The London Times breaks new ground with an explicit mention of the possibility of group traits!
Why it can be a very smart move to start life with a Jewish momma:
THERE IS ONE dangerous idea that still trumps them all: the notion that, as Steven Pinker describes it, “groups of people may differ genetically in their average talents and temperaments”. For “groups of people” read “races”.With the advent of genetics, the tinkle of The Bell Curve, reviled for its thesis that whites are smarter than blacks, refuses to fade away. The idea of genetic racial difference ‚Äî accepted for physical traits such as skin colour and hair texture ‚Äî is discarded as irrelevant and even dangerous when applied to mental characteristics such as intelligence. A pair of academics trod this perilous territory recently, when they suggested that the disease-causing genes unique to Ashkenazi Jews - such as those responsible for Tay-Sachs disease and Gaucher disease - continue to be passed on because they offer a counter benefit: enhanced intelligence.
Henry Harpending and Gregory Cochran, from the University of Utah, cite circumstantial evidence for their theory: a handful of papers that link those same disease-causing genes to increased neural growth. This, they suggest, fits with the observation that Ashkenazis favoured “cognitively demanding” jobs, such as setting up businesses.
Group selection next?
{ 0 comments… add one now }