Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why is it that there are only 2% Jews in the USA and only 14-16 million total in the world, yet Jews control many things such as banks, government, hollywood, media, politics, corporates, etc. ??
Strong group identity and cohesion, leading to effective networks and interest groups explains some of the wealth and power base. But IQ data, the Nobels and the staggering success of Jews in all kinds of intellectual competition (chess for instance) indicates that there is more to it than just religious/cultural solidarity. Askenazi Jews are simply smarter on average than the rest of us, and produce a hugely disproportionate number of geniuses. In some ways, they are a "master race."
Why do you care and what is your fascination with quasi putting down jews?
I didn't take it as putting down Jews. The OP said they should be proud of their accomplishments. He was just wondering why so many Jews are extremely successful at banking, science, entertainment, etc. It's not a bad thing. It's very admirable in fact.
Strong group identity and cohesion, leading to effective networks and interest groups explains some of the wealth and power base. But IQ data, the Nobels and the staggering success of Jews in all kinds of intellectual competition (chess for instance) indicates that there is more to it than just religious/cultural solidarity. Askenazi Jews are simply smarter on average than the rest of us, and produce a hugely disproportionate number of geniuses. In some ways, they are a "master race."
As for why Euro-Jews are smarter, this is them most reasonable sounding explanation I've seen:
"Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence",[SIZE=2][1][/SIZE] a 2005 paper by Gregory Cochran, Jason Hardy, and Henry Harpending, argued that the unique conditions under which Ashkenazi Jews lived in medieval Europe selected for high verbal and mathematical intelligence but not spatial intelligence. Their argument has four main premises:
Today's Ashkenazi Jews have a high average mathematical and verbal IQ and an unusual cognitive profile compared to other ethnic groups, including Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews.
From roughly 800 to 1650 CE, Ashkenazi Jews in Europe were a mostly isolated genetic group. When Ashkenazi Jews married non-Jews, they usually left the Jewish community; few non-Jews married into the Jewish community.
During the same period, laws barred Ashkenazi Jews from working most jobs, including farming and crafts, and forced them into finance, management, and international trade. Wealthy Jews had several more children per family than poor Jews. So, genes for cognitive traits such as verbal and mathematical talent, which make a person successful in the few fields where Jews could work, were favored; genes for irrelevant traits, such as spatio-visual abilities, were supported by less selective pressure than in the general population.
Today's Ashkenazi Jews suffer from a number of congenital diseases and mutations at higher rates than most other ethnic groups; these include Tay-Sachs, Gaucher's disease, Bloom's syndrome, and Fanconi anemia, and mutations at BRCA1 and BRCA2. These mutations' effects cluster in only a few metabolic pathways, suggesting that they arise from selective pressure rather than genetic drift. One cluster of these diseases affects sphingolipid storage, a secondary effect of which is increased growth of axons and dendrites. At least one of the diseases in this cluster, torsion dystonia, has been found anecdotally to correlate with exceptionally high IQ. Another cluster disrupts DNA repair, an extremely dangerous sort of mutation which is lethal in homozygotes. The authors speculate that these mutations give a cognitive benefit to heterozygotes by reducing inhibitions to neural growth, a benefit that would not outweigh its high costs except in an environment where it was strongly rewarded.
Other scientists gave the paper a mixed reception, ranging from outright dismissal to acknowledgement that the hypothesis might be true and merits further research.[SIZE=2][2][/SIZE]
However, it should be noted that the Torah does not forbid putting an interest rate on a loan. The bible and Quran on the other hand both strictly forbid this practice. This is the reason why so many banks are owned by Jews.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
