Jews are very smart, Einstein and Marx are both obvious examples. In addition, there are the philosopher Spinoza, the psychologist Freud, the Nobel Prize winner in physics Gell-Mann, etc. The list cannot be completed on a single page. If special cases cannot be used as proof, please look at the statistics: Jews, who account for only 3% of the US population, have won 27% of Nobel Prizes, more than half of chess champions are Jewish, and the IQ of Jews is 100 higher than the general average. 12～15.
Why are Jews smart? This question has been lingering in my mind. Someone recently proposed a possible explanation. The Journal of Biosocial Science published by Cambridge University Press is about to publish an article by three authors, Gregory Cochran, Henry Harpending, and Jason Hardy. In a controversial paper, they believed that Jewish intelligence originated from a genetic gene that causes neurological diseases and competition for survival. Based on the reports of "New York Times" science reporter Nicolas Wade and "The Economist Science and Technology Column", I will give a brief introduction for the readers.
In the first century AD, the Jews held an uprising against the rule of the Roman Empire. After the uprising failed, Jewish refugees fled in all directions. Those who settled in Europe were called "Ashkenazi" Jews. In the Middle Ages, European Jews were discriminated against and were prohibited from farming, and instead engaged in commerce and finance. The author of the paper believes that those engaged in these industries use their brains more, which allowed the Jews to develop their intelligence. This makes sense! Businessmen are shrewd, and Jewish businessmen are famous for their shrewdness. I have witnessed this many times. The author of the paper further pointed out: Jews who became rich through business lived a relatively prosperous life and had more children, which gave them an advantage in the competition for survival, which expanded their intellectual genes. Of course, the same applies to the non-Jewish people in medieval Europe, but their upper classes were martial, enthusiastic about knighthood and despised business, which made the intellectual elite of the Jewish people stand out.
But the question is: Do intelligence genes really exist? The author of the paper affirmed this and pointed out that this intelligence gene is the same gene that causes four hereditary neurological diseases such as "Tay Sachs". This bold hypothesis raises at least two questions: First, how do genetic diseases relate to intelligence? Second, how can people with genetic diseases have a competitive advantage in survival?
The author’s answer to the first question is: This mutated genetic disease gene can affect the cell’s management of sphingolipid, which forms the outer sheath of brain nerve cells. A chemical substance that can promote the growth of brain nerve cells and increase their branches. More importantly, it can increase the connections between brain nerve cells, thus affecting the development of intelligence. The author of the paper further pointed out: Jews who inherit a single copy of this gene from one parent have more nerve cell connections in the brain than ordinary people and have more developed intelligence; Jews who inherit two copies of the gene from both parents have more nerve cell connections in the brain. If you have too much, you will become insane. This is in line with a saying: "There is only a thin line between genius and madness."
The author of the paper's answer to the second question is: This mutated gene has two sides. On the one hand, it can produce neurological diseases; On the other hand, it will enhance intelligence. The survival competitive advantage of Jews with this gene comes from the latter. This is called a blessing in disguise. Lao Tzu has long said: "Misfortune is where blessings depend; blessings are where misfortune lies." ("Tao Te Ching")
The author of the paper believes that the above arguments have precedents. : West Africans suffer from a disease called sickle cell anemia, in which patients' red blood cells contain a genetically modified version of hemoglobin. Patients with sickle cell anemia inherit two copies of this gene from both parents. People who inherit a single copy of the gene from one parent not only have no symptoms of sickle cell anemia, but also have innate resistance to malaria. Malaria is a major killer in west Africa, so those with a single copy of the gene have a competitive advantage.
Scientific hypotheses need to be proven, and the author of the paper proposed a verification method: taking an intelligence test on people with a single copy of the genetic gene for neurological diseases, their IQ should be 5% higher than that of ordinary people.
Ke Qulan, one of the authors of the paper, is accustomed to challenging tradition. He has proposed some controversial hypotheses in the past, "If you are not surprising, you will die!" This time the bold hypothesis aroused a lot of criticism . Neil Risch, a geneticist at the University of California, San Francisco, disagrees with their hypothesis. He points out that this genetic neurological disease among Jews all occurred at the same time 1,100 years ago, so they all originated from the same cause. This is difficult. Explained by the struggle for survival. The authors of the paper agreed with Li Xu that the diseases occurred at the same time and had a common origin, but disagreed with his conclusion. They still believed that the competition for survival was at work. Andrew Clark, a population geneticist at Cornell University, criticized: "The authors have made a typical error in explaining heritability." He believes that linking sphingolipid-related genes to intelligence is "going too far." The sharpest critic was Steven Pinker, a cognitive scientist at Harvard University. He said: "This paper is politically incorrect. It is not an exaggeration to say this." Referring to the paper's assertion that there are genetic differences between different ethnic groups. Differences in intelligence are no small matter! At that time, Hitler vigorously advocated Germanism, concluded that Germans were an "excellent race" based on the so-called "eugenics", and massacred Jews inhumanely. But Pink went on to say: "Of course this is a very weighty paper, and it is not easy to refute."
I am also a little worried: if the three authors' hypotheses are confirmed, the intelligence of the Jews It is indeed innate. Some people with low self-esteem may feel: "I am born stupid because of it" and are pessimistic and disappointed with their own intelligence. In fact, this concern is unnecessary. There is an old Chinese proverb that says: "A wise man will make a mistake every time he worries, and a fool will gain something after a thousand worries." No matter how smart your talent is, it will be in vain if you don't use it; no matter how stupid your talent is, if you persevere and work hard, heaven will not let down those who work hard. of. Aren’t the Jews also trained through generations of suffering? Besides, Jews, like us Chinese, attach great importance to the education of their children. This is also an important factor in the emergence of talents and cannot be attributed entirely to innateness.