Good at numbers does not equate to good at math. Becoming good at math requires one (or both) of two things: an absolute passion for it, or a rigid and ruthless parenting/school system that forces the discipline of practice at all grade levels that allows one to become good at how to think with mathematical abstraction. That also has very little to do with rice paddies.

While the facts you state are interesting, overall, I think your article should emphasize much more the culture of discipline common in asian households (I speak as a south asian).