to avoid me. The third option confuses me. Those are the ones I go out of my way to engage. Their discomfort amuses me to no end.

At times, I’ve had people challenge me by either kidding around, or to ‘show me up’. Two examples… one time I was cutting through the warehouse when a forklift driver and his coworker crossed my path. The forklift driver slowed down and said, ‘I bet that I can beat you in a game of chess!’ To which I replied, ‘you probably could. I don’t play chess’. He looked at me blankly at my unexpected answer and continued on his way. Another time I had clocked out and was on my way out to my car. As I walked down a hallway towards the parking lot, some engineer said, ‘Quick! What’s 2 plus 2?’. Without thinking I responded, ‘4, and it smells like gasoline!’ He smiled at first and then asked, ‘Really? It smells like gasoline?’ I just smiled and kept on walking.

I do think people tend to judge others based upon their appearances, their educational background, etc. I had posted an earlier thread that had to do with implicit biases. I think this can roughly explain my experiences. Here is that link… https://patrickyepes.com/2021/04/confronting-our-implicit-biases/

San Diego Mensa Lo-Sec address for July 2019

The new San Diego Mensa board has been seated. Our previous Lo-Sec/president, Alton Hitchcock Jr., has now become the RVC for Region 9, replacing Michael Wong. I’m excited to serve as your new Lo-Sec. 

I’d like to take a moment and thank Alton Hitchcock, Jr. for his years of service to the San Diego Mensa board. He’s a stand up guy. It has been a pleasure serving with him. I’m thankful for his friendship, and his leadership will be missed. I’m sorry to see him leave but I wish him well in his future endeavors. 

Moving forward…

During the upcoming year, I’ll be busy implementing a few ideas for recruiting new members to our fold. I believe the future of San Diego Mensa is directly tied to growing our membership base. Alton once made the comment that membership, in any organization, is like a leaky bucket. The leak is constant. If the bucket isn’t filled more quickly than the leak, the bucket will eventually run dry.

One idea for building up our membership, is the addition of more activities on our monthly calendar in conjunction with finding new ways to raise monies to fund our scholarship program. Who says we can’t have fun and raise funds at the same time? I want to encourage everyone to email the board with suggestions of activities you’d like to have included. Your input is important.

I’d like to close by saying, ‘Thank you!’ to each member of San Diego Mensa. Thank you for becoming a part of my extended family… and thank you for your friendship. 

-Patrick Yepes

 

 

 

 

 

 

2019 San Diego uRGe

The 2019 San Diego uRGe is in the bag!

We had a highly successful Regional Gathering this year! Our theme for the event was “Playing With A Full Deck?” Cards were printed with a picture of our beloved Richard Lederer on the reverse, dressed as a joker. It was a fitting tribute for such a wonderful Mensan!

After the 2019 scholarship recipients were awarded at the Regional Gathering by the San Diego Scholarship Chair Jennifer Morris, it was formally announced that Richard Lederer would have a scholarship named in his honor. We are very grateful to Richard Lederer for his many years of financial support to our local scholarship program. Thank you, Richard!

The Regional Gathering was made possible by volunteers. Without them, the event would not have gone as smoothly. I hate to name each specifically, mainly because I don’t want to miss anyone, but know that I am truly grateful to each of you and you have my utmost appreciation.

Here are a few comments about the RG…

“It was the best RG I’ve attended. The programs were great and more numerous than usual. The committee did a great job, especially considering that things got off to a slow start.”
-N H
“The level of support and excitement surrounding the scholarship fund was incredible! I am grateful to those that shared ideas for boosting the fund with new events and events they saw success with in other areas of the country. I am looking forward to bringing them to life in our San Diego group. The programs, hospitality, and evening events were top notch, and I felt we had a little something for everyone! I am so excited about our new space and hope we can keep it for the next few years.”
-J M
“The speaker programs at the RG ranged from juggling lessons to life in the red-light district of Tijuana.  We had presentations on deep learning in colorizing and restoring old photographs, writing a television series, the Crusaders, Isaac Asimov, animal adaptation through sexual selection, Las Vegas, the human-animal bond, a Mai Tai tournament,  the U.S.S. Midway, life strategies, the Daedalus aircraft, and many, many more topics of interest to the curious minds of Mensans. On Sunday, an Improv group not only entertained us, but also offered an instructional workshop in the art.”
-S v E
Again, thank you and I hope to see you again next year!
-Patrick Yepes

 

The IQ bell curve

 

This is a difficult topic to write about. The general population is somewhat squeamish on the subject. The topic of IQ can be explosive. As with anything, IQ can be controversial.  The information is out there if people really have a desire to know and learn. My attempt here is geared more towards laying out the basics in order to obtain a general understanding of the subject.

An IQ score is a composite score of several tested areas comprised of reasoning, memory, acquired knowledge, and mental processing speed.

In the chart above, we can readily make several observations. The mean IQ score is 100. The standard deviations are by 15 point (SD=15) increments. Standard deviations can be both negative and positive. If a score falls below the mean of 100, it will be a negative SD. Above 100, a positive SD. Each SD above or below the mean is represented as SD- or SD+.

Referencing the chart again, we can see that roughly 68% of the general population will fall between SD-1 and SD+1. That correlates to an IQ value ranging from 85 to 115. And 95.44% are between 70 (SD-2) and 130 (SD+2). It should be noted that IQ tests are ‘recalibrated’ over time to obtain a 100 mean score. As the population gets ‘smarter’, the mean will adjust.

So, what does all of this mean? Without some sort of corresponding scale, IQ scores are hardly of any use. This is where we go to other sources to define the differences in IQ. The chart below breaks down IQ classifications.

I refuse to comment much on the classification ranges. It’s a minefield to even try. I’ll let you come to your own conclusions. But I will say this much… less than 2% of the population fall into both the SD-2 and SD+2 ranges respectively. It has been suggested but never conclusively proven, that very high IQ people suffer from mental illnesses in greater frequencies than in normal intelligence ranges. True? God, I hope not…    😉

 

Input = output

A question was recently asked in a Mensa based online group. It went something like this, “What does Group Name mean to you? What do you love? Why do you stay?”

For obvious reasons, I won’t mention the group name… but the comments in response to the questions are very applicable to Mensa in general. Often times, people will sit on the sidelines and make observations about how ‘Mensa can be so much better if only…’. Rarely, will the people making the suggestions, attempt to enact real changes. To paraphrase a Mensan, ‘To complain, is to volunteer!’ And that’s the essence of this post. Everyone will have different experiences and interactions, as is true with anything else in life. Mensa, to me at least, is a relationship wherein the value we get out of it, is proportional to our participation.

What follows, are a few comments to the questions.

  1. Making an obscure reference or joke and people getting it. But what really keeps me here, and what will keep me fighting for our Group Name? Family. The fact is that anyone who *wants* to belong to this family is accepted with open arms.I can be loud and obnoxious and self-centered and a total attention whore. I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things. I know there are plenty of people here who believe differently than I do about almost everything. And I’d be willing to bet there are people here who just don’t like me, for whatever reason. You know what? THAT’S OKAY. We’re still family. The reason I stay and fight is because I know a lot of y’all would do it for me. If my life caved in, Group Name would have my back…and not just the people I count among my IRL friends. I know I’d have help from lurkers, and from those who disagree with me, and maybe even from those who don’t like me. And that’s not because I post all the time, or I’m a “cool kid,” or whatever. It’s because FAMILY.
  2. Friendship. Acceptance. Belonging. I joined Mensa in 2010 on a dare. I didn’t get my money’s worth until February of last year when I found Group Name. Some of the people here have become incredibly important to me, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for them, because they allowed me to be myself, without judgment, without condemnation, and they liked me in spite of my flaws, which are legion. This is my family. My tribe. My Island of Misfit Mensans.
  3. I love the people… y’all are just some damn fun people! The fact that so many people have offered to drop everything and come help me… people reach out to check on you… people who you didn’t even realize knew who you were! The jokes, the sarcasm, the drinks… all awesome! Y’all have become family so quickly…. I’m all emotional today so I’m just going to leave it at I fucking love y’all
  4. For me, it is a testing facility for advanced ideas and language, which can go anywhere.
  5. Freedom to be me. Family – the one I choose. Fun because every serious matter has a joke in it.
  6. A bunch of smart people who are from a wide variety of backgrounds.
    I love the fact that some of my dearest friends I have become acquainted with in this group and then met in person. I like the fact that friends I have made through here have proven to be very loyal in the face of opposition.
  7. My wife will hear my full-throated laughter from the next room and comment, “You’re reading Group Name, aren’t you?” Sometimes I laugh so hard that I cannot breathe. Group Name: Witty, sarcastic and clever people to whom I am much obliged!
  8. In just one year’s time, my social circle has completely changed for the better. As others have said previously, I feel like I’ve found my people. I’m kicking myself for putting off the test all these years. [Bonus annoyance about that: After taking the test and being offered membership, I found some previous test scores that would have had me in years ago.] Many of you have become closer to me than I am to my “family of origin.”
  9. Group Name is (my) tribe. I love people who make irreverent statements and think really out of the box.

If you belong to a similar type of organization, why do you stay? What’s your motivation?

 

“Through the Kaleidoscope”, The Regional Gathering of San Diego Mensa uRGe

It’s been a long but fun-filled weekend! I’ve met numerous new friends at our Regional Gathering (uRGe), which concluded earlier this afternoon, and the fun flowed effortlessly, as did the alcohol and laughter!

People from several states and across the region, met over the Memorial Day weekend to come together in celebration of one another. Varied lectures and activities filled our days as we moved through the procession of events… it was a great time to be had by all! I really do enjoy this time of year and this great group of people!

On a personal note, I’d like to share my feelings about what our RGs (Regional Gathering) and AGs (Annual Gathering), mean to me. Those who somewhat know me (I’m a very introverted person), see a guy that, at times, can come across as possibly aloof… or worse, as a person that is not very friendly. I will freely admit that I can be both of those, or at least appear to be so, unintentionally. As an introvert, I spend a great deal of time thinking. Those thoughts could be about work, upcoming obligations, or just about the meaning of life. There’s always something on my mind with which to ponder. To the immediate environment around me, it may look as if I’m in a foul mood… that I’m unapproachable. Nothing could be further from the truth, I’m just deep in thought. But I digress.

Here’s my point… Most of my time is spent within the confines of my thoughts. It is quite hard for me to discuss the ideas or subject matters that may currently have my attention, with the everyday people in my life. Please, no disrespect is meant to anyone with that comment. Its just easier to keep those thoughts to myself rather than trying to explain an idea or concept to someone else. I tend to spend more time bringing the other person ‘up to speed’, in order to get to the question I’m contemplating. At our RGs and AGs, that’s not a problem. The people attending those events can immediately grasp concepts and ideas and greatly add to the discussion at hand. RGs and AGs are my ‘happy place’.

Even tho we may not come from similar walks of life or political leanings, we do tend to treat each other with tremendous respect. Mensa gatherings are a place to be ourselves. In short, Mensa is my home… Mensans are my tribe.

 

 

2017 American Mensa AG! FireHouse Special!

This year’s American Mensa AG is was held in Hollywood, Florida at the beautiful Diplomat Beach Resort. With nearly a thousand Mensans worldwide registered to attend this event by March, it was certainly shaping up to be a large party!

Within the Mensa organization is a FaceBook group called American Mensa FireHouse (1,575 members strong). Members of the FireHouse are known affectionately as “FireHosers”. Mensans from all over the world are welcome to join the FireHouse. Here are a few of the pics from this year’s annual gathering featuring FireHouse members.

The FireHouse!

 

Angie and Kash

 

Bethany and Erin

 

Cat

 

Diann and Kash

 

Erin and Bjorn

 

Erin

 

The Boob Court

 

In memory of Marc Lederman

 

Johnnelle and Erin

 

Kash and LaRae (Mensa Chair… go LaRea!)

 

Lily and Erin

 

Jam session (Chad on the guitar and Seongtaek at the piano)

 

Seongtaek playing

Laura and Taz

 

Therese Erin and 杨冰阳 (Aya)

 

 杨冰阳 (Aya) ready for a swim!

Johnnelle

Laura and Kash

Group pic!

Johnnelle and Bethany

Jason with Penn and Teller (Keynote Speakers)

Jennifer with Penn and Teller

Jimmy, Taz, and Jason

Michael

Penn and Teller

Bjorn

Touchy subject…

 

Gala dinner

 

Erin and Ellen

 

Erin and Ellen

 

Erin and Harriet

 

Erin and Kelli

 

Erin, Michael, and Johnelle

 

Kash and Kurt

 

Laura, 杨冰阳 (Aya), and Bjorn

The Airing of Grievances 2017

 

Andre hard at work

 

FireHosers 2017

 

Laura and Rob

 

Laura and Tony

Thierrion and Bethany

Seongtaek and Bethany

Timmy and Stacey (Who says you can’t pick your friend’s nose???)

 

San Diego Mensa uRGe 2017, aka “Nerd Camp” (26 May – 29 May)

The San Diego Mensa Regional Gathering kicked off today at 3 pm and runs through Monday, ending at 1 pm. The event is being held this year in Palm Springs, California.

The event theme this year is “Midnight at the Oasis”

Mensans from all walks of life will be in attendance. We have lawyers, authors, Armed Service members (current and retired), professors, artists, physicists, engineers, IT professionals, and even a sitting judge!

 

Movies being shown are:

Friday evening – Hidden Figures

Sunday evening – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Here are a couple of items that may be useful…

RGlineup2017 Agenda for 2017 San Diego Regional Gathering

Agenda for 2017 San Diego Regional Gathering

 

I’ll post stories and pictures, time permitting, as the RG unfolds.

FRIDAY – 26th

Registration

Margie and Dave Bowles manning the registration area.

 

Lots of fun Friday! Following registration, the day was filled with the laughter of old friends and new alike. Card and board games were enjoyed by many and puzzles were pieced together into the wee hours of the morning.

 

SATURDAY – 27th

Activities and conferences!

Very interesting seminar given by H. Stanley Jones covering the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator  (MBTI). Upon completion of the MBTI worksheet and further analysis,  Mr. Jones will personally email the results to seminar attendees.

 

Bob Tutleman’s Sing-a-long!

Really enjoyed Bob Tutleman’s Sing-a-long. As always, it was a great performance! Thanks, Bob!

The Mensa Song – https://youtu.be/GQYBKeRTwEM

 

Again, more games! Games are a big part of AGs and RGs!

 

Sunday – 28th

The day was filled with games and shared fun, discussions, and testing applicants for Mensa. RGs and AGs are a time to make new friends. The American Mensa Firehouse was well represented! I personally counted 9 members in attendance. The ‘award’ for the farthest traveling Mensan in attendance goes to… Laura Ingram, who flew in all the way from Indonesia! Congrats!

Two Firehouse members are shown below.

Carole Lane (L) and Laura Ingram (R)

Later in the evening, several of us Mensans went to Toucan’s Tiki Lounge to see the “Drag Revue”. If you have to ask…

Anyway… there has to be a punch line in there some where… “10 geniuses walk into a gay bar…”  Yeah, I need to work on that one.

Monday – 29th

The end has come, as all things must. Time to say our goodbyes and fond farewells. Until we meet again…

Translate »