Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence

Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence is a paper published by "human biodiversity" proponent Gregory Cochran, anthropology student Jason Hardy and white nationalist Henry Harpending which "elaborates the hypothesis that the unique demography and sociology of in medieval Europe selected for intelligence."Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence Gregory Cochran, Jason Hardy, Henry Harpending (2005) Department of Anthropology University of Utah Salt Lake City UT 84112 USA It appears to be an hereditarian attempt to find "scientific" evidence for racist beliefs about race and intelligence. The paper was published in 2006 in the Cambridge University Press' Journal of Biosocial Science."Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence" by Gregory Cochran, Jason Hardy & Henry Harpending (2006) Journal of Biosocial Science 38(5):659-93. doi:10.1017/S0021932005027069. The Journal of Biosocial Science had been renamed from The Eugenics Review in 1969 at the time that Cambridge University Press began publishing the journal.
==The untested yet widely disseminated hypothesis==
Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence (NHAI) presents an untested and unproven hypothesis, which was nevertheless promoted by mainstream media, via proponents of hereditarianism, especially New York Times columnist and Harvard professor Steven Pinker.
Anthropologist was one of the few scholars to respond substantively to the paper. In 2008 he self-published "".How Jews Became Smart: Anti-" Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence" R. Brian Ferguson (2008) In an interview in 2019, Ferguson summarized the Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence paper as a hypothesis which claimed that the () expression of genes associated with eighteen inherited physical conditions, often seen in Ashkenazi Jewish populations, conferred higher intelligence.Pinkerite interview with R. Brian Ferguson, anthropologist Hello Pinkerite (November 21,2022) YouTube (retrieved October 10, 2023)
Ferguson noted the surprising attention given to the paper: "Now one question is why is an untested hypothesis getting so much attention? You would think that if they found evidence for it — but there was no evidence. This was an untested hypothesis. Steven Pinker helped legitimize this… if you look at their proposition that these different diseases — just the idea that these diseases boost IQ — if you look at the actual science of it, that’s not what it says. So you don't say that something that's not good science is good science without diminishing your own credibility."
===Lack of evidence===
A profile of Gregory Cochran, published in the Los Angeles Times in 2009, discusses the problem Harpending and Cochran had in getting the paper published: lack of evidence. 
"They wrote up their theory and sent it off to a journal. It was rejected. Harpending said he gave it to an anthropologist friend, editor of another journal, who asked to publish it there. That plan was called off. The friend, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the topic, said the paper was clearly controversial and its extraordinary claims required extraordinary evidence  which was lacking."Jewish legacy inscribed on genes? Karen Kaplan (April 18, 2009) Los Angeles Times
==="Easy to test"===
In the same article, Steven Pinker claimed the hypothesis would be "easy to test." However, Cochran and Harpending had no plans to test it. Cochran compared the paper to work by Albert Einstein: "One criticism about our paper is that 'It can't mean anything because they didn't do any new experiments.' OK, then I guess Einstein's papers didn't mean anything either." This explanation however shows ignorance of the history of Einstein's theory of relativity (developed in 1905-1915), which has been confirmed by numerous scientific observations (starting with the 1919 solar eclipse).May 29, 1919: A Major Eclipse, Relatively Speaking by Lizzie Buchen (May 29, 2009 12:00 AM) Wired. Furthermore, theory of relativity did not spring forth de novo, it was proposed as a solution to observational discrepancies of Mercury's orbit that disagreed with the Newtonian physics' prediction.Discovery of Physics From Data: Universal Laws and Discrepancies by Brian M. de Silva et al. (2020) Front. Artif. Intell. 3. doi:10.3389/frai.2020.00025.
====But still untested====
Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence was published online June 17, 2005. There is no evidence that the NHAI hypothesis has been tested yet, in spite of the alleged ease of testing. 
AUTOMATIC NHAI COUNTER: Today is . It has been years since publication without testing.
==Sources==
There are historically two sides of the hereditarian coin: Jewish intellectual superiority and Black intellectual inferiority. The Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence paper appears to be one effort to prove this old trope "scientifically."
===Mankind Quarterly===
The April 1961 issue of the racialist Mankind Quarterly published an article by a segregationist with ties to the Pioneer Fund, entitled "The Equalitarian Dogma,"The Equalitarian Dogma Henry E. Garrett (April 1961) Mankind Quarterly posted by The Unz Review which illustrates the two-sided hereditarian coin:
The article is notable not only because it describes the hereditarian assumption about race, it provides the term, "equalitarian," adopted by 21st century hereditarians for the same purpose: to claim opponents of the hereditarian assumption are not motivated by scientific objections.…"Equalitarians" & "Equitarians" are good as I think they capture the belief in equal outcomes vs. equal opportunity. by Michael Shermer (November 14, 2021) Twitter (archived from November 14, 2021).Equalitarianism: A Source of Liberal Bias Roy Baumeister, Cory Clark, Connor Hasty, Bo Winegard (August 2023) Journal of Open Inquiry in the Behavioral Sciences doi:10.58408/issn.2992-9253.2023.01.01.00000008.
===J. Philippe Rushton===
Although Harpending questioned some of racist J. Philippe Rushton's r/K strategy claims, in his 1995 review of Rushton's Race, Evolution, and Behavior: A Life History Perspective he nevertheless said: "I believe that this is very important pioneering work and that Rushton deserves congratulations for bringing it together and, most of all, for trying to understand it within the framework of modern science. Perhaps there will ultimately be some serious contribution from the traditional smoke-and-mirrors social science treatment of IQ, but for now Rushton’s framework is essentially the only game in town."This Is A Book Review Of Four Books. It Was Published In Evolutionary Anthropology in 1995 or so by Henry Harpending (archived from August 17, 2011)
===Kevin MacDonald===
The Southern Poverty Law Center, in its profile of Henry Harpending, claims that the Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence is "based on the work of Kevin MacDonald, a discredited evolutionary psychologist and current director of the racist American Freedom Party, formerly known as American Third Position."Henry Harpending Southern Poverty Law Center (retrieved October 8, 2023)
 
Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence cites as a source MacDonald's A People That Shall Dwell Alone.A People That Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy, with Diaspora Peoples by Kevin MacDonald (1994) Praeger. According to the Anti-Defamation League:
===Steve Sailer's claim===
On the white nationalist website VDARE in 2009, professional racist Steve Sailer claimed responsibility for introducing Harpending and Cochran through his Human Biodiversity email group.Roster of Human Biodiversity Discussion Group Members maintained by Steve Sailer (as of 7/20/99) AOL (archived from February 15, 2003). While Cochran had compared himself and Harpending to Einstein, Sailer compared them to Charles Darwin (emphasis in the original): 
In the preface of their book, The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution, Harpending and Cochran acknowledged Sailer's influence, writing "We have also benefited from discussions with members of the Human Biodiversity Internet discussion group run by Steve Sailer." Henry Harpending and Gregory Cochran (2010) Basic Books a Member of the Perseus Book Group
The Los Angeles Times confirms Sailer's claim, "Once Cochran gets talking, it's hard to get him to stop. He jumps from idea to idea, beginning new sentences before finishing old ones. In e-mail discussion groups, where he befriended Harpending, he thrives on debating people and proving them wrong."
===Cochran's eureka moment===
The Los Angeles Times profile of Cochran, the "self-taught genetics buff," provides this snapshot of Cochran's inspiration for the hypothesis:
Prior to publishing the NHAI hypothesis, Harpending already believed in the hereditarian assumption about race and intelligence, and it's probable that Cochran did too, and so the thought process behind Cochran's insight was likely: "Jews are genetically intelligent. Jews have genetic diseases. Therefore, the genetic diseases caused the genetic intelligence."
==Authors==
===Jason Hardy===
Jason Hardy was identified as an undergraduate of the University of Utah in 2005, the year the Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence paper was published.U. anthropologist’s research focuses on the Jewish brain Joe Bauman (November 14, 2005) Deseret News In 2006 he was identified as an anthropologist.2006: What Is Your Dangerous Idea? Groups of people may differ genetically in their average talents and temperaments (2006) Edge However there is no evidence that Hardy has a career as an anthropologist nor in academia. Hardy did not publish with Harpending nor Cochran again.
===Gregory Cochran===
According to his LinkedIn profile, Cochran is currently self-employed and has "consulted on adaptive optics for both imaging and beam projection, with emphasis on atmospheric effects. This had included control systems and performance modelling. I've also worked on image recovery, detector analysis, and diagnostic algorithms for chirped laser systems."Gregory Cochran (retrieved October 7, 2023) LinkedIn (archived from 19 Aug 2021 08:51:31 UTC). The profile also reveals that Cochran was adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Utah for ten years. However, Cochran's education includes no courses in anthropology, and Cochran states: "I studied physics and math as an undergraduate, to excess if anything, and got an undergraduate degree in physics and another in mathematics. I attended graduate school in physics there as well, where I worked on first-principles calculations of electronic structures." 
====Taki's Magazine====
According to his contributor's profile for the right-wing racist Taki's Magazine, "Gregory Cochran grew up in a small town in Illinois, picked up a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Illinois, and worked for years in aerospace, mainly on advanced optics and laser systems. He later segued into evolutionary genetics and anthropology. He collaborates with Henry Harpending (University of Utah): and they put out a book in 2009 about the recent evolutionary change in humans: The 10,000 Year Explosion."Gregory Cochran Gregory Cochran Taki's Magazine (retrieved October 7, 2023) Cochran wrote three articles for Taki's Magazine, about Ebola, asteroids and Neanderthals.
====West Hunter====
Cochran currently runs a blog called "West Hunter". Harpending was a contributor until his death in 2016.West Hunter blog (retrieved October 12, 2023) 
Cochran has a Twitter/X account in which he tweets blog posts from West HunterGregory Cochran Twitter/X (archived from January 24, 2023)
====Edge====
Cochran has been a frequent contributor to including:
* In 2006 Cochran was asked by Edge what his "dangerous idea" was. Cochran pushed the NHAI hypothesis to its logical conclusion: "This concept opens strange doors. If true, it means that the people of Sumeria and Egypt's Old Kingdom were probably fundamentally different from us: human nature has changed — some, anyhow — over recorded history."Gregory Cochran "What is your dangerous idea?" - Gregory Cochran contributor (January 1, 2006) Edge
* In 2017 Cochran was asked to contribute to Edge's "What Scientific Term Or Concept Ought To Be More Widely Known?" and Cochran took the opportunity to promote NHAI: "So what can you explain with the breeder’s equation? Natural selection, for one thing. It probably explains the Ashkenazi Jews — it looks as if there was (once) an unusual reproductive advantage for people who were good at certain kinds of white collar jobs, along with a high degree of reproductive isolation."What Scientific Term Or Concept Ought To Be More Widely Known? Gregory Cochran (2017) Edge
====Take the money…====
According to the 2009 tax returns for the Unz Foundation, publisher of The Unz Review, Cochran was given a grant of $600,000 by Form 990-PF The Unz Foundation (2009) retrieved October 6, 2023 The money was granted "In recognition of the notable research activities of Dr. Gregory Cochran, Ph.D." and "Dr. Cochran is unrestricted in his use of the funds provided in this grant. The Unz Foundation does however take a strong interest in each of its grantees. While not requiring any specific use of funds provided in this grant, The Unz Foundation encourages each grantee to make brief, periodic reports (not more than semi-annually) regarding ongoing activities. The Unz Foundation also encourages its grantees to take pride in their notable achievement, to regard their award status as a primary professional affiliation, and to prominently mention it in all public contexts." Razib Khan and Steve Sailer also received sizable contributions that year.
=====…and run=====
According to Ron Unz, Cochran took the money and did "no subsequent work of any significance" for it, due to being arrogant and lazy:
====Robert E. Howard====
Cochran believes that the stories of "Conan the Barbarian" by are a better guide to archeology and anthropology than the work of actual archeologists and anthropologists. Writing in his blog "West Hunter" Cochran said:
Cochran refers to the alleged scientific superiority of Howard other times on the blog.The Old Breed Gregory Cochran (October 9, 2013) West HunterMassive Migration Gregory Cochran (February 11, 2015) West HunterPrimitive tribesmen complain about technologically superior invaders Gregory Cochran (January 18, 2019)At the Mountains of Madness Gregory Cochran (June 8, 2020) West Hunter
It is likely that the "Brian Ferguson" mentioned by Cochran is anthropologist a critic of the "Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence" paper. As a proponent of cultural materialist theories, with a focus on war,R. Brian Ferguson website (retrieved October 9, 2023) Ferguson does not assume "that the Mayans were peaceful astronomers."
====Cochran versus critics====
Cochran often responds to criticisms of hereditarianism and Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence not by addressing arguments, but by insulting his critics, including those with relevant expertise. Considering that Cochran inserted himself into anthropology and genetics without any training in those fields, and yet believes his work is comparable to the work of Einstein, it's not surprising he has no respect for credentials or expertise.
* Cochran suggested R. Brian Ferguson's work was driven by emotion: "It would hurt Brian Ferguson’s feelings."Empire of the Ants Gregory Cochran (September 18, 2014) West Hunter
* Cochran claimed twice that Robert E. Howard, author of "Conan the Barbarian" understood anthropology better than Ferguson.Polynesia's Bloody Roots Gregory Cochran (October 12, 2016) West Hunter
* Cochran insulted New York Times science and society correspondent on X/TwitterWouldn’t be a story on race and math/intelligence... Amy Harmon (February 21, 2019) Twitter (archived from October 15, 2023). 
* Cochran claimed on X/Twitter that geneticist was "dumb" while his hereditarian ally, psychologist called Rutherford an "ideologically driven hack." Rutherford was not impressed.Cochran v Rutherford Pinkerite (October 30, 2021)
====Cochran versus E. O. Wilson====
In spite of E. O. Wilson's importance to hereditarianism, Cochran, alone among hereditarians, considers Wilson "an idiot." He commented on his blog: "I liked Sociobiology, and read some more of his books. The Ants was also interesting, but the others, those I read, didn’t seem to say anything. When I ask people what important problem Wilson has solved, what important prediction of his has come true, I hear crickets."Math is Hard Gregory Cochran (April 10, 2013) West Hunter
===Henry Harpending===
Like many hereditarians, Harpending was associated with the organization Edge.E. O. Wilson#Lawrence Summers His Edge "People" profile says of him:
Per the Southern Poverty Law Center, Harpending "was a controversial anthropologist at the University of Utah who studied human evolution and, in his words, “genetic diversity within and between human populations."
====Preserving Western Civilization====
In 2009, Harpending gave a speech, "The Biology of Families and the Future of Civilization"The Biology of Families and the Future of Civilization Henry Harpending (2009) mp3 audio file at the "Preserving Western Civilization" conferenceTroublesome Sources Southern Poverty Law Center (retrieved October 9, 2023] along with infamous racists Peter Brimelow and J. Philippe Rushton.Listing of files associated with the "Preserving Western Civilization" conference (retrieved October 9, 2023)
====The H. L. Mencken Club====
Harpending was a member of the H. L. Mencken Club. Neo-Nazi Richard Spencer was on the organization's board. The Club was profiled by The Village Voice in 2013 in an article entitled, "Is the H.L. Mencken Club an Extremist Hate Group, or Just a Bunch of Weary Old White Guys?":
====University of Utah statement====
After his death, the University of Utah released a statement about Harpending:
===The 10,000 Year Explosion===
Cochran and Harpending published "The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution" in 2009. According to the Los Angeles Times profile of Cochran: "They have been sneered at by colleagues and excoriated on Internet forums. They have been welcomed to speak at a synagogue and a Jewish medical society. They were asked to write a book; that effort, "The 10,000 Year Explosion," was published early this year."Legacy inscribed on Jews’ genes? by Karen Kaplan (April 18, 2009 12 AM PT) Los Angeles Times.
The article does not say who asked Cochran and Harpending to write the book. But it's probably significant that the preface of the book says "Parts of this work were supported by the Unz Foundation." The preface admits indebtedness to various hereditarians and racialists including Razib Khan, James Lee,James J. Lee International Society for Intelligence Research. Rosalind Arden,Rosalind Arden International Society for Intelligence Research. and J. Philippe Rushton.
The 10,000 Year Explosion continues the promotion of the untested, unproven claims about Ashkenazi intelligence:
====Gregory Clark====
The claims of hereditarian economist influenced the book. "Much of what Harpending and Cochran claim in The 10,000 Year Explosion builds on the work of economist Gregory Clark, who believes that the Industrial Revolution and British global dominance can best be explained evolutionarily". Clark is currently known for publishing in 2014 The Son Also Rises: Surnames and the History of Social Mobility. In its review of the book, The Economist said: "His work implies, however, that poor blacks remain so because they are descended from people with low social competence; discrimination is irrelevant, except to the extent that it limits intermarriage with other groups. The Son Also Rises may not be a racist book, but it certainly traffics in genetic determinism."Have and Have Not (February 1, 2014) The Economist Clark gave the keynote speech at the 2018 annual conference of the hereditarian, racialist organization International Society for Intelligence Research entitled: "How Genetics Determine Social Status."ISIR Keynote: Prof. Gregory Clark "How Genetics Determines Social Status" Gregory Clark (July 24 2018) YouTube channel: Timothy Bates (retrieved October 8, 2023)
==Publicity==
In spite of the fact that "Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence" was an untested, unproven hypothesis it was promoted by hereditarians when it was released. Pinker and Wade were able to use their mainstream media connections to widely publicize the hypothesis, as noted by Steve Sailer, "The slow liberation of the Mainstream Media from the deathgrip of political correctness accelerated last week with startlingly courageous coverage in The Economist and the New York Times of the potentially epochal scientific paper by Gregory Cochran, Henry Harpending, and Jason Hardy entitled The Natural History of Ashkenazi IntelligenceIQ And Disease: The Curious Case of the Ashkenazi Jews Steve Sailer (June 5, 2005) VDARE (retrieved from archive.org October 9, 2023)
===Nicholas Wade===
Long-time New York Times contributor Nicholas Wade promoted the paper in 2005:
Wade continued promoting the still unproven, still untested hypothesis in 2014, in Time Magazine.What Science Says About Race and Genetics Nicholas Wade (May 9, 2014) Time Magazine
===Steven Pinker===
Steven Pinker is likely the most enthusiastic promoter of the unproven hypothesis, although he was careful to admit it was unproven, writing, "CH&H, then, have provided prima facie evidence for each of the hypotheses making up their theory. But all the hypotheses would have to be true for the theory as a whole to be true — and much of the evidence is circumstantial, and the pivotal hypothesis is the one for which they have the least evidence. Yet that hypothesis is also the most easily falsifiable. By that criterion, the CH&H story meets the standards of a good scientific theory, though it is tentative and could turn out to be mistaken."Groups and Genes Steven Pinker (June 26, 2006) The New Republic
Pinker must have been aware of the connection between Sailer and Cochran/Harpending. Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence was released online (2005) and published (2006) during a time period when Pinker was a public supporter of the career of Steve Sailer, having recently included his The Cousin Marriage Conundrum in The Best American Science and Nature Writing of 2004.The Best American Science and Nature Writing, edited by Steven Pinker (2004) Mariner Books. ISBN 0618246983.
In response to the Edge "annual question" "What Is Your Dangerous Idea?" Pinker's idea was "Groups of people may differ genetically in their average talents and temperaments" and predicted, "The year 2005 saw several public appearances of what will I predict will become the dangerous idea of the next decade: that groups of people may differ genetically in their average talents and temperaments." He included a plug for the hypothesis, "In June, the [New York] Times reported a forthcoming study by physicist Greg Cochran, anthropologist Jason Hardy, and population geneticist Henry Harpending proposing that Ashkenazi Jews have been biologically selected for high intelligence, and that their well-documented genetic diseases are a by-product of this evolutionary history."What is Your Dangerous Idea - Steven Pinker (December 23, 2005) EDGE (retrieved via archive.org October 9, 2023)
===="Reality is what refuses to go away"====
In a speech he gave entitled "Jews, Genes and Intelligence", Pinker revealed his confidence in the hypothesis, in Cochran as an authority, in the claim that race is biological, and reveals his belief that any disagreement with hereditarianism is the result of pure emotion and in defiance of reality:
Pinker acknowledges Cochran in the preface to his 2011 book, The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence has Declined.Peace In Our Time Elizabeth Kolbert (September 26, 2011) The New Yorker
Writing for The Guardian in 2006, Marek Kohn said, "At a meeting in New York at which the psychologist Steven Pinker spoke about the Ashkenazi paper, though, one writer was troubled. Maggie Wittlin, reporting for Seed magazine, said: 'People will hear what they want to hear. And many in attendance were there to hear that Jews are naturally smarter than everyone else.' Seduction is more powerful than provocation — and more insidious."This racist undercurrent in the tide of genetic research Marek Kohn (January 16, 2006) The Guardian
==Criticisms and debunkings==
Soon after the paper was released, published an article in New York Magazine, "Are Jews Smarter?" and noted the response from scientists:
===R. Brian Ferguson ===
====How Jews Became Smart: Anti-"Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence"====
In 2008, anthropologist R. Brian Ferguson responded to the publication of "Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence" (NHAI) with a paper, "How Jews Became Smart: Anti-'Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence.'" In the introduction, Ferguson notes the curious status of the NHAI, "To my knowledge, no challenge to the thesis of NHAI has appeared anywhere. It lives, on the web, and in people's minds. A few months ago I fell into a conversation with a young anthropologist, who was arguing for the need to bring genetics into the study of culture. I asked why. He replied by citing NHAI as the perfect example of the power of that approach."
=====Main criticisms=====
Ferguson presents eleven main criticisms, listed in the paper's abstract:
#Contrary to NHAI's argument that the inherited conditions are due to selection, bottlenecks and drift remain strong explanations of their frequency, and consistent with historical information.
#In NHAI, less than half of all inherited conditions have even a suggested pathway to higher intelligence.
#The inference that genes which stimulate aspects of neural growth are linked to higher intelligence is pure speculation predicated on a simplistic view of neurological development.
#The claimed connection between three specific conditions and higher IQ has virtually no empirical support whatever.
#The demonstrated IQ advantage of Ashkenazi Jews as a whole is less than asserted.
#The multi-point IQ boosts proposed for specific genes are very inconsistent with current research on the genetics of IQ.
#Even within the mainstream of IQ research, which emphasizes genetic/biological bases, the extent of Ashkenazi IQ advantage is easily accommodated as due to environment.
#The "Talmudic Tradition" of emphasizing learning and abstract reasoning provides a clear cultural explanation for higher IQ among Ashkenazi. In Ashkenazi history, NHAI's assumption that higher intelligence led to greater income is contradicted by
#a rigid system of social stratification
#the critical importance for amassing wealth of capital, social connections, and political patrons, and
#the absence of any evidence that success in business required anything more than average intelligence.
===Adam Rutherford===
====How to Argue with a Racist====
Geneticist , in his 2020 book How to Argue with a Racist addressed the genetics errors made in the NHAI paper:
=====The evolution of Shylock=====
Rutherford also notes the implication in NHAI — that the Jewish stereotype exemplified by the character of "Shylock" in Shakespeare's The Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of Venice Folger Shakespeare Library. is the result of selection, "…money-lending is a common stereotype not least because of Shakespeare's Shylock. In fact money-lending was a trade that was extremely limited in time and space within Jewish culture in Europe and by the end of the 15th century had largely vanished from Jewish populations. Yet the implication of Cochran et al.'s scientific speculation is that business and financial acumen has driven the evolution of Jewish brains…"
====Hereditarian disagreement====
Although hereditarians as a group believed that NHAI was evidence for the hereditarian assumption, there were some disagreements, as shown in the Harpending/Cochran response to Charles Murray in the letters page of Commentary magazine:
But really, one just-so story is as good as another.
==The influence of "Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence"==
Reputable scientists for the most part ignored the hypothesis, due to lack of evidence. When asked about it in 2005, geneticist Ostrer called the paper "bad science" and geneticist Risch called it insignificant. And anthropologist Ferguson in 2008 and geneticist Rutherford in 2020 had taken the time to explain at length the problems with the hypothesis. 
In spite of this, racists, hereditarians and others continued to reference and even promote the claims of Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence.
===American Enterprise Institute===
In 2011, in the American Enterprise Institute (AEI, a long-time employer of racist Charles Murray), Lazar Berman presented the paper as a "serious, peer-reviewed" work:
==="The adaptation of Jews to capitalism"===
In his widely-criticized book, published in 2014, A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History Nicholas Wade used the claims of "Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence" to argue that Jews are adapted via natural selection to capitalism, "The adaptation of Jews to capitalism is another such evolutionary process, though harder to recognize because the niche to which Jews are adapted is one that has required a behavioral change, not a physical one."A Troublesome Inheritance Genes, Race and Human History Nicholas Wade (2014) Penguin Press“Jews are adapted to capitalism”, and other nonsenses of the new scientific racism Ian Steadman (May 20, 2014) The New Statesman
===Scott Alexander===
Scott Alexander promoted it in Slate Star Codex in 2017.The Atomic Bomb Considered As Hungarian High School Science Fair Project Scott Alexander (May 26, 2017) Slate Star Codex
===The Secrets of Jewish Genius===
In his column in December 27, 2019, New York Times op-ed writer promoted the "Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence" claims, writing, "The common answer is that Jews are, or tend to be, smart. When it comes to Ashkenazi Jews, it's true. 'Ashkenazi Jews have the highest average I.Q. of any ethnic group for which there are reliable data,' noted one 2005 paper." The reference linked to the Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence paper.The Secrets of Jewish Genius Bret Stephens (December 27, 2019) The New York Times
After the New York Times received negative feedback about Stephens promoting a claim based on an unproven hypothesis, the Times removed the reference and included a note on the article:
Corrine Engber in Jewish Boston wrote an article "The Secrets of Bret Stephens' Racism" which said, "First, the op-ed should never have gone to print. The editor and fact-checker's jobs are to ensure that racist pseudoscience and patently false information are not spread as if they are fact. The New York Times redacted the citation within the article after its publication, but that doesn’t change the fact that Stephens' article is based on eugenicist concepts. Even if the article had never gone to print, its basis indicates racism on Stephens' part, which should have given the editorial team pause. Clearly, it did not.The Secrets of Bret Stephens' Racism Corinna Engber (December 30, 2019) Jewish Boston
Writing in response to the Bret Stephens controversy, Matthew Yglesias provided context to the strong reactions to Stephens' use of the untested hypothesis:
====Hereditarian defense====
Because the New York Times removed the link to an untested, unproven claim that was, nevertheless, every hereditarian's favorite "evidence" for ethnic essentialism, four "heavy-hitters" (and wingnut welfare recipients) published an article in Politico, breathlessly declaring in the title "The New York Times Surrendered to an Outrage Mob. Journalism Will Suffer For It."The New York Times Surrendered to an Outrage Mob. Journalism Will Suffer For It Pamela Paresky, Jonathan Haidt, Nadine Strossen and Steven Pinker (May 14, 2020) Politico The authors were:
* Steven Pinker, participated inIf you ever doubted that Steven Pinker’s sympathies lie with the alt-right P. Z. Myers (January 9, 2018) Pharyngula the infamous Koch-funded "Unsafe Space Tour"You Want It Darker? George Monibot (November 7, 2018) originally published in The Guardian
* Jonathan Haidt, a "Koch stooge"Jonathan Haidt is a Koch Stooge and The Heterodox Academy is an Outlet for Koch Propaganda Benjamin T. Awesome (September 25, 2021) Medium and hereditarian who had predicted the triumph of hereditarian beliefs back in 2009.Charles_Murray#Charles_Murray_predicts
* Nadine Strossen, a Koch employee via AEI,Show Me a Lawyer Nadine Strossen, David Schoenbrod (September 21, 2015) American Enterprise InstituteFree Speech in the Digital Age: Assessing the Values and Consequences of Free Expression (March 29, 2021) Cato Institute,CATO search - Strossen Cato Institute (retrieved October 9, 2023) Georgetown University Free Speech Project"The Slap" — A Free Speech Perspective (April 7, 2022) Georgetown University, and Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)FIRE - Nadine Strossen Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (retrieved October 9, 2023)
* Pamela Paresky, also a Koch employee via FIRE,Get to Know New FIRE Staffers: Pamela Paresky, Chief Research Officer to the President and CEO Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (retrieved October 9, 2023) possibly Peter Thiel-linked via Quillette authorshipQuillette search - Paresky (retrieved October 9, 2023) and a fan of the ghoulish "Gender Wars" playing cards.Kiwi_Farms#Nina_Paley_and_Gender_Wars_Playing_Cards
They claimed the New York Times' action was "Orwellian" and explained that just because an indisputable racist co-authored a paper about race it didn't mean the paper about race should be suspected of promoting a racist agenda:
Hereditarian Jerry Coyne promoted their response on his blog in a fawning post titled, "Four heavy hitters criticize the New York Times for 'Orwellian' retroactive censorship",Four heavy hitters criticize the New York Times for "Orwellian" retroactive censorship Jerry Coyne (May 4, 2020) Why Evolution is True and Steven Pinker promptly tweeted a link to it. Coyne also attacked The 1619 Project: "This is all part and parcel not only of the Times's increasing wokeness, evidenced in its 1619 Project…" 
The hereditarian antipathy towards the 1619 ProjectEarlier this year @pamelaparesky @jonhaidt @nsaclu & I warned that NYT's retroactively censoring a Bret Stephens piece… Steven Pinker (September 21, 2021) Twitter (archived from February 6, 2021). appears to be the standard hereditarian tactic: "remove all the history."
None of these hereditarians happened to mention that the hypothesis was untested and unproven, most likely because it would interfere with their mission to present objections to "Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence" as emotional rather than scientific.
===Continuing citations===
* In 2019, Barbara Aiello, writing in The Times of Israel cited the American Enterprise Institute's 2011 article by Lazar GermanQ: What Makes Jews So Smart? A: Bar and Bat Mitzvah Barbara Aiello (June 19, 2012) The Times of Israel
* In 2021, Steve Sailer promoted the hypothesis in Astral Codex TenContra Smith On Jewish Selective Immigration Comments (retrieved October 12, 2023)
* In 2022, Patrick Whittle in the "Genetic Literacy Project" promoted the hypothesis, giving the impression that objections to the paper was based on political correctness.Part I: Intelligence, disease, prejudice — and Jewish skeletal remains in a Norwich well Patrick Whittle (December 6, 2022) The Genetic Literacy Project The Project includes Henry Harpending under the heading "Advisors Who Helped Launch GLP"Advisors Who Helped Launch GLP Genetic Literacy Project (retrieved October 12, 2023) Also in 2022, the organization "U.S. Right to Know" claimed that the Genetic Literacy Project was a "PR front for Monsanto, Bayer and the chemical industry"Genetic Literacy Project: PR front for Monsanto, Bayer and the chemical industry Stacy Malkan (July 14, 2022) U.S. Right to Know
* In 2022, promoted by hereditarian Peter Frost, a former co-author with Harpending and an author at the racist Aporia magazine, on his blogRecent cognitive evolution: The case of Ashkenazi Jews Peter Frost (May 30, 2022) Evo and Proud
* Promoted by Jordan Peterson in 2023On the so-called “Jewish Question” Jordan Peterson (undated, comments are dated as 2023) Jordan Peterson blog (retrieved October 12, 2023)
* In 2023 the paper is cited for "Our findings shed light on the decades-long debate about the persistence of this allele—selection versus founder effect resulting in genetic drift (29–33)" in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaGaucher disease protects against tuberculosis Jingwen Fan, Victoria L. Hale, Lindsey T. Lelieveld, Laura J. Whitworth, Elisabeth M. Busch-Nentwich, Mark Troll, Paul H. Edelstein, Timothy M. Cox, Francisco J. Roca, Johannes M. F. G. Aerts, c and Lalita Ramakrishnan (February 14, 2023) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
===The continuing popularity of Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence ===
Why, in spite of the fact that the hypothesis is unproven, do hereditarians (and the clueless) continue to promote it? A possible reason is that due to the failure of genetics studies to prove the hereditarian hypothesis, evident in the "missing heritability" phenomenon, it is all that they have.
==External links==
* The politics of DNA and the story of eugenics with Adam Rutherford | The Royal Society 
* Blood Exhibition: Dr Adam Rutherford on Jews and Genetics
* Ashkenazi Jews - The Smartest Race - video excerpt posted by "AustralianRealist" from a Norwegian documentary "Brainwash"Hjernevask (Brainwash) Harald Eia, Ole-Martin Ihle (March 1, 2010) This clip features someone watching Pinker give his "Jews, Genes and Intelligence" lecture and an interview with Gregory Cochran. The channel "AustralianRealist" features a virtual who's who of the world's biggest racists, living and dead
* Gregory Cochran Savages Epigenetics "Youre an idiot!" - Cochran demonstrates, again, his seriousness as a scholar. Harpending is there too. Another video from "AustralianRealist" originally from the "HCEO: Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group Conference on Genetics and Behavior," April 2014Human Capital, Genetics and Behavior Steven Hsu blog (retrieved October 12, 2023)
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Jews
Category:Pseudojournals
Category:Racialism
Category:Racism