The other day I was watching Tiggernometry and in this episode Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster were discussing Antisemitism with Sam Harris and Eric Weinstein. During the course of the discussion, they made the observation that Jews seem to dominate many areas of intellectual life. That would include the number of Nobel Prize winners, academics, authors, and artists in general. While they were discussing this it dawned on me why Jews have done so well. It’s more than just brain power or IQ because far eastern Asians do very well in education but have yet to gain prominence in other areas.

For over two thousand years the Jews have been dispersed through out the world and have set themselves separate from the people of these lands. As such they became despised, and id didn’t matter if it was a Caesar in Rome, a Tsar in Russia, a Bishop in Spain, or a Caliphate in Syria sooner or later they would be driven out. Time and time again they would have to leave homes, farms, and businesses they had built. Sometimes taking generations to build. They would have to go to new lands and start over with nothing more than themselves. They soon learned that they had to put their efforts and time into things that could not be taken from them the way property could. So, they stressed education, gaining knowledge, honing their skills, and developing their talents. This way wherever they went they still held their most valuable possession, their own human capital that would allow them to rebuild and flourish. Over time this and their faith, became the two pillars of their culture. I believe that is why Jews are so dominate in so much of society.

#Jews, #Antisemitism