Are you fascinated by astronomy? Do you love art, literature and film or are you intrigued by science fiction or artificial intelligence? One of the many benefits of being a Mensa member is being able to join our Special Interest Groups (SIGs). There are more than 100 to choose from and you needn’t be constrained to just one group either.
By joining a SIG, you will be in touch with like-minded people who love the things you do. Each group has a SIG Secretary and they work with group members to put out a special themed newsletter several times a year.
Meet three of our SIG Secretaries and find out what makes their group tick.
Elliot Line, Puzzle SIG
We have 770 members in Puzzle SIG in more than 30 countries. Most are from the UK, but we also have avid puzzlers in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Argentina, Malaysia, Germany, Finland, and more.
What does our group do? Setting and solving puzzles, discussions around puzzles – such as pen and paper logic puzzles, word puzzles, twisty puzzles (e.g. Rubik’s Cube), puzzle video games. You get the general idea!
Our Enigma newsletter is exclusively for Mensa members and goes out to the SIG group about five times a year. There is no fixed schedule as I work it around other things I’m involved in. Since I took over as SIG Sec, I’ve produced 70 issues. It’s 20 pages or more and packed with puzzles of all kinds.
Mike Griffiths, Psychology SIG
Psychology is sometimes defined as the science of mind and behaviour. That means that it touches on almost anything to do with being human. There is even a topic called comparative psychology, which compares human behaviour to other animals and invites the question of whether animals think – psychology can get quite philosophical at times, especially when dealing with the mind.
Other main topics within psychology include: how people develop, in childhood and throughout life, including old age; personality and individual differences (including intelligence); abnormal psychology, mental health and clinical treatment; the biological bases of behaviour; cognitive processes; learning and memory. There are many others.
Most of our members have a general interest in the subject. However, we do have many members who are professional psychologists. Our main activity is the production of our monthly newsletter. It provides a forum for people to express their views on any aspect of psychology.
Barry McCann, Art & Literature SIG
Our group’s aims are to cover all areas of art and literature and promote members’ own work. We have members across a wide age range and from across the world. All activity is centred on the SIG journal, Parnassus, which members contribute to with essays, reviews and discussion.
Apart from essays and reviews submitted by members, I also showcase the works of Mensa artists and the publications of Mensa authors. And seeing them going onto success in their fields is its own reward.
A section in the journal, called The Eyrie, encourages members to make more personal commentary on aspects of culture or share reminiscences; partly to give the membership more of a community feel, partly to stimulate letters and discussions, which have got lively at times.
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