A Forum on Intelligence

Malaysian Mensa and the Department of Psychology of Sunway University (Sunway) collaborated and organized a forum on intelligence recently. The forum was themed board games and puzzles and had a turn out rate of approximately 40 people.

Consisting of Mensa members and Sunway staff and students, Mr. Azrai Skymmar, the Chairman of Malaysian Mensa welcomed the guests with an opening speech followed by a talk by Dr. Lin Mei-Hua, the Head of the Department of Psychology and Organizational Psychologist of Sunway University. She explained how skills applied in board games are intertwined with the decision making process that can be applied to real life settings. “There is a similarity in decision making processes in board games and real life as each are related to a goal an individual is hoping to achieve”, she explained.

Participants carefully strategising their next move during the forum.

Mr. Lee Yi Dian, a puzzle expert from Mensa continued the forum with a talk about what he was most passionate about, board games. He enlightened the crowd on the different types of puzzles that can use problem-solving skills.

Dr. Lin interacting with some of the participants with a game of cards during the forum.

Participants then found their way to their preferred board game to witness how different decision making modules can affect their performance in a board game. Some of the board games played were Carcassonne, Portobello Market, Ticket to Ride, Zooloretto, Pandemic, and several others. Many remarked that they have never seen these games before. After strategising their game plan, the participants were given a few minutes to reflect on their decision-making and problem-solving skills displayed during the game.

A participant making a tactical move while the others looked on.

Dr. Lin stated “Playing board games is stimulating to the mind and this helps foster hypothetical thinking in an individual. The formation of a goal and strategy play differs in an individual and a team as it fosters different forms of thinking and strategy approaches that are in line with the goals of the player(s)”.

Participants having a good time strategizing their game plan during the forum.

Dr. Lin said the forum was interesting as it showcased the different perspective of human thinking in a diverse population, in this case ranging from students, staff, lecturers and Mensa members who are highly intelligent when asked for her feedback on the event.