JP on the JQ
Summary:
European Jews have an average IQ only slightly higher than other ethnicities/races. (and clearly races are mixing over time). BUT that makes a YUGE difference at the higher tail of the distribution, the exceptional end. It makes sense that they would be over represented in exceptional roles because they produce more competent people relative to their population. That said, if they are only 2% of the population, then that means that only 2% of those 2% Jews even have the right to claim this competence. Point: What makes a genius Jew exceptional is his/her rarity as genius. It has very little to do with race or ethnicity.
Bottom line: Competence of the individual does NOT translate to Authority of the group. This seems to be a good definition of tribalism, to get behind and underneath competent leaders. Expand your thinking and you'll see it in other areas of human performance. IQ, a la Howard Gardner, is certainly not the only type of intelligence. Africans show kinesthetic intelligence/competence at rates beyond their population representation. Should we confuse marginally increased competence at the tails for authority of the whole group?
Supremecism is the issue. Once the competent get in, they bring along their buddies. This is why Economic Nationalism is the new tribal mantra. The rules and boundaries are clear and transparent. It's not perfect, but it gets people thinking up Robert Kegan's "Great Chain of Being" towards a greater awareness of what it means to be included in a larger purpose…a necessary vision for the 98% of us mere autists.