Comments on: Bell Curve to Bell Jar

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 12 May 2011 20:24:13 +0000

While infrastructural biases against Jews might result in the survival of smarter people, culling events like the Holocaust and the centuries of pogroms that preceded it were largely random events. Sure, some smart people escaped death on their wits alone- but how many more died? How many had- I guess literally- dumb luck?

I think the concept missing in this (distasteful, though thankfully at least slightly nuanced) discussion is that intelligence isn’t a strictly dominant/recessive trait. While it is perhaps unlikely that two Nobel laureates would have a child that is dumb as a brick, it is quite standard for the merely intelligent.

If a person killed all the dumb people in a group, or all the smart people, the initial distribution of intelligence would be fully restored within a few generations. This is because even people who are smart overall have some dumb genes, and even people who are dumb overall have some smart genes.

By: Roberto

Roberto — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 20:02:38 +0000

I think that the apparent Jewish intellectual superiority is very easy to explain.For almost two thousand years the majority of the Jewish people had a very tough life indeed. You had to be smart to survive. Besides, for Jews, learning has always been a priority, partly because the possession of certain skills helps in the struggle for life, but also because of the strong connection between the Jewish People and the Torah and the Talmud, which required reading skills. When I went to public school in Argentina, I was the only Jew in the class, and yet I was one of the best pupils. But my migrant grandparents read and write when they arrived in Argentina, whilst many of the grandparents of my classmates (who came mainly from Italy or Spain) were illiterate. I was the only pupil who had a professional father. There were lots of books at home, whilst they were scant at my classmates´homes. In short, I had an advantage from an intellectual point of view, due more to nurturing than nature. My point is: our supposed superiority is related more to our culture than to our genes. As Jews gradually become part of the establishment, that urgent need to excel , subsides. Jews are no longer studying hard sciences. Their place is occupied by Chinese and Indians (which in a sense are the new Jews). Things are easier for us now, but in return, we are losing something.

By: All the things you could be if Sigmund Freud's wife were your mother

All the things you could be if Sigmund Freud's wife were your mother — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 07:20:15 +0000

Interesting.

By: Hubcaps For All

Hubcaps For All — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:06:45 +0000

That’s a great use for old hubcaps. I bet you could find a lot of other uses as well.

By: phyllis nimkoff

phyllis nimkoff — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:52:27 +0000

I actually overheard a conversation between my mother-in-law and step-daughter [both Prebyterian] that the reason Jews have high foreheads is because their brains are bigger; why, because they were for so many hundreds of years prevented from a formal education, and thereby had to learn by assimilating all that was about them, increasing their brain cells. And she an anthropologist!

I’ve never told anyone about this until now, I was too flabergasted!

By: Larry

Larry — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 06:59:40 +0000

Your editor should be reported to the ASPCA for the Bell Curve crap revival.
Bury the horse already, it’s stinking up the joint!

Is the Butt of the Joke photo supposed to be a counterpoint to the Teachable Moment photo on this page?

Your focus is slipping. Send your layout maven to rehab.

By: ted lazarus

ted lazarus — Sun, 09 May 2010 11:56:50 +0000

It was suprising to note in both the article and in all the responses,the absence one of the more intriguing of the many hypotheses that have been offerred over the years regarding Jewish “smartness”. In his 1938 monograph on Moses (in one sense a study of the “jewish Question” in the face of contemporary events) Freud points out that with the abandonment of visusal perception as a means of understanding their world and their own tribal history or myth, and with the resultant substitution of the abstract for the concrete, the Jews began a long and productive history of ‘intlectualization’ that both reinforced and was reinforced by their separateness from whatever surrounding cultures they found themselves in. This addresses the “how”. The “why” is to be found in anything from religous texts to biogentics, and the choice of the banner is purely a matter of taste.

By: Jill Beerman

Jill Beerman — Sat, 08 May 2010 16:56:20 +0000

How about a bit of genetics? If Jews are smarter, I think it’s because for hundreds of years, the smartest Christians lived celibate lives as priests, monks, and nuns.

By: Steve Caudill

Steve Caudill — Sat, 08 May 2010 08:02:37 +0000

I’ve been a nuclear engineer for over 20 years, and have worked with many Jews are in this field, or similar engineering/science fields. Based on my observations, most of the Jews I met were smart in one specific area, but lacked general well-rounded “smartiness” that goes along with common sense. For example, the Jewish Ph.D. who could visualize rotating crystal lattices in his head, but could not balance his checkbook, could not have stable marriages or raise stable kids, and had to work a desk-bound job as he couldn’t communicate well enough to be a nuclear inspector. On a similar note, the smartest ethnic group I observed over the years were the Vietnamese.

By: N.Shum-Ish

N.Shum-Ish — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 02:52:44 +0000

If you think we Jews are fascinated and obsessed by the existential and genetic puzzle “How come Jews are so smart?” you should see how ethereal-class brahmans think when they are inter-se (some of which can be found on the www if you look hard)! They take it summarily for granted that they have been selecting (including sexually, I imagine) for “intelligence” for eons.

And this bottom-to-top class-elitism is still embedded (as a remnant ?)in their sub-culture even now in North America. A recent colleague of mine was a brilliant young ethereal-class brahmin, and as highly regarded in our company as matched his youthful enthusiasm and pure intelligence. Yet, while it should have been corporate-culture anathema, his office door was always locked — a unique way to demand and assert “Don’t call me; I’ll call you”. But it was incredible how deferringly and absolutely his cadre of co-cultural compatriots, usually otherwise cocky young females, leapt to fulfill his requests.

Maybe it can be argued that over the eons that social system had positive survival (or other Darwinian-context) value to promote its thrust. I am glad, however, to muse that within the slightly different historical context of Judaism, chance and evolutionary forces seem to have led towards a somewhat similar but essentially different state.

By: susan

susan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:19:38 +0000

Pure drivel. Politically correct academics should just avoid discussions of race instead of come up with ridiculously far-fetched explanations for what everyone else sees as obvious. “There is no such thing as race”. Then why do we not attack genetic profiles which tell us what percentages of different races individual people possess? Why is race used in medicine? Or, the races haven’t been distinct for long enough for a trait such as intelligence to diverge. Then why do different breeds of dogs differ in intelligence?

Azkhenazi Jews are not genetically diverse at all and Sephardic Jews have been shown to possess many of the same genes. In every country throughout history, Jews have overcome obstacles and risen to the top. Are Jews not applying to medical school because they are trying to become investment bankers instead? Many people have become disillusioned with medicine.

A French-Jewish boy who was raised by the Catholic church became the head bishop of all of France. The leading citizens of almost every country are Jewish – recent nobelists such as Nadine Gordimer of South Africa, Kertesz of Hungary and Pinter of England.

The world needs Jewish smartiness and denying it just encourages us to squander our genetic heritage by intermarrying. We shouldn’t deny it to protect other races. That’s not our mission. We shouldn’t hide it to protect ourselves against anti-semitism either. You are an academic – you need to speak the truth or avoid the topic altogether.

By: grant

grant — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:15:55 +0000

I had the same experience as Robert Ridley, second post above me, described. Almost came to the exact same conclusion. One additional observation was that I found the same was true for some Cambodian students in my chemistry class. Before Vietnam War flared, these were the cream of the crop students Cambodia sent over to get their degrees in forestry. It was amazing how they studied as a unit and all made straight A’s. It is a very effective strategy and they used all sorts of tactics to ensure they all succeed. Frankly, I became their de facto interpreter and worked with them. We worked together doing the lab experiments. I only had to stand back after reading and explain the lab manuels and then they did everything perfectly. Actually, I felt pretty smart because hot chemicals that can explode was extremely unpleasant for me. I no longer have any idea how to define “smart.” What is smart?

Is smart just running up the score or is it mainly about getting what you want? I don’t have a clue what smart means anymore. I am reminded of that strange movie and the theme song, “What’s It All About, Alfie?” Today, I don’t have a clue.

By: Fred Friedman

Fred Friedman — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:56:49 +0000

I believe that the focus in Jewish families on moral values, getting an education, and doing “good” gives the Jew a different perspective. This usually ends up making a “smarter” person.

By: Robert Ridley

Robert Ridley — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:38:11 +0000

This article provides an opportunity to share cultural & personal experiences, and complels one to read further in the articles named before speaking much outside one’s one experience. I was fascinated by the premise of Murray & Herrnstein. In my undergraduate years at Emory in chemistry in the 1960′s, my observation was that my chief competitors for grades were the Jewish members of my classes. Several major professors, including the Department Head, were Jewish. I felt fortunate to compete and to graduate from such a program. Yet I felt at an extreme disadvantage because they studied together, took old exams together to hone their skills, and were better prepared from the beginning by their lifelong emphasis upon schooling and competition. Having always admired this quality in my classmates, I rejoice tonight to learn a new term – philosemitic. My professional studies in psychology taught me that expression of traits is governed half by genetics and half by nurture. Jews may likely be smarter. but not by any skewing of the distribution curve over such a diverse population. They are, as a group, as a people, cuturally predisposed to work hard and to make the most of whatever resources are at hand. I knew mostly “Southern Jews” in Atlanta all my lfe. Perhaps, as Miss Daisy’s son lamented, “New York Jews are smarter” but I doubt that stereotype. Thanks for this excellent article.