It's not a theory he came up with, that Asian cultures tend to have stronger and more rigid work ethics because rice is labor-intensive, whereas Europeans tend

It's not a theory he came up with, that Asian cultures tend to have stronger and more rigid work ethics because rice is labor-intensive, whereas Europeans tend to seek clever ways of eliminating work because the farming of traditional European grains is capital-intensive. I don't buy it, but it's not a crack theory and Gladwell isn't the first to propose it.