[celebril]

>a) Someone thinks so many people can be divided into just two groups

Ah, but they all look the same! Surely dividing them up into two groups is already doing them a favour.

>b) the idea that validating an assumption should also automatically validate the reason. People in the north might be more individualistic than in the south, and yes they grow wheat and not rice but that doesn't mean one depends on the other. It just doesn't seem all too scientific to confuse correlation with cause.

Who cares? It's called the "Rice Theory" and it's about the Mystical East! It'll sell and it's sure to annoy a whole lot of people for various reasons. What's not to love?