A genetics paper published in the Journal of Biosocial Science in June, “Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence,” makes the following claims about Ashkenazi European Jews:
-They have the highest average IQ of any ethnic group.
-Their intelligence advantage is genetic.
-Their intelligence advantage is recent.
-Jews as a whole are not of above-average intelligence, just the Ashkenazi.
-Ashkenazi intelligence is a result of natural selection.
The paper is important not just for what it says about the Ashkenazi, but also for what it says about the nature of intelligence and genes. A surprising amount of favorable press coverage was generated over it—positive coverage appeared in both The Economist and The New York Times—despite the fact that the authors are claiming that: a) some racial differences in intelligence exist, and b) that they can be genetic in origin.
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