Jewish Achievements

[Rockslinger]

(Disclosure: I am not Jewish.) Read an interesting article in the weekend papers about Jewish achievements.

Since 1950, roughly 30% of all Nobel Prizes awarded in literature, chemistry, physics and medicine have gone to Jewish recipients. Further, Jews have won 51% of the Wolf Prizes, 28% of the Max Planck Medals, 38% of the Dirac Medals, 37% of the Heineman Prizes and 53% of the Enrico Fermi Awards.

This is an amazing contribution to the world in the fields of literature, science and medicine from an ethnic group that is no more than 13 million people.

 

[blopar]

(Disclosure: I am not Jewish.) Read an interesting article in the weekend papers about Jewish achievements.

Since 1950, roughly 30% of all Nobel Prizes awarded in literature, chemistry, physics and medicine have gone to Jewish recipients. Further, Jews have won 51% of the Wolf Prizes, 28% of the Max Planck Medals, 38% of the Dirac Medals, 37% of the Heineman Prizes and 53% of the Enrico Fermi Awards.

This is an amazing contribution to the world in the fields of literature, science and medicine from an ethnic group that is no more than 13 million people.

Disclosure X 3:

* I am not Jewish.
* This is, indeed, an amazing contribution.
* Sadly, I am fearful that someone will make some sort of an anti-semitic comment in response.

 

[lomotil]

(Disclosure: I am not Jewish.) Read an interesting article in the weekend papers about Jewish achievements.

Since 1950, roughly 30% of all Nobel Prizes awarded in literature, chemistry, physics and medicine have gone to Jewish recipients. Further, Jews have won 51% of the Wolf Prizes, 28% of the Max Planck Medals, 38% of the Dirac Medals, 37% of the Heineman Prizes and 53% of the Enrico Fermi Awards.

This is an amazing contribution to the world in the fields of literature, science and medicine from an ethnic group that is no more than 13 million people.

The Jews are the chosen people, so this contribution is to be expected, no surprises there, and it will keep happening, again no surprises there.

 

[Brill]

100% of the Three Stooges were Jewish as well.

 

[mandrill]

A few years ago, I was out partying with a new female friend and her clique and she told me that she had thought she was purely Hungarian extraction until her grandparents confessed to her that they had "adopted" - i.e. taken and hidden with false papers - her father when he was a kid. Otherwise, her dad would have been taken to Auschwitz with the rest of his real (Jewish) family and been gassed.

At first, I thought it must have been weird for her, because her entire frame of self-reference would have been skewed and altered. And then I thought for a while and figured: "Hmm, belonging to an ethnic group that counts Freud, Marx, Bob Dylan, Einstein and a few dozen more world class geniuses among its members is pretty good!"

(And I add that doesn't even take into account the racial affiliation with Larry, Curly or Moe! And also - I suspect - Rodney Dangerfield.)

My own ethnic origin is Welsh. That means we class Tom Jones, the Vegas lounge singer among our very highest achievers. It's probably better being Jewish.

 

[Mrbig1949]

I had Jewish sociology professor explain their achievement to me this way. At the largely Rabinical level there was always a strong level of learning that was respected but still many Jews in Eastern Europe were farmers as depicted in Fiddler on the Roof. Those who went to western Europe found the good farm land all taken and drifted to cities where they began various trades silversmith, goldsmith jeweller among them. The Pope declared that it was anti Christian to loan money and charge interest. Jews were not Christians, the economy needed risk capital to grow hence there is a tad of reality to the money lender story.

Jews were constantly persecuted because they were non Christians in a deeply Christian and superstitious Europe, the Inquisition and eventually the Holocaust were only the worst but not the only of these persecutions. Pogroms were common after crop failures, diseases such as the plague etc.

Urban Jews gradually realized that a medical degree, a law degree, or a PHd was portable where land was not. This was encouraged and has paid off for them. It is a natural defense mechanism from persecution.

I for one have nothing but admiration for Jewish achievement. The rest of us could learn a lot.

 

[jiiimmm]

their achievements speak for themselves and jews should be very proud. But I am most impressed by the racks i see on most jewish chicks. Bravo.

 

[Perry Mason]

The Jews are the chosen people.

Be very, very careful with this idea... it has been abused for centuries as the basis for virulent anti-semitism. And, yes, I am Jewish.

In fact, it means a deep obligation of service to God and humanity... a difficult and heavy burden, not a cause for chest thumping or alleged claims of superiority.

But it has been the main reason for Jewish survival from a Jewish point of view. It has led, as Einstein pointed out, to a deep commitment to scholarship for its own sake, a compulsive obsession with justice and an equal obsession for freedom.... and these (scholarship, justice, freedom) have been the factors that have resulted in such a small minority of people -- less than one quarter of one percent -- having earned so many prizes and medals in the arts, the sciences and the humanities.

Perry

 

[Mrbig1949]

Perry,

How much of the arguement above under my name is accepted within the Jewish community as an explanation of success?

Big

 

[Rockslinger]

Jews were not Christians, the economy needed risk capital to grow hence there is a tad of reality to the money lender story.

I'm going to touch on a really sensitive area here so I will be careful with the semantics. The House of Rothchild, Goldman Sachs, Bernie Madoff, etc.

 

[Rockslinger]

any reasonably intelligent person who takes these commitments (to scholarship, justice and freedom) as seriously as we, collectively, do can achieve as much or more.

Yes, the Asians (Chinese, Indians, Japanese, Koreans, etc.) are quickly closing the gap. Did you know that California universities restrict the admission of Asian students because the student population would be 80% Asian without these restrictions?

 

[shakenbake]

100% of the Three Stooges were Jewish as well.

And think of all the happiness they brought to the world! They only acted that dumb.

 

[Rockslinger]

They only acted that dumb.

Old Irish proverb: "A wise man can act dumb, a dumb man cannot act wise."

 

[jiiimmm]

Yes, the Asians (Chinese, Indians, Japanese, Koreans, etc.) are quickly closing the gap. Did you know that California universities restrict the admission of Asian students because the student population would be 80% Asian without these restrictions?

All of these cultures including the Jewish culture and many european cultures have contributed greatly to civilization both past and present. A more interesting thread would be which culture contributes least and why. I dont know if terb is a good place to have such a discussion since it will turn into some sort of racist rant. So I'll just keep it light and focus on T&A.

 

[Rockslinger]

All of these cultures including the Jewish culture and many european cultures have contributed greatly to civilization both past and present.

Agree. The Brits, inter-alia, gave us the Magna Carta which is the father of our current Charter of Rights and Freedom. As for the flip side of this subject, let's not introduce it here in this thread.

 

[Brill]

I'm going to touch on a really sensitive area here so I will be careful with the semantics. The House of Rothchild, Goldman Sachs, Bernie Madoff, etc.

Gangsters Meyer Lansky, Arnold Rothstein, Jack Ruby, Dutch Schultz, Bugsy Siegel...

 

[Perry Mason]

Perry,

How much of the arguement above under my name is accepted within the Jewish community as an explanation of success?

Big

There is a very broad variety of opinions. One of the most difficult things to do on Earth is to get two Jews to agree upon such matters.

But there is a lot of truth to the money lender story... that is why Jews were so often financiers, advisors and counsel to monarchs and wealthy people notwithstanding the pogroms and persecutions. And that is why the Rothschilds, the Montefioris etc. etc. became so wealthy and powerful... they became the first banking institutions with family connections spread all over Europe.

And don't foget that many of the early, very wealthy American families were Jews who converted to Christianity and brought their banking wealth along with them: the Rockefellers, the DuPonts, the Vanderbilts...

And there is a lot of truth to the "portable" assets theory, too. I know that in my family we were always taught that "they" could take your diamonds, money, lands, etc. away from you, but no one could ever take away what is between your ears.

Perry

 

[mandrill]

A more interesting thread would be which culture contributes least and why??

The Bulgarians. WTF have they ever friggin' done?! I mean, come on! Underachievers, or what?!

I think we should give the entire Bulgarian nation an ultimatum: Produce 1 world-class, all-time HoF genius within 10 years or just go off and mass migrate into the wilderness somewhere and give up for all eternity.

 

[themexi]

And think of all the happiness they brought to the world! They only acted that dumb.

MARX BROS!!!!!

 

[oil&gas]

...........................................................
This is an amazing contribution to the world in the fields of literature, science and medicine from an ethnic group that is no more than 13 million people.

To me the Jewish presence in the world of classical
music is just as astonishing as it is in any other fields.
There are too many famous Jewish musicians for
a representative list. But if I narrow the selections to
symphony conductors from the second half of past
century I can think of Andre Previn, Lorin Maazel,
Daniel Barenboim, James Levine, Georg Solti, Leonard
Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, Otto Klemperer.............
The list could go on and on if include performers and
composers as well.

One of the most sophisticated form of art of western
civilization is overwhelmingly dominated by one single
ethnic group. It is a phenomenon that is beyond
comprehension.

For the record I am not Jewish. I even got to
hate one of my former landlord who was a jew.