Considering other people's lives

Fintan, four, is a boy of high social intelligence (interpersonal intelligence). He is ever watching, learning and understanding other people's lives. Some children, I have noted, hardly give anyone else a thought. Perhaps they lack empathy, or interest in others. Perhaps they are too self-centred. Perhaps some of them are autistic or tending towards it. Fintan, on the other hand, is a keen social observer.

Today, he made a remark which brought his social gifts to my attention. We had just visited the local shop, in my case to buy some food, in his case to buy a Transformer robot. As we walked home, he looked up at me, his curly hair limned by the street lamps, and asked: "Why is that shop open at night?" It was about 9 p.m so that was a fair question.

I didn't answer why, I answered the "what" of it. "Well, he is open until 10 pm."

He didn't reveal whether he considered this an adequate reply. He just looked up at me again, and asked: "How does he eat his dinner? How does he go to the toilet?"

How, indeed. The shopkeeper worked alone, in his shop, from 9 am to 10 pm everyday apart from Sunday when he stopped early, at 2 pm. Fintan, rather than dwell on the toy purchase clutched in his hand, actually went to the trouble of considering another person's life. Fintan wondered how this man lived, how he did the things everyone has to do - when there was no-one else to help him mind his shop. To me, that indicated a high degree of social intelligence and understanding. He was showing insight into the other man's position. It also showed that he actually cared about other people's situation - for if he didn't have such empathy - he wouldn't bother himself to think about it.

I find it warming that Fintan actually thinks about other people's lives, that he is actually interested enough to try to understand them. Many, many children - perhaps most - would not have given a single thought to what a shopkeeper's day must be like. Most children would grow up into adults who never gave it a thought, either. Fintan, on the other hand, considered it a problem worthy of attention. How does a shopkeeper live? Fintan would like to know.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty 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, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The dangers of mobile phones

Mobile phones are dangerous things. Some of the dangers are obvious. Studies suggest that their use can induce brain cancer. That is not a surprise to most people. Yet, mobile phones can be dangerous in other ways, too. They can distract a driver, on the road, and cause accidents. That, too, is a common phenomenon. However, there is another danger rather more unique. Indonesians, from my observation, seem to specialize in finding new ways to make old things dangerous - and the mobile phone is no exception. A recent example proves the point.

On Thursday night, the ferry Acita 03, was making its way past the town of Bau Bau, in south-eastern Sulawesi (where the Bugis are from - but more of that in another post). Many of the passengers, being of the impatient variety, and not willing to wait until they got to shore, decided to clamber to the ferry's roof, to make a mobile phone call, since there the reception was better. So many of the passengers did this, at the same time, that the 22 m long ferry became unbalanced and capsized. In Hollywood, such an event would have seemed comic - but in the real world it is not so funny: as of today, 31 people are known to have died, 125 have been rescued and an estimated 32 are still missing (probably dead). All because people just couldn't wait to make a mobile phone call.

I have been living in South-East Asia for some years and the sinking of an Indonesian ferry is really no surprise to me. Indeed, Indonesian ferry disasters are a bit like buses: common and readily available. The archipelago nation is becoming famous for the inadequate safety of its ferry system.

Famous Indonesian ferry disasters include the sinking of a ferry off Sumatra in February 1996, killing at least 338 on board. I say, "at least", for a very good reason. You see Indonesian ferries often understate the true number of passengers on board. They don't just do this by a little, but by a lot. The Acita 03, for instance, had a stated 60 passengers on its ship's manifest. Yet, 188 people were actually on board. It is not unusual for Indonesian ferries to be packed to the brim with people, every nook and cranny overflowing with them. It is no wonder then, that the death toll is so high, when disaster occurs - as it does with awful frequency. Who can escape when there are so many crowded around you?

My favourite example of this tendency to understate the passenger load is of the MV Kanada II. This ship was caught off Bengkalis, Riau, carrying a hugely excessive 441 passengers. The ship's manifest, however, said that the ship was...wait for it...empty.

Ferry sinkings occur with mind-numbing regularity in Indonesia. In December last year, an estimated 400 people died when a ferry sank off Java. In February this year, scores of people (again the actual numbers are unknown) were killed when a ferry caught fire off Jakarta. Imagine that: being burnt alive while out on open water: unbelievable.

From a regulation perspective, it is interesting to note that in February, after the burning ferry episode, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for improved safety on ships, from passenger boat operators. It appears that they weren't listening to him.

Personally, I find it mystifying that any nation can continue to allow this to happen. A ferry should be among the safest ways to travel: it is low speed, low energy travel. There should be little possibility of death in such a mode of transport. Yet, Indonesia has found a way to make it hazardous indeed, to travel by ferry around its archipelago nation. That is a worry when, in an archipelago nation, you really have no choice but to use a ferry for many of the trips - unless airstrips are available on the particular island in question. But then, Indonesia's aviation industry is not exactly a model of safety either. It is a pity, actually, because parts of Indonesia are truly beautiful - despite the problems the nation faces.

I hope that they get serious about transport safety - before hundreds more die while on holiday, or going to visit relatives: such a simple act should never lead to death.

The lost vessel was travelling from Tomea Island to Bau Bau on Buton Island, about 1,500 km north-east of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. Notably, Tomea belongs to the Wakatobi group of islands - which are famed internationally as being top dive sites and attract many international tourists.

Not before time, the Indonesian government is now deliberating over new regulations for old ships. That is good. What is not is that, in Indonesia, many people ignore regulations, whatever they might be. That is something else which has to change then: if a regulation is there for the greater good, it really should be obeyed.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty 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, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Parenting a gifted child: anxious moments.

Every child has their needs. That is fine and understood. Yet, every child also has their wants - and sometimes those can be difficult to meet.

A few days ago, I was walking with Syahidah, through the central city area of Singapore, at night, surrounded by tall buildings of varying heights. Except for the heat, it could have been any modern city, anywhere - but that humid air bathing one is unmistakable.

Syahidah turned to me and said: "Ainan wants you to buy him a skyscraper...", my heart leapt at the size of the acquisition I was being asked to make: I knew he loved tall buildings, but his very own skyscraper was a little out of my league (perhaps Donald Trump could help out).

Before, however, I had time to feel too sick about the latest aspiration of my gifted kid, she continued her sentence: "book".

At once, I felt better. My parenting anxiety vanished in an instant: a book, a skyscraper book, well, I could manage that. Suddenly, my instant inadequacy at not being a billionaire able to indulge his children's every whim, evaporated: a book purchase, I could handle.

Of course, before the relief, came the laughter - my own, as I understood how disparate were my instant emotional reaction to what I thought was to be an excess of materialism and the actual request, for a simple book.

It made me think, though. As a parent, one is always faced with the requests of one's children for various things. Some of those requests are easily met. Yet others are harder and some are simply impossible. With more children, so the requirements expand - at some point, most parents will encounter this gulf between the ideal of what one's children would like, and the reality of what they can have. That is one of the tensions of parenting: the difference between the children's material and experiential aspirations and their practical reality.

I was rather glad that Ainan didn't really want a skyscraper - or at least wasn't saying that he wanted one. The question is, of course: if I were a billionaire, like Donald Trump, or Bill Gates - would he want one and would he ask for one? Ainan knows I can't just buy a skyscraper - but if he knew that I could, would that be on his shopping list?

I am unlikely to be in the position to test his response to such an abundance of wealth, being presently short of the odd billion or two. However, you never know...

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty 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, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

International Olympic Committee blog visit.

There is nothing more likely to remind one how small the world is, than starting a blog. Yesterday, I wrote about the Youth Olympic Games planned for 2010. Today, someone from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) read the article I had written about them: amazing.

More specifically, someone whose IP address is called Comite International Olympique, from Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, with the domain name: "Olympic.org", read the article in question. What I find even more incredible is the manner in which they were alerted. Someone who had read the article in the twenty four hours after I wrote it, sent an email to someone they knew at the International Olympic Committee, enclosing a link to the article - and they opened it and read it. That, to me, is rather surprising. It just goes to show how small and interconnected this modern world we live in, is.

I posted an article, from Singapore, addressed to no-one in particular, leaving it to chance who might see it. Twenty-four hours later, the organization I spoke of - the International Olympic Committee (IOC), had been notified of it and had read it. Phenomenal.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty 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, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Tale of a Zebra Print

A month ago, Tiarnan, then nineteen months, was looking through some pictures of zoo animals. Tiarnan is rather fond of animals and nature, in general, and has been able to name zoo animals since quite young - though he had not gone to a zoo, until recently.

He got to one animal: a picture of a zebra and held it up suddenly, saying: "Zebra...Bagus!". Now, "bagus" is Malay for good, but it is also something else. It is a cultural reference. You see there is a series of tv advertisements, concerning milk, which features black and white dairy cows. At the end of each ad there is heard the cry of "Bagus!" - so as to say how good the milk is. They are quite funny advertisements and make for good tv for children.

What struck me, however, was how the language and references of a tv advertisement, had crept into the speech of Tiarnan, at such a young age. Clearly, he had linked the cows and the zebra, owing to their similar colouration - even though he knows that they are separate animals, and through this association, he had decided to use the language of the tv advertisement, too. This is proof that he remembers the context of the word he was using: he recalls where he heard it used and in what way it was used. Thus, his knowledge is not stored without reference to its surroundings - but embedded in the context in which he learnt it. This shows that his memory is rich. It should be noted that he would have known the word, "bagus" already, from general usage and observation - but here he had deliberately chosen to make a cultural reference, when referring to the zebra in the same context as the black and white dairy cow, from the tv advertisement.

This, of course, points to another issue. Young children can and do absorb the contents of TV shows and advertisements - so it is ever wise to monitor what they see. If my nineteen month old child can make cultural references after watching tv advertisements, so could others. Those little eyes see all, those little ears hear all - and those little minds remember it, too!

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty 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, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Intelligence and ESP, Psi, Precognition

Why do some people believe in psi phenomena and others don't? Why do some people accept such things as precognition (seeing the future), clairvoyance (seeing at a distance, without being there), telepathy (reading someone's mind), clairaudience (hearing at a distance, without being there), esp (extrasensory perception - a ragbag term for the above), parapsychology and psychic matters in general?

Well, there is a straightforward correlation on these issues between cognitive ability and belief. It is an inverse correlation, meaning the brighter you are, the less likely you are to believe.

Two studies, at least, have looked at this issue. One study by R.A. Griggs and W.S Messer in 1989, looked at classroom performance, as measured by grades, and the belief in psi phenomena, such as esp, precognition, out-of-the-body experiences etc. There was an inverse correlation. The higher the grades of the student, the lower the belief, and the converse.

The other study was conducted in 1980, by two psychologists: James Alcock and L.P. Otis. Their study found that those who believed in the paranormal, had lower "critical thinking skills" - which is clearly an aspect of convergent thinking - that is intelligence as it might have been measured by IQ.

Now, all of this shows that the more intelligent someone is, the less likely they are to believe anything "out of the normal". So, one might say that intelligence and skepticism are positively correlated - at least in matters that presently defy explanation or which have inconsistent or insufficient experimental support.

I should add that the fact that intelligent people tend not to be believe in esp, psi and the like, does not, of course, say anything about whether or not such things exist. It only says that intelligent people tend not to believe that they exist. (That being said, there have been a number of tantalizing experiments done, which raise issues that aren't fully explained...but perhaps more of that another day).

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty 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, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Youth Olympic Games 2010, IOC

Recognizing gifted athletes, and giving them opportunities, is just as important as recognizing gifted intellectuals and giving them opportunities, for growth, too. Sadly, many societies (outside of America, which already nurtures the athletically gifted among them), neglect those of athletic ability.

Singapore is one such country. For most of Singapore's history, sports have played little role in society, though some sporting figures have managed to make a career. The reason for this neglect has been a pragmatic one: sports were not regarded as financially rewarding. There was no significant home market for sports and so no high regard was given to those of sporting ability. It was seen as something without real significance. That, however, has begun to change in recent years. Indeed, in the year 2000, Singapore launched a Foreign Sports Talent Scheme (FST) in order to recruit overseas sporting talent, while young, give them residency, and launch them as Singaporean athletes. This was a bid to activate Singapore's sporting scene and place them on the world stage. It has had varying degrees of success and should be the subject of another post, at another time.

Singapore, today, has indicated its intention to hold the first Youth Olympic Games, in Singapore, in 2010. It is one of ten nations bidding for the right to hold this event. The other cities (nations) are: Algiers (Algeria), Athens (Greece), Moscow (Russia), Turin (Italy), Bangkok (Thailand), Guatemala City (Guatemala), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Poznan (Poland). Bidders have until October 26 to finalize their bids and plans.

The event is, according to Ng Ser Miang, Singapore's International Olympic Committee member, intended to "interest and appeal" to the young. To do so, traditional sports have been shelved or modified. Basketball will make an appearance as a three person game on a half-sized court. There could be beach wrestling. You read that correctly: wrestling on the beach. There will be a sailing event with specially adapted boats, "youth class boats", that cater for the strengths, abilities and limitations of younger athletes. The events are designed for athletes who are 14 to 18 years old.

IOC President Jacques Rogge has indicated that there will be a departure from the nationalism evident at all adult Olympic Games - for no national flags or anthems will be permitted at this one. Only the Olympic flag and Olympic anthem will be played at the medal award ceremony.

Mr. Ng Ser Miang said that the Youth Olympic Games would help educate youth on the core Olympic values of respect, excellence and friendship. He also suggested it could steer competitors away from over-training and doping.

Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Permanent Secretary Niam Chiang Meng, Chairman of the Singapore 2010 bid committee said that Singapore's good track record in organizing events quickly would help it secure the event. This point is a fair one, since there will only be two and a half years to prepare for the event once the result is announced.

Now, I am happy to hear of this development, for it offers young athletes a new focus to their training and aspirations. It is a long way from childhood to the adult Olympic stage - placing this new stepping stone along the path will allow young athletes to focus themselves and compete against their age-mates and gain some idea of the wisdom of pursuing an adult athletic career once they fully mature.

Not that alone. Allowing young athletes an opportunity to win recognition for their talents, earlier in their careers, may allow them to make better use of the few short years that an athlete can truly say that they are at their best. There will be less wasted time for those athletes who succeed at this junior level. Sponsorship and support could be forthcoming much earlier on. I feel, also, that many more athletes are likely to develop their talents, what with a new arena to focus on and develop their skills for. It is possible that this new IOC initiative could have a wide-ranging impact on the development of athletes around the world. The IOC is to be commended.

The Youth Olympic Games is likely to spur many young athletes to train that bit harder and aspire that bit harder, such that more of them become athletes and win successful careers. The opportunities a win at the Youth Olympic Games could open up, could change their lives so much for the better.

Gift, of all kinds, is precious. Any initiative that is likely to give greater opportunity to the gifted, whatever their gift might be, whether intellectual, athletic, artistic, or other, is to be supported. The very richness and substance of a society depends on offering the best of opportunities to all who might have the gifts to avail themselves of them.

I, for one, will tune in, in 2010, to see the athletes of tomorrow, in their earliest public performances. I wish them - and the IOC - luck in this new endeavour. May it become an established athletic event.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty 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, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Little Boy, Big Heart

Last night, Tiarnan, twenty months, lay in the centre of our bed. He is a playful character to have around, and never less than entertaining. After we had spent some time enjoying his whimsical nature, we turned out the lights.

I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep.

Singapore is a hot and humid country and so we have no need for blankets, yet, above us, there is the ever present ceiling fan, creating a strong breeze throughout the room. Sometimes it is just a little too strong - so, though the actual room temperature might be over thirty degrees centigrade, as it often is, the breeze can make one feel quite chill. It is a curious paradox.

After a few minutes of listening to the whirr of the fan, I felt two little hands pressing on my chest, and down my abdomen. I opened my eyes to see Tiarnan, with a sheet in his hands, wrapping it about my body, to shield me from the fan. He smiled down at me and then carried on tucking me in.

How sweet. Tiarnan must have felt the strong breeze on his skin and felt cold. Yet, his thoughts didn't stop there: he realized that I, too, would feel the same breeze, and might also feel cold. So what did he do? He reached down and took a sheet - and used it to cover me.

His unexpected kindness touched me. I am not sure that all that many little people of his age, would think of doing such a thing. What a big heart he has.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty 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, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Blogger formatting problem

Sorry for the formatting of the previous post: I can't create spaces between the paragraphs. Whenever I try, they are compressed together after publishing. If it returns to normal, I will have solved the problem, and if it doesn't I haven't.

Thanks for your patience.

Freedom of Speech and the United States

Is there true freedom of speech in the United States? Is there freedom of speech on the internet? Does it endanger international relations and stray into politics, to speak freely on the internet?

I ask these questions for a reason. You see, I keep an eye on the locations of those who visit my website and on who comments on my pages. It is helpful to keep track of such things, since then I know something of the perspective of those who comment. I have, therefore, noticed something with regards to one of my posts. I wrote of George Bush's difficulty with the English language, picking up on a Reuters report that had made his mangling of English centre stage. It seems that simply speaking of such things is not permissible, at least in the eyes of at least one American. You see, there used to be regular visitor to my blog from Bothell, Washington - or Washington, Bothell. Every day, they would visit my blog. Until, one day, I wrote about George Bush's linguistic limitations, not in censure, but with a sense of worry about the wherewithal of a nation's Commander-in-Chief. Apparently, one is not really free to speak of anything one wishes in America - at least, Americans on the ground don't really respect freedom of speech, with their hearts and minds. You see, if you speak freely, without wish to offend, they can get offended and take umbrage: so where does that leave freedom of speech? It is, in effect, only a theoretical entity, in America. That visitor from Bothell, Washington had been a steadfast regular on my blog - but after I alluded to the Reuters report on George Bush, she or he, wrote a somewhat miffed remark on the post, and then never visited my blog again.

To me, his or her action is very significant. It means that, in practice, there may not actually be true freedom of speech in the United States (or perhaps anywhere else - but most other places don't actually boast of having it in the first place). True freedom of speech, in my eyes, implies that no-one will take any kind of action against you, for voicing an opinion. Not visiting a blog, again, comes under the category of a retributive action. It indicates, therefore, that the high principle of freedom of speech is not actually respected by that individual. That action led me to wonder how many, or how few, other Americans really understand what a world where speech was truly free should be like. In such a world, no opinion would ever attract censure and all would be listened to with equal open-ness. That is the ideal that America speaks of, when it boasts of its freedom of speech. Yet, in truth, the reality falls short of that, at least if this example is anything to go by.

It is perilous, it seems, to speak of anyone in politics. People are polarized and any opinion, about anyone political, whether it be local or international, is likely to differ from the opinions of many of one's readers. In a free world, where speech was truly free, it would not matter. One's opinion would not lead to problems. I have learnt, however, from observing that event, that although one may write as one wishes, on the internet, that certain opinions - perhaps any opinion, in fact - will lead to some people taking exception to it.

We have, therefore, the freedom to write as we wish - but not the freedom to be welcomed universally.

Freedom of speech is an admirable ideal - and it is heartening that the United States says it upholds such a thing. Indeed, as I understand it, it is a First Amendment right, in the Constitution. Yet, its citizens - at least some of them - have not yet fully internalized what freedom of speech really means. I look forward to a day when all the world is free, in every way - being free in speech, is probably the easiest freedom of all - if only people would be tolerant of each other, in all our infinite variety.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty 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, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Eternal Child Hunger Pangs

Today, I met Tiarnan, twenty months, on the stairs. He was going up, I was coming down.

He paused and looked up at me, as he drew level, and opened his mouth to show me a big splash of green, in there. "I'm eating.", he declared.

I could see that. I smiled, for it was the assured way that he said it, that I found humourous.

Then he said, to clarify his position: "I always eat."

He doesn't, really. He eats no more and no more often than any other child. He is not a one child representation of world hunger. Yet, it is interesting to note that, from his perspective, the regularity with which he eats constitutes "always eating".

It seems that he monitors himself and marks his own behaviour for frequency and habit. It is funny to see self-awareness in children so young because, somehow, it is unexpected. Though it may be hard to conceive it, they are much more self-aware and self-determining than one might at first allow. Yes, Tiarnan is a little toddler - but he is also a self-aware intelligence, quite capable of perceiving his own nature and place in the world. A lot goes into those first couple of years of life, I believe - a lot more than one might suppose.

As for Tiarnan, he has the eternal hunger of every child - and his pangs are in common with all little kids.

For me, the best point of this was a subtle one. It was green in his mouth...you try most kids to get to eat vegetables!

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty 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, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)