I became a member of Mensa in 2003. I was trying to decide what I wanted to do workwise, so I took a bunch of online aptitude tests. I ended up coming across a bunch of IQ tests, which I took for the hell of it. I scored really well on them, and one suggested that I apply to Mensa. I looked into it, and saw that they test monthly in my city, so I said what the hell, coughed up the money, and tested. I passed, and was really excited about joining. I had heard about Mensa through the standard media, and envisioned a group of extremely intelligent, eccentric, fascinating individuals (I guess I should have known better since I got in :)). I did meet interesting, intelligent, and nice people, but to be honest, they were pretty much like any educated group of people I had socialized with, the differences being the jokes were a tad wittier, and they really liked the Simpsons. I guess whether or not this is a worthwhile endeavour depends on your motivation. If you’re doing it to meet extraordinary people, you probably want to join a group directed more towards the interests or commonalities that you’re looking for in particular. If you’re doing to prove how smart you are, well, don’t be discouraged if you don’t make it, I know a lot of intelligent people who didn’t make it in, and some people whom I thought were very intelligent, but don’t necessarily believe that they belong at the pinnacle of intelligence in our society (is that a mirror I see) got in. Such is the nature of aptitude testing. From what I’ve read, a lot of people seem to be wanting to do just that, prove to whomever, be it themselves or others, that they are in fact considerably intelligent. My opinion is, if you’re smart, you’re smart, you shouldn’t need someone else to confirm that for you. There isn’t much difference between a person who gets 90% on a test as opposed to someone who gets 95% on a test, except for the fact that maybe the latter gets to call him/herself a Mensan (no, urine tests don’t count people). I guess what I’m getting at is anyone who doesn’t get in, don’t be discouraged, having passed wouldn’t have made you any more intelligent, and the people who are members are great, but they’re just like any other people you can meet on the street.