[ExI] Ashkenazi Longevity was Re: The Catholic Impact (was Re: Origin of ethics and morals)

[Stefano Vaj]

On 15 December 2011 00:59, The Avantguardian <avantguardian2020 at yahoo.com>wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> > From: PJ Manney <pjmanney at gmail.com>
> > To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
> > As a resident Ashkenazi (which simply means "German" in Medieval
> > Hebrew), please allow me to weigh in.  Jews will tell you the
> > following might have exerted pressures on their culture and gene pool
> > for increased intelligence:
>

The rest of your message  corresponds pretty much to what I know and think
on the subject and develops it in interesting directions. I would also
recommend here <http://www.amazon.com/Abrahams-Children-Identity-Chosen-People/dp/0446580635/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1323970461&sr=8-4>
 *Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen
People<http://www.amazon.com/Abrahams-Children-Identity-Chosen-People/dp/0446580635/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1323970461&sr=8-4>
* by Jon Entine<http://www.amazon.com/Jon-Entine/e/B001IGO9RK/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_4?qid=1323970461&sr=8-4>and
the subject is also marginally touched in
*Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our
Ancestors<http://www.amazon.com/Before-Dawn-Recovering-History-Ancestors/dp/014303832X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323970696&sr=8-1>
* by Nicholas Wade<http://www.amazon.com/Nicholas-Wade/e/B001H6WF40/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1323970695&sr=8-1>
.


> > 2) Your above mentioned experiences in trade.  Jews traveled all over
> > Europe and Asia as soon as trade routes were established.  They
> > settled in Europe in the early middle ages.  It's how the Ashkenazim
> > (a branch of Judaism) as a genetic pool even exist.  A few traveling
> > traders/bankers married gentile/pagan women.  Supposedly, it's how
> > many Ashkenazim got red/blonde hair, green/blue eyes, etc.


Of course, a genetic pool exists inasmuch as there are reproductive
differentials, as opposed to panmixia.

What makes the Jewish case interesting is that while I maintain that all
societies and cultures can be seen (also) as eugenic experiments on a very
large scale, the Jews' (relative) historical endogamy has very little to do
with geographic segregation and even more than usually with a sense of
collective identity. Moreover, I suspect that the social mechanisms
involved in the occasional interbreeding with Gentiles in average actually
brought in "good" genes (say, a rich merchant marrying a
beautiful/smart/healthy Gentile girl), rather than diluting whatever might
have been the group traits in the process of being selected by the factors
you mention.

-- 
Stefano Vaj
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