Study Links Genetic Diseases to Intelligence

FleaPlus writes "The Economist, Sun-Sentinel, and FuturePundit report on a controversial study by Gregory Cochran and others which proposes a link between certain genetic conditions and above-average intelligence in Ashkenazi Jews. The 40-page study, published in the Journal of Biosocial Science, analyzes data on unusual patterns of genetic disease and relates it to a number of intelligence metrics. Although the intelligence data have traditionally been attributed to cultural factors, Cochran proposes that due to the unusual selection pressures the Ashkenazi faced between 800 and 1600AD certain genes developed which promote intelligence as single copies, but lead to particular diseases when somebody inherits two copies. According to Harvard cognitive scientist Steven Pinker, "It would be hard to overstate how politically incorrect this paper is... [though] it's certainly a thorough and well-argued paper, not one that can easily be dismissed outright.""

Comments

Re:Holy crap...

[madaxe42]

Now, you don't know that for a fact. He might have lost them in a terrible kitten related accident. Apologize to the nice man. Now.

Deep implications

[tezza]

Some scientists speculate that assortive mating of high IQ people is contributing to a rising incidence of autism and Asperger's Syndrome.

Great. So they're saying I should have children by girls just for their big tits and tight pussies? Damn my Askenazic heritage. Theres quite a lot of Sephardic in there too, maybe I'd be allow to try for girls who can read.

Re:Deep implications

[blackicye]

Dear Mr Tezza,

If you come across any women who meet your aforementioned criteria, and are thus disqualified from your rigorous selection process.
Please send them our way.

Thanks,
Slashdot.

Clarification

[madaxe42]

Sorry, that came out as more of a joke than it was meant to - I was angling more at the fact that people of greater intelligence are more likely to lead active lives - this in turn will lead to exposure to a greater variety of environments/selection criteria, resulting in a) possible carcinogenic/alien material exposure (you go exploring, sit in a desert, eat any old shit) b) decreased gene pool due to persecution (as detailed in this paper) - results in inbreeding, and mutation.

Basically clever people get themselves into more trouble generally.

Re:Being a Jew ...

[Webs 101]

Also being a Jew, and a Tay-Sachs carrier, I'm smart enough to confirm what you're saying.

Careful, there.

[Grendel Drago]

I'm pretty sure the difference between average IQ and party affiliation is due in a large sense to racial disparity. Black folks skew Democrat, more than any other ethnic or racial group (well, Cuban exiles in Miami skew Republican, but that's local to there). For whatever reason you want to attribute, blacks do worse than whites on these tests.

For what it's worth, I am curious what the comparison would be based on party affiliation within the same ethnic/racial group.

--grendel drago

Re:It's possible

[nomadic]

You have people telling us that we're evolved beings and yet on the other hand it's been taboo to even mention the possibility that an isolated group (or groups) of people may have evolved with more or less intelligence.

True, I'm way smarter than any of you. We should accept that openly.

Re:Einstein's brain was flawed, too...

[giel]

The brain is like any other muscle and the brain bearer can develop it, just like any other muscle.

Eventually your skul will break and your brains pop out if you think often.

Re:I don't buy it

[frank_adrian314159]

However, I wouldn't consider Irish-Americans any smarter than the white population in general in America.

OK! I am now offended! As a person of Irish descent, how can you say that the Irish aren't smarter! Who else has a holiday where you can go out and get drunk just because of your heritage, huh? And who invented the potato, after all? Damn it, I have half a mind to go out and get drunk now. Now stop insulting me and let me go get pissed.