🦣🧵compiled from papers & articles about Ashkenazi #Jewish intelligence & its (high g & verbal IQ) causal link to their stratospheric achievements in domains rewarding high g & verbal #IQ yet no high visuospatial IQ, & its origin (=evolutionary selection --> genetic chance)
Achievements at the highest levels in arts & sciences 🏅
Jews, never comprising more than <0.3 % of world population & <2 % of developed world population, up until early 2021 had ammassed these achievements.
Jews, never comprising more than <0.3 % of world population & <2 % of developed world population, up until early 2021 had ammassed these achievements.
So-called en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_em… led to this...
...and this.
Estimate for mean IQ of Ashkenazi Jews is ~107 in early childhood (WISC) & 113 by early adulthood (WAIS). These tests give equal weight to their Verbal & Performance IQ domains. In early childhood, their IQ advantage is small & verbal IQ tilt hardly exists.
Their performance in tests that measure perceptual speed & accuracy & reasoning with spatial forms is significantly worse. They show a distinctly weak within-group correlation between these subtests compared to non-Jewish whites: ~0.31 versus ~0.77 (60 % lower).
Ashkenazi Jewish IQ advantage increases with age, attributable to a large increase of their verbal IQ with age. The <2 IQ point increase of their Performance IQ with age is ~solely due to the increase in the subtest 'Coding'.
An immediate question follows: What could explain their high mean verbal IQ & its increase with age from early childhood into early adulthood, & their low within-group correlation between verbal & performance IQs?
There are two competing hypotheses: The Hereditarian Hypothesis (genetic advantage resulting from evolutionary selection pressures on high general & verbal Intelligence for Jews in medieval Europe) & The Environmental Hypothesis (nurture & culture).
Taken together, the proposed environmental factors likely contribute to the Ashkenazi Jewish overrepresentation & achievement in professions & intellectual domains but at most negligibly to intelligence itself.
Converging evidence from many lines of scientific inquiry points to the high mean verbal IQ of Ashkenazi Jews being mostly genetic in origin.
Whatever % below 50 it is that the environmental effects explain of the IQ gaps, it is very likely that it is via a genetic mediation of those effects by the Ashkenazi Jewish genome. It is unlikely that the environmental component is even moderately high.
The following threads will focus foremost on their intelligence but also on their achievements and the link between these two. Let's begin!
Group differences in trait distributions can lead to huge outcome differences: ~90-fold overrepresentation of Jews at top of chess in Soviet Union. lagriffedulion.f2s.com/ashkenaz.htm used this case as the best meritocratic outcome case study & calculated Ashkenazi Jewish IQ.
Result: 112.
Result: 112.
lagriffedulion.f2s.com/diversity.htm also found that "Twenty-one of the 42 synagogues listed in the phonebook were located within a 2.5 mile radius of Pikesville Middle School." (anomaly data point) related to his examination of excellence relating to school demographics ("diversity").
There is a clear link between intelligence & intellectual achievements at the highest levels; also for specialized intelligences & specific outcome domains.
iqcomparisonsite.com/Roe.aspx
iqcomparisonsite.com/Roe.aspx
From kevinmacdonald.net/PTSDAChap7.pdf
Higher socio-economic status groups tend to have high verbal intelligence, but these groups are not particularly high on visuo-spatial abilities.
Higher socio-economic status groups tend to have high verbal intelligence, but these groups are not particularly high on visuo-spatial abilities.
Why does Israel do so well in Nobels, “unicorn” companies etc.?
slatestarcodex.com/2017/05/29/fou…
"ISAZ is Israeli Ashkenazi Jews, considered as a separate population."
slatestarcodex.com/2017/05/29/fou…
"ISAZ is Israeli Ashkenazi Jews, considered as a separate population."
Related to the above
From lagriffedulion.f2s.com/sft2.htm
"In market economies, per capita GDP is directly proportional to the population fraction with verbal IQ at or above some determinable threshold."
From lagriffedulion.f2s.com/sft2.htm
"In market economies, per capita GDP is directly proportional to the population fraction with verbal IQ at or above some determinable threshold."
From semanticscholar.org/paper/From-Ter…
There's no celing effect for accomplishments in intellectual domains for people within the top 1 % in cognitive ability; they expand, moving from 99th to 99.99th percentile in cognitive ability.
There's no celing effect for accomplishments in intellectual domains for people within the top 1 % in cognitive ability; they expand, moving from 99th to 99.99th percentile in cognitive ability.
evoandproud.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-en…
But, among adolescents in USA, a strange collapse of Jewish achievement in scholastic competitions has been documented. What is going on?/1
But, among adolescents in USA, a strange collapse of Jewish achievement in scholastic competitions has been documented. What is going on?/1
A similar decline seems to be under way in Israel. Yet last decades "saw a large influx of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union—about 979,000 between 1989 and 2006. The Ashkenazi proportion of Israel's population is consequently higher today than it was in the 1960s",/2
although hundreds of thousands of immigrants claiming of Jewish ancestry likely are gentiles.
Some claim that "today's overwhelmingly affluent Jewish students may be far less diligent in their work habits or driven in their studies than were their parents or grandparents,/3
Some claim that "today's overwhelmingly affluent Jewish students may be far less diligent in their work habits or driven in their studies than were their parents or grandparents,/3
who lived much closer to the bracing challenges of the immigrant experience."
"It's a bit of a stretch to say that most Jewish American kids were still the children or grandchildren of immigrants as late as the 1970s. This is akin to saying that the immigrant experience has a/4
"It's a bit of a stretch to say that most Jewish American kids were still the children or grandchildren of immigrants as late as the 1970s. This is akin to saying that the immigrant experience has a/4
transformative effect, turning slackers into strivers or at least encouraging the slackers to stay home."
"most immigrants are not high achievers. Either today or back in the challenging 1970s. As for the minority who are, they typically come from groups that were already that/5
"most immigrants are not high achievers. Either today or back in the challenging 1970s. As for the minority who are, they typically come from groups that were already that/5
"way in their countries of origin. So the immigrant experience, in itself, has little explanatory value. The explanation is that certain cultures have selected for mental and behavioral traits that make high achievement possible."/6
"over the last two decades up to half of the Jewish winners of the Math Olympiad were recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union. But why, then, did the mean IQ of Israel decline when that country took in a similar influx of Soviet Jews?"/7
"That influx was much larger proportionately—almost a million in a country of eight and a half million. Today, Russian Jews number 1.2 million in Israel, if one includes non-Jewish household members."/8
Again, hundreds of thousands of those claiming to be Jewish are likely gentiles (claim from philpapers.org/rec/COFJAA)
"Perhaps Soviet Jews who went to the United States were somehow different from those who went to Israel."
Yes, indeed - partially./9
"Perhaps Soviet Jews who went to the United States were somehow different from those who went to Israel."
Yes, indeed - partially./9
"In the U.S., about half of them arrived under the Lautenberg amendment (1990) which authorizes the entry of religious minorities "with a credible, but not necessarily individual, fear of persecution." In Israel, they arrived under the Law of Return, which lets in anyone with"/10
"at least one Jewish grandparent or a Jewish spouse."
"Israel is thus more open to immigrants from the former Soviet Union ... as long as they have some sort of Jewish affiliation. The affiliation is often weak:"/11
"Israel is thus more open to immigrants from the former Soviet Union ... as long as they have some sort of Jewish affiliation. The affiliation is often weak:"/11
So, Frost implies at genetic change being part of the explanation for the collapse.
"So the decline in Jewish achievement may be both an argument for and an argument against a genetic cause."
"According to a 2013 American survey, the intermarriage rate is now 58% among all/12
"So the decline in Jewish achievement may be both an argument for and an argument against a genetic cause."
"According to a 2013 American survey, the intermarriage rate is now 58% among all/12
Jews and 71% among non-Orthodox Jews. Yet 81% of all Jews still raise their children as Jewish."
"It seems that "Jewishness" is increasingly self-defined and self-ascribed."
"Besides out-marriage, something else may be going on."/13
"There are signs that/13
"It seems that "Jewishness" is increasingly self-defined and self-ascribed."
"Besides out-marriage, something else may be going on."/13
"There are signs that/13
"fertility is sharply declining among the most intelligent women."
"Jewish Americans would be harder hit in this respect."
"In conclusion, the decline in Jewish achievement may have a genetic cause, a social/cultural one, or both. It nonetheless looks real."/14
"Jewish Americans would be harder hit in this respect."
"In conclusion, the decline in Jewish achievement may have a genetic cause, a social/cultural one, or both. It nonetheless looks real."/14
"Much has been written about the bleak outlook for Jewish Americans due to their high out-marriage rate and their low fertility rate. But what if, on top of this numerical decline, there has also been a cognitive and intellectual one?"/15of15
Let's take a closer look at Ashkenazi Jewish intellect and some IQ test results, courtesy of M. Storfer (dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/del…) who wasn't a hereditarian, from archive.org/details/intell…
"the "Jewish intellect" appears to be centered on"/1
"the "Jewish intellect" appears to be centered on"/1
"an ability to manipulate and integrate chains of reasoning, especially those related to "causality", coupled with faculty otherwise known as verbal and/or symbolic analytics to interrelate and explain derived meanings. An ability to"/2
"integrate emotional context with such analytical frameworks as the skill needed to attain proficiency in conduction and playing classical music, acting, selling, and practicing psychotherapy." Their lower visuospatial abilities clearly show in their domain-related success:/3
"As a consequence, the scores of Jewish subjects on tests that have high verbal, numerical, and conceptual factor loadings (such as the Stanford-Binet) will usually exceed their scores on tests that have a greater or exclusive emphasis on nonverbal and/or perceptual skills."/5
An exceptional number of Jews score at or near genius level on the Stanford-Binet [intelligence test]. 24 of 28 (86 %) of children in New York City w/ IQ scores of 170 or higher (every public school student was given the paper & pencil test in the late 40's) were Jewish./6
Related to above, from the original study 'The Families of Highly Gifted Children' (Sheldon, 1954)/7
The overall intellectual proficiency of American Jewish children doesn't appear to depend on whether or not their families adhered to the Orthodox Jewish traditions./8
Related to the above, from the original study 'The Intelligence of Applicants for Admission to Jewish Day Schools (1957)
13 % of the 4–6-year-olds scored <100 and 12 % >130. Only 2 % scored <90./9
13 % of the 4–6-year-olds scored <100 and 12 % >130. Only 2 % scored <90./9
Continuing from archive.org/details/intell…
Different sex roles exist in Orthodox Jewish families. Early childhood activities and expectations for boys and girls reflect these differences. Cultural imperative exists for boys to achieve intellectually. Yet 👇/10
Different sex roles exist in Orthodox Jewish families. Early childhood activities and expectations for boys and girls reflect these differences. Cultural imperative exists for boys to achieve intellectually. Yet 👇/10
Note how large verbal IQ tilt exists ubiquitously.
In one study, Jewish university students registered a huge (20 point) verbal tilt. In another one, Jewish university students registered a significant verbal tilt relative to university student gentiles./11
In one study, Jewish university students registered a huge (20 point) verbal tilt. In another one, Jewish university students registered a significant verbal tilt relative to university student gentiles./11
Jewish children from different school environments (intense, verbally stimulating yeshivas versus public schools), and Jewish children without environment emphasizing verbal skills while denigrating performing arts, each showed large verbal tilt./12
Storfer thinks "it would be inappropriate to conclude that a single generation of exposure to such an environment [Jewish home] is sufficient to produce the extent of giftedness displayed among the “people of the Book”, just as it would be wrong to conclude that one or two"/13
"generations of rearing in an environment lacking in these “enrichments will cause the complete disappearance of this giftedness."
"Several considerations work against the conclusion that a single generation of exposure to such an environment could have enabled children to"/14
"Several considerations work against the conclusion that a single generation of exposure to such an environment could have enabled children to"/14
"attain these heightened abilities. These include: (1) the large percentage of Jewish people that test at a genius or near-genius level and the exceedingly small proportion scoring below the norm, both of which suggest that the entire IQ distribution has"/15
"risen; (2) the early age at which high IQ scores are routinely displayed; (3) the marvelous accomplishments of the Jewish people."/16of16
When we discuss Jews and their cognition and achievements, it's very important to make a distinction between different diaspora groups - e.g., Ashkenazim, Sephardim, and Mizrahim - who differ from one another genetically more than culturally, it could be argued./1
So, what does psychometric science have to say about cognitive ability differences between these Jewish groups in USA and Israel?
From hanseysenck.com/wp-content/upl…
“Gross (1967) compared two Brooklyn Jewish groups [Ashkenazim, Sephardim] on a variety of cognitive tests."/2
From hanseysenck.com/wp-content/upl…
“Gross (1967) compared two Brooklyn Jewish groups [Ashkenazim, Sephardim] on a variety of cognitive tests."/2
"The children were around 6 years of age, all their mothers were native-born, and English was the household language; all were middle class and lived in the same community. It was found that the Ashkenazic boys (whose parents had immigrated from Europe) had IQ's very much"/3
"higher than the Sephardic boys (whose parents had immigrated from Arabic or Oriental countries). In spite of a thorough search for relevant environmental variables to explain this difference, no divergencies could be found in a host of family training and background"/4
"experiences—except for one item in the questionnaire of parental attitudes (which might of course have given a statistically "significant" difference on a chance basis, being one item out of hundreds). Twice as many Ashkenazic mothers said that earnings were "unimportant" in"/5
"their desires for their children, and three times as many Sephardic mothers said they wanted their children to be "wealthy"."
Havighurst cites this study as an example of how subtle environmental differences can influence cognitive development, and this curious notion that"/6
Havighurst cites this study as an example of how subtle environmental differences can influence cognitive development, and this curious notion that"/6
"the mother's desire for her son to be wealthy can decrease his IQ by 17 points has been echoed by other writers.”
"Yet no known method of teaching or environmental manipulation has ever produced differences anything like as large as this within non-disadvantaged groups."
❗️/7
"Yet no known method of teaching or environmental manipulation has ever produced differences anything like as large as this within non-disadvantaged groups."
❗️/7
Eysenck concludes laconically: "One would have thought that the genetic explanation would be more likely to explain the observed facts."
What about Ashkenazim and Sephardim in Israel?
archive.org/details/intell… refers to a 1968 study about kibbutz adoptees./8
What about Ashkenazim and Sephardim in Israel?
archive.org/details/intell… refers to a 1968 study about kibbutz adoptees./8
Matched pairs of Sephardic, Ashkenazi, and half-Ashkenazi Jewish children were raised in kibbutzim by the same primary caregivers, lived in the same infant and toddler huts, and spent only a very small portion of the day with their biological families after the first few weeks/9
of life.
Sephardic Jewish children scored considerably lower than Ashkenazi or half-Ashkenazi Jewish children. As for why half-Ashkenazim scored higher than Ashkenazim, maybe assortative mating for intelligence is higher when Ashkenazim marry gentiles./10
Sephardic Jewish children scored considerably lower than Ashkenazi or half-Ashkenazi Jewish children. As for why half-Ashkenazim scored higher than Ashkenazim, maybe assortative mating for intelligence is higher when Ashkenazim marry gentiles./10
Children were aged 4-5.
Considering that at this age heritability of intelligence is much lower than later and that the Ashkenazi Jewish advantage over non-Jewish whites isn't markedly higher at this age, results indicate a robust genetic advantage./11of11
Considering that at this age heritability of intelligence is much lower than later and that the Ashkenazi Jewish advantage over non-Jewish whites isn't markedly higher at this age, results indicate a robust genetic advantage./11of11
IQ gap between Ashkenazi & Sephardic Jews hadn't narrowed considerably until 1990 when Storfer (in archive.org/details/intell…) wrote what's below, being unaware how fast natural selection for genotype can result in phenotypic advantage (see web.mit.edu/fustflum/docum…)/1
Nevertheless, he concluded a partly genetic explanation (in the form of interaction between environment & genetic predisposition) for the high IQ (& verbal tilt) of Ashkenazi Jews./2of2
What about Ashkenazi versus Oriental (Mizrahi) Jews? Storfer (archive.org/details/intell…) refers a study that found that children whose fathers were Ashkenazim scored midway between children of Ashkenazi Jewish and children of Middle Eastern or North African Jewish ancestry./1
From pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17052383/
Mizrahi Jews in Israel have an average IQ 14 points lower than that of European (largely Ashkenazi) Jews. They did not come under the selection pressure faced by Ashkenazim in medieval Europe to develop high verbal & math intelligence./2
Mizrahi Jews in Israel have an average IQ 14 points lower than that of European (largely Ashkenazi) Jews. They did not come under the selection pressure faced by Ashkenazim in medieval Europe to develop high verbal & math intelligence./2
From journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.117…
"study examined the pattern of mental abilities, as demonstrated on tests of verbal, reasoning, number, and spatial skills, exhibited by 320 first-grade, Israeli-born children whose parents emigrated from Europe, Iraq, North Africa, and Yemen."/3
"study examined the pattern of mental abilities, as demonstrated on tests of verbal, reasoning, number, and spatial skills, exhibited by 320 first-grade, Israeli-born children whose parents emigrated from Europe, Iraq, North Africa, and Yemen."/3
Results showed that the 4 groups of Jews tended to exhibit 4 different patterns of cognitive abilities.
"Study left open the question of whether there was a single pattern characteristic of all Jewish children. It was concluded that the historical-cultural"/4
"Study left open the question of whether there was a single pattern characteristic of all Jewish children. It was concluded that the historical-cultural"/4
"background of a Jewish, or other, population has a significant effect on pattern of mental abilities."
Sure - "historical-cultural background" as in Ashkenazi Jews came under the selection pressure in medieval Europe to develop high verbal & math intelligence./5
Sure - "historical-cultural background" as in Ashkenazi Jews came under the selection pressure in medieval Europe to develop high verbal & math intelligence./5
Notice how Ashkenazi Jews did better than the other groups in all but one pairwise subtest comparison, and how for Ashkenazim verbal was clearly the best subtest while it was worst for 2 of the other 3 groups. For 2 of the other 3 groups, spatial was the best subtest./6
From humanvarieties.org/2014/03/13/hvg…
Let's contrast the Israel data with US data where 3 other ethnic groups were compared to Jews in 4 intelligence scales. Each group consisted of children from different socioeconomic classes./7
Let's contrast the Israel data with US data where 3 other ethnic groups were compared to Jews in 4 intelligence scales. Each group consisted of children from different socioeconomic classes./7
Like in Israel, Ashkenazi Jews were superior performers in verbal IQ, relative to other groups and to their 3 other IQ scales. Upper and lower class Jewish children both showed large verbal IQ tilt. Performance patterns remained identical for both social-classes for all groups./8
Reseachers controlled for a variety of variables. They concluded that "Ethnicity has the primary effect upon the organization of mental abilities, and the organization IS NOT MODIFIED FURTHER by social-class influences"./9of9
From intelligence-humaine.com/wp-content/upl…
So, to summarize, Ashkenazi Jews have a distinct pattern of intelligence, not present in Sephardic or Mizrahi Jews anywhere.
And, to continue: It shows in their achievement discrepancies between domains rewarding differnt scales of intelligence./1
So, to summarize, Ashkenazi Jews have a distinct pattern of intelligence, not present in Sephardic or Mizrahi Jews anywhere.
And, to continue: It shows in their achievement discrepancies between domains rewarding differnt scales of intelligence./1
The large IQ difference between Ashkenazi and other Jews shows in the number of outstanding, talented people they have produced in various of intellectual domains./2of2
From researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/xmlui/bitstrea…
Let's take another close look at the distinct verbal IQ tilt of Ashkenazi Jews that appears in elementary schooling age as their verbal IQ rises significantly (unlike performance IQ)./1
Let's take another close look at the distinct verbal IQ tilt of Ashkenazi Jews that appears in elementary schooling age as their verbal IQ rises significantly (unlike performance IQ)./1
They offer cultural/environmental explanation, yet seem to be aware of something resembling The Wilson Effect (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23919982/), the increase of heritability with age, but with wrong ideas or conclusions./2
Author provides an example of a group with performance IQ tilt: isolated outpost group of non-Jewish children in Newfounland. Remarkably, with no discussion on genetic influence on cognitive profile or how this tilt is likely way smaller than the verbal one of Ashkenazi Jews./3
Also, as for the Urban vs. Rural scores and verbal tilt: The author seems to have no idea of genetic confounding? There have been large studies ever since, for instance from the UK, showing urban & rural populations differ in their polygenic scores for educational attainment./4
Author notes that high status children tend to do better on verbal than performance IQ.
Next comes an interesting part: bilingualism versus monolingualism in verbal versus performance tilts among Ashkenazi Jews and gentiles./5
Next comes an interesting part: bilingualism versus monolingualism in verbal versus performance tilts among Ashkenazi Jews and gentiles./5
Handicap to bilingual child usually manifests itself more frequently on verbal tests yet:
Much greater proportion of Jewish children were bilingual relative to comparison groups yet Jews obtained greatly higher verbal means (with big verbal tilt)❗️/6
Much greater proportion of Jewish children were bilingual relative to comparison groups yet Jews obtained greatly higher verbal means (with big verbal tilt)❗️/6
Bi- & monolingual Ashkenazi Jewish kids registered verbal versus spatial IQ tilts (also in a Canadian study: IQs: full scale 111; verbal 119, numerical 115, reasoning 105, spatial 103). Bilingual gentiles show performance IQ tilt. This Hints at genetic maturation program in 🧠./7
Another genetics-ignoring speculation from the author (contrast to the fact that non-bilingual Asian Indians show large verbal tilt as do mostly-bilingual (75 %) Jews of the study group from Canada, while bilingualism among gentiles is known to cause non-verbal tilt)./8
Authors stated that the decrease of verbal and performance IQ for Puerto Rican children with age hints at environmental effects.
By this logic, surely the increase of discrepancy for Ashkenazi Jews with age (see below) hints at genetic origin (remember the Wilson Effect, too)./9
By this logic, surely the increase of discrepancy for Ashkenazi Jews with age (see below) hints at genetic origin (remember the Wilson Effect, too)./9
From archive.org/details/AQuest…
Jewish students in the Project Talent (conducted in the 60's) showed superior performance in math and verbal knowledge, equal performance in perceptual speed and accuracy, and lackluster performance in spatial reasoning compared to gentiles./10of10
Jewish students in the Project Talent (conducted in the 60's) showed superior performance in math and verbal knowledge, equal performance in perceptual speed and accuracy, and lackluster performance in spatial reasoning compared to gentiles./10of10
Verbal IQ tilt of Ashkenazim exists regardless of:
-bi- versus monoinguals
-SES group
-school environment (public vs. yeshivas)
-Orthodox vs. secular Jews
-Orthodox Jewish girls versus boys (very different sex roles).
It gets larger with age.
Table: intelligence-humaine.com/wp-content/upl… /1
-bi- versus monoinguals
-SES group
-school environment (public vs. yeshivas)
-Orthodox vs. secular Jews
-Orthodox Jewish girls versus boys (very different sex roles).
It gets larger with age.
Table: intelligence-humaine.com/wp-content/upl… /1
Verbal IQ tilt also exists in Israel (psycnet.apa.org/record/1975-21…)
Verbal IQ tilt would be larger in the early life than in the early adulthood were its origin environmental (remember The Wilson Effect)./2
Verbal IQ tilt would be larger in the early life than in the early adulthood were its origin environmental (remember The Wilson Effect)./2
archive.org/details/intell…
Some tests reveal the til better than the others:
Same group of Jewish day school students tested 12 points higher on Stanford-Binet – high verbal, numerical, & conceptual factor loadings – than on WISC (Weschler's Intelligence Scale for Children)./3
Some tests reveal the til better than the others:
Same group of Jewish day school students tested 12 points higher on Stanford-Binet – high verbal, numerical, & conceptual factor loadings – than on WISC (Weschler's Intelligence Scale for Children)./3
It's striking to note that like we see the increase of verbal IQ (& thus verbal IQ tilt ) with age for Ashkenazi Jews, we see the visual memory performance of Eskimo children increase markedly with age. Remember: Heritability of IQ increases with age (The Wilson Effect)./4of4
Ashkenazi Jewish IQ & IQ profile: Results from USA, Canada, United Kingdom, and Israel
Next, IQ test results from 4 countries (spanning 1927-1994) for Ashkenazi Jews are given.
Original sources in archive.org/details/intell…, intelligence-humaine.com/wp-content/upl…, mje.mcgill.ca/article/downlo… /1
Next, IQ test results from 4 countries (spanning 1927-1994) for Ashkenazi Jews are given.
Original sources in archive.org/details/intell…, intelligence-humaine.com/wp-content/upl…, mje.mcgill.ca/article/downlo… /1
I compiled Ashkenazim data from USA for analysis, with the following hypothesis./2
Here it is - 50 years ('44-94') & 15 studies of Ashkenazi Jewish IQ & Cognitive Repertoire in the USA for Different Age Groups
Based on age groups and IQ test types, scores vary./3
Based on age groups and IQ test types, scores vary./3
From randomcriticalanalysis.com/2015/06/11/iq-…
As a separate data point, longitudal study of youth. Reform and conservative Ashkenazi Jews score within 1 IQ point, for over a 10 point advantage over different white gentile groups, in average./4
As a separate data point, longitudal study of youth. Reform and conservative Ashkenazi Jews score within 1 IQ point, for over a 10 point advantage over different white gentile groups, in average./4
We see IQ scores as low as 106 (for WISC; young age) & as high as 117 (Stanford-Binet, with high verbal, numerical, & conceptual loadings instead of perceptual & spatial tilt; adults).
WAIS IQ for adults is about 113, with the distinct, large verbal IQ & tilt./5
WAIS IQ for adults is about 113, with the distinct, large verbal IQ & tilt./5
Ashkenazi Jewish IQ data from Canada:
- Jewish day school kids (from the 60's).
- 11-year-old Jewish boys compared to 11-year old Protestant, Canadian, French Canadian, and Southern Italian 11-year old boys, gentiles normed at 100./6
- Jewish day school kids (from the 60's).
- 11-year-old Jewish boys compared to 11-year old Protestant, Canadian, French Canadian, and Southern Italian 11-year old boys, gentiles normed at 100./6
USA and Canada together, compiled/calculated from 20 Studies (1944-1994)
For both countries, you see the increase of Ashkenazim verbal IQ (and thus verbal IQ tilt) with age.
Jewish scores are given relative to scores of gentiles normed at 100 ("The Greenwich IQ Standard")./7
For both countries, you see the increase of Ashkenazim verbal IQ (and thus verbal IQ tilt) with age.
Jewish scores are given relative to scores of gentiles normed at 100 ("The Greenwich IQ Standard")./7
IQ data from The United Kingdom, based on different types of tests, 1920's onwards, gives:
Mean IQ of 110 for Ashkenazi Jewish CHILDREN AGED 6-16, with white gentiles normed at 100.
This matches IQs of North American Ashkenazim of comparable age.
(intelligence-humaine.com/wp-content/upl…)/8
Mean IQ of 110 for Ashkenazi Jewish CHILDREN AGED 6-16, with white gentiles normed at 100.
This matches IQs of North American Ashkenazim of comparable age.
(intelligence-humaine.com/wp-content/upl…)/8
Studies from Israel show that Ashkenazi Jews score much higher on IQ tests than Oriental (Mizrahi) Jews for all age groups. Ethnic group is reported to have a more sizable effect than socioeconomic status on students' performance. Discrepancy arises most from the verbal scale./9
From mje.mcgill.ca/article/downlo…
Note how the observed group differences were traditionally attributed to differences in socialization patterns, home language, and differential schooling experiences.
I've shown in this thread that all of these are at most minor explanations./10
Note how the observed group differences were traditionally attributed to differences in socialization patterns, home language, and differential schooling experiences.
I've shown in this thread that all of these are at most minor explanations./10
From psycnet.apa.org/record/1975-21…
Like in North America, Ashkenazi Jewish kids' performance in verbal scale of WISC IQ test is markedly stronger than in performance scale. They perform least well on subtests where Northeast Asians perform strongly./11
Like in North America, Ashkenazi Jewish kids' performance in verbal scale of WISC IQ test is markedly stronger than in performance scale. They perform least well on subtests where Northeast Asians perform strongly./11
From archive.org/details/intell…
It should be noted that the verbal IQ increase with age for Ashkenazi Jews, captured by WISC/WAIS IQ tests, explains their full scale IQ increase almost fully: performance IQ increase is <2 IQ points, mainly due to 'Coding' subtest./12
It should be noted that the verbal IQ increase with age for Ashkenazi Jews, captured by WISC/WAIS IQ tests, explains their full scale IQ increase almost fully: performance IQ increase is <2 IQ points, mainly due to 'Coding' subtest./12
As for the reviewed group differences (Ashkenazim versus other Jewish ethnic groups, white gentiles, Chinese, Puerto Ricans, US Blacks), a question arises: are they mostly on g (general intelligence), i.e., on subtests with highest g loadings?/1
There are two formulations of Spearman's hypothesis: magnitudes of group difference on IQ tests 1) positively correlate with tests' g-loading; 2) group differences are entirely or mainly a function of the extent to which a test measures general mental ability, or g./2
From sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Spearman's hypothesis was tested comparing Ashkenazi Jews and 1) gentile Whites in the USA and 2) Oriental (Mizrahi) Jews in Israel.
Did the group differences arise from performance differences in the subtests with the highest g loadings?/3
Spearman's hypothesis was tested comparing Ashkenazi Jews and 1) gentile Whites in the USA and 2) Oriental (Mizrahi) Jews in Israel.
Did the group differences arise from performance differences in the subtests with the highest g loadings?/3
Meta-analyses confirmed the hypothesis, meaning the answer is "yes"; about similar correlations for both pairwise comparisons.
The hypothesis also applies when Whites are compared to groups with higher mean IQ scores - not only when they are compared to e.g. US Blacks./4
The hypothesis also applies when Whites are compared to groups with higher mean IQ scores - not only when they are compared to e.g. US Blacks./4
So, to sum it up, Ashkenazi Jewish advantage over non-Jewish Whites of USA have the same cause than their advantege over Mizrahi Jews in Israel: superior performance in the most g loaded subtests, with almost similar mean correlation (0.87 and 0.8, respectively)./5of5
What does this foremost general intelligence advantage indicate? Well, general intelligence is the most heritable domain of intelligence, so it points to genetic advantage. Polygenic score (PGS) based studies indeed seem to validate the hypothesis of genetic advantage./1
From mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/p…
PGS for education attainment (proxy for IQ) put Ashkenazi Jews way above other groups studied./2
PGS for education attainment (proxy for IQ) put Ashkenazi Jews way above other groups studied./2
researchgate.net/publication/33…
In another study, PGS for education attainment (proxy for IQ) put Ashkenazi Jews way above Catholics and Lutherans (white gentiles)./3of3
In another study, PGS for education attainment (proxy for IQ) put Ashkenazi Jews way above Catholics and Lutherans (white gentiles)./3of3
Before I present a long list of converging evidence for the mostly genetic hypothesis for the IQ advantage (and cognitive profile) of Ashkenazi Jews, the evolutionary selection origin of it, and how it links to their success, I'll compile here something by others./1
From intelligence-humaine.com/wp-content/upl…
On the genetic basis of the Ashkenazi Jewish intellect.
(Actually, their IQ advantage rises a few points into early adulthood as a function of rising verbal IQ. Due to increase of IQ's heritability with age, this supports the genetic hypothesis.)/2
On the genetic basis of the Ashkenazi Jewish intellect.
(Actually, their IQ advantage rises a few points into early adulthood as a function of rising verbal IQ. Due to increase of IQ's heritability with age, this supports the genetic hypothesis.)/2
On the
-North American Jewish culture and values
-motivation and opportunities of Ashkenazi Jews./3
-North American Jewish culture and values
-motivation and opportunities of Ashkenazi Jews./3
On the reluctance of many to tackle the question of Jewish IQ, its mostly genetic basis, and related denial./4
From …acreduprintemps19.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/hart_-…
On the
-high IQ test scores of Ashkenazi Jews.
Per population numbers, there are as many Ashkenazi Jews with an IQ of >148 (Stanford-Binet test; SD = 16) as there are gentiles (whites) with an IQ of >132;/5
On the
-high IQ test scores of Ashkenazi Jews.
Per population numbers, there are as many Ashkenazi Jews with an IQ of >148 (Stanford-Binet test; SD = 16) as there are gentiles (whites) with an IQ of >132;/5
There are >40 times more Ashkenazi Jews with an IQ of >164 than gentiles.
What about their success?
Despite widespread anti-Semitismin in the old Soviet Union (including quotas restricting their access to universities), Jews comprised ~25 % of the Soviet Academy of Science./6
What about their success?
Despite widespread anti-Semitismin in the old Soviet Union (including quotas restricting their access to universities), Jews comprised ~25 % of the Soviet Academy of Science./6
"Economic success of Jews has often engendered theories that they were conspiring together in some tricky, dishonest way. No evidence of such a conspiracy has been produced, and it seems clear that the economic success of the Jews is easily explained by their high average [IQ]"/7
"[Their success] is no greater than would be expected of a group with a mean IQ of ~115. In recent decades, the only ideologically acceptable explanation for the high IQ of Ashkenazi Jews has been the environmental one, which assumes that there's no genetic basis to their high"/8
"mean IQ, but that it is entirely due to the very high emphasis that Jewish culture places on education and learning. Unfortunately for this hypothesis, studies show that an enriched childhood environment has (statistically) rather little effect on adult IQ."/9
Three attached pictures offer information on the genetic explanations (sections 9 and 10 make for the one I find correct beyond reasonable doubt).
The last picture wraps up the discussion./10
The last picture wraps up the discussion./10
From archive.org/details/troubl…
Nicholas Wade reviews the topics of Ashkenazi Jewish intelligence, its link to their intellectual achievements (large discrepancy between domains rewarding verbal versus visuospatial IQ), and its likely genetic, evolutionary selection origin./11
Nicholas Wade reviews the topics of Ashkenazi Jewish intelligence, its link to their intellectual achievements (large discrepancy between domains rewarding verbal versus visuospatial IQ), and its likely genetic, evolutionary selection origin./11
"Jews have adapted genetically to a way of life that requires higher than usual cognitive capacity...if the Jewish advantage were purely cultural...there would be little to prevent others from copying it."/12
"Some large degree of reproductive isolation is the necessary condition for a population to take its own evolutionary path...Ashkenazi are a distinctive population...could have been subjected to forces of natural selection different from those acting on other Europeans."/13
"As with the Chinese immigrant communities in Asia, hard work and success has too often provoked the envy and enmity of their host populations, leading to discrimination, expulsions and massacres."/14
"...have a strange pattern of so-called Mendelian diseases...that are caused by a mutation in a single gene...Ashkenazi IQ, besides being high, has an unusual structure...suggests that some specific force has been at work in shaping the nature of Ashkenazi intelligence..."/15
"...Arabic numerals didn't become widespread in Europe until mid-16th century...Calculating interest rates and currency swaps without the use of zero is not a straightforward computation."/16
"20 generations, mere 500 years, would be sufficient for Ashkenazim to have developed an extra 16 points of IQ above that of Europeans."
"Oriental Jews and Sephardim are not overrepresented in cognitively demanding occupations and both have IQs comparable to Europeans..."/17
"Oriental Jews and Sephardim are not overrepresented in cognitively demanding occupations and both have IQs comparable to Europeans..."/17
"For four mutations to be found in a specific pathway is a strong indication of natural selection."
"...disruption of sphingolipid storage induces neurons to make more connections than usual."
"...impairing the gene could allow extra brain cells to be generated."/18
"...disruption of sphingolipid storage induces neurons to make more connections than usual."
"...impairing the gene could allow extra brain cells to be generated."/18
"They found that of 255 working age patients at a Gaucher's clinic in Israel, one third were in fields...which require high IQs, a far greater proportion than in the population as a whole."/19
"Like Chinese immigrant communities, Jews have brought enormous benefits to the economies in which they worked...their success...has in many cases elicited not gratitude but envy, followed by discrimination or murderous reprisals..."/20
"...Jewish population includes proportionately more individuals of higher cognitive capacity...helps explain why...the Jewish population...has produced so many Nobel Prize winners and others of intellectual distinction."/21
Hereditarian (evolutionary selection) hypothesis in a nutshell, from pastebin.com/6GVeUj1k (the chapter is included in en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_10,00…).
Also the scientific paper (web.mit.edu/fustflum/docum…) it is based on by the same authors./22
Also the scientific paper (web.mit.edu/fustflum/docum…) it is based on by the same authors./22
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.246…
"In-between" explanation was given by others in -77:
"A distinctive cognitive style showing high verbal—low spatial analysis ability emerged on intelligence test performances of Jewish male subjects of Eastern European extraction. This style is"/23
"In-between" explanation was given by others in -77:
"A distinctive cognitive style showing high verbal—low spatial analysis ability emerged on intelligence test performances of Jewish male subjects of Eastern European extraction. This style is"/23
"somewhat different from that of the normative population. It is hypothesized that genetic factors making for differential development of the cerebral hemispheres in these subjects interact with subcultural emphasis on verbal skills to produce the evidenced differences."/24
But, while they forward a partially genetic explanation, we've seen in this thread that the huge verbal IQ (and verbal IQ tilt) increase with age seen among Ashkenazim is independent of all controlled-for factors, from schooling environment to SES to bi-/multilingualism etc."/25
From archive.org/details/AQuest…
Notice how much of a difference the distinct cognitive profile of Ashkenazi Jews makes on their overrepresentation factor even within-domain, e.g. in mathematics./26
Notice how much of a difference the distinct cognitive profile of Ashkenazi Jews makes on their overrepresentation factor even within-domain, e.g. in mathematics./26
From cremieux.medium.com/the-jewish-adv…
"The Jewish advantage conforms with the weak form of Spearman’s hypothesis and thus may be expected to possess a genetic component...[it is] compared to White Gentiles is of the same psychometric nature as the Black-White difference."/27
"The Jewish advantage conforms with the weak form of Spearman’s hypothesis and thus may be expected to possess a genetic component...[it is] compared to White Gentiles is of the same psychometric nature as the Black-White difference."/27
"Differences in g are not explicable by normal aspects of the environment."
"The extent of Jewish overachievement...is sometimes astounding."/28
"The extent of Jewish overachievement...is sometimes astounding."/28
By Steve Sailer (referring a scientific paper by Jared Diamond from 1994)
unz.com/isteve/jared-d…
"...lightning has struck Jewish lysosomes not once, not three times, but at least eight times."/31
unz.com/isteve/jared-d…
"...lightning has struck Jewish lysosomes not once, not three times, but at least eight times."/31
From slatestarcodex.com/2017/05/26/the…
"A group of Manhattan Project physicists created a tongue-in-cheek mythology where superintelligent Martian scouts landed in Budapest...[the project] was led by a group of Hungarian supergeniuses, all born in Budapest between 1890 and 1920."/32of32
"A group of Manhattan Project physicists created a tongue-in-cheek mythology where superintelligent Martian scouts landed in Budapest...[the project] was led by a group of Hungarian supergeniuses, all born in Budapest between 1890 and 1920."/32of32
🧵on✡️🧠🧬:
Converging Lines of Evidence for Ashkenazi Jewish IQ Advantage & Profile Being Mostly Genetic in Origin
A) Mean IQs & Verbal IQ tilts of Ashkenazim haven't shown non-negligible variation across decades & various countries (UK, USA, Canada, Israel)./1
Converging Lines of Evidence for Ashkenazi Jewish IQ Advantage & Profile Being Mostly Genetic in Origin
A) Mean IQs & Verbal IQ tilts of Ashkenazim haven't shown non-negligible variation across decades & various countries (UK, USA, Canada, Israel)./1
In USA and Israel, a highly consistent and stable WISC (Weschler's Intelligence Scale for Children) pattern, characterized by high scores on Verbal IQ and relatively low scores on Performance IQ scale excluding Coding, exists for Ashkenazi Jewish children./2
Same WAIS (Weschler's Adult Intelligence Scale) pattern of high Verbal IQ and relatively low Performance IQ has been documented many times for Ashkenazi Jewish adults in USA./3
B) Ashkenazi Jews have a correlation between Verbal and Performance IQs that is 60 % lower than that of non-Jewish whites (r's of 0.31 versus 0.77).
No correlation so low has been documented for any other studied population./4
No correlation so low has been documented for any other studied population./4
Having a high mean Verbal IQ, Ashkenazi Jews are expected to have a lower Performance IQ. Nevertheless, this is different from the above-mentioned low within-group correlation./5
C) Verbal IQ tilt of Ashkenazi Jews increases with age regardless of studied environmental factors
It's virtually non-existent at pre-school level, makes its appearance during elementary school level, and increases into late adolescence to persist at that level in adulthood./6
It's virtually non-existent at pre-school level, makes its appearance during elementary school level, and increases into late adolescence to persist at that level in adulthood./6
Verbal IQ tilt increases with age to similar extent among those Ashkenazi Jewish children who attend public schools and those who attend intense, verbally stimulating yeshivas (Hebrew day schools). It does so to boys and girls, and also to bi- and monolinguals./7
D) Opposite to Ashkenazi Jews, for non-Jewish whites bilingualism results in Performance IQ tilt./8
E) The high mean IQ & Verbal IQ tilt is an Ashkenazi Jewish phenomenon.
In Israel, Ashkenazim have a large verbal, number, and reasoning IQ advantage over other Jewish ethnic groups (e.g., Sephardim, Oriental i.e. Mizrahim).
In USA, Ashkenazim have been compared to Sephardim./9
In Israel, Ashkenazim have a large verbal, number, and reasoning IQ advantage over other Jewish ethnic groups (e.g., Sephardim, Oriental i.e. Mizrahim).
In USA, Ashkenazim have been compared to Sephardim./9
The large IQ gap between Ashkenazim & the other Jewish ethnic groups persists in Israel despite all of them occupying a similar environment, with the same access to healthcare and education. In addition, most of the other Jewish ethnic groups display a Performance IQ tilt./10
F) Ashkenazi Jewish children's home's religiosity or children's sex doesn't affect the IQs in USA
Secular Jews from non-traditional homes and Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews from conservative religious homes show similar scores./11
Secular Jews from non-traditional homes and Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews from conservative religious homes show similar scores./11
Early childhood activities of and expectations for young boys and girls in Orthodox families reflected very different sex roles of adults. Yet, IQ test scores of boys and girls tested at a yeshiva were within 1 point from one another, both around 113./12
G) Social class conditions fail to transcend patterns of mental ability that are associated with ethnic influences/13
H) Shared environment can't explain Ashkenazi Jewish IQ advantage
Improvement of a shared environment that is “merely OK” is known to have very diminishing returns on IQ (at most a negligible effect) from late childhood into mature adulthood (= long term)./14
Improvement of a shared environment that is “merely OK” is known to have very diminishing returns on IQ (at most a negligible effect) from late childhood into mature adulthood (= long term)./14
Systematic environmental factors outside of serious environmental insults (led poisoning, malnutrition, etc.) are known to have a very weak effect on intelligence.
Increase of educational aspirations and attainment should not be conflated with increase of intelligence./15
Increase of educational aspirations and attainment should not be conflated with increase of intelligence./15
Main source of environmental variance is within family, not between families: Environmental variance makes siblings more different from one another than family members from different families more similar to one another./16
Also, siblings reared together are no more correlated in IQ than siblings separated at birth, and adopted siblings are not correlated at all. Between-family variables turn out to be relatively weak influences on long-term personality./17
Even the very best home environments add at most only a few IQ points. Anyways, the vast majority of Jewish households e.g. in the United States and in Israel are secular and not particularly different from those of their gentile neighbors in similar socio-economic conditions./18
I) While Ashkenazi Jews are more motivated in average than white gentiles, motivation can't explain their IQ advantage
Motivation has at most a negligible effect on IQ. According to a recent study, less than 3 points./19
Motivation has at most a negligible effect on IQ. According to a recent study, less than 3 points./19
J) Studies haven’t found a so-called X-factor – an ethnic group-specific environmental factor that affects only one ethnicity but not the other, without within-group variation.
Considering all the discrimination against Jews (pogroms, The Holocaust, anti-Semitism generally)/20
Considering all the discrimination against Jews (pogroms, The Holocaust, anti-Semitism generally)/20
Ashkenazi Jews would be expected to be the group that suffers from the most plausible relevant X-factor one can think of.
“Jewish culture/nurture" can’t be the X-factor for Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish IQs and cognitive profiles differ so vastly from those of Ashkenazim, and/21
“Jewish culture/nurture" can’t be the X-factor for Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish IQs and cognitive profiles differ so vastly from those of Ashkenazim, and/21
because culture and nurture vary a lot within-group among Ashkenazi Jews e.g. in the USA, and because many aspects of it are related to cultural/nurtural factors that are present and also vary among gentiles.
Furthermore, Ashkenazi Jews have actually been deprived of the many/22
Furthermore, Ashkenazi Jews have actually been deprived of the many/22
conditions considered by nurture-only proponents to be potentially IQ and achievement enhancing during some of their decades of success both in IQ tests and competed intellectual domains./23
K) Ashkenazi Jewish IQ advantage is highest on the sub-tests with the largest factor loadings on g (general intelligence). This holds for Ashkenazim over non-Jewish whites in the UK, the USA, and Canada, and for Ashkenazim over Sephardic, Mizrahi, and other Jews in Israel./24
Meta-analyses carried compared American Ashkenazi Jews with American gentiles, which yielded a correlation value of 0.80 for Spearman’s hypothesis; they also compared Ashkenazi and Oriental (Mizrahi) Jews in Israel, which yielded a correlation value of 0.87./25
If genes still play the strongest role, the outcome of Spearman’s hypothesis should be positive (correlation value approaching 1), whereas if the environment overpowers the genes, Spearman’s hypothesis should have a negative outcome (correlation value approaching -1)./26
The esults given above are very positive regarding Spearman's hypothesis, strongly confirming the hypothesis. This means that the IQ advantege of Ashkenazi Jews relative to non-Jewish whites and Mizrahi Jews are mostly on general intelligence, a very heritable IQ component./27
L) The Flynn effect (the increase of IQ scores across time, resulting in harder re-norming of IQ tests) and group differences on IQ have different origins
Flynn effect has been twice as large for Performance IQ than for Verbal IQ, and at most only 1/3 of the rise can be/28
Flynn effect has been twice as large for Performance IQ than for Verbal IQ, and at most only 1/3 of the rise can be/28
attributed on early home environment even with the most favorable assumptions.
These secular gains are negatively correlated with the most g (general intelligence) loaded components of IQ tests.
Post-WWII mean IQ score rise among Japanese Americans coincided with a decrease/29
These secular gains are negatively correlated with the most g (general intelligence) loaded components of IQ tests.
Post-WWII mean IQ score rise among Japanese Americans coincided with a decrease/29
in the standard deviation of their scores, not in a large jump in the number of those Japanese Americans with a very high IQ.
Contrast this to the fact that the Ashkenazi Jewish overrepresentation for a given IQ score or higher increases with IQ threshold increase./30
Contrast this to the fact that the Ashkenazi Jewish overrepresentation for a given IQ score or higher increases with IQ threshold increase./30
M) Ashkenazi Jews have an advantage in polygenic scores (PGS) for educational attainment
PGS for educational attainment is a proxy for g (general intelligence), although it has other trait (e.g. conscientiousness) loadings. But, the results have matched predictions./31
PGS for educational attainment is a proxy for g (general intelligence), although it has other trait (e.g. conscientiousness) loadings. But, the results have matched predictions./31
N) High prevalance of myopia among Ashkenazi Jews (and Han-Chinese) compared to non-Jewish whites
According to many studies, shared genetic factors contribute significantly to the covariance between myopia and intelligence./32
According to many studies, shared genetic factors contribute significantly to the covariance between myopia and intelligence./32
O) Adoption of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish children only few weeks old to identical conditions fails to erase the IQ gap of children across their biological fathers' all education level groups
Over 1000 Children aged 4-5 who had grown up in Israeli kibbutz since age of few/33
Over 1000 Children aged 4-5 who had grown up in Israeli kibbutz since age of few/33
weeks, who had been raised by the same primary caregivers, and who had lived in the same infant and toddler huts, and who had also spent only a very small portion of the day with their biological families after the first few weeks of their lives, were administrated an IQ test./34
The IQ gap between Sephardim and Ashkenazim children was >5 points across all compared groups defined by fathers' education, mean being 7 points; comparisons of similar groups yield smaller gaps than population level comparisons as IQ is a confounding variable on education./35
P) Ancestry (admixture) studies show that children from Mizrahi Jewish mother and Ashkenazi Jewish father have IQs midway between children with Mizrahi Jewish parents (lowest) and children with Ashkenazi Jewish parents (highest)./36
Q) Comparative psychometric studies of aboriginal populations, with proper variable controls, from different continents provide strong evidence for cognitive abilities having a large genetic component
Australian aboriginal children's large visual memory advantage over whites/37
Australian aboriginal children's large visual memory advantage over whites/37
held across all studied groups—traditional and semi- and non-traditional—and all objects (grouped according to their types and their familiarity to studied groups).
Eskimo children's visual memory and perceptual-spatial reasoning advantage over whites held regardless of their/38
Eskimo children's visual memory and perceptual-spatial reasoning advantage over whites held regardless of their/38
transition to Western society (acculturation).
Sami groups held advantage over white Finns in visual perceptual abilities regardless of their level of contact (acculturation) with the surrounding dominant culture./39
Sami groups held advantage over white Finns in visual perceptual abilities regardless of their level of contact (acculturation) with the surrounding dominant culture./39
Remarkably, unlike among whites, Eskimos showed no sex difference in spatial abilities which suggest at genetic causation, as males have markedly more hunting experience than females./40
Eskimo advantage in visuospatial tests (part of Performance IQ) and disadvantage in vocabulary (and to lesser extent in arithmetic) tests (both part of Verbal IQ) held across all matched and pairwise-compared socioeconomic groups./41
Eskimo children's visual memory advantage over whites became larger with age, just like Ashkenazi Jewish children's Verbal IQ advantage over whites (heritability of IQ increases with age into early stages of adulthood)./42
It follows from Darwinian understanding of evolution and natural selection that the remarkably high mean levels of visual memory and perceptual-spatial abilities found across many indigenous populations are evolutionary adaptations to their distinct, challenging environments./43
A common penalty in the past in those environments for low skills in the those abilities has easily been a premature death.
Comparisons of identical and fraternal twins show that visuospatial abilities have high heritability, with home learning environment barely mattering./44
Comparisons of identical and fraternal twins show that visuospatial abilities have high heritability, with home learning environment barely mattering./44
R) Brain, nervous system, and DNA repair disorders caused by a mutation in a single gene that a) cluster in a small number of metabolic pathways, b) are known to increase intelligence in heterozygotes, and c) have uncommonly high occurance among Ashkenazi Jews.
For instance,/45
For instance,/45
the disruption of sphingolipid storage induces neurons to make more connections than usual.
Genes involved in different stages of a single biochemical assembly line are often scattered throughout the genome. The presence of mutations in a set of these genes implies natural/46
Genes involved in different stages of a single biochemical assembly line are often scattered throughout the genome. The presence of mutations in a set of these genes implies natural/46
selection.
Although several Ashkenazi Jewish disorders fall into each of the five categories—sphingolipid storage diseases, glycogen storage diseases, clotting disorders, disorders of adrenal steroid biosynthesis, and disorders of DNA repair—sometimes several in the same/47
Although several Ashkenazi Jewish disorders fall into each of the five categories—sphingolipid storage diseases, glycogen storage diseases, clotting disorders, disorders of adrenal steroid biosynthesis, and disorders of DNA repair—sometimes several in the same/47
population, none of the Finnish genetic diseases, for example, fall into any of these categories while only one of the genetic disorders (Tay-Sachs) common in Quebec does. But this is as expected: genetic diseases made common by drift would be very unlikely to cluster in only/48
a few metabolic paths, as if on a few pages of a biochemistry text. The existence of these categories or disease clusters among the Jews suggests selective forces at work, just as the many different genetic disorders affecting hemoglobin and the red cell in the Old World/49
tropics suggest selection, which we know is for malaria resistance.
The small genetic distance between mixed Europeans and Ashkenazim from a large collection of markers is crucial evidence that denies a bottleneck hypothesis for the Ashkenazi disorders. Either there was a/50
The small genetic distance between mixed Europeans and Ashkenazim from a large collection of markers is crucial evidence that denies a bottleneck hypothesis for the Ashkenazi disorders. Either there was a/50
low gene flow into the Ashkenazim and no bottleneck, or if there was a significant bottleneck, subsequent gene flow was so high that it erased the effects of the bottleneck. In either case drift could not have been strong enough to allow deleterious mutants to increase to/51
high frequencies.
Required preconditions for evolutionary selection for high intelligence—low inward gene flow and unusually high reproductive reward for certain cognitive skills, over a long-enough period (many centuries)—did exist for Ashkenazi Jews in medieval Europe./52
Required preconditions for evolutionary selection for high intelligence—low inward gene flow and unusually high reproductive reward for certain cognitive skills, over a long-enough period (many centuries)—did exist for Ashkenazi Jews in medieval Europe./52
The preconditions were both necessary and sufficient: such evolutionary selection process would almost inevitably lead to this sort of outcome.
The hypothesis is consistent with the neo-Darwinian synthesis, the historical record, and the genetic and psychometric data./53
The hypothesis is consistent with the neo-Darwinian synthesis, the historical record, and the genetic and psychometric data./53
The only plausible conclusion from the presented lines of evidence is that the Ashkenazi Jewish general & verbal intelligence advantage and their distinct cognitive profile would is mostly genetic in origin.
Regardless, the intelligence advantage might be decreasing:/54
Regardless, the intelligence advantage might be decreasing:/54
According to a poll in 2010's, over 80 % of US Jews raise their children as Jewish even though a large majority of US Jews marry gentiles. "Jewishness" is thus increasingly a self-defined and self-ascribed classification as the % of genetically mostly Ashkenazi Jewish people/55
is in decline. As per the described genetic explanation and the high en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritabil… of general intelligence, the mean IQ of Ashkenazi Jews should be in decline despite of assumed assortative mating, due to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regressio…. /56
Also, there are strong signs that fertility is sharply declining among the most intelligent women. Ashkenazi Jews in USA would be harder hit in this respect./57
🧵on✡️🧠➡️🏆:
Evidence for the Very High General and Verbal Intelligence but Mediocre Visuospatial Intelligence Explaining Most of their Overrepresentation in Intellectual Achievements with Domain-level Validity
A) No comparable intellectual success for non-Ashkenazi Jews/1
Evidence for the Very High General and Verbal Intelligence but Mediocre Visuospatial Intelligence Explaining Most of their Overrepresentation in Intellectual Achievements with Domain-level Validity
A) No comparable intellectual success for non-Ashkenazi Jews/1
Other Jewish diaspora groups have been nowehere near as succesful as Ashkenazim e.g. in highly competed cognitively challenging domains, across time and place./2
In Israel in areas of life where cognitive ability matters, Ethiopian Jews fare worse than Mizrahim who fare worse than Sephardim who fare worse than Ashkenazim.
While in the early days of Israel most people believed these differences would vanish in e.g. education attainment/3
While in the early days of Israel most people believed these differences would vanish in e.g. education attainment/3
, earnings, and occupational status as e.g. Mizrahim became assimilated, the differences actually became larger towards the 1990's.
There's been no discrimination to stop Mizrahim from entering the universities and the professions, except that fewer of them are able to pass/4
There's been no discrimination to stop Mizrahim from entering the universities and the professions, except that fewer of them are able to pass/4
the entrance examinations, due to having insufficient cognitive ability.
Also, no differential labor market discrimination of Mizrahim exists.
Arabs do as well as Mizrahi Jews in socioeconomic status, had higher percentages in professional class in 1955 and 1974, while it/5
Also, no differential labor market discrimination of Mizrahim exists.
Arabs do as well as Mizrahi Jews in socioeconomic status, had higher percentages in professional class in 1955 and 1974, while it/5
would be expected that Ashkenazi Jews would discriminate against Arabs rather than against co-religionist Mizrahim./6
B) High socioeconomic status isn't an explainer
In a period of many decades in the 20th century, approximately 75 % of Ashkenazi Jewish Nobel laureates came from families belonging to the bottom-half in socioeconomic status.
In the early 20th century in London, Ashkenazi Jews/7
In a period of many decades in the 20th century, approximately 75 % of Ashkenazi Jewish Nobel laureates came from families belonging to the bottom-half in socioeconomic status.
In the early 20th century in London, Ashkenazi Jews/7
took a disproportionate number of academic prizes and scholarships in spite of their poverty.
Also, the students at the poorest Jewish school in London had IQ scores equal to the overall city mean of non-Jewish children./8
Also, the students at the poorest Jewish school in London had IQ scores equal to the overall city mean of non-Jewish children./8
Oftentimes, Ashkenazi Jews grew up in homes that pushed them toward retail business and out of school at a young age. This was especially true of the children of the Eastern European Jewish immigrants who grew up in early 20th century America, a generation that still produced/9
scholars of great renown.
Anecdotal evidence from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Cronb…:
"His father was a Jewish silk merchant. At the age of 5, he scored 200 at an IQ test...as the family could not afford to send him to University, he graduated from Fresno State College"/10
Anecdotal evidence from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Cronb…:
"His father was a Jewish silk merchant. At the age of 5, he scored 200 at an IQ test...as the family could not afford to send him to University, he graduated from Fresno State College"/10
C) The vast majority of Jewish households, both in the United States and in Israel, are secular and not particularly different from those of their gentile neighbors in similar socioeconomic conditions./11
D) There is no evidence for the claim that environmental factors can produce an outcome as distinct as e.g. the disproportionate % of Ashkenazi Jews among Nobel laureates in natural and economic sciences. If anything, there is lots of counter-evidence against the claim./12
E) Ashkenazi Jews have done it despite of serious anti-Semitic discrimination against them (including pogroms and the Holocaust)
For instance, during 1900–1950, despite pervasive and continuing social discrimination against Jews throughout the Western world that included/13
For instance, during 1900–1950, despite pervasive and continuing social discrimination against Jews throughout the Western world that included/13
the retraction of legal rights, and despite the Holocaust, Jews won 14 % of Nobel Prizes in sciences.
Discrimination has led to disproportionately many Ashkenazim losing their parents and/or wealth across time and place; Ashkenazim often arrived in foreign countries as/14
Discrimination has led to disproportionately many Ashkenazim losing their parents and/or wealth across time and place; Ashkenazim often arrived in foreign countries as/14
penniless refugees.
Pictures below (from 3038.org/press/shen.pdf and ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0…) illuminate anti-Semitic discrimination against Jews in Soviet Union. Yet, Jews have comprised 70 % of their Nobel laureates and Fields Medalists/Wolf Prize recipients in mathematics./15
Pictures below (from 3038.org/press/shen.pdf and ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0…) illuminate anti-Semitic discrimination against Jews in Soviet Union. Yet, Jews have comprised 70 % of their Nobel laureates and Fields Medalists/Wolf Prize recipients in mathematics./15
In the pictures below, more on the anti-Semitic discrimination against Jews in Soviet Union (from scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewconten… /16
F) Nepotism can't explain the success of Ashkenazi Jews in domains where favoritism has no bearing on the outcome, such as chess, hedge fund investing, and mathematics.
Gentiles have been competing against Jews without being discriminated against, for inferior performance./17
Gentiles have been competing against Jews without being discriminated against, for inferior performance./17
G) Overrepresentation of Ashkenazim among top performers in competed intellectual domains has a high positive correlation with domain-specific verbal and general intelligence demands (and a high negative correlation with domain-specific visuospatial intelligence demands)./18
H) Overrepresentation of Ashkenazim increases as one moves higher along the demand and performance levels of a given intellectual domain
This should be compared to the fact that the overrepresentation of Ashkenazim also increases as one moves higher along the IQ distribution./19
This should be compared to the fact that the overrepresentation of Ashkenazim also increases as one moves higher along the IQ distribution./19
Studies show no diminishing return on intellectual achievements within the top 1 % of cognitive ability, when moving towards the top 0.01 %.
Picture below is from journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.310…. /20
Picture below is from journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.310…. /20
I) The importance placed on learning and education is not a major factor for top-level outcome differences
Since the early decades of the 20th century, gentiles have placed importance on learning and education in an increasing rate relative to the "Jewish baseline". This has/21
Since the early decades of the 20th century, gentiles have placed importance on learning and education in an increasing rate relative to the "Jewish baseline". This has/21
not reduced the achievement gap (nor the IQ gap) to a non-negligible degree.
J) Jewish parents' stronger tendency to foster into their children interest in how and why things happen doesn’t explain similar success and overrepresentation of Ashkenazim in law, chess, and so on./22
J) Jewish parents' stronger tendency to foster into their children interest in how and why things happen doesn’t explain similar success and overrepresentation of Ashkenazim in law, chess, and so on./22
K) Jews have, in average, stronger motivation for achievement than gentiles, but this can't be the main factor: Motivation has a negligible, non-lasting effect on IQ: according to a recent study, less than 3 points. And, motivation isn't enough without an accompanying high IQ./23
L) Gentile societies have been around and aware of "Jewish culture" for ages.
Human groups have been known to be efficient copiers of cultural aspects that have been observed to be advantageous. Gentiles would have copied useful aspects of "Jewish culture" had there been huge/24
Human groups have been known to be efficient copiers of cultural aspects that have been observed to be advantageous. Gentiles would have copied useful aspects of "Jewish culture" had there been huge/24
benefits. Also, contrast this to the huge intellectual underperformance of Sephardim relative to Ashkenazim.
We can conclude that "Jewish culture" isn't a major factor./24
We can conclude that "Jewish culture" isn't a major factor./24
Summary:
Ashkenazim have held a major advantage over other Jewish diasporas and gentiles not only for educational attainment and professions but also in highly competed intellectual domains that are known to strongly reward high general and verbal intelligence./25
THE END
Ashkenazim have held a major advantage over other Jewish diasporas and gentiles not only for educational attainment and professions but also in highly competed intellectual domains that are known to strongly reward high general and verbal intelligence./25
THE END
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