Kevin Langdon is writing several books and designing an inside-out clock. Karyn Huntting Peters is organizing a global problem-solving network. Alfred Simpson juggles multiple Web-programming projects in his free time. These three people might not have much in common—except for their unusually high IQs.

All three belong to exclusive high-IQ societies. Mensa International, whose members' test scores must land above the 98th percentile (or one in 50), may be the most popular, but it is just one option for the discerning test taker. The Triple Nine Society demands an IQ in the 99.9th percentile, whereas the Mega Society cuts off at the 99.9999th percentile (one in one million). The memberless Grail Society claims to accept one in 100 billion people—no one has applied so far.

Although members of IQ societies do not fit a single profile, they often join in search of a sense of belonging. “I've heard a lot of people refer to themselves as aliens until they found a group like this,” says Peters, who serves as an officer of the Prometheus Society. “But get them all together, and they become extremely talkative—they're up until five in the morning.” Langdon, who has founded or co-founded several high-IQ societies and now edits the journal of the Mega Society, also reports having joined to find people more like himself.

Others do it for the challenge. “I joined Prometheus just to see if I could,” Simpson says. He now deals with the society's membership requests. He receives about two or three a week, although only three or four new members are accepted every year. The admissions process for these societies usually hinges on a score on an approved test, some of which have names such as Mega or Titan. Typical questions include analogies, the manipulation of complex three-dimensional shapes, or word problems that must be translated into equations.

Critics question whether IQ tests measure intelligence accurately, but “genius” societies rarely claim to represent true genius: the merging of intellect, creativity and outstanding achievement. Peters notes that her high-IQ colleagues are acutely aware of their own ignorance. Simpson concurs. “None of us consider ourselves a ‘genius,’” he says. “Well, maybe there's this one guy, but he hasn't been in the society for a while now.”

6 Comments

1. 1. karynp 04:05 PM 10/19/12

   Please note that the entrance requirement for the Prometheus Society is 1 in 30,000 (not 1 in 11,000 as indicated in the print edition).
   
   For those interested in learning more, please visit the Prometheus Society site at http://prometheussociety.org.

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2. 2. ksipfle 03:16 PM 10/20/12

   There is also "Mensa's Top 5 Percent" group on LinkedIn.
   

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3. 3. SevenSigma in reply to ksipfle 09:40 AM 10/25/12

   This LinkedIn group is misnamed: it's not something that anyone in the top 5% of Mensa can join, you have to be a member of the Triple Nine Society. Why, then, the misleading reference to Mensa?
   
   The other requirement is that the person must have a college degree, which while they have the right to ask for any membership criteria they please, this again has nothing to do with Mensa membership.
   
   The correct name for this group should be something like "Triple Nine Society College Graduates".

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4. 4. drafter 11:03 AM 12/6/12

   I don't know anything about the other groups but I have come in contact with some supposed Mensa members and I can tell you there is nothing special about Mensa.

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5. 5. jtdwyer in reply to drafter 08:20 PM 12/6/12

   Being such a remarkable judge of character, you should certainly be tested for membership in Mensa!

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6. 6. Laird Wilcox 08:00 AM 12/8/12

   Of all the high IQ groups only MENSA (56,000 members in the U.S.) is large enough to have a significant number of chapters around the country that actually meet for activities. There are probably 200,000 former MENSA members around, given that many people join just to say that they have been a member and received a certificate. I've been a MENSAN off and on since the early 70s and have seen enormous changes in the membership as people come and go although the national membership has fairly stable.
   
   One of MENSAs strongest features is their large number of SIGs (Special Interest Groups) focusing on a wide variety of interests from hobbies to literary and political subjects. Interestingly, although the concept MENSA is based upon is obviously elitist a current internal debate is going on about some of the SIGs. Political correctness is everywhere.
   
   INTERTEL (1%) is much smaller with only a few thousand members. In my 40 years of membership I have never met another member. The same is true with the other groups. On the other hand, the journals are interesting and you can get some fascinating correspondence going. Socially however, MENSA aside, you have to wonder why they bother.
   

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