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THE idea that some ethnic groups may, on average, be more intelligent than others is one of those hypotheses that dare not speak its name. But Gregory Cochran, a noted scientific iconoclast, is prepared to say it anyway. He is that rare bird, a scientist who works independently of any institution. He helped popularise the idea that some diseases not previously thought to have a bacterial cause were actually infections, which ruffled many scientific feathers when it was first suggested. And more controversially still, he has suggested that homosexuality is caused by an infection.
Even he, however, might tremble at the thought of what he is about to do. Together with Jason Hardy and Henry Harpending, of the University of Utah, he is publishing, in a forthcoming edition of the Journal of Biosocial Science, a paper which not only suggests that one group of humanity is more intelligent than the others, but explains the process that has brought this about. The group in question are Ashkenazi Jews. The process is natural selection.
Ashkenazim generally do well in IQ tests, scoring 12-15 points above the mean value of 100, and have contributed disproportionately to the intellectual and cultural life of the West, as the careers of Freud, Einstein and Mahler, pictured above, affirm. They also suffer more often than most people from a number of nasty genetic diseases, such as Tay-Sachs and breast cancer. These facts, however, have previously been thought unrelated. The former has been put down to social effects, such as a strong tradition of valuing education. The latter was seen as a consequence of genetic isolation. Even now, Ashkenazim tend to marry among themselves. In the past they did so almost exclusively.
Dr Cochran, however, suspects that the intelligence and the diseases are intimately linked. His argument is that the unusual history of the Ashkenazim has subjected them to unique evolutionary pressures that have resulted in this paradoxical state of affairs.
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6-10 ABDBC
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21.A Women are biologically more vulnerable to stress.
22.D are exposed to more stress.
23.C durable and frequent.
24.B Alvarez’s salary barely covered her household expenses.
25.D Gender Inequality: Women Under Stress
26 D the traditional process of journal publication
27.C It upsets profit-making journal publishers.
28.A It provides easier access to scientific results
29.A cover the cost of its publication.
30.B a new mode on
31.A illustrate the change of height of NBA players.
32.C Living standards.
33.B Human height is conditioned by the upright posture.
34.D the existing data of human height will still be applicable.
35.C Americans have reached their genetic growth limit.
36.D reveal some unknown aspect of his life
37.B in its early days the U.S. was confronted with delicate situations.
38.C His attitude towards slavery was complex.
39.A Some Founding Fathers benefit politically from slavery.
40.B military experience.
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