Implicit in the premise of the chapter is that categories such as "Asian" and attributes like "better at math" exist objectively. Gladwell never defines Asian,

Implicit in the premise of the chapter is that categories such as "Asian" and attributes like "better at math" exist objectively. Gladwell never defines Asian, instead shifting between definitions that rely on nationality (cherrypicked test scores from a number of well-off Northeast Asian countries), language (where he brings up the Chinese counting system used only in some but not all Asian Languages), and ethnicity (where he compares Asian-American children to other American children, many of whom share little to no commonalities with the former two groups). He uses the classic tactic of generalizing these three groups as one through the nefarious concept of "culture", which is poorly defined and can not objectively measured. He then makes the claim that "Asians" are "better at math" without backing up the point with anything other than cherrypicked standardized test scores. Aside from that, he only shows vague correlations without ever proving causation in any rigorous way. Even if the Chinese counting system leads to a faster understanding of arithmetic, Gladwell does not prove that this leads to significantly better math performance. Likewise, he simply claims without any solid proof that growing rice is more difficult than wheat (what units do you measure that in?), or that this increased difficulty would actually provide enough pressure to create a "culture of perseverance" (again, what objective units do you measure that in?). Individual claims in Gladwell's writing may be true, but they never connect together in any rigorous way to prove the claims he tries to make.