Jewish Genius

Commentary ^ | April, 2007 | Charles Murray

[T.L.Sink]

Commentary has never published a systematic discussion of one of the most obvious topics of all: the extravagant overrepresentation of Jews, relative to their numbers, in the top ranks of the arts, sciences, law, medicine, finance, entrepreneurship, and the media. I have personal experience with the reluctance of Jews to talk about Jewish accomplishment - my co-author, the late Richard Herrnstein, gently resisted the paragraphs on Jewish IQ that I insisted on putting in "The Bell Curve" (1994). I cover three topics: the timing and nature of Jewish accomplishment, focusing on the arts and sciences; elevated Jewish IQ as an explanation for that accomplishment; and current theories about how the Jews acquired their elevated IQ. I begin with the assumption that elevated Jewish intelligence is grounded in genetics. It is no longer seriously disputed that intelligence in Homo sapiens is substantially heritable. In the last two decades, it has also been established that obvious environmental factors such as high income, books in the house, and parental reading to children are not as potent as one might expect. Even the very best home environments add only a few points, if that, to a merely okay environment. It is also known that children adopted at birth do not achieve the IQ's predicted by their parents' IQ. To put it another way, we have good reason to think that Gentile children raised in Jewish families do not acquire Jewish intelligence.

[T.L.Sink]

In his essay, Murray explains why Judaism has been one of the most innovative and progressive forces in the shaping of the modern mind and Western civilization.

[Petronius]

This is part of an Irish conspiracy. You’ve noticed how no one accuses us of running the world.

[SolidWood]

Despite all undeniable accomplishments and intellectual power, most (secular) Jews seem to suffer from an irrational inclination to self-destruction.
How else would you explain the strong jewish support for Democrats and liberalism? (Historically for socialism/communism.)

[DB]

If they’re so smart, how come they vote for liberals who promote their downfall?

[billorites]

"Murray explains why Judaism has been one of the most innovative and progressive forces in the shaping of the modern mind and Western civilization."

Now if he'd kindly explain why it is that the Japs make such bloody good cameras.

[bkepley]

If they’re so smart, how come they vote for liberals who promote their downfall?

Smart != Wise

[rbg81]

Not to mention a plummeting birth rate. They seem to be wishing themselves out of existence.

[blam]

It is only the Ashkenazi who have the high IQ. The IQ of all other Jews are on par with your average European.

90% of the Jewish immigrants to America are Ashkenazi Jews.

[aynrandfreak]

Ping for later

[Norman Bates]

To put it another way, we have good reason to think that Gentile children raised in Jewish families do not acquire Jewish intelligence.

Racist elitism.

[2001convSVT]

Of course you know that alcoholic drink was introduced to the Irish to prevent them from taking over the world.

[Ieatfrijoles]

But when it comes to survival?

[litehaus]

BTTT for uncomfortable, serious truth ignored by even liberal Jews?

[theBuckwheat]

Of course one of the reasons this topic has been off limits is that there are so many people who hate Jews.

I would welcome an honest, hate-free, discussion of this subject, and even more so if it included how so many Jews may be instructed in the Torah, even learning to read it in Hebrew, and then turn their backs on it entirely by becoming ‘secular’ (a polite term for rejecting God).

[StuLongIsland]

Would anyone write a report on the groups with the least intelligence? Would it cause riots on campuses? How long would that author live?

There is also a negative, with so many people breeding within a narrow group, causes many genetic defects. Tay-Sachs, Dwarfism (there is another name for that), etc

(Not typing about long noses :-P and lousy comics, LOL). I do believe in laughing harmlessly of one self or group.)

[em2vn]

Nearly 60% of the world wide Jewish population is Ashkenazi and it isn’t all a bed of roses for them.
“A number of genetic disorders occur more frequently in certain ethnic populations.In the Ashkenazi Jewish population (those of Eastern European descent), it has been estimated that one in four individuals is a carrier of one of several genetic conditions.These diseases include Tay-Sachs Disease, Canavan, Niemann-Pick, Gaucher, Familial Dysautonomia, Bloom Syndrome, Fanconi anemia, Cystic Fibrosis and Mucolipidosis IV.Some of these diseases may be severe and may result in the early death of a child.Carrier screening is available for all of these diseases with a simple blood test.”

[blam]

"Nearly 60% of the world wide Jewish population is Ashkenazi and it isn’t all a bed of roses for them. “A number of genetic disorders occur more frequently in certain ethnic populations.In the Ashkenazi Jewish population (those of Eastern European descent), it has been estimated that one in four individuals is a carrier of one of several genetic conditions.These diseases include Tay-Sachs Disease, Canavan, Niemann-Pick, Gaucher, Familial Dysautonomia, Bloom Syndrome, Fanconi anemia, Cystic Fibrosis and Mucolipidosis IV.Some of these diseases may be severe and may result in the early death of a child.Carrier screening is available for all of these diseases with a simple blood test.”"

Yup. Close inbreeding in the past?

[blam]

"Would anyone write a report on the groups with the least intelligence? Would it cause riots on campuses? How long would that author live?"

I read somewhere that the average IQ of Blacks worldwide was 75. In this country an IQ of 75 is consider mentally retarded.

[blam]

"Of course you know that alcoholic drink was introduced to the Irish to prevent them from taking over the world."

90% of the Irish have (Y-chromosome = male) DNA haplotype R1b...same as me. Every male member of my family has had alcohol problems at some point in their lives.

BTW, the R1b haplotype is one of the oldest in the British Isles...maybe as old as 16,000 years there.

Most of the Ashkenazi Jews are in the (mtDNA = female) N1 haplogroup and can trace their DNA back to only four women about 25,000 years ago.

[ReignOfError]

Herrnstein/Murray’s analysis has some methodological problems, and IQ testing is a flawed measure of a fairly narrow band of the qualities that could be deemed “intelligence.” So while their work raises interesting questions worth exploring, I wouldn’t read too much into it.

I completely understand why most Jews don’t want to call attention to the fact that Jews are represented in the highest ranks of government, academia, the professions and the media in numbers that are disproportionate to their numbers in the overall population.

They don’t want to point that out, because for centuries bigots have used that observation — stacked with distortions and exaggerations — as “proof” of a comspiracy or a cabal. And when the same studies that “prove” blacks are “inferior” turn out to “prove” that Jews and Asians are “superior,” they spin the higher IQ into something sinister — the smarter “other” is described as wily, cunning, devious, inscrutable, and so on.

I think Murray places far too much emphasis on the heritability of IQ, and more importantly on the significance of IQ in determining success, however defined. Aside from the rare cases (with therefore small sample sizes) of separated twin studies, kids with the smart gene tend to be raised by their smart parents, so it’s difficult to precisely separate nature and nurture.