HOUSTON (Jul 7, 1996 3:35 p.m. EDT) - As Mensa turns 50, the international high IQ society has found itself in the midst of a mid-life crisis.
Promoted as a society of highly intelligent people brought together to solve world problems, Mensa seems reluctant to mature beyond its roots as a social clique for geniuses, said co-founder Lancelot Ware, 81, in Houston for the annual convention of Mensa's U.S. chapter.
"We hope that Mensa will have a role in society when it gets through the ages of infancy and adolescence," said Ware, a barrister who formed Mensa in 1946 while at Oxford University. "But at least it has satisfied its members."
More than 1,000 Mensans gathered in a downtown Houston hotel over the weekend to mark the international group's golden anniversary, which will be celebrated with week-long festivities in the United Kingdom in August.
In keeping with tradition, some of the world's smartest people got together to do some admittedly dumb things.
A group dedicated to "creative mischief" sponsored armadillo races, another played human scrabble with players wearing letters on their backs, and several sponsored all-night mixers.
"Please keep in mind that the pool is being kept open after hours just for us, but that's only if we behave. No nudity is allowed," read the ground rules for one all-night mixer where the rules obviously have been broken before.
A demonstrated IQ of at least 132 is required to join, and Mensa has established a scholarship program and sponsors research into intelligence. But most members say they joined simply to meet other extremely bright people who share diverse interests.
"I was single and I really didn't like the bar scene. And here, people will respect you for what you are," said Abby Salny, a retired college professor who joined 32 years ago and now oversees Mensa admissions testing.
Heading into its 50th year, the group has weathered shakeups at its headquarters in the United States and Britain, where the former international executive director was dismissed last year for running a business selling puzzles and games out of Mensa headquarters.
In the United States only two of the group's 14 staffers made the move from New York to new headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, and Mensa America continues to struggle with its vision for the future.
In approving an annual operating budget estimated at $2.25 million, U.S. Mensans spent considerable time debating a plan to conduct market research in order to attract more members. An estimated five million Americans meet Mensa's intelligence requirement, but only about 45,000 have joined.
"I call it getting our act together before we spend money," said recently hired publicist Virginia Aguilar. "We need to define where American Mensa really is going."
Ware, for one, seems disheartened by the Mensans' seeming inability to focus beyond self-gratifying pursuits and apply their collective brain-power to problems facing the world today.
"I do get disappointed that so many members spend so much time solving puzzles," Ware said. "It's a form of mental masturbation. Nothing comes of it."
With the book Emotional Intelligence on bestseller lists in the United States and United Kingdom, the one-dimensional intelligence quotient is being challenged by the emotional quotient as a barometer of success.
"Far too many members are not aware of what I have noticed, that having a high IQ does not of itself mean that you are going to be a very good person any more than having a Rolls Royce engine in a car means of itself you will be a good driver," Ware said.