British researcher claims 'Jews smarter, it's genetic'

YNet News ^ | April 11, 2007

[Cecily]

Jews' average IQ score is seven to 15 points higher than gentiles and they are exceptionally accomplished, claims the British social theorist Dr Charles Murray.

"Jewish genius", Murray says, is a topic so sensitive that Jews rarely address it. Writing in Commentary, a neoconservative journal, Murray argues that anti-Semitism has succeeded in blurring the connection, but the Jews' accomplishments are scientifically based. Murray said he regards himself as a Scotsman who came to Britain from Iowa and therefore is not afraid to broach and elaborate on the findings in his research.

Murray sparked outrage with his 1994 book The Bell Curve, which addressed what he saw as black under-achievement. He claims that some groups are genetically more accomplished than others. He mentions that from the birth of monotheism to the medieval philosopher Maimonides, the 17th-century rationalist Spinoza, and the scientists, artists and intellectuals of the modern world, Jews have shown a rare affinity with scholarship.

[Labyrinthos]

Not so sure about the genetic/IQ connection but they do sem to take a more active roll in raising their kids. Could it be that better parenting leads to smarter kids?

You mean like raising them communially on a kibutz?

[docbnj]

Jewish and Catholic religious scholars are tops. The only difference from a practical standpoint is that a great rabbi is encouraged to have a large family, which is a point of community pride. Meanwhile, even the smartest priests are forbidden to reproduce.

The natural talent of Jews is a fact. Unfortunately, so is their tendency toward self-hatred and suicidal politics. They are simultaneously the cleverest and the most iimpractical (with the usual individual exceptions).

[willk]

“If Jews are so smart - why do they vote 70%+ for democrats...”

Because many of us come up short in the common sense department.

[CatoRenasci]

I'd love to see the evidence of this.

What I want to know, is, where are all of these people who bring the average in the US down to 98???? I don't think I've ever been in school with (at any level) or worked with people who were demonstrably of truly low intelligence -- except when, as a kid, I worked in a program for the retarded one summer. (That was heartwrenching)

I live in a world where everyone is above average, it seems - the local public elementary schools' average IQ's range from 115 (low) to 130+ (higher than the private schools - if our numbers are like that, what do the numbers look like in the ghettos? And, how can you expect to close performance gaps between students with 85-90 IQs and those with 125-130 IQs? There is only one way, and that's become the Handicapper General ala Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron and drag the higher IQ kids down.

[FarRightFanatic]

Hmmmm...I wonder what the IQ in your average Middle Eastern country is.

[aruanan]

Jews' average IQ score is seven to 15 points higher than gentiles and they are exceptionally accomplished, claims the British social theorist Dr Charles Murray.

Ashkenazi, not Sephardic.

I enjoyed reading how they looked in the 1954 paper and pencil IQ tests results from NYC for kids scoring over 170 IQ; 24 of the 28 were Jews.

[Quick or Dead]

Uh-oh. This sounds “humiliating” to the Arab street. Quick! Hide your cars!

[Cecily]

Believe me, they are out there. Try getting some routine task accomplished quickly, efficiently, and with the least amount of brain damage or wasted time through your typical big city/county government bureaucracies. Good luck.

[untenured]

“Murray said he regards himself as a Scotsman who came to Britain from Iowa and therefore is not afraid to broach and elaborate on the findings in his research.”

I interpreted that as a statement of ethnic pride, and a shot at what you can and can't say in the politically correct U.S. I assume (and hope, since it would be a significant loss) that he hasn't actually taken British citizenship, which is what it would take to be a "British social theorist."

Then again, maybe the author just meant "social theorist about Britain."

[Labyrinthos]

No surprise for serious students of Scripture.

I suspect, however, that only small number of that 2/10ths of one percent are series students of the scriptures. If I recall correctly, neither Einstein nor Friedman were overly religious, for example.

[CatoRenasci]

The most obvious consequence is: if we could find some way to copy their success and increase the median score of humans on IQ tests by a full standard deviation, there would be less stupidity in the world.

On its face, that’s a good thing, ...if... the method doesn’t involve eugenics and an increased risk of terrible genetic disorders.

Oh, that's true enough, I suppose, but, it it the result of genetics or nurture or some combination. If it's genetics primarily, then you can't do too much about it. I guess I am pretty much a determinist on these points - IQ is more hereditary than a result of nurture, although nurture makes a potentially significant difference at the margin, up to some unknown point.

I suppose my own relative luck in the genetic intelligence lottery makes me rather blase about the whole thing, and I have never been uncomfortable relative to those who are significantly brighter than I am, indeed, I always been pleased to find such people to learn from.

[blam]

"What I want to know, is, where are all of these people who bring the average in the US down to 98???? "

Why do you think the 'achievement numbers' in (just about everything) the southern US are so low?

[Bon mots]

Please do not flame me, this is NOT MY CHART!!!:

IQ and the Wealth of Nations

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Country	IQ (2002)	IQ (2006)	PPP-GNI per capita 2002	QHC
Hong Kong	107	108	27,490	60.8
Singapore	103	108	23,730	60.7
North Korea	105*	106*	1,000	38
South Korea	106	106	16,960	75.4
Japan	105	105	27,380	71.4
People's Republic of China	100	105	4,520	39.7
Republic of China	104	105	23,400	79.4
Italy	102	102	26,170	78.9
Iceland	98*	101	29,240	80
Mongolia	98*	101*	1,710	48.1
Switzerland	101	101	31,840	82.2
Austria	102	100	28,910	80.7
Luxembourg	101*	100*	53,230	76.4
Netherlands	102	100	28,350	82.8
Norway	98	100	36,690	89
United Kingdom	100	100	26,580	76.7
Belgium	100	99	28,130	84.1
Canada	97	99	28,930	77.8
Estonia	97*	99	11,630	64.5
Finland	97	99	26,160	85.1
Germany	102	99	26,980	78
New Zealand	100	99	20,550	76.2
Poland	99	99	10,450	62.7
Sweden	101	99	25,820	82.9
Andorra	N/A	98*	19,000	58.7
Australia	98	98	27,440	82.8
Czech Republic	97	98	14,920	64.5
Denmark	98	98	30,600	85.4
France	98	98	27,040	78.1
Hungary	99	98	13,070	64.1
Latvia	97*	98*	9,190	65.5
Spain	99	98	21,910	75.8
United States	98	98	36,120	86.6
Belarus	96*	97*	5,500	57.2
Malta	95*	97	17,710	66.4
Russia	96	97	8,080	64.5
Ukraine	96*	97*	4,800	61.8
Moldova	95*	96*	1,600	46.2
Slovakia	96	96	12,590	63.2
Slovenia	95	96	18,480	72.4
Uruguay	96	96	7,710	64
Israel	94	95	19,000	75.3
Portugal	95	95	17,820	67
Armenia	93*	94*	3,230	50.2
Georgia	93*	94*	2,270	51.2
Kazakhstan	93*	94*	5,630	49
Romania	94	94	6,490	53
Vietnam	96*	94	2,300	39.5
Argentina	96	93	10,190	64.7
Bulgaria	93	93	7,030	59.1
Greece	92	92	18,770	76.1
Malaysia	92	92	29,570	78.5
Republic of Ireland	93	92	8,500	52.1
Brunei	92*	91*	19,210	50.8
Cambodia	89*	91*	1,970	28.6
Cyprus	92*	91*	18,650	67.6
Lithuania	97*	91	10,190	65.4
Republic of Macedonia	93*	91*	6,420	54.4
Thailand	91	91	6,890	50.3
Albania	90*	90*	4,960	51.2
Bermuda	N/A	90	36,000	75.8
Bosnia and Herzegovina	N/A	90*	5,800	51.4
Chile	93*	90	9,420	59.5
Croatia	90	90	10,000	61.7
Kyrgyzstan	87*	90*	1,560	48.1
Turkey	90	90	6,300	50.2
Cook Islands	N/A	89	5,000	45.7
Costa Rica	91*	89*	8,650	53.7
Laos	89*	89	1,660	24.9
Mauritius	81*	89	10,820	52.2
Serbia	93*	89	2,300	53.8
Suriname	89	89	6,590	50.6
Ecuador	80	88	3,340	47.4
Mexico	87	88	8,800	52.9
Samoa	87	88	5,570	49.7
Azerbaijan	87*	87*	3,010	47.2
Bolivia	85*	87	2,390	49.7
Brazil	87	87	7,450	51.1
East Timor	N/A	87*	3,940	46.7
Guyana	84*	87*	3,070	40.2
Indonesia	89	87	1,600	28.1
Iraq	87	87	1,027	30.7
Myanmar	86*	87*	930	42.4
Tajikistan	87*	87*	1,640	27.5
Turkmenistan	87*	87*	4,780	41.7
Uzbekistan	87*	87*	1,640	39.4
Kuwait	83*	86	17,780	49.9
Philippines	86	86	4,450	51.6
Seychelles	81*	86*	18,232	60.6
Tonga	87	86	6,820	40.5
Cuba	85	85	5,259	46.2
Fiji	84	85	5,330	51.9
Kiribati	84*	85*	800	37.1
New Caledonia	N/A	85	21,960	54.9
Peru	90	85	4,880	49.2
Trinidad and Tobago	80*	85*	9,000	52
Yemen	83*	85	800	24.5
Afghanistan	83*	84*	700	13.2
Belize	83*	84*	15,960	56.1
Colombia	88	84	5,490	44.2
Federated States of Micronesia	84*	84*	6,150	48.4
Iran	84	84	6,690	40.2
Jordan	87*	84	4,180	43.4
Marshall Islands	84	84	1,600	44.2
Morocco	85	84	2,000	39.9
Pakistan	81*	84	3,730	31.7
Panama	84*	84*	1,960	26.2
Paraguay	85*	84	6,060	56.6
Puerto Rico	84	84	4,590	45.2
Saudi Arabia	83*	84*	15,800	63.6
Solomon Islands	84*	84*	12,660	44.1
The Bahamas	78*	84*	1,590	41.5
United Arab Emirates	83*	84*	24,030	48.8
Vanuatu	84*	84*	2,850	31.4
Venezuela	88*	84	5,220	47.4
Algeria	84*	83*	5,530	39.9
Bahrain	83*	83*	16,190	49.3
Libya	84*	83*	7,570	49.3
Oman	83*	83*	13,000	40.6
Papua New Guinea	84*	83	2,180	38.4
Syria	87*	83	34,700	38.9
Tunisia	84*	83*	6,440	40.6
Bangladesh	81*	82*	1,720	29.8
Dominican Republic	84*	82	6,270	46.8
India	81	82	2,650	36.3
Lebanon	86	82	4,600	55.8
Madagascar	79*	82	730	28.6
Egypt	83	81	3,810	37.3
Honduras	84*	81	2,540	41.9
Maldives	81*	81*	4,798	38.5
Nicaragua	84*	81*	2,350	41.3
Northern Mariana Islands	N/A	81	12,500	51.3
Barbados	78	80	14,660	60.9
Bhutan	78*	80*	1,969	24.1
El Salvador	84*	80*	4,790	42.6
Guatemala	79	79	4,040	34.6
Sri Lanka	81*	79	3,510	47.7
Nepal	78	78	1,370	26.9
Qatar	78	78	19,844	45.6
Comoros	79*	77*	1,640	24.6
Cape Verde	78*	76*	4,920	40.5
Mauritania	73*	76*	1,790	20.5
Uganda	73	73	1,360	25.4
Kenya	72	72	1,010	27.3
South Africa	72	72	9,810	38.3
Tanzania	72	72	580	23.2
Ghana	71	71	2,080	33.7
Grenada	75*	71*	6,600	45.3
Jamaica	72	71	3,680	46.5
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	75*	71	5,190	48.4
Sudan	72	71	1,740	24.6
Zambia	77	71	800	21.8
Antigua and Barbuda	75*	70*	10,390	53.2
Benin	69*	70*	1,060	20.5
Botswana	72*	70*	7,740	29.4
Namibia	72*	70*	6,880	31.1
Rwanda	70*	70*	1,260	18.5
Togo	69*	70*	1,450	26
Burundi	70*	69*	630	15.2
Côte d'Ivoire	71*	69*	1,450	18.1
Malawi	71*	69*	570	24.3
Mali	68*	69*	840	13.4
Niger	67*	69*	800	13.5
Nigeria	67	69	800	27.3
Angola	69*	68*	1,840	13.7
Burkina Faso	66*	68*	1,090	10.7
Chad	72*	68*	1,010	20.4
Djibouti	68*	68*	2,040	22
Eritrea	68*	68*	1,040	21.4
Somalia	68*	68*	500	15.2
Swaziland	72*	68*	4,730	22.2
Dominica	75*	67	4,960	48.8
Guinea	63	67	2,060	22.5
Guinea-Bissau	63*	67*	680	20.3
Haiti	72*	67*	1,610	20.4
Lesotho	72*	67*	2,970	24.3
Liberia	64*	67*	1,000	21.2
Saint Kitts and Nevis	75*	67*	10,750	45.5
São Tomé and Príncipe	59*	67*	1,317	37.9
Senegal	64*	66*	1,660	20.7
Gambia	64*	66*	1,540	21.3
Zimbabwe	66	66	2,180	25.2
Republic of the Congo	73	65	630	17.9
Cameroon	70*	64	1,910	23.1
Central African Republic	68*	64	1,170	19.1
Democratic Republic of the Congo	65	64	700	26.9
Ethiopia	63	64	780	16.7
Gabon	66*	64*	5,530	32.2
Mozambique	72*	64	990	18
Sierra Leone	64	64	500	13.8
Saint Lucia	75*	62	4,950	51.1
Equatorial Guinea	59	59	9,100	30.4

"*" Denotes estimated National IQ.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations"

[jpl]

I suspect that it's part genetics, and partly that education has always been so highly valued and emphasized in the Jewish community.

But of course there are many different types of intelligence and so many diferent components to intelligence, that it's hard to lump them all together under one big heading.

[Quix]

True.

However, God is not slack concerning His promises—regardless of the waywardness of man.

Individuals choose whatever perversities they choose. God still ends up having HIS WAY.

Even the wicked shall end up glorifying God . . . as illustrations of what NOT to do, if nothing else.

[the OlLine Rebel]

:D

It could be the deadly combination of “highly intelligent” while “lacking basic horse sense”.

I know quite a few people like that, my brother and uncle (blood) included.

[JewishRighter]

“If Jews are so smart - why do they vote 70%+ for democrats...”
Wow. you nailed it. Those 12 words just blew that theory right outta the ballpark.

LOL, I’d like to agree with both of you, but I have an alternate theory: remember, liberalism is a mental disorder, so it could be Jews are smart, but liberal Jews are deranged. Now conservative Jews, like yours truly...

[Bon mots]

Hmmmm...I wonder what the IQ in your average Middle Eastern country is.

You asked...

[Wormwood]

Please do not flame me, this is NOT MY CHART!!!:

Why would anyone flame you? I, for one, have no preconceived notions or prejudices that would lead me to attack you over the chart's apparent conclusions.

The chart itself is quite interesting, and I look forward to evaluating the data behind it.

[Maceman]

If Jews are so smart - why do they vote 70%+ for democrats...

I've been wondering that since not long after I was bar mitzvah'd in the 1960s.