To connect this topic to STEM, I am going to bring up a subject that many are loathe to approach. I heard it from the Israeli ambassador to the US in a speech in Northern California.

If one looks at the Western World, a large fraction of those who do exceptionally well in STEM are Jewish. My own area of STEM is well over half Jewish. I have numerous Jewish colleagues. Of my Christian and atheist colleagues, a large fraction of them also discovered through genealogy that there is a "Jew in the woodpile"; i.e., they have some Jewish heritage or ancestry a few centuries in the past. I might also be in that category. I do not know. I am not that interested to dig around.

So who are those who are succeeding in STEM in Israel? One would expect that Israel would be a STEM powerhouse. And it does seem to be emerging as one.

However, who does best in STEM in Israeli schools and universities? A substantial fraction of those who perform exceptionally well in STEM in Israel are Christian and Muslim Arabs.

How do I explain this? I think it is because performance in STEM comes down to three things:

(1) brainpower

(2) creativity and imagination

(3) diligence

Anecdotally and through studies, diligence seems to be the most important, followed by creativity and imagination, and finally, intelligence. And who tries hardest in various countries and societies? Those who are on the bottom of the pile, like the South and East Asian communities in the US currently (and before them, the Jewish communities in the US). And the people at the bottom of the pile in Israel are not the Jews, but the Christians and Muslims and atheists and Arabs, etc. So, they try harder, and are more dedicated, and they do well.

So the nonJewish Israelis do much better in STEM than they would have done in the Arab lands around Israel. It is about culture and the atmosphere and the environment. Israel has created a culture and an environment where STEM talent can thrive, and it can flourish.

The Islamic world, before al Ghazali, used to be a place where STEM was nurtured. But since al Ghazai published his treatise "The Incoherence of the Philosophers", it has fallen into a dark age. And it still has not emerged from this dark age, about 1000 years later. STEM is not particularly appreciated in most Islamic cultures, unfortunately.

Israel is showing its neighbors that they can actually do STEM. It is a light, it is a beacon. And that is why so many are anxious to sign peace treaties with Israel and to emulate Israel.

If this succeeds, the world and all of humanity will reap the benefits.