Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa (GLAAM) is the Mensa local group for Los Angeles, Kern, Inyo, and Mono Counties, as well as parts of San Bernardino, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties. With approximately 1,500 members, we're one of the largest local groups in the national organization. Our Calendar typically lists between 50 and 100 events in our area each month, and there's a Regional Gathering h
eld each year on Presidents Day weekend. The detailed calendar can be found in our monthly newsletter, L.A. Mentary: The Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa Commentary. Its other content includes member letters, Special Interest Group (SIG) news, a directory of contacts for various activities, puzzles and organization announcements. Mentary are available on the Web in electronic form. For convenience and bureaucracy, GLAAM is divided into five sub-groups, referred to as “areas”: Mid-City, Coastal, the San Fernando Valley, East L.A. County, and the Hi-Desert. Because Greater Los Angeles covers a huge area, some local groups have split off from GLAAM as increasing membership contributed to local activities. These include Inland Empire Mensa and Harbor Area Mensa. Other neighboring local groups are Orange County Mensa and Channel Islands Mensa. So, What Is Mensa? Mensa is an international society with over 100,000 members. The sole qualification for membership is a score at or above the 98th percentile on any of a number of standard tests, making it a virtual melting pot of personalities and ideologies. Over five million Americans are qualified to join. Contact our Proctor Coordinator for information on testing in the Los Angeles area. Mensa is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to conduct research in psychology and social science, identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity and serve as a means for stimulating intellectual and social contacts among its members. Much of the research and fostering is done by the Mensa Foundation. Mensa per se holds no opinions, champions no causes and is not affiliated with any other organization.
“Mensa” is not an acronym. The word is Latin for “table” and signifies the round-table nature of the organization, wherein all members are treated as equals. (We don't spend our time sitting around comparing IQs. Such behavior is considered rude.) We are well aware the word means other things in other languages (e.g.: “cafeteria” in German, “stupid woman” in Mexican slang). Further information about American Mensa can be found at American Mensa's Web site along with links to the Web sites of other local and national Mensa organizations and Mensa members around the world.
