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Perhaps to some degree because of the nature of the evolutionary pressures on them over the centuries? The Jews have almost always had extraordinary pressures,
by giardini 16y ago
Perhaps to some degree because of the nature of the evolutionary pressures on them over the centuries?
The Jews have almost always had extraordinary pressures, e.g., killed outright (e.g., Nazi Germany), restricted from owning land (e.g., Venice, Spain). Among their responses to the first was to migrate and, to the second, to move into commerce, moneylending, finance, etc.
If your group is dealing with pressures that another population is not exposed to, then your group's survivors will better deal with that pressure. If, at the same time, that pressure becomes more widespread in a society, then your group also benefits from that. That is, the Jews were involved in commerce and market economies earlier than other groups on average.
Of course this isn't everything. Consider the European gypsies. Certainly they suffered many, if not most, of the same pressures as the Jews, but their current situation is comparatively grim.
- rgejman 16y agoEvolution does not typically work at those timescales (100-200 generations) unless there is extreme pressure—and even if it did, your argument still would not apply unless you believe that success in moneylending and other professions were strongly influenced by genetics. There is no evidence for that position and there is only limited evidence that IQ and other measures of general intelligence are genetic (socioeconomic background tend to be much better indicators of this). I think the more likely explanation is cultural. Yes, Jews were forced into certain professions, but they have also historically emphasized (religious) education. As Jews in the Western world became more assimilated, the emphasis on religion decreased, but the emphasis on education did not. This familial emphasis on education is still felt today and has manifested itself as a propensity for Jews to enter highly skilled professions, such as law and medicine.
- beefman 16y ago> Evolution does not typically work at those timescales (100-200 generations) Not true.
- giardini 16y ago1. Evolution works at all timescales greater than a lifetime. 2. The Jews _were_ under extreme pressure: people apparently felt free to kill them, persecute them, rape them, wipe them out. What could be more extreme? 3. Yes, culture would help. But it would also speed genetic change as Jews increasingly moved into an ecological niche defined by a particular set of abilities (e.g., counting, visualization, quantification, pattern recognition, concept formation) used in fields such as finance.