Asians put a large emphasis on intellectual honor. This isn't always being smart, but being known as smart. This means you need to put in enough effort to at least look smart or get good credentials.

Blacks put much more emphasis on physical honor. This means wanting to look strong. And being smart often can make you look physically weak, so that's not something they tend to pursue.

Whites I'm not quite as sure about, but I would say the emphasis is on overall confidence. To be confident on a topic you need to know about something deeply, or at least pretend you do. And it's often just best to learn and study than pretend you know everything you need to.