2007-02-01 19:41:01 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
You have to be careful here because there appear to be smart, even brilliant, people in all races and ethnic groups. In fact, all told, most of the world's great inventions and discoveries were actually made by White Europeans, Russians and Americans (Galileo, Poisson, Lavoisier, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Henry Ford, Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, Igor Sikorsky etc.).
Nevertheless, the Chinese Vietnamese, and Jews all do seem to have higher per capita numbers of very smart people than other ethnic groups. Nobody knows all of the reasons but there is certainly some Darwinism and natural selction at work in these kinds of things.
The Jews on the one hand, have had a history of continuous persecution or potential persecution. Often very vicious. The Chinese, on the other hand, have also been an imperiled people throughout much of their history too being surrounded by unfriendly neighbors on all sides, India, Vietnam, Japan the Mongols and Manchus, the Hsiung Nu (Huns) and Turks etc.
So it is a case where the Jews and the Chinese both had to be smart in a lot of ways in order to survive. They really had no choice. Always keep in mind, however, that we are still talking about just averages and that "smart" doesn't necessarily apply to every single Jewish or Chinese person in the world.
2007-02-01 20:24:36 · answer #1 · answered by Brennus 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Some people think it is due to cultural factors. For example, a white person may have the same IQ as a Chinese person, but the Chinese person may feel pressured by his family to study for 8 hours a day. Thus, there is no real IQ difference, but the Chinese student will likely perform better in school. The Chinese tend to have a higher work ethic and value results more. Whereas in the US/Canada, many parents tell their kids they love them "as is" and "no matter what". There is not as much pressure to succeed in most cases.
The second half is genetics. According to the Bell Curve study, on AVERAGE, white people tend to have an average IQ lower than Asians, and higher than blacks. Jewish people seem to also have a higher average IQ. These are all generalizations based on data and non-cultural IQ tests (meaning education does not affect results). Of course, there are low IQ, high IQ, and genius people in every race. You can search the web for studies relating to "the bell curve" for more info. None of this is meant to be racist, it is just stating facts based on data.
I personally think a combo of the 2 is involved.
2007-02-01 20:41:56 · answer #2 · answered by reginachick22 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I do research on cross-cultural issues in organizations and read a lot of psychology relating to cultures, and there is ZERO evidence of any differences in general cognitive ability (what people call "smart") between Asians and Caucasians.
A lot of the Chinese who came to the US are self-selected immigrants (like Jews from Europe-- my family) who push their children towards academic achievement. Anyone can do it.
2007-02-03 09:33:13 · answer #3 · answered by drjkfu 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
there is no need to ponder the question. Just believe the fact.
2007-02-02 20:35:44 · answer #4 · answered by ironqqq 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
coz they eat raw foods hehehe
2007-02-01 19:46:23 · answer #5 · answered by cookieazz 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Their that smart,they work in a factory for £1a day.
I'm sorry, i mean a week.
2007-02-02 07:31:53 · answer #6 · answered by Countess 5 · 0⤊ 4⤋