Isaac Asimov on Why High-IQ Societies Like Mensa Were Useless to Him
A Citation to Asimov
In a personal reflection, the author revisits a passage from Asimov's memoir where he explains why he avoided Mensa and similar high-IQ groups: he found their members often irrational and elitist, with many embracing right-wing views. The post also recalls Asimov's friendship with William Tenn and his debate with Elie Wiesel, highlighting his rejection of racial and religious nationalism. The author mourns Asimov and the America that produced him.
I became uncomfortably aware that Mensans, however high their paper IQ might be, were likely to be as irrational as anyone else. Many of them believed themselves to be part of a 'superior' group that ought to rule the world, and despised non-Mensans as inferiors.
- hazard
In a moment of weakness, I joined a high-IQ group (Triple Nine Society). The whole mailing list was just people having the same political arguments that were on the rest of social media, just with a bigger vocabulary.
- nstents
A sense of superiority due to status (including race, wealth, etc), and ability, is a stepping stone on the way to lessening the worth, and so humanity, of others.
- sp1nningaway
Reading I, Asimov as a kid immediately converted me from a Southern Baptist to humanist/atheist.
I'm sad that atheist discourse has moved away from Vonnegut/Sagan/Le Guin-style humanism. Starting with Hitchens, prominent intellectuals seem like they hate God more than they believe in people.
Are there any current writers or public figures that have taken up the human-loving atheism of my youth?