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Yet another weird SF fan
 

Monday, June 06, 2005

Jewish IQ and Micronutrients

I'm sure most of the blogosphere has heard about the paper explaining high IQs among Jews on the basis of selection for increased intelligence. I find it a little hard to believe.

For one thing, theories that emphasize genetic explanations for IQ differences are not very compatible with the Flynn effect. (Genetic theories predict falling IQs but the average IQ has been rising.)

For another thing, there's a split between the IQs of Askenazic Jews and Sephardic Jews. Many of the same mechanisms that supposedly raised Askenazic Jewish IQs should have applied to Sephardic Jews as well (support for learning, lack of a peasantry, living among a population with usury taboos, etc.). The paper dealt with the difference by anecdotes that Sephardic Jewry had much less dignified occupations but, if we're going by anecdotes, the Herzlinger/Hertzlinger family comes from a line of blacksmiths and harness makers.

There is an alternative to genetic explanations that fits both the Flynn effect and the IQ split. Nutrition has been getting better in both quantity and quality, partly due to increasing wealth and partly due to increasing knowledge. This can explain the Flynn effect with little need to appeal to genetics. As for the difference between Askenazic and Sephardic Jewry, there is the striking fact that Sephardic standards of kashrut forbid eating fish and dairy. In other words, the difference might be due to bagels and lox with cream cheese (and maybe a little pickled herring in white sauce).

Yes. It can be the cuisine.

3 Comments:

Blogger Vader said...

Are you saying lox and cream cheese are brain food?

And here I thought I was just eating them for the flavor.

10:34 AM  
Blogger David said...

PDF? Abomination! I haven't heard of the paper, but I've long suspected that Mosaic law had to have had a net positive genetic effect on IQ. Most of the things they'd kill you for were pretty stupid things to do in the first place, that you'd almost have to be both drunk and exceptionally stupid to be caught at by two witnesses. Jews do seem to lack the genes for both alchoholism and extreme stupidity.

Of course, a culture that promotes literacy is going to have a non-genetic possitive effect on IQ also.

The book of Daniel (chp 1) inspired an experiment my dad did on some retarded kids where he was able to give their IQs a slight temporary boost, by feeding them yeast, oddly enough.

5:50 PM  
Blogger Milhouse said...

The authors do take note of the Flynn effect, and say a) it seems to have disappeared over the last few decades, so it was probably due to improvements in nutrition and health; and b) its affects all ethnic groups equally, so it can be factored out.

And if it were the literacy-promoting culture, then the same effect would be seen in non-Ashkenazi Jews, but it isn't.

12:34 AM  

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