The colleague I made one day.

I had no idea, when my first son was born, that in a few years, he would, essentially, become not only my son, but my colleague, too.

Before Ainan, I had never really had a close scientific colleague with whom I could discuss ideas and consider possibilties. Although Ainan is only eight years old, talking to him is not like talking to an eight year old - it is like holding a discussion with a very creative, fast thinking adult scientist. I find it refreshing. All my life I have lacked such stimulation (I didn't find it at Cambridge University, for instance) but, now, in my own home, I have as much of it as I want or could ever need - all I have to do is begin a sentence with "Ainan..." and I am soon deep into a wide-ranging, scientifically profound conversation. It is wonderful.

I don't know what the future of the intellectual side of my relationship with my son will hold. Yet, I can say: the present is pretty good. I have had the best scientific conversations in my life with Ainan since he was five years old. No other conversation, with adult scientists, has proven as remotely interesting.

Fatherhood is full of surprises - and some of them are much more rewarding than one could ever have anticipated.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight 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, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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