ASPM-2 is only a single genetic mutation. It's in East Asia too, but they have a significantly different genetic makeup compared with Western Europeans. They have notably larger skulls and that's just one variable on a long list. East Asians didn't have the benefit of Roman Marriage law, and had huge genocides at several times during their history. Lack of genetic diversity is actually a big problem among the Han. They were certainly coming along, but nowhere else moved as fast as the Europeans.
As for the Greeks, they were the bleeding edge of technology for an extended period of time, but they didn't impose the same restrictions on marriage that the Romans did and cousin marriage and closer (Uncles to nieces) was the norm in wealthy families. The wealthy class are the innovators so protecting them from consanguinity is extremely important, something that both Greeks and Egyptians failed to do.
Aside from the intellectual aspects - the western world had an additional advantage. Combined with the idea that there is one God, and one absolute way that the world was formed, science set out to discover that way.
China, India and the far east were hampered by the concept that there was no controlling deity and no absolutes on the laws of nature. The Middle East as you mention was hampered over time by cosanguinity. The geographical obstructions to the spread of the allele are an aspect I hadn't seen mentioned before, but like continental drift, they seem obvious in hindsight.
ASPM-2 is only a single genetic mutation. It's in East Asia too, but they have a significantly different genetic makeup compared with Western Europeans. They have notably larger skulls and that's just one variable on a long list. East Asians didn't have the benefit of Roman Marriage law, and had huge genocides at several times during their history. Lack of genetic diversity is actually a big problem among the Han. They were certainly coming along, but nowhere else moved as fast as the Europeans.
As for the Greeks, they were the bleeding edge of technology for an extended period of time, but they didn't impose the same restrictions on marriage that the Romans did and cousin marriage and closer (Uncles to nieces) was the norm in wealthy families. The wealthy class are the innovators so protecting them from consanguinity is extremely important, something that both Greeks and Egyptians failed to do.
Aside from the intellectual aspects - the western world had an additional advantage. Combined with the idea that there is one God, and one absolute way that the world was formed, science set out to discover that way.
China, India and the far east were hampered by the concept that there was no controlling deity and no absolutes on the laws of nature. The Middle East as you mention was hampered over time by cosanguinity. The geographical obstructions to the spread of the allele are an aspect I hadn't seen mentioned before, but like continental drift, they seem obvious in hindsight.