William Saletan's discussions might have benefitted from re-reading an article by Steven Landsburg in Slate 13 June 2003, which pointed out a good historical reason why Jewish communities were more likely to be urban and literate than other groups. With a religious requirement to read the Torah, the more educated people in the community were more likely to remain in the community - and to use their education to advance in professions etc. People less interested in education seem to have been less likely to stay in the community and faith.

Over time, it's likely that this self-selecting process (through both nuture and nature - and we don't need to get into that debate here) would lead to higher IQs in the Jewish community - and a higher concentration in highly educated occupations.