Tiarnan and the meaning of art

A few days ago, Tiarnan was hurtling about the house, as he likes to do, when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He pointed at a little green badge and said: "Kuda". This is Malay for horse.

There, on the badge was a rather confused line drawing. It was of a male rider, drawn over a horse, about a centimetre tall. It wasn't a very good work of art for the lines of the man became confused with the lines of the horse. An adult would know what was meant to be represented (if only from the name of a riding school on the badge), but it was a surprise that a seventeen month old baby could work it out - for it was not at all clear.

From this, it is clear that Tiarnan is aware of the littlest things in his environment, which he is able to pick up at speed, even when moving around quite quickly. It is also clear that he understands the relationship between art and object; between the representation and the thing represented. He has long shown this understanding, but this is just one more example of him drawing that connection, with little information to go on.

(If you would like to more of Tiarnan, seventeen months, or his gifted brothers, Ainan Celeste Cawley, seven years and seven months, or Fintan, four years and no months, then please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)