Mensa

/ˈmɛnsə/ noun

Definition

An international organization for people with high IQ scores; also the Latin word for 'table,' referring to the round table of King Arthur.

Etymology

From Latin 'mensa' meaning 'table,' chosen as the name for the high-IQ society founded in Oxford in 1946 to evoke the cooperative, equal seating arrangement of King Arthur's round table.

Kelly Says

Mensa is basically a club for people who did well on an IQ test, but research shows that high IQ doesn't predict success or happiness nearly as well as grit and emotional intelligence do—it's a great example of how society creates prestigious status around easily measurable things that don't actually measure what matters.

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