Airplane Planting Rice in Sacramento Valley

It's amazing to think that here in the states rice is "planted" by airplanes. Planted by airplanes! And in most of Asia, and definitely all of Laos, all most all rice is planted by transplanting rice seedlings. It's staggering to think of the man/woman hours that it takes to grow rice in Asia versus how rice is grown in the states. Is there any upside for Asians? Maybe. Just read Malcolm Gladwell's book, Outliers and Chapter 7 on "Rice Paddies and Math Tests." As he writes in this chapter, "Working really hard is what successful people do, and the genius of the culture formed in the rice paddies is that hard work gave those in the fields a way to find meaning in the midst of great uncertainty and poverty. That lesson has served Asians well in many endeavors..."