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Are Ashkenazi Jews the most intelligent ethnic group?

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I dont know about the most intelligent. But certainly Jews have a higher than average IQ. They are also very friendly in my experiences. I like Jews.

Reply 41

maths-enthusiast

ypo

I specifically referred to Ashkenazi Jews.

I also specifically said that last few centuries have been dominated largely by Western countries. Jews from elsewhere (no offence) dont rank so high using Western metrics.

Ashkenazi Jews are a minority in Israel. Still, this decade alone Israel has produced 6 Nobel Laureates (incidentally all Ashkenazi). Not exactly a small feat for a nation smaller in size than London...

I'd never know that Ashaknekzi Jews are a minority in "Israel". Who are the majority?

Your statistic is misleading. There hasn't been a single science nobel laureate from "Israel" who won the award SINGLEHANDEDLY.

If 3 laureates share an award, that counts as 1 prize. Not 3 prizes. Only some idiot American reporters make this mistake.

Reply 42

maths-enthusiast

ypo

Do you really think that? Forgetting about the Nobel prizes in Peace and Literature, you don't think the prize is awarded to those that have made a real difference in the field, regardless of nationality or ethnic origin? If that's your logic, Japan sure doesn't seem to have done badly considering.

Anyway back to the topic, this is interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenazi_intelligence

Japan has fared EXTREMELY POORLY in Nobel Prize awards by any measure. Moreover it's an American puppet politically and militarily while socially the public is very pro American.

The reason Soviet Union or Nazi Germany never won as many prizes while even during a recession and financial meltdown in USA, an American citizen wins a Nobel Prize (in Economics; originally there was no such provision for an Economics award) is the Western bias. Many more examples abound.

Reply 43

rupertj

I think that genetics has an effect on intelligence and so does behaviour. Think about the number of Mathematicians at school who are Chinese or Korean.

Reply 44

maths-enthusiast

What's your point?

Are you saying Chinese/Korean are morons/geniuses?

Reply 45

maths-enthusiast

For an 'entity' widely alligned with the Anglo/Western world, and have ample source of funds, technology, and other opportunities from its benefactors in the Western countries, the per capita income of the only "country' with a majority of them isn't eye-catching.

Reply 46

UniOfLife

Turdburger

I dont know about the most intelligent. But certainly Jews have a higher than average IQ. They are also very friendly in my experiences. I like Jews.

Aaw, we like you too :yep:

maths-enthusiast

Yeah, 30th in the world ain't great. But then that might have something to do with not having much by way of natural resources and needing to spend a lot of money protecting itself from angry and violent neighbours.

/off-topic Israel stuff

Reply 47

ypo

maths-enthusiast

I'd never know that Ashaknekzi Jews are a minority in "Israel". Who are the majority?

Ashkenazi Jews make up about 37% of Israel's population
(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Israel#Jews)

If you're dicing Jews up into ethnic categories then Israel has no majority ethnic group. However, most of the other 63% is made up of Sephardic Jews, Mizrahi Jews and Arabs.

OK It's obviously true to say that traditionally most non-Western nations haven't really had the educational opportunities to produce Nobel laureates but within Western societies Ashkenazi Jews have vastly surpassed what you would expect of them given their numbers, and in pretty much every conceivable field requiring superior brainpower. (For examples, check this out http://www.jinfo.org/)

maths-enthusiast

The reason Soviet Union or Nazi Germany never won as many prizes while even during a recession and financial meltdown in USA, an American citizen wins a Nobel Prize (in Economics; originally there was no such provision for an Economics award) is the Western bias.

Incidentally, a very high percentage of Nobel Laureates coming out of the Soviet Union and (pre-Nazi Germany) were Ashkenazi Jewish. In Chess (traditionally dominated by the Soviet Union) people of Ashkenazi Jewish represent about half of all world champions. How do explain that?

Reply 48

geetar

Not intrinsically, no.

Reply 49

Turdburger

unioflife

Aaw, we like you too

Haha I wish! Ive had so many negs from Jews.

Reply 50

rupertj

maths-enthusiast

What's your point?

Are you saying Chinese/Korean are morons/geniuses?

I'm saying that a high proportion of Chinese and Koreans are talented Mathematicians.

Reply 51

afua12

Does anyone have any links to any studies which have tested the power of genetics on intelligence? It owuld be interesting to read a few. I came across one in a book on ethics a while go, and the findigs were basically that there did seem to be a difference in average IQ between the ethnicities, but it was too small to be significant and could not be put down to genetic factors alone.

In answer to an earlier question - yes, Judaism is a religion, but you can also be Jewish by culture. I don't think it's accurate to say race, as there are Jews all around the world of all different nationalities and ethnicities. It's not uncommon to meet "agnostic Jews" or "atheist Jews". Generally, it's mainly believed that if your mother is Jewish, then you are Jewish. The ultra-orthadox will accept this and only this, but then the more liberal will accept converts and the children of Jewish fathers.

I find it difficult to believe that Ashkenazi Jews (or any ethnicity ofr that matter) can be classed as the most intelligent. Not all Ashkenazi Jews are going to be intelligent, and I don't think you can use the example of a couple of Nobel prize winners to make up for that.

I think that it probably more likely that some Ashkenazi Jews have been so sucessful beecause of social/cultural reasons. After being persecuted for centuries, it's almost as if some communities feel the need to prove themselves. (Although this seems to have backfired, now they're taking over the world apparently...)

As far as I'm aware, orthadox Jews place a high importance on the study of the Torah, and so this work ethic could be converted to academics? Another possibility might be simply that as for all families, if you're parents are academic/value eduction, then it's likely that these values will be passed on to you.

Reply 52

afua12

domino0806

Pffft, most cunning I would say, actually. Hmm or is "sly" a better description. Yah, whichever.

yeh, well done.

Reply 53

maths-enthusiast

rupertj

I'm saying that a high proportion of Chinese and Koreans are talented Mathematicians.

Never knew that.

I am not sure more than 1/5 of world's talented mathematicians, if we can tally all of them up, are Chinese/Koreans.

Reply 54

ypo

afua12

Does anyone have any links to any studies which have tested the power of genetics on intelligence?

Try these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritability_of_IQ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_intelligence

afua12

I find it difficult to believe that Ashkenazi Jews (or any ethnicity ofr that matter) can be classed as the most intelligent.

In the US anyway, several ethnic groups (among them Indians, Chinese, Koreans, Ashkenazi Jews) are overwhelmingly wealthy, very educated and extremely overrepresented in top acadaemia. However, whilst the majority of Indians and successful Chinese and Koreans came over as very educated individuals to fill top technical jobs, the majority of Jews (fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe) immigrated to America overwhelmingly poor and uneducated and were by no means the most succcessful and accomplished individuals in their original communities. Yet Jews in America are overrepresented in seemingly every academic field in much higher ratios than any of the other "successful" ethnic groups. How would you explain that?

It also seems to me that Ashkenazi Jews are the most successful ethnic group both academically and financially in every country they seem to inhabit. I know that's certainly true in the US and UK. In case you're wondering, I'm a Tamil-American (parents both from Sri Lanka) but I live in a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood (and most of my friends are Jewish :wink:

afua12

(Although this seems to have backfired, now they're taking over the world apparently...)

Wouldn't it make sense for an overwhelmingly wealthy, successfull and highly intelligent group to also be highly overrepresented in politics?

Reply 55

4x4

I'd say that (yes I am generalizing), they are more competetive and go more 'for themselves', but once they are in the top, they (probably like any other minority) give extra help to other jews to reach similar positions, which explains at least partly why they do so well. They are probably (as a group) more intelligent too I guess, but not to a large extent (less than the difference between EU countries for example).

Reply 56

maths-enthusiast

UniOfLife

Deduct all the linkage, donation, hand outs and other benefits from benefactors in the Western and Anglophone world. It's even worse.

Reply 57

ypo

maths-enthusiast

Deduct all the linkage, donation, hand outs and other benefits from benefactors in the Western and Anglophone world. It's even worse.

Israel's not entirely relevant to this debate. While Ashkenazi Jews certainly dominate every area of Israeli society, they do not form a majority of the population. Just as I'm sure you wouldn't use Malaysia as an example to explain ethnic Chinese intelligence and achievement, I don't see Israel as particularly important in discussing Ashkenazi intelligence and achievement.