How to measure the world

Fintan, four, has a certain view of his Daddy. Today, a little bit of that view became clear.

We were in Takashimaya shopping centre one floor up from the ground, looking at a Christmas tree that stood in front of us, above us, and below us. Our floor meant we were level with its mid-section.

Fintan looked at the tree, looked upwards and downwards and remarked:

"The tree is bigger than Daddy!" His voice was filled with wonder that there should be anything in the world bigger than Daddy.

I was touched. For him, I must seem to be a giant indeed - and for him, I am the basic unit of "bigness" against which all other big things are measured. An object is only truly big, if it is bigger than the biggest person he knows: his own Daddy.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two 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.)

Preserving the beauty of youth

If you are going to get old gracefully, it helps to start young.

Tiarnan, it seems, has been thinking about the issue and is already taking steps, to ensure his continued youthful good looks.

It was about a month and a half ago, now, when Tiarnan would have been twenty months old.

I noted him sitting down, in front of the tv, with a bottle of something in his hand. He unscrewed the lid, and upended it onto his hand. He struck it a couple of times against his hand. A dollop of cream came out. He considered this for a moment and smeared it onto his left leg and proceeded to rub it in, up and down, massaging the cream - which was, of course, moisturizer - into his leg.

As he did this, he was very earnest indeed, focussed on this necessary task. He proceeded with care, making sure the cream was all massaged into his skin, so that none showed.

I could have intervened at the beginning - but I didn't. The moment was too funny to interrupt. Here was a twenty month old baby, moisturizing his skin. Hilarious.

Perhaps women of the world can learn from his pioneering example: it is never too early to start caring for your skin. At least, Tiarnan seems to think so.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two 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.)

Noise pollution and Modern Life

Today, my ears are ringing. Have I just returned from a rock concert? No. Have I been playing music too loudly at home? No. Have I been on a firing range? No. I made the mistake of going shopping two days ago.

Perhaps I should explain. My wife, myself, Ainan and Tiarnan, were shopping in Orchard Road, on Monday. All but Ainan, who was in Borders bookshop, were stood at the corner of Orchard Road, where Wheelock Place is (a conical glass structure that is rather striking), when an argument between car drivers developed on the street.

There were three cars involved. One car driver had had the temerity to actually stop for the traffic lights. This prompted the two drivers behind to have to brake. Neither of them was happy. A horn cried out, at a reasonable volume - but what happened then, was far from reasonable. A second horn struck my ears, with a long, loud, savage sound that was by far the loudest horn I have ever heard. It was way, way, too loud, to be legal in any country that had any laws at all. It was actually painfully loud (which means it is far, far higher than 100 decibels...perhap 120, 130 or 140 decibels...something like that). It was insanely loud. It was a bit like being poked in the ear with with a long sharp knife, so loud did it seem.

Now, from where I stood it could either have been from a taxi, or the car in front of the taxi: it was impossible to tell since they were next to each other.

It is a pity I was so stunned by what happened, that I didn't think to write down the number plates of all involved. For one thing is for sure: the owner of that horn should not only be off the road, but should be incarcerated somewhere. Just think what happens to bystanders everytime they push their horn: they are deafened and their ears will ring for God knows how long afterwards.

My real concern, though, is for Tiarnan. Children's ears are four times more sensitive than adults' - who knows what harm that horn did to his hearing? He wouldn't know that a ringing in his ears was abnormal - and wouldn't speak of anything odd about his hearing. He would just accept it as normal. It isn't. No-one should have to put up with noise like we heard on Monday.

The funny thing is, that very day I read an article in the Today newspaper about how loud a place Singapore was becoming. The timing couldn't have been more apt.

Singapore is a country that regulates human behaviour - or should I say, misbehaviour - fairly well through a system of fines, prison sentences and harsher penalties. From my experience, the other day, I would suggest that there should be a legal limit on how loud car horns can be. This limit should be enforced by suitable penalties - perhaps confiscation and sale of the car concerned, might be apt. Or perhaps harsher penalties would be necessary to moderate the behaviour. (Harsh penalties are almost customary here - it makes one wonder if they are the only ones that would work).

Noise pollution is a serious issue in modern life, as the world becomes ever more crowded. Some of it is unavoidable - ie. lots of people talking in a crowded place, but a lot of it is entirely avoidable - such as how loud one's car horn is. No horn should be so loud that it endangers the hearing of bystanders. That should be classified as an attack with an offensive weapon - for it does cause actual harm to people. Therefore, penalties should be commensurate with that situation and recognize it for what it is. Yes, it is necessary to have a horn, to warn people of the presence of a car - but the horn itself must never be so loud as to pose a danger to people.

I have no doubt that that horn, on that car, was illegal in some way. Singapore is so highly regulated that the issue must be covered somewhere in the law. I only wish I had had the presence of mind (a rather stunned mind at the time) to write down their car numbers. Either the taxi, or the car in front, poses a serious hazard to every pedestrian in Singapore.

My ears are still ringing, two days later. No doubt they will ring for a long time to come. Tiarnan, too, is probably nursing an injury (and my wife). That isn't right. It is time for Singapore to go one step beyond writing articles about how noisy it is becoming. It is time to legislate for a bit of quiet.

They can start with the car horns - and the inconsiderate drivers who press too long and too hard upon them. It is time to take them off the roads.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two 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.)

Conquering insurmountable difficulties

I learn much from simply being with my children. I learn about people, about life, and character. I learn about what makes people what they are. All these lessons are there to be had, if one would only open one's eyes to them.

Two weeks ago, on the 12th November, I was in a playground with Tiarnan. He had climbed onto a horse, on a carousel and pointed towards another horse, beside which I stood, indicating that I should mount my one. My horse was taller than his. It was also not meant for adults. So, I was reluctant to try its strength with my inordinate weight. Therefore, I pretended to an inability to reach this taller horse. I lifted my right leg, in an effort to climb onto it, and strained to reach it, failing, to do so.

Tiarnan looked at me, silently, evaluating the situation.

I tried to mount the horse, again - and failed, again, my leg unable to go over the high horse.

Tiarnan took in this scene and made a decision. He climbed off his horse, taking his leg around and off its back and dropped down onto the floor in a fairly fluid motion. He then hurried over to my horse and reached up to it, with his arm, his hand grasping the "saddle". He began to pull himself up with one hand. Then he flung his leg upwards and hooked it over the top of the horse and using the force of hand and hooked leg combined, he levered himself up onto the horse - one built for a much older child than him, for it was essentially unreachable to a toddler - at least, one would have supposed so. After some effort, he managed to pull himself into the saddle.

He looked me straight in the eye, then and, there being no need for words, he pointed back over his shoulder at the shorter horse he had vacated.

His message was clear. "I am small," his eyes said, "and you are large. I was able to climb into that smaller horse, so you can, too. By the way, I climbed into this one, too."

I suppose, if I had really been unable to climb onto the horse, I might have felt a little shame. As it was, my bluff had been called. I could hardly now pretend to be unable to climb the horse he had so easily climbed, himself.

I said nothing. I moved to the smaller horse, threw my leg over it, and pretended to settle my weight upon it.

He was satisfied. Daddy had joined him on the carousel.

I wonder what he thought, however, that Daddy could not mount the horse, but he could? Did he think less of me, or more of himself? There was no indication that he had thought any such thought, at all - his actions were those of a pragmatist. "I can do it, so I shall do it.", he said, by his actions...now you do the other one.

All of this leads to a thought, however. I had proven, to him, that a man my size couldn't mount the larger horse. What made him think that he could do it, where I could not?

There is a confidence, in him, I feel, at his physical abilities. Either that, or he has a good understanding of his own capabilities and knew that the taller horse was within his ability.

On show, I think, is an interesting character: one not afraid of challenges and one determined to overcome them. It should stand him in good stead for the life to come. An appetite for challenge comes in handy in all walks of life - whichever he chooses for his own, in time to come.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two 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 notationally gifted

What is a notationally gifted child? Well, it is a child gifted in the use of common notation: that is words and numbers. It is, in fact, what most people commonly think of as gifted.

Yet, there is a problem with this idea of the gifted person as notationally gifted. You see, many gifted children and gifted adults are NOT notationally gifted, and yet are gifted in some definite, real, tangible sense. They may have a gift for music, or art, or may be particularly good with spatial thinking. They may be gifted socially - or may have the kind of inner wisdom that allows them to understand themselves very well (intrapersonal intelligence). These latter types might be good poets or writers, or other kinds of artists who draw on a knowledge of the self. They might even be gifted in a sense that most people don't even consider to be gifted: kinaesthetically gifted - that is, gifted in movement. Such people may be fine dancers or great athletes. They, too, possess a gift. Yet, none of these categories of people might show up on a conventional IQ test, as "gifted" - for they are not necessarily notationally gifted, as well.

So, the common idea of the gifted, which coincides with the concept of the "notationally gifted" is very limiting. It constrains our understanding of what a gifted person may be, and excludes, in fact, most gifted people. There are many more kinds of gifted people out there, than are described by the ability to use words and numbers well. Yet, the problem with most gifted programs and the thinking behind them, is that giftedness will manifest in a gift for words and numbers. This is not necessarily so. Such people are just a subset of the gifted people in the world.

I am not denying the importance of notational giftedness - for such gift is the foundation of effectiveness in the academic world and all its allied professions - but there is more to giftedness than that. We deprive the world of the gifts of the many and varied gifted, if we refuse to see the full range of gifted people among us. Some who are musically or artistically or kinaesthetically gifted, may also be notationally gifted, too. However, many of them will not be. Their gift will stand apart from the more common academic gifts. Let us not exclude them from the opportunities they need to grow just because they don't fit our common understanding of what a "gifted" person is. Picasso wasn't much of an everyday student - but in his art, he shone. I doubt whether he would have been identified as "gifted" by a program that used IQ tests alone to determine membership - but that he had a gift, is self-evident, to anyone who has seen his art. The same may be said by many thousands of unknown gifted people, out there in the world. Many of them will remain unidentified and unsupported, because the educational screening systems are using too narrow a criteria to define giftedness. Giftedness is not just about pure intellect (in a notational sense) - there are other kinds of thinker and other kinds of thinking. We lessen the world, if we ever forget that.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two 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.)