In which me and Wikipedia reinvent the world
I ran into a disturbing article on race and intelligence on Wikipedia while Actually Studying, and followed it to see what else they had on the subject, only to discover there's a category specifically called Ashkenazi intelligence -- which is always nice, though a little strange. But our being Chosen People is less my point here than this explanation:
Talent in the study of Torah traditionally contributed to one's social success in Jewish communities; those more lacking in the capacity for such study were perhaps more prone to assimilate into general culture, thereby raising the average intelligence of the given Ashkenazi community. (Murray 2003)
Which is, if you look at it in the larger view, such a strange and interesting idea. Because yes, when you have ethnicity-slash-religion, when you're forever in foreign cultures, and when your society is strongly tilted towards certain things, sometimes unlike the culture surrounding it? This is kind of possible, and then take this idea and make it bigger and you get a world in which a giraffe that isn't so great at/doesn't quite feel like reaching for high leaves doesn't die but instead STOPS BEING A GIRAFFE and goes to become a kangaroo instead.
This would really mean a much more efficient kind of evolution. And a much kinder gentler one. It would also BE AWESOME.
Talent in the study of Torah traditionally contributed to one's social success in Jewish communities; those more lacking in the capacity for such study were perhaps more prone to assimilate into general culture, thereby raising the average intelligence of the given Ashkenazi community. (Murray 2003)
Which is, if you look at it in the larger view, such a strange and interesting idea. Because yes, when you have ethnicity-slash-religion, when you're forever in foreign cultures, and when your society is strongly tilted towards certain things, sometimes unlike the culture surrounding it? This is kind of possible, and then take this idea and make it bigger and you get a world in which a giraffe that isn't so great at/doesn't quite feel like reaching for high leaves doesn't die but instead STOPS BEING A GIRAFFE and goes to become a kangaroo instead.
This would really mean a much more efficient kind of evolution. And a much kinder gentler one. It would also BE AWESOME.