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>>People Smarty-pants >> Mensa member’s crippling intellectual prowess makes her way too smart to hang out with the likes of you by CHRIS BARRY
Age: A secret.
Gig: Proctor
for Mensa.
Bio: This
self-described loner and Westmount resident was born in Singapore, raised
in Malaysia, educated in the U.S., and chose to relocate to Canada several
years ago because “it’s such a great country.” One brainy
broad, she is the first person to contact should you have an unnaturally
high IQ and want to hook up with other über-humans in the local
chapter of the Mensa organization. More than a simple invigilator of
IQ tests, Yang Yang says she often ends up counselling parents of Mensa
children who are having difficulty coping with their little one’s
genius. “When you’re very, very intelligent you’re not
normal. Many of the children have behavioural problems.” She also
earns a few extra dollars as a top-flight financial advisor.
What Mensa offers
its members:
The opportunity to regularly get together with one’s intellectual
peers and foster intelligence.
Her IQ score:
Yang Yang can’t remember exactly but says it is within the top
one per cent of the population.
Why she decided
to join Mensa: “Because I had become so tired of talking over
people’s heads and having them talk down to me in turn.”
Why she feels
some people like to talk down to her: “I get a lot of attitude
because I am a woman and a member of a visible minority.”
Something that
all Mensa members really look forward to: Mensa parties where members
will rent a room in a hotel for a weekend, talk shop, and try to challenge
one another with their superior intellects. “Mensa parties are
the best parties. People are so quick and we all laugh and have a great
time.”
Are people quick
to shed their clothes at the Mensa weekend wingdings? Not especially.
Are Mensa members
always trying to show off how smart they are to one another, bragging
about who has the highest IQ and the greatest knowledge of all things
Star Trek-related? Not
at all. “We’re all intellectual equals and that’s a really
good feeling.”
Do applicants
get mad when they get their test results back and learn that they’re
too stupid to hang out with the Mensa gang? Yang Yang says she hasn’t
had too many unpleasant dealings as of yet, but that previous proctors
have had their share of altercations with unhappy simpletons.
Does she feel
IQ tests are still as culturally biased as ever? Definitely. “Personally,
I don’t really believe in the tests all that much, but for the
moment it’s the best thing we have to measure intelligence.”
Hobbies: Yang
Yang likes ping pong. “Competitors look down on me because of my
technique but I use my mental strength to make things difficult for
them. I recently learned Tiger Woods does the same thing in golf.”
Television preferences:
The West Wing, Frasier.
Musical preferences:
Songs from the 1960s and ’70s that have social messages. “But
I really don’t like disco music from the ’80s.”
Last book read:
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.
Words of wisdom:
“Know your principles and never sell out.” :
Comments?
dimwit@openface.ca |
Name:
Yang Yang Yeo