1. Evolution works at all timescales greater than a lifetime. 2. The Jews _were_ under extreme pressure: people apparently felt free to kill them, persecute th

1. 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.