ARE JEWS BORN SMART?

Are Jews born smart? By JEREMY MAISSEL (JPost)
Ashkenazi Jews are genetically intellectually superior to everyone else. This is the conclusion of a recent "scientific" study entitled Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence that triggered several articles in popular publications such as New York Magazine, The New York Times and the Economist. In this study, Gregory Cochran, Jason Hardy and Henry Harpending of the University Of Utah's anthropology department suggest a genetic explanation to account for this remarkable intellectual achievement.

They base their hypothesis on four observations. First, that Ashkenazi Jews have the highest average IQ of any ethnic grouping. Second, Ashkenazim have a very low inward gene flow (low intermarriage).

Third, historic restrictions on professions allowed to Jews, such as money-lending, banking and tax farming, in which higher intelligence strongly favored economic success, in turn led to increased reproductive success. Low intermarriage acted as a selective process genetically favoring these abilities. Fourth, genetic mutations responsible for diseases commonly found in Ashkenazi Jews, such as Tay-Sachs, are responsible for improved intelligence.