Rice Paddies And Math Testing Chapter 4 Summary

You’ve really got to hand it to Malcolm Gladwell in the sense that he can take two completely different things and make them seemingly connect in a way that makes his argument plausible. He does this, yet again, in Chapter 8, “Rice Paddies and Math Tests.” He uses the cultural legacy of rice farming in China to explain why Chinese children/students appear to dominate/succeed in math, as seen in math testing. Gladwell explains that the Chinese numbers system is highly regular. It follows simple rules without exceptions. Because it is very logical, it is easier to understand. It is referred to as “transparent.” Therefore, Chinese kids can learn how to count to 40 two entire years earlier than their American counterparts. Because of this, children who group up speaking an Asian

While inherent/innate skills may be beneficial, it is the other stuff that really leads to success. Basically, Gladwell has taken a stereotype, which is defined by Merrimack-Webster as, “a widely held but fixed or oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing,” and helped perpetuate it, in my opinion. The common stereotype that Asians are good at math is a widespread belief in America. And Gladwell's oversimplification and, in my opinion, brilliant way of correlating factors has just strengthened the stereotype that already exists, whether he meant to or not. So, as much as I admire his ability to tidily wrap up an argument in a way that makes me tend to think, “Wow, that makes complete sense,” Gladwell has unmistakably joined the “I perpetuate stereotypes club” by writing this chapter. The thing is that stereotyping doesn’t always have to hold a negative connotation. I think that people sometimes mix-up what a stereotype is and what an ethnic slurs (ethnophaulisms)