This article explores the history of British Mensa to examine the contested status of high intelligence in Great Britain between the late 1940s and the late 1980s. Based on journals and leaflets from the association and newspaper articles about it, the article shows how protagonists from the high IQ society campaigned for intelligence and its testing among the British public. Yet scathing reactions to the group in newspapers suggest that journalists considered it socially provocative to stress one’s own brainpower as extraordinarily high. To better understand such disagreements, the article analyses communicative patterns that were used to make judgements about intelligence. This case study sheds light on how aspects of difference and the ascription of social positions are negotiated in public understandings of intelligence.

中文翻译：

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“聪明人和其他人”：英国门萨和高智商的竞争地位

本文探讨了英国门萨的历史，以检验 1940 年代末至 1980 年代末英国高智商的竞争地位。根据该协会的期刊和传单以及有关它的报纸文章，这篇文章展示了高智商社会的主角如何在英国公众中争取情报及其测试。然而，报纸上对该团体的严厉反应表明，记者认为强调自己的脑力非常高是具有社会挑衅性的。为了更好地理解这种分歧，本文分析了用于判断智力的交流模式。这个案例研究揭示了如何在公众对智力的理解中协商差异和社会地位的归属。