One of the most eye-catching topics discussed about this book is the reasoning behind an age-old stereotype: Asians are better at math than other groups of people, simply because of being Asian. While this may not always be true, how this may occur can be explained through cultural history, specifically agriculture. The Chinese has always been known as a people of diligence and determination. This would be very needed, as rice farming is one of the most intensive forms of agriculture, as work is year-round to take advantage of fertile land, compared to wheat farming, which is seasonal. This discipline for farming diffused into other aspects of life, and when rice farming spread throughout Asia, so did the intensive work. As rice was an everyday staple, whether in their diets or trading, both the food and the work behind it became extremely important, changing priorities and beliefs.
What does this have to do with math? Well, consider how long someone would spend time on a math problem that they couldn't solve before giving up. Whether it was individuals straight from Asia, or children of Asian immigrants, rice farming culture seemed to have transitioned into schoolwork, as Asian people on average spend more time on math than non-Asian groups. Rice farming discipline inspired an Asian cultural drive for success in the job world, which math is invaluable most of the time. Over time in one's life, as a desire to learn math increases, skill also increases with practice, giving birth to a worldwide accepted stereotype.
With all of this agricultural background info, to me, it seemed like a stretch to connect this to math skill, especially that of one specific ethnicity. However, with the comparison of rice farming to wheat farming, where one's so difficult compared to the other, I can see the reasoning. Personally, I'm not too sure how much influence this has on our generation, especially considering that most of us are just children of Asian immigrants, not people who had to go through the obstacles of farming rice. Myself and others also don't have to struggle too much to do well in math, as it seems to come naturally, and with some people, is something fun. We don't have to apply some kind of strict Chinese discipline just for math. Finally, the most important factor in the truth behind this theory is the fact that not everyone I know who is good in math is Asian. Yes, most of them are, but by coincidence, with many others having a range of origins. While their cultures may have had similar struggles as farming rice, it's to the point where influence is questionable. On the other hand, I know Asians who are bad at math. It doesn't mean that they're "disconnected to their culture", it's only a natural struggle of high school.
Because of this interesting read, this week, I had quite an easy time reading my book. With the craze of AP testing behind us, I think that a lot of us found time to catch up as much as we could. I was able to actually finish this book, and get ahead of the times. It was really nice having less pressure, as of this time, it's not alarmingly close to the deadline. Instead, I'm just using one of my many after school hours, the same way I finished this book, to just relax and write. It's really pleasant. And trust me, the ending of this book is decently interesting to me, and maybe to potential readers. What do you think about math? How much does things like family affect it? Personally, I think math is a hit-or-miss, just based on intuition. Either you enjoy it or you don't, with people being able to massively improve. I really hope you found this topic decently relevant and interesting. I know I did.