Odex and AVPAS: Singapore twins?

Every day, I find that the world is odder than I ever could have thought. Here is something odd for you - a challenge if you like. Go to http://www.whois.domaintools.com/ and use their tool to look up odex.com.sg and avpas.com.sg

You don't have to do this if you don't want to - or are too lazy to - for I am about to tell you what you will find out. You will discover the oddest twist in the tale of copyright woes presently unfolding in Singapore.

First, perhaps I should explain what AVPAS is. It is the Anti-Video Piracy Association of Singapore. This body was founded with the ostensibly laudable purpose of waging war against video piracy - in particular to protect the rights of Japanese anime cartoon producers, here, in Singapore. There seems to be nothing wrong with that. However, who, exactly is waging war?

Odex is the Singaporean distributor of Japanese anime cartoons that is presently trying to sue anyone caught downloading anime, off the internet, for free. This includes customers of Pacific Net, Starhub and Singtel.

If you have looked up the two organizations you may have noted something really, really strange. Both Odex and AVPAS share the same administrative contact address in Singapore. That is: Odex Pte Ltd, 10 Anson Road, #22-11, International Plaza, Singapore 079903

Now, I ask you, does that sound like an independent organization to you?

This makes the recent court decision almost darkly humourous. You see the Judge, Ernest Lau, in this case declined to allow Odex to win access to the identities of those Pacific Net subscribers who downloaded its titles, for several reasons. One of those reasons - a key reason - is that he did not believe that Odex was the right party to seek redress in this matter. His reasoning was that Odex was just a distributor with various licensed rights from the Japanese anime producers (some as sub-licensee, at least one as exclusive licensee - for Mobile Suit Gundam Seed) and he was unprepared to allow their action because they were not the actual producers of the Japanese anime cartoons. He did, however, indicate that he could accept that they were authorized to act on behalf of the Japanese anime producers - and then allow the action. However, he declined to accept this because he noted that, of the 13 letters that supported Odex's right to act on behalf of the Japanese anime producers, only 3 of them appointed Odex directly (and these were not producers, but distributors). The other 10 had appointed AVPAS, the Anti-Video Piracy Association of Singapore to act on their behalf! That is hilarious. It seems that the guys behind Odex may have been a little too clever for themselves. As I understand it, they contend that AVPAS had appointed them to seek redress on behalf of the Japanese anime producers. But, as the coincidence of addresses noted above indicates - it is altogether possible - indeed probable -that AVPAS and Odex share more than an address in common. It could easily be a case of Odex appointing themselves to seek address, under the guise of "AVPAS".

Thus, it seems, from all the written evidence in the records at whois, that Odex gave itself the air of authority by getting the backing of AVPAS (no doubt this was easy, since they share an address). Furthermore, the Japanese anime producers authorized AVPAS to act on their behalf, as stated in the letters of evidence. However, the Judge rejected Odex's case on the basis that AVPAS had authorization - yes - and that would have been acceptable - but ODEX DID NOT.

I am not a follower of legal cases in general, but all this strikes me as darkly funny, if AVPAS and ODEX are in fact one and the same, which the evidence suggests is not only possible, but probable.

You see, if Odex and AVPAS are the same people, then Odex did, in effect, have authorization and their claim should have been allowed. Yet, because of the distinction drawn between AVPAS and Odex - intentionally, no doubt - by the people behind Odex, their claim could not be allowed - because the direct permission to act was between the Japanese anime producers and AVPAS - and not between Odex and those same producers.

This all goes to show that, in business, as in life, it is almost always better to be straightforward - because those complications can really get to you, in the end.

I must apologize to my regular readers for blogging more than once about the case - but it is uppermost in the minds of many Singaporeans and my research turned up some interesting information. Thanks for your patience.

The Intelligent Singaporean, blog aggregator.

Long, it seems, has The Intelligent Singaporean been a fixture in the Singaporean blogosphere - but no more. Today, their Last Message was posted.

For those who may not know, The Intelligent Singaporean, was brought into being to aggregate all interesting comment in the Singaporean "socio-political blogosphere", to allow Singaporeans, and interested parties overseas, to easily find significant articles of the day, about all things Singaporean.

This has been an important role, for many Singaporeans, for it has made it much easier to access alternative and insightful opinions about all "socio-political" matters affecting Singaporeans today.

The reasons behind the closure of The Intelligent Singaporean (found at Wordpress), are not clearly stated - they are just referred to as "events" that lead the founder of the blog to have to close it down.

I am grateful that The Intelligent Singaporean took notice of my writing on a number of occasions and referenced it.

It is a pity that this role of gathering the ideas and insights of the day, in one convenient place, will no longer be performed by The Intelligent Singaporean. It was a popular and successful blog aggregator/commenter appreciated by many and was listed as one of Technorati's higher ranking blogs.

I wish the founder(s?) of the blog well in whatever future role they play in the blogosphere, if any.

(If you would like to read of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, or Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, Chemistry, Science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Hafiz Osman Wins Art Award

I would like to congratulate Hafiz Osman, my brother-in-law, on winning the Winston Oh Art Award.

As long-term readers of my blog will know, Hafiz Osman is a Singaporean contemporary artist with a gift for the abstract, who works in many media, from painting, through to sculpture - and even interior design/furniture. Hafiz makes his living as an artist, which is unusual in a Singapore context, since this is a land built on finance and trade: it is not, yet, a bastion of the arts (though, who knows, it one day might be, if the Government has its way, in building a vital culture, here).

The Winston Oh Art Award is conferred on a Singaporean artist to allow them to travel to an international Art Biennal, giving them the opportunity to participate, promote their work, build a career - and learn from the experience. It is refreshing that there should be such an enabling award for Singaporean artists - for without such support it is difficult for artists who have not yet made an international name for themselves, to build their careers. It is a good step in the right direction, that Singaporeans should have initiated and supported such an award. There are other art awards in Singapore - and I am happy to see this trend: it promises a better future for local artists - and, that in turn promises a better future for Singapore. Consider this: what better advertisement could there be for Singapore than to have the art of a Singaporean on the walls of tens of thousands of homes of influential people around the world? Such artistic success greatly bolsters the impression of creative power that a country leaves on others. Few local artists have managed to build an international career - but should this change, and local artists, become international ones, it can only be good for Singapore's overseas reputation - as well as, of course, allowing the artist to focus more on their work and life, without so much financial struggle (which is an inevitable part of every artist's career - in the early stages, at least.)

The Winston Oh Art Award will cover Hafiz Osman's travel costs to the International Biennial of Contemporary Art, 2007, in Istanbul. There he will participate in Real Presence - Floating Sites, 2007. This is a parallel project within the Biennial in both Istanbul and Belgrade. Hafiz had received an invitation to both Belgrade and Istanbul, but circumstances dictate that he should attend Istanbul, alone. Nevertheless, this will be a great opportunity for him to raise the profile of his work, overseas, to engage with other artistic minds and forge alliances with other artists that may, in time, lead to collaborative enterprises. (The latter is one of the intentions of the art project.)

Real Presence - Floating Sites is described as a workshop at which international art academies will give presentations of art works and hold a conference; individuals will present their works and give performances; artistic talks and discussions will be held - and, interestingly, in which works, installations and projects will be realized "in situ".

The number of Art academies and Institutions involved is phenomenal - and the list that follows, for the sake of information, is incomplete, for at the time of the invitation, not all participants had been finalized. At the very least however, the following renowned art academies and institutions will be in attendance:

ALBANIA > ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, TIRANA > Selector on-call Edi Muka, video presentation > Prof.: Edi Hila, Edi Muka, Gezim Qendro
AUSTRIA > Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna > Rector: Stephan Schmidt-Wulffen, Professors: Heimo Zobering, Peter Kogler, Eva Schlegel …
University of Applied Arts, Vienna, Visual Media, Prof. Peter Weibel
BULGARIA > Academy of Fine Art, Sofia > Prof. Assistant Pravdoliub Ivanov
CROATIA > Academy of Fine Art, Zagreb
GERMANY > Staatliche Hochschule Für Bildende Künste, Frankfurt > Rector Daniel Birnbaum, Professors: Ajse Erkmen, Tobias Rehberger
Kunstakademie Berlin, Prof. Katharina Sieverding
Kunstacademie, Dusseldorf> Professors: Helmut Federle, Jannis Kounellis, Klaus Rinke, Georg Heoxl
Academy Of Fine Art, Braunschweig > Prof. John Bock
Academy of Fine Art, Munchen > Prof. Olaf Metzel
FINLAND > Academy of Fine Arts Helsinki, Prof. Seppo Salminen
BOSNIA > Academy of Fine Art, Sarajevo> Prof. Radoslav Tadić
BULGARIA > Academy of Fine Art, Sofia > Prof. Andrej Daniel, Prof. Assistant Pravdoliub Ivanov
CZECH REPUBLIC > Akademie Vytvarnych Umeni, Prag
DENMARK > Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art, COPENHAGEN > Professor: Frans Jacobi >
ESTONIA > Academy of Fine Art, Tallinn > E+Media Centre, Professor: Mare Emmott Tralla >
FRANCE > Academy ofFine Art > Prof. Richard Deacon
HOLLAND > Dutch Art Institute - AKI 2 – Enschede > Director MA Hendriekje Bosma
HUNGARY > Academy of Fine Art, Budapest > Prof: Eszter Lazar
ICELAND > Academy Fine Art, Reikyevik > Selector: Ósk Vilhjálmsdóttir, Living Art Museum
IRELAND > University of Ulster, School of Art ahd Design, Belfast > Hilary Robinson
ITALY > IUAV prof. Angela Vettese, Prof. Giulio Alessandri
Accademia Delle Belle Arti Brera, Milano > Prof. Alberto Garutti, Paolo Gallerani >
MACEDONIA > Academy of Fine Arts, Skoplje > Prof. Stanko Pavleski
NORWAY > Statens Kunstakademi, Oslo
POLAND > AKADEMIA SZTUK PIEKNYCH - Academy Fine Art Warschau, Selector Hanna Wroblewska
PORTUGAL >Escola de Artes Visuals, Lissabon > Prof. Jürgen Bock
ROMANIA > Universitatea De Arte Din Bucuresti > Professors: Roxana Trestioreany, Iosif Kiraly
SINGAPUR (SINGAPORE) > Lasalle-Sia College of The Arts > Dean: Milenko Pravacki
SLOVENIA > Academy of Fine Arts, Ljubljana > Prof. Sračo Dragan
SOUTH AFRIKA > Technikon Pretoria-Postcolonial Studies > Prof. Johan Thom
SERBIA > Academy of Fine Arts, Belgrade > Prof. Mrđan Bajić
Academy of Fine Arts, Novi Sad > Dean: Nenad Ostojić
MONTENEGRO, Academy of Fine Arts, Cetinje > Dean: Pavle Pejović
SWEDEN > Umeå Art Acade my, Profesor: Cecilia Parsberg
SWITZERLAND > Hochchule fur Gestaltung Kunst, Zurich > Professors: Cristoph Schenker, Peter Emch,
UNITED KINGDOM > Metropolitan University London, Audio Visual Production, Prof. Yossi Balanescu
Chelsea Art School, London

As you can see, therefore, this is a truly exciting opportunity for Hafiz Osman, one of Singapore's young "up-and-coming" artists, to show his work and interact with artists and art academics from around the world.

Hafiz Osman was trained at La Salle-SIA College of the Arts, here in Singapore, where he obtained his Bachelor's in Fine Arts. He has held several exhibitions, here in Singapore - and even in Europe. He is presently studying for his Master's in Fine Arts at La Salle-SIA College of the Arts, while simultaneously lecturing there, to support himself.

I wish him luck on his trip to Istanbul as a representative of Singaporean art.

Real Presence - Floating Sites at the International Biennial of Contemporary Art, 2007, in Istanbul, will run from the 3rd September 2007 to the 10th September, 2007.

The Winston Oh Art Award is named after Winston Oh, a Singaporean artist, born in 1941, who, lives and works in Essex, England, now. His speciality is watercolours and he has worked in many countries.

(If you would like to read more of Hafiz Osman, or Ainan Celeste Cawley, his nephew, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, and Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, Chemistry, Science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Odex, Pacific Net, Singapore: a quote

I have received a number of comments some of which are published in the post below, regarding the Odex, Pacific Net case.

I have only published a few of the comments because many of them appear to be from people angry at the case - and, you can just guess what the tone of them is like.

It would help those commenters to note the words of a Pacific Net spokesman, published yesterday in the Straits Times, concerning the case:

"Pacific Net respects the rights of intellectual property owners and at the same time, also believes in protecting the privacy of all our subscribers."

This is an indication, contrary to what some commenters thought, that part of Pacific Net's argument would have been the protection of privacy. The full details of the argument are, however, protected by the Court, here, in Singapore.

Beyond privacy issues, however, Judge Lau was also concerned that Odex should not be the one to file the suit. He would have preferred a direct suit from the Japanese anime studio itself. This is a bit strange, however, since Odex own the rights to these Japanese anime cartoons, here - and the Japanese studio gave Odex permission to pursue the case - on their behalf. It seems, to me, like a case of a Judge finding a way to ensure that his own viewpoint prevails, by discovering a technicality he can use to support his view. The fact is, copyright was infringed on numerous occasions. The fact is Odex own the local rights. The fact is Odex are pursuing the case on behalf of the Japanese anime studio. It would seem, therefore, a straightforward matter, for me, anyway, to accept their proxy action - and find in favour of the holder of the local rights. Yet, the law is a strange realm - and often does strange things. Perhaps this is one of them.

It will be interesting to see how this copyright case is eventually resolved. Will Odex actually sue downloaders? Will the downloaders pay? Will this action reduce copyright violations here, in Singapore? I will report if anything interesting happens, ultimately.

(If you would like to read of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, and his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, and Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, Chemistry, Science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Does Singapore value copyright?

Intellectual property and its particular example, copyright, have made news recently, in Singapore. At stake, is the whole idea of ownership of a created work - and the rewards that go with having created it.

As you may know, copyright sometimes gets a rough time, in parts of Asia. China is famous for its businessmen who ignore copyright and intellectual property laws and just copy, or take, intellectual property without authorization or payment. Yet, there is another kind of copyright violation that its perpetrators may not even consider to be in the same arena: the illegal internet download.

Downloading material off the internet is so prevalent and so common the world over, that most young people give it no thought at all: indeed, the typical youngster seems to think it is their right to download whatever they please, whenever they please. This attitude, however, either ignores the notion of intellectual property and copyright - or is founded on an unawareness of it.

Recently, an anime (Japanese cartoon) distributor in Singapore, called Odex, has decided to stand up for its intellectual property rights and sue violators. In the past two years, they have suffered from a decline in sales of 60 to 70 %. They attribute this to a simultaneous rise in illegal downloads of their anime films, off the internet. Quite simply, they contend, young people are no longer buying their cartoons - they are stealing them off the internet. This is destroying their business model. Odex distribute such popular Japanese anime cartoons as Gundam Seed and Inuyasha, usually via VCD/DVD in retail outlets.

To be able to sue the illegal downloaders, Odex first had to find out who they were. To do this, they took the local internet service providers Singtel (government telco), Starhub and Pacific Net, to court. The first two judgements came in against the ISPs, forcing them to reveal the names of about a 1,000 downloaders each: Singtel has done so, Starhub is still mulling over an appeal. The interesting one is Pacific Net - or PacNet. The judge in that case - who was different from the other two - came down in Pacific Net's favour citing the importance of internet privacy, and blocking Odex's petition to secure the names of 1,000 illegal internet anime downloaders.

The fact that a Singapore court came down against the intellectual property owner, in a copyright violation case, is itself very interesting (and more of that later) - but what really intrigues and appals me, in equal measures is the reaction to Odex's case, in the online forums, in word of mouth - and in other forms of feedback to Odex, itself. There has been outrage all over the internet, that Odex would actually seek to protect its copyright - violators and sympathizers have been pouring vitriol against Odex in forum, after forum. There have even, reports in the Straits Times state, been DEATH THREATS against Odex.

Just reflect on that for a moment. The general feeling among young internet downloaders is that Odex, which owns the sole rights to distribute these Japanese anime cartoons in this part of the world, should not be allowed to protect its intellectual property. Indeed, the mass of internet users are angry that Odex should be doing so - to the point of issuing death threats against them. I find that really, really disturbing - and you should, too.

What exactly is Odex protecting? The right for the creator of a work to be compensated when someone else enjoys the use of it. I don't think that should be a controversial issue. If there were no rewards for creating works, in any media, exactly how many such works would be available for public distribution? Almost none at all. Without a fair financial return on the time, money and effort put into creating an artistic or other work (and all three facets are involved in most creations), then there would be no significant creative activity that wasn't entirely private. There would be no worldwide market for films, books, music, art, and the like. The entertainment world, as we know it, just would not exist. Is that a better world than the one we have? Few would think so - yet that is the world the outraged internet voices are arguing for. They are crying out for a world in which creators, producers and owners of creative works are NOT rewarded for doing so. In such a world, there would be no Japanese anime cartoons to be bought in the shops or even downloaded for "free" on the internet - for no-one would spend millions of dollars making them, when they could never recoup the money invested. The protesters against Odex are baying for a world without art, a world without culture, a world of utter boredom.

No. People should not be demanding a relaxation of copyright laws. People should not be demanding that the internet should be a free for all. People should, instead be demanding a strengthening of copyright laws. People should be demanding huge penalties for all who breach them. Why do I say this? Well, in a world in which copyright is strong and well-protected, creators feel secure in releasing their works to the public. They are rewarded well for it - and more works will follow. A world of strong copyright protection is a world with a burgeoning, vital culture - to the benefit of all, except the freeloaders who would wish to steal a work, rather than pay a reasonable sum for it.

Odex is seeking $5,000 Singapore dollars from each and every illegal downloader. They are not seeking a penalty for each individual copyright violation, as I understand it (though, really, they should). That is about $3,285 US dollars a head.

As a writer, myself, and as someone who understands the work that every creative work embodies (sometimes a lifetime's work in a single opus), I really hope Odex wins all its cases against illegal downloaders. Any case against copyright theft can only serve to strengthen copyright and protect the rights of all who create, in any way, and in any medium, anywhere.

What really worries me about this case, though, is that the Singaporean judge in the Pacific Net case did not understand this. Either he did not understand this - or did not care about it. He placed "internet privacy" above "copyright protection". That is equivalent, in the physical world, to putting the rights of shoplifters not to be identified (so that, hey, they can shoplift again, anonymously, no shop knowing who they are), above the rights of shopowners not to be stolen from. It doesn't make sense. Privacy is an important issue - but you cannot and should not use a right to privacy to hide a criminal, of any breed. A thief is a thief, whether they steal a car or a film - it is still theft. A court has no place coming down on the side of the thief, against the owner of the property that was stolen. That really doesn't make any sense.

Generally speaking, lawyers don't create anything. Therefore, perhaps, this particular lawyer does not understand the issues around creating a work - and being compensated for the use of that creative work. It is not an issue that he would feel strongly about because it is not an issue ever likely to concern him. Well, it should. The whole of human society is built on the works of intellectual property holders - be it copyrights or patents. We all, together, have a collective responsibility to ensure that intellectual property is protected and its owners properly compensated. If we do not do this, there won't be any intellectual property to protect - and then we will all suffer. In a sense, therefore, those who steal intellectual property, strike against us all - for they are striking against those on whom all the richness of society is built. We shouldn't stand for it. But first we must understand the issue. Once we understand that issue - and I hope to have done something to help, there - there should be no excuse for not protecting intellectual property with the same vigour that we protect physical property. If this issue doesn't mean much to you, put the words "my house" or "my car" in the place of Japanese anime cartoons - and see just how happy you feel about someone stealing it.

(If you would like to read about Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, or Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The gifted and the standardized classroom

In most parts of the world - the modern world, at least - education is all about standardization. The same "education" is given to all, irrespective of their actual need. Paradoxically, this emphasis on the "same for all" leads to a situation where many are ill-served by it.

Those who have some degree of impairment are lost in a standard classroom. Oddly, this situation is recognized and appreciated and those who are "left of the bell curve" usually receive some special attention.

In some classrooms, there will be a child unlike the others. They are usually quieter. Often, they are a little dreamy. Their work may be erratic - capable of perfection, but often showing signs of disinterest. Teachers often don't like them. This is frequently a "gifted child". So, this, then, is another constituency to be given special treatment? In an ideal world, yes - but in the real world, no. Usually, such children are neglected, and ignored, in various ways.

A large part of the problem is that the teachers misunderstand such gifted children. They think that the gifted child should hand in perfect work, all the time, must be top of the class, in all things - and must show rabid enthusiasm for all things "School". Then, just then, might they accept that a gifted child is, in fact, gifted - and needing special attention.

What the teacher sees instead is something more commonly like: "Oh he/she has such an attitude problem...they don't do their work, they look out of the window, all the time...I can never get his/her attention..." To such a teacher, the gifted child, is, in fact, a lazy or uncooperative child: they don't see the giftedness, they just see the failure to conform to their requirements.

This is the core of the problem and the core of the misunderstanding. The teacher ascribes to the gifted student character flaws that do not exist in the student. The teacher then takes an active dislike to the student, which causes a general, further deterioration in the quality of interaction with the gifted student. What is actually happening is that the gifted student has been placed in an unchallenging class. The student is being bathed daily in what, to them, seems like utter idiocy. The triviality and superficiality of the classroom instruction is such that they endure the profoundest boredom while sitting through class after class of totally empty nonsense. That is the perspective of the gifted child - or one gifted enough to feel this disparity so strongly. A gifted child in a normal classroom may feel rather like an adult going back to primary school: it would be really, really difficult to maintain one's attention for long, in such a situation. In the long term, it would be impossible to do anything but what a gifted child, in a standardized classroom, often does: sits quietly staring out of a window, ignoring the teacher, refusing to do the homework and generally trying to tune out of the dreadful experience.

It is easy for a teacher to fail to understand this. Instead, they look at such a student and get angry at them. So, what, then, does the gifted student think: "Not only is my teacher boring...but angry, too...what a nightmare!" This leads, of course, to a further lack of co-operation from the student - and a further escalation in dislike from the teacher...and so on.

The teacher may be a good teacher to normal children. This does not make them a good teacher to gifted children. The teacher may be an interesting teacher for normal children. This does not make them an interesting teacher for gifted children. The teacher should not take this personally. Yes, they are boring the gifted child - but that doesn't mean that they are intrinsically boring to the average child. So, the teacher should not be affronted (as, surprisingly, many of them are affronted by such a gifted child) - but should understand the situation. There is a mismatch between the gifted child and the standardized classroom. The only remedy is to remove the gifted child from the standardized class and place them in a more challenging one. The simplest way of doing this is to allow the gifted child to skip a few grades - or many - as the case may be. Alternatively, the school must provide individuated instruction - but so few will do that for a small, gifted minority.

Education may be standardized - but people are not. Just as education systems recognize the needs of the mentally challenged (with such initiatives as No Child Left Behind), so too, should they recognize the needs of the mentally gifted. Sadly, they don't. Tellingly, some countries which speak loudly of serving the needs of gifted students, in actual fact provide a completely inadequate response to them. They should know who they are, so I won't name them. I just want to see them start to actually do what they speak of. Then, we might have a world in which gifted children are allowed to thrive.

(If you would like to read of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, and his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, and Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, Chemistry, Science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults, and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Construction of the Grand Snail Hotel

Childhood doesn't seem so far away, when one has children to observe, at play.

At the weekend, Fintan, 4, and Ainan, 7, decided to make their snails more at home. (See the post Children and Pet Animals, for background). They decided to build the Grand Snail Hotel.

The Hotel was quite large, if you were a snail. It was built on the landing of the stairwell outside our flat, between our flat and the neighbour. The construction materials were of the lasting kind: polystyrene and a range of plastics (selected, I believe, by Ainan, because the snails would be unable to eat their residence, it being made of inedible plastic. This is always a good consideration, when one's hotel guests are hungry and unable to distinguish between food and furniture.)

The Grand Snail Hotel had all the attributes of a great and thoughtful hotel. Some polystyrene with a dip in it about a foot and a half long, provided what was, to scale, an Olympic sized swimming pool. Another section with a ramp leading up to it (for snails, like disabled people, are not good with stairs, and need ramps to reach elevated areas), provided a kind of dormitory where snails could sleep en masse. There was a snail restaurant providing the best of leaves - the staple being lettuce from my fridge - and even a supermarket, where there was a large store of unused vegetable leaves, for later purchase by any self-catering snail. The entire complex was self-enclosed in its own wall, protecting the nibbling snails from the difficult environment they might find in the world outside. All in all, it was a masterpiece of Snail Architecture. Credit for the Architecture goes to the creative team of Fintan Nadym Cawley and Ainan Celeste Cawley, who were the sole designers of this innovative construction initiative in the nascent hotel field known as Gastropod Tourism.

Anyway, all this actually happened and was carefully explained to me by the earnest architects: Ainan and Fintan. My wife and I were most impressed at the miniature compound they had created for their adopted snail pets.

As we left to go shopping, my wife called back at Ainan and Fintan: "We will take a photograph of it when we get back!"

We were both happy to see the two aspects of character embodied in that work: creativity in designing it in the first place - and the care for animals that they should think to do so in the first place. Besides, it was hilarious to see what they had done to the stairwell: it had become a Gastropod Hotel. There are not many stairwells in the world like that one.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, including Fintan, aged four years and one month, or Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, Chemistry, Science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The dilemma of the gifted child

The dilemma of the gifted child - at least for those who are more than moderately gifted - is whether to go to school or not. I will explain.

Today, I asked Ainan, 7, whether he learnt more at home, or at school.

He answered without hesitation: "At home."

Now, that is odd when you reflect on what school is supposed to be for. Ainan learns little at school: most of what he knows has been acquired via private, solitary study and reflection - or by interaction with his parents. Little of what he has learnt is owed to schooling. What, then, is school for?

School's primary stated purpose - that of education and the imparting of knowledge - fails where gifted children are concerned. Quite simply, many gifted children learn little in schools that do not meet their pace or academic needs. Such children often end up teaching themselves. That is not how it should be - but it is the way it is.

The only other purpose of school is the social one - that of providing friends of a similar age for the gifted child. Yet, this too, may fail in the case of a gifted child. Yes, the friends will be of a similar age - but, it is usually the case that few of these friends will be able to provide intellectual stimulation for the gifted child - they will not be able to relate at the gifted child's level - though the gifted child may learn to relate to them on another level.

So, this is the dilemma of the gifted child: to go to school and learn little, but have friends of the same age - or to stay at home, learn much but have lesser access (in many cases) to friends of the same age. Neither situation is perfect - but, the latter certainly has greater potential, than many schools have, for meeting the needs of a gifted child. Social situations are easier to provide, than it is to transform a school into a welcoming intellectual environment, for the gifted child.

Every parent of a gifted child has to make a decision between conventional schooling or homeschooling. The decision is not easy - for though better in certain ways, the demands of homeschooling can be great on the parent new to it.

Yet, into the mix must always be placed the observation of my son, Ainan, above - at least for him - home is where most learning takes place. Though it shouldn't be the case, it is the case - and that is something I need to think about in the months and years ahead. Perhaps you do, too.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and eight months, and Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, gifted children and gifted adults in general. Thanks.)

The self-perception of a toddler

Tiarnan is a toddler - he is but eighteen months old. I wonder, at times, how he sees himself and the rest of the world. Sometimes, something he does or some attitude he takes reveals a lot of what must be going in him. The other day was a case in point.

Tiarnan led me into the computer room, where his brother, Ainan, was at work and pointed at the screen. "Baby!", he said. Ainan knew what he meant. "He wants to see babies.", he said, indulgently and started to type at the keyboard.

As images of babies appeared on the screen, Tiarnan at once started jumping up and down: "Babies!" he said, most pleased to see them. We let him see images of "babies" - some were indeed, babies, others were toddlers like himself. He was delighted at this.

I thought this was both sweet and sad for what it said about how he felt. Tiarnan is not going to nursery, at this moment. Perhaps, in leading me to the computer, which he knew was capable of calling up any and all information, he was expressing a need for the company of others of his own age. He has two older brothers - four years and seven - but, to an eighteen month old, that is quite a gap.

Another interpretation is evident, however, which may, in fact, be the dominant one. Tiarnan simply likes babies: he thinks they are cute. Whenever he meets a baby when we are out, he smiles, goes up to it and interacts with it, much as a mother does to her baby: with an overwhelming feeling of adoration. I think he thinks of babies as very young and cute - not realizing that most of the world thinks of him in just the same way. He too is a "baby" to our eyes - but not to his own.

I feel that Tiarnan thinks of himself as distinct from babies - as more mature and developed - and therefore that babies are the province of cuteness and careful interaction (for he is always careful with them) that takes note of their fragility.

It is funny to watch him with babies - for he is very much like an adoring adult - but actually a toddler, who is seemingly unaware of his own toddler status. It is very sweet.

(If you would like to read more of Tiarnan, eighteen months, or his gifted brothers, Ainan Celeste Cawley, seven years and eight months, or Fintan, four years and one month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, Chemistry, Science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

What does "Early College" mean?

Everywhere, the world over, educational systems and standards differ. This makes it very difficult to understand what one nation's educational accomplishments mean without some research.

In America, there is a phenomenon known as "Early College". This is where a child aged under 18 goes to a "College" where the usual age of admission is 18. The procedure is undertaken not infrequently to address the educational needs of gifted children, showing precocity, who might otherwise become bored, disheartened and otherwise switched off, by an unchallenging education, at school. This seems like a good idea, therefore: but what does it mean? What is College?

Every country above the most primitive level, has Universities. Yet, not all Universities are the same. In particular, there is a divide between what an American University is and does - and what Universities in the rest of the world tend to be about - and provide.

In many countries, University is meant for an elite: it is not meant for all. In America, "College" is a much more common experience than it is for the nationals of many other countries. There is a reason for this. In most Western countries, a first degree is used for professional education. In America, a first degree is usually used for general education. What this means is that American Universities are actually doing what is done in secondary school/high school in Europe and all those countries that follow a European style of education (which includes Australia and parts of Asia, and even Africa, as I understand it).

In England, general education is completed, normally, at the age of 16. This is a typical age around the world for general education to have been completed. Then specialist education begins. In America, general education is completed by taking a four year degree: thus it is complete at the age of 22. This means that there is a very important difference between American and European education systems that must be understood if the two are to be compared. An American with a first degree has just completed their general education. A European with a first degree, has, in many cases, completed their professional education, AND their general education.

So, how may we compare the American system to the rest of the world? Well, the website of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, compares requirements for admission to a medical degree, by applicants from different countries of the world. Distilling the essence of what it says is simple. A school leaver from secondary school/high school, aged 18, from anywhere in the world is, in theory, ready to start a medical degree in Ireland (if they are of good grades etc.). Yet, for an American applicant, A BACHELOR'S DEGREE is required for Admission to the normal program. Otherwise candidates have to undergo a special extended program longer than the usual degree.

This site equates an American Bachelor's degree as being equivalent to a high school education in the developed world - or in fact less. It states that an American Bachelor's degree is comparable to Year 11 of the Australian education system: that is, the age of attainment reached at the age of 17, by an Australian "high school" student.

Thus, back to my first question: what does Early College mean, in the American context? It means a high school educational opportunity, in the context of almost all the developed world. It does not mean "University-level" when compared to those who follow a European model.

As I have noted before, in other posts, this difference between the American system and the rest of the world, is due to the emphasis on breadth, at the expense of depth, in the American education sytem up to and including a Bachelor's degree. Most of the rest of the world looks into subjects at depth, much earlier on in a student's education.

This analysis of education systems helps us understand an interesting cultural observation. There are quite a few American kids in Early College, if internet boards are anything to go by. There are virtually none in University in the rest of the world. The reason for this is now clear: like is not being compared with like. An American student in Early College is studying material that a sixteen year old would study in High School/Secondary School in the rest-of-the-world system. Thus to compare like with like, we must look for rest-of-the-world students who have been accelerated to the later stages of High School/Secondary School. We do, in fact, find such students - although they are rare. (I do not have access to numerical data, but I have read of a few cases, in my lifetime). Furthermore, we also find some children who ARE in University while quite young - but these are few, in the rest-of-the-world. They are studying a Bachelor's degree in the main: this is equivalent to an American Doctoral degree.

(If you would like to read of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and eight months, or Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, Chemistry, Science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults, and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The mystery of the disappearing lettuce.

This post won't mean much unless you have read the post on Children and Pet Animals first.

On the morning after my sons had made their own snail colony, Ainan came to me:

"It's gone."

"What?"

"The leaf we left out for the snails. It is gone."

Sure enough the rather large leaf we had left in the stairwell with the snails had disappeared - not just a little gone - but as if it had never been there.

The detective on the Case of the Missing Lettuce, that is, me, is looking for a small, slippery customer, strong enough to carry his own house on his back, escaping from the scene at about 0.05 mph. Shouldn't be too difficult to catch.

Seriously, though - letting the children play with garden animals like this does, I feel, teach them a lot about life. It also has a very subtle, important, and vital implicit lesson: a respect for the environment, for nature and for life. A child brought up with that value is a lot more likely to do the right things for this world, than one who misses out on that lesson.

As for us, we have three children who like animals - and play with them with respect. I feel pleased about that.

(If you would like to read more of the Cawley children, including Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, Fintan, four years and one month, and Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, Chemistry, Science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children. Thanks.)

The infinity of chemical knowledge

I have, at times, wondered about the future of my sons. What, for instance, shall Ainan become? What will he do? Will there be anything left for him to do, in his discipline, once he takes his place in it?

Presently, Ainan, 7, looks set to be a chemist. Yet, he is also showing signs of interest in other physical sciences, too: in Physics, Maths, Material Sciences, Geology, Astronomy and Nanotechnology. However, it is true to say that almost all his attention, thus far, has been given to Chemistry, among the sciences. I thought it important, however, to mention the other nascent interests, lest they, one day, become central ones, to him. One never knows on these matters.

So, then my thoughts turned to Chemistry. It is a mature science. It's basic principles are well known - so what is there left to do, for a young chemist, in such an arena? Well, it doesn't take much thought to realize something very, very different about Chemistry, compared to the other sciences. Chemistry is infinite. I mean this in a very real sense. Just think about it. There necessarily must be an infinite variety of possible molecules, since most atoms can, in some way, combine with many others, in structures of unlimited designs. Chemistry is a never-ending subject.

Other sciences, like Physics, have, one supposes, a limited set of possible information. The physical world is describable by physics - but that description is most probably not infinite. I would be very surprised if it was. The physical world is, it appears, reducible to a finite set of laws, applied in a wide, but not infinite variety of circumstances. One day, if Mankind is smart enough (or at least if one genius in the whole of history, male or female, is smart enough - the rest of us can play catch up), then Physics will one day be a fully known subject. We will, at that time, be able to describe the world and its workings in a set of physical laws which, no doubt, would not fill too many pages of too many books. All of physics will then be known. It is possible to conceive of this for physics - and even for biology (there not being an infinite variety of principles at work in life, either - or instances of it (though artificial life might change this to a great degree) and the other sciences - but, for Chemistry, such complete knowledge is, in principle, impossible. No matter how many chemicals are known and understood, there will always be others that can by synthesized, with new properties and possibilities. Chemistry can never be fully known.

Thus, although Chemistry is a mature science, although we think we understand it well - it cannot be said to be complete. It is only just beginning. I recently read one estimate that 19 million chemicals have been synthesized and defined, in Chemistry, so far. Furthermore, the rate at which new chemicals is being synthesized and defined is doubling every 13 years or so. Thus by the end of this century we will know of billions of chemicals. Yet, even then, Chemistry will just be beginning. Set against an infinity of possible chemicals and structures, a knowledge of billions is nothing. The fact is, Mankind, even if it endures for the entire Universe, will never know the fullness of Chemistry. Sure, we will know a lot. The possible things we can do with all these chemicals will be forever increasing, but we will never get to a point where there is nothing more to be done.

I find this heartening. Yes, my son, Ainan, is becoming a Chemist at a time when Chemistry appears mature - but there remains an infinite amount to be done - and this will always be the case.

So, I find myself relaxing on the issue of Ainan's future. There is still, yet, a need for Chemists in this world - and there always will be, for Ainan has chosen one of the few infinite subjects, for his attention - and that is a bit of a relief.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, and Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, left-handedness, chemistry, science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)