Opinion
Malcolm Gladwell argues that the superior performance of Asian students in mathematics compared to their Western counterparts can be attributed to their attitudes and expectations towards effort when tackling math problems.
- Gladwell emphasizes the significant disparity in math scores between students from Asian countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan, and those from Western nations such as America, Germany, and England. This disparity is not insignificant but strikingly vast.
- He posits that Asian students approach math problems with the expectation that effort and persistence will lead to a solution, while Western students tend to believe their mathematical ability is predetermined and innate.
- Gladwell highlights the findings of Erling Boe, who analyzed data from TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), a global standardized math test. Boe discovered a direct correlation between a country's average math scores and the percentage of questionnaire questions students from that country completed.
- This correlation implies that dedication to a task, even if it's just sitting and focusing on a lengthy questionnaire, is a strong predictor of mathematical proficiency, challenging the notion that differences in curriculum, teacher quality, class size, or funding are the primary factors behind the achievement gap.
- Gladwell argues against the idea that genetics are responsible for differences in mathematical performance, calling it a "ludicrous and unnecessary step in this argument". He attributes the difference to culture, specifically a "difference in attitude and about their ability to far more efficiently capitalize on the abilities of their kids".
- He proposes that centuries of rice farming, a labor-intensive and cognitively demanding form of agriculture prevalent in many Asian cultures, might have instilled a deep-rooted cultural value of hard work and perseverance that translates to academic success in subjects like mathematics.
- Gladwell contrasts the work ethic required for rice farming with the practices of his European peasant ancestors, who historically had a more relaxed work schedule. He suggests that this difference in agricultural practices has contributed to different cultural attitudes towards effort.
马尔科姆·格拉德威尔认为，亚洲学生在数学方面的表现优于西方学生，这可以归因于他们在解决数学问题时对努力的态度和期望。
- 格拉德威尔强调了新加坡、香港、韩国和日本等亚洲国家的学生与美国、德国和英国等西方国家的学生在数学成绩上存在显著差异。这种差异并非微不足道，而是惊人的巨大。
- 他认为，亚洲学生在解决数学问题时期望努力和坚持会得到解决方案，而西方学生则倾向于相信他们的数学能力是预先确定的和天生的。
- 格拉德威尔强调了埃尔林·博的研究结果，他分析了全球标准化数学测试 TIMSS（国际数学和科学趋势研究）的数据。博发现一个国家的平均数学成绩与该国学生完成的问卷问题百分比之间存在直接相关性。
- 这种相关性意味着对一项任务的专注度，即使只是坐下来专注于一份冗长的问卷，也是数学能力的有力预测因素，挑战了课程、教师质量、班级规模或资金差异是成就差距的主要因素这一观点。
- 格拉德威尔反对遗传学是造成数学成绩差异的原因这一观点，称这是“这一论点中荒谬且不必要的一步”。他将这种差异归因于文化，特别是“态度上的差异以及他们更有效地利用孩子能力的能力上的差异”。
- 他认为数百年来的水稻种植是一种劳动密集型且对认知要求高的农业形式，在许多亚洲文化中盛行，可能已经灌输了一种根深蒂固的勤奋和坚持不懈的文化价值观，这种价值观转化为数学等学科的学业成功。
- 格拉德威尔将水稻种植所需的工作伦理与他的欧洲农民祖先的做法进行了对比，后者的工作时间在历史上更为轻松。他认为，农业实践的这种差异导致了对努力的不同文化态度。