<p>Jewish people are overrepresented in politics and science especially in the United States. Do they have better cognitive abilities than average population? If yes, what is the reason for this?</p>

<p>Statistics:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_population_by_country" rel="nofollow">0.2% of world population is Jewish</a></li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Jews" rel="nofollow">About 1.7% - 2.6% of Americans are Jewish</a></li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_affiliation_in_the_United_States_Senate" rel="nofollow">10% of US senators are Jewish</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.jinfo.org/Nobel_Prizes.html" rel="nofollow">About 23% of Nobel prize winners are Jewish</a>.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-25T17:59:52.637Z
Why would you expect 'cognitive abilities' to be important for being (over)represented in politics or science, over say 'economic privilege' or 'small sample bias' or 'cultural/historic coincidence'?
Artem Kaznatcheev
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-25T18:21:53.843Z
I listed statistic examples of US senators and Nobel prize winners. I would expect that Nobel prize winners have better cognitive abilities than average population. Not sure about US senators.
CuriousSuperhero
<intelligence>
Do Jewish people have better cognitive abilities than average population?
CuriousSuperhero
# Do Jewish people have better cognitive abilities than average population?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-10-25)

Jewish people are overrepresented in politics and science especially in the United States. Do they have better cognitive abilities than average population? If yes, what is the reason for this?

Statistics:

* [0.2% of world population is Jewish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_population_by_country)
* [About 1.7% - 2.6% of Americans are Jewish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Jews)
* [10% of US senators are Jewish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_affiliation_in_the_United_States_Senate)
* [About 23% of Nobel prize winners are Jewish](http://www.jinfo.org/Nobel_Prizes.html).

**Tags:** intelligence

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Why would you expect 'cognitive abilities' to be important for being (over)represented in politics or science, over say 'economic privilege' or 'small sample bias' or 'cultural/historic coincidence'?  
> **username_0**: I listed statistic examples of US senators and Nobel prize winners. I would expect that Nobel prize winners have better cognitive abilities than average population. Not sure about US senators.  

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## 0 answers

