Intelligence and Genetics

ByJohn Brown
Albert Einstein, an Ashkenazim Jew
Albert Einstein, an Ashkenazim Jew

I know that discussing genetic factors of intelligence is something many do not want to do because such notions have been used horribly in the past. And because there are groups who would like to continue such horrible abuses today.

However, it makes no sense to me to avoid such discussions. There are so many things, from mental illness to physical strength, that have genetic factors that it’s just stupid to ignore data that suggest intelligence also has such factors.

And so I offer you this paper from three folks at the University of Utah which “elaborates the hypothesis that the unique demography and sociology of Ashkenazim in medieval Europe [Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities of the Rhineland in the west of Germany] selected for intelligence.”

It may turn out the hypothesis of these researchers is wrong. But you’ll never know even what they’re proposing without giving it a gander.

http://homepage.mac.com/harpend/.Public/AshkenaziIQ.jbiosocsci.pdf

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  • Hooligan Hawks

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    That guy just doesn't know when to quit...
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    To allow my inner Swedish svelteness to manifest itself I’ve been doing some hiking and biking. I do my own Elmer Fudd biathalon in which I bike for a mighty 3 miles. Hike a hill interval style that I swear rises up at 90 degrees. Then go back to the bike and bike up another hill of the same size. And so I face the normal obstacles–inertia, rocks, mosquitoes, dump truck drivers who flirt with the idea of running me over. That sort of thing. But now I’ve got one more.

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