The Dark Illuminati

Volant is the name of a secret society on Facebook, comprised exclusively of individuals who scored in the 99.87th percentile (3-sigma) on intelligence tests.

Brief Description: 

Volant aims to evolve into an organization for 3-sigma adults, similar to how the Davidson Institute is an organization for 3-sigma kids. People don't mind putting Davidson on their resume; they often are very hesitant to put a hiq-club on theirs. Volant will be like Davidson.

Long Description:

While we work on evolving into that Davidson group for adults, we're currently the optimal combination of insightful, active, and friendly discussions--even on controversial topics. Volant members are individuals who basically wanted a 3-sigma discussion group that was free of snarkiness, fighting, etc. (sorry, that's still not a lot of high-IQ societies, although many have improved), and also a place where members can network, make friendships, and basically help each other do great things.

Back when Volant was called HiQ-General, members were pooled from TNS, ISPE, OATHS, and adults who were a part of the Davidson Talented and Gifted Program. The high majority of the people in this group are members of one of these four 3-sigma groups. However, Volant also recruited from:

1. Mensa boards (only the people who were routinely insightful and well-behaved);

2. School friends whose test scores qualified them for 3-sigma groups but refused to join any of them.

3. And people who struck members as ridiculously brilliant and well-mannered from their posts elsewhere--including Facebook groups and Facebook itself, but who weren't members of any high-IQ societies.

Nathan Bar-Fields proposed to invite me into Volant on Facebook.  Since, at the advancing age 68, I had no records (or even of any personal recollection) of intelligence test scores dating from the 1960s, I proposed that he simply poll the members as to whether they had any interest in a retired academic such as myself.  I stipulated to Nathan that I would only consider accepting an invitation to participate in Volant if he secured unanimous consent from the current members, with no objections.  I also asked him whether Volant had a Social Contract setting forth the Mission Statement, Vision Statement, and Terms of Engagement. It emerged that Volant did not have any such Social Contract, nor even a collective understanding of the concept of an Intentional Community operating under a Social Contract Governance Model.

And so I was unanimously invited into Volant, unclear as to whether there was an implicit or tacit Social Contract that could be gleaned from participation, discussion, and dialogue.  Not long after I joined, another participant, Todd Bredbeck, a young red-headed chap who even looks a little like me, started a thread to explore the whole issue:

Todd Bredbeck

I'm taking Barry's blog post back up to a new thread. It brings us right back to Nth's initial question of a protocol. I'd be curious for Barry to point to examples of Social Contracts that he is referencing. So far the discussion is hinting at the question: Do we want written and documented rules of acceptable behavior?

And then there ensued a wild and exasperating ride which so divided, disrupted, and discombobulated the participants of Volant that the moderators abruptly and summarily decided to eject me from the group.  One observer from within the group disapproved of my freedom to tell the true story of my own life.

All I can say is, "Harrumph."