Why do I write this blog?

The gifted population of the Earth, is a small minority - and a misunderstood one. There are various gifted types and subtypes - but all gifted people share one thing in common: their difference from others.

I have personal acquaintance with several types of gifted people and, in this blog, I write of them. Each word is written to serve the sincere purpose of communicating the nature of giftedness, in particular, prodigious gift, to those who might be open-minded enough to learn of it. Yet, what price is there for this sincerity?

Some people have been kind and supportive in their comments. Others have not. What I find remarkable though - and rather alarming - is that someone posted, anonymously, on a message board the doubt that I was real, and that my family wasn't real either. Instead of being dismissed as paranoiac, or overly closed-minded, a number of people joined in the message thread expressing similarly dark thoughts. In writing as they did, all of these people revealed an unfamiliarity with the characteristics of the extremely gifted child - and, in particular, of the nature of prodigy. Instead of seeking to know and find out, they closed their minds and said, essentially: "It cannot be so." Why do they do so? Because some people lack the imagination to conceive of something outside of their own direct experience. Since they do not personally possess the characteristics discussed on my blog, and neither do their children - they reason that no child could possess such characteristics.

This reaction only confirms the need for me to write as I do, to better acquaint people with the nature of prodigious children, genius and the gifted. Quite simply, many people seem to have no idea of what their fellow humans are capable of - given a chance to express their gifts.

Humanity is many and various. It is time to accept all of this wondrous variety - and to acknowledge the existence of people much different from ourselves - and accept them as they are. Such a world of acceptance and acknowledgement would be wonderful indeed. What do we have instead? A world in which anything that departs from the norm, the average or the typical is attacked or rejected. Such a world should not be tolerated - for it deprives the most gifted among us, of the opportunities they need to further their gifts, and in turn to better the world.

As long as there is misunderstanding in the world as to the nature of the gifted, of genius and the prodigious in particular, I will continue to write this blog. From what was posted on that message board it seems I have quite a lot of work to do.

(If you would like to read about my scientific child prodigy son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, seven years and three weeks old, then please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)