A Question of Race (NEW CONCEPTS)

[Roger Stone]

Sirs and others,

I observe that in all of human endeavours, there are three fields where we observe the phenomenon of the Child Prodigy: namely, Music, Mathematics, and Chess.

And in the many fields of human endeavour, there are three where the Jewish race are prominent, to a point of dominance. They are... Music, Mathematics, and Chess.

If not coincidence, how is this to be explained?

[Hatty]

Mother Russia?

[Chad]

[Grant]

[Mick Harper]

Surely Jewish talents are evidence of 'acquired characteristics' (Lamark) rather than 'genetic selection' (Darwin). Jews, especially Jews in the conditions of Eastern Europe, are hardly likely to select mates on the basis of skill in music, maths, chess -- or even intellectuality in general. And even if they marginally did, there's not the slightest possibility that such slightly differential breeding over so relatively few generations would produce a Jewish population with such marked general characteristics.

But acquired characteristics ie where every Jew goes to shtetl/ synagogue, is obliged to learn maths and Hebrew and won't be mated with if he hasn't ... well, that's a different matter.

[Chad]

Mustn't forget the aXe factor.

(If we are to believe what we see in the movies) whenever a host society gets pissed off with its Jews (and decides to exact retribution) those able to demonstrate a prodigious talent, always manage to escape the fate of the majority, by "performing" for their would-be persecutors.

[Mick Harper]

Don't buy this gloss on Survival of the Fittest either. Apart from very recent times, pogroms were neither frequent nor particularly bloody. Sufficient of course to encourage emigration though that would not of itself much affect the gene-pool.

But in any case, even in concentration camps, it was the physically strong rather than the intellectually gifted that survived. Cossacks sparing chess-players? mmm...

[Chad]

Even the physically strong got their come-uppance in the end.

But you're forgetting the well known fact that every single SS officer had his very own chamber orchestra of Jewish musicians, who would perform for him during those quiet moments of reflection or at those lavish dinner parties...

And we all know to what use the mathematicians were put.

[Chad]

Don't know why it took me so long to realise it (must be getting old) but all we have touched on so far are simply mechanisms for keeping the pencil sharp -- but it was pretty pointy from the outset.

As I said earlier:

[Mick Harper]

Yes, this is rather better. We tried to hint that a similar factor operated in The Megalithic Empire -- that the Megalithics were a caste apart, and that (even) the English gentry were a later reflection of this. However, we also pointed out what happens when such castes lose their original purpose and become canal families, circus troupes, tinkers, travellers, gypsies and so forth.

[Grant]

[Wile E. Coyote]

[Mick Harper]

The Polgar case is not quite as decisive as you might think, Coyote. In the first place, women chess players are sufficiently rare for a small advantage to have large consequences. And if the formula were as simple as you claim then a zillion crazed prodigy-parents would have churned out a zillion Polgars by now.

So why did the parents choose chess for prodigiousness? Not the most obvious choice for Iron Curtain Hungarian girls. Unless the parents were already good chess players (and Jews presumably). But even so, your acknowledgement that it might be because of

[Grant]

I think the story was that Polgar wanted to show that he could turn his daughters into geniuses by nurture rather than nature. A few subjects were tried but the girls seemed to like chess so that was it.

[Wile E. Coyote]