> Or why his first-generation ABC (“American-born Chinese”) children were more interested in sports or the humanities than studying fractions and common denominators.
This could have just as easily been written: "Or why his first-generation ABC children were more interested in putting a ball in a hoop and learning languages that nobody speaks anymore than in noticing and thinking about the patterns and structure in the world around them."
Framing the same underlying idea can disparage one thing while elevating another.
More importantly, it gives the reader a keen insight into the father's perspective -- which the author is trying to convey, and not many people would be familiar with.
This could have just as easily been written: "Or why his first-generation ABC children were more interested in putting a ball in a hoop and learning languages that nobody speaks anymore than in noticing and thinking about the patterns and structure in the world around them."
Framing the same underlying idea can disparage one thing while elevating another.