If anyone out there is an expert on the Israeli Psychometric Entrance Test (their SAT-equivalent), please contact me. We're trying to determine the +3 SD cutoff (relative to the US population) for our GWAS.
See earlier post on Talpiot and Israeli startups.
USAToday: ... The "Talpiot" program is perhaps the best reflection of the army's technological drive.
The unit, one of the most selective in the military, was formed in the wake of the 1973 war, when Israel was caught off guard and lost some 2,500 men.
"One of the lessons was that we need a technological edge over our enemies and we need to develop this edge from within," said Talpiot's commander, Maj. Amir Schlachet.
In Israel, where military service is mandatory, more than 5,000 young people apply to Talpiot each year, hoping to be among the 50 or so accepted. They must pass a grueling battery of tests in math, physics, group dynamics, leadership skills and intelligence.
The reward: a nine-year commitment, beginning with a 3½-year dual bachelor's degree program in mathematics and physics at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Vacations are spent jumping out of airplanes and participating in other military exercises. Along the way, roughly one out of five soldiers leave the program, Schlachet said.
Those who survive go on to careers as officers in some of the military's most prestigious operations, mostly in research and development projects, Schlachet said. From there, the 500-odd Talpiot grads have tended to find their way to the upper echelons of business and academia, he said.
"You learn self-confidence, not to be afraid of anything. No subject is too complex to go after, and no answer should be taken for granted," said Talpiot grad Gilad Almogy, 38, Applied Materials' top executive in Israel.
The Nasdaq-traded biotech company Compugen was formed by three of Almogy's Talpiot comrades. A fourth, Mor Amitai, now runs the company.
Amitai says some of the most complicated work he ever did was during his time in Talpiot. "The experience of sometimes succeeding, almost always as part of a team, involving something that really seemed impossible, I think this is something we took with us," he said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment