The value of self-esteem.

My time as a teacher taught me much. That seems a funny thing to say, but I think that a teacher learns much about people if they are observant and reflective.

I have noticed something about Chinese mainland students. Quite a few of them don't think much of themselves. This strikes me as different to the Western students I grew up with, most of whom thought rather too much of themselves.

I once asked a class of mixed Asian students what they thought was most interesting about themselves. The answers were very revealing. A significant percentage of the Chinese PRC students said: "There is nothing interesting about me." None of the other Asians in the class (Vietnamese, Mongolian, Korean, and Uzbek) said this about themselves.

I thought it sad that they thought so little of themselves. If a Western student thought in that way, we would be concerned about their self-image and esteem issues. Yet, it seems fairly normal in the population of Chinese students I have taught.

I went further and asked them what they most liked. One of the ones who had said that he was not interesting, said that he liked Gundam Seed (a manga type cartoon). I asked him why he liked it: "No reason." He was unable to articulate what it was that he liked about it.

I put the two responses together. He seemed to have no insight into himself. He could not look at himself and see what was interesting: he lacked the ability to reflect. Thus, when asked why he liked something, he was unable to examine his reasons. To me, this indicates a paucity in the ability to think, in general. Students brought up in the Chinese tradition often seem to emphasise the recall of information learnt by rote - but when asked to engage in analytical or creative thinking, they fall silent. So lacking is this ability that they are not even able to think about themselves with any real coherence.

China is growing apace. Yet, if China is ever to fulfil its potential, I think its people need to be educated in a different way. They need to be taught not only to remember, but to think. They also need to come to value themselves as people. Perhaps the two are linked. They don't see themselves as significant individuals - therefore their thoughts have no value - and so they don't think. They just await input to be recalled later and suspend the faculty of reflection upon it: after all, they think, "I am nothing", "I am not significant...so any thought would have no value." At least, this is how quite a few of these students seem to me. There is a very real sense in which their cognitive development is incomplete: they have got to the stage of recall of knowledge, but not gone beyond it, to use of that knowledge, in new ways, or understanding of that knowledge. They are stuck, in a very real sense, halfway through what we would regard as an educative process. China has a long way to go, I think, before it can hope to challenge the developed world, at the highest intellectual levels: to do so, they have to change the very nature of the people they are producing - and that takes time, effort and resolve. That's assuming, of course, that it is possible at all, in the first place.

The first step is, I feel, that Chinese students start to believe in themselves and their value, that they start to see themselves as interesting and worthy. Only then will China truly mature, as a nation.

(Please note: the above analysis assumes that the Chinese language students I met in Singapore are typical of China as a whole - it is possible that they may not be, for various reasons.)

(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.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

The uncooperative banks of Singapore.

Singaporeans may not be aware of it, but a foreigner can see something about their banking system that is just not right. There is a lack of cooperation between banks in Singapore which leads to a general lowering of customer service.

In other countries that I have visited (about 20), it is usual for banks to cooperate with each other to the extent that any ATM card will work in any ATM. This is because the banks have agreed to share networks and give each other access to their networks. The result of this sharing of resources is greatly increased convenience for the customer: simply pop your ATM card into any bank's ATM and you can access your own account: wonderful.

In Singapore, however, things are different. Banks in Singapore freeze each other out. They treat each other as enemies rather than cooperative entities all working together to give the best to their customers. The result is that ATM cards in Singapore only work in a small selection of the ATM machines. You see, the banks have refused to cooperate with each other - in general - and so an ATM card often only works in the machines of the bank by which it was issued. This leads to a poor customer service for all - and, oddly, GREATER EXPENSE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL BANK. For each bank to operate its own network of machines is very expensive - so to offer sufficient service, more machines, per bank are necessary, than if the banks were sharing. So, not only are Singaporean banks uncooperative, they are stupid. The smart move would be to cooperate because then the best service could be offered at the lowest price to each bank. It is a win-win situation - the customer wins and the bank wins.

Everywhere else in the world, whose banking system I am aware of, has realized the advantages of ATM system cooperation - but Singapore hasn't. Here banks fight each other at the expense of the customer.

It is interesting to note who, too, is not cooperating. Today I put an ATM card from a local bank into a POSB atm. It didn't want to do business with my card...because it was the wrong bank. The same card was accepted by the ATM machines of the issuing bank, however. So, there was nothing wrong with the card. It is instructive that POSB is a Singapore government bank - so it is the Singaporean government that is not cooperating with other banks. However, it is not alone, all the local banks that I have observed personally, feud in this way, by refusing each other's cards. It is immature behaviour and is at the expense of the customer.

Competition has its place in business. However, that I think in a mature business environment there will be mutually beneficial cooperation, too. The absence of such cooperation in the ATM networks in Singapore is a sign of two things: immaturity in the management of these banks (read, "Stupidity") and a failure to put the customer first. In Singapore, it often seems, that the customer comes last.

The answer, in Singapore, is either to have more than one account, so that you can increase the number of ATMs to which you have access...or spend a lot longer looking for a cooperative machine.

Happy banking.

(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.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

Happy Hari Raya, Singapore.

Happy Hari Raya, to all in Singapore and around the world, who are celebrating today.

In Singapore, Hari Raya is a national holiday - but that may not be the case where you are.

Have fun.

Why you should be healthy.

Why should you be healthy? Think of your own reasons before reading on.

Living, as I do, in a country different from the one of my birth, confronts me, daily, with new experiences and people that I would otherwise not have met. It opens my eyes, too, to ways of seeing the world that I would not have suspected. One of these ways surprised me, recently.

I was speaking to a Chinese national. I asked him what was most important to him. He said. "My health is the most important thing."

There were no surprises, there, then. I looked at him more closely. He did not seem particularly healthy to me, being young, but having receding hair.

"Why is health important to you?" I pursued, seemingly unnecessarily, but not truly so.

"Because...", he began, with some degree of intensity, "If I don't healthy, then can't smoking, can't drinking, can't go nightclub."

I nearly laughed, but for his sake I didn't. I thought it a marvellous - he wanted to be healthy enough to ruin his health. He saw health as something that allowed him to indulge in unhealthy pursuits. For him, health was like a bank account with contents to be spent while he still had it.

I didn't argue with him on the point, nor did I speak of the obvious consequences of this viewpoint: it seemed as if I would offend him, if I did. It did, however, remind me that there are always different ways of seeing the world: this was his.

I wonder if anyone else sees health as something that allows one to have unhealthy habits...do you?

(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.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

The aesthetic views of a toddler.

Tiarnan is two. His is a two year old world. It is a world uncluttered by adult categorizations and stereotypes, it is a world that is still fresh and new and open. However, to my eyes, at times, being, as I am, acculturated into the adult world, his world is a strange one.

A couple of days ago, in the darkness of a late evening, in a park area, Tiarnan came running up to me with something in his hand. "Nice.", he said, emphatically.

In the darkness, I saw what I thought to be a fruit of some kind. I was concerned that he might eat it.

"You cannot eat it.", I noted quickly. He said nothing, but held it up for me.

I reached out in the darkness and let my fingers close on what I thought was the fruit body, below the stalk.

Yuck. It was a large snail.

I snatched my hand away.

My wife intervened at that moment. "That's nice.", she agreed, not wishing not to and continued: "Put it down over there.", she said, quietly, pointing to the grass verge beside the road.

Tiarnan did so, not asking why.

Happily he walked home with us.

The whole incident made me understand how different his world is to ours. He can still see beauty in things that we have learnt to see as a little creepy. In a way, I suppose, his world view is more true to things as they actually are, than ours is. He sees the world as it is, when you have no preconceptions. It is amazing, however, at times, how different that world is, from the one I see.

Incidentally, he likes beetles, too and has been known to play with them, picking them up in his fingers and using them as if they were toy cars.

He is not a squeamish boy, that is for sure. I suppose he sees beauty in beetles, too. I hope his future girlfriends are not equally unusual in their aesthetics!

(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.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

Formula One Night Race and Social Status.

The world's first Formula One Night Race takes place tonight, in Singapore.

Many in the nation seem very proud to be hosts of this event, but it struck me as curious as to what it seems to mean for them. The other night, for instance, I heard a commentator on Singaporean TV say, with awe, "Those seats are far too expensive for me...". It was strange to hear a professional broadcaster comment in that way on the price of seats to an event. He then went on to praise the good food and drink those rich spectators would enjoy.

His tone gave me much to think about. He seemed to be very impressed by the STATUS of those who could afford such expensive seats. I understood, then, what this event means for certain people here - it is not about racing, as such, but about social position and "showing-off". If you are wealthy, you can afford the expensive seats and this will impress everyone else. It struck me as funny - all this posturing around one's seating position and the amount of money that one could afford to throw away on watching people move very fast. In Singapore, social status seems to be a very important thing - and many things are done just to show status: the place one lives at, the cars one drives (to drive at all is a status thing given the price of cars, here), the clubs one joins, the games one plays (golf)...the whole nation is driven by a tiresome pursuit of social status. Ultimately, of course, this is all quite empty. They would lead more fulfilling lives if they were driven by love, friendship and family - for these are more rewarding aspects of life than impressing the neighbours with one's shockingly expensive Formula One seating position.

Singapore is not a fully mature society. It is too hung up on appearances and things that ultimately lack substance. This can be seen in the commentators remark concerning the expense of seats: I have never heard a similar comment from any other commentator in any other nation in all my life. Here, however, there is a tendency to be impressed by, and obsessed with, material things. An expensive Formula One seat is regarded as something to be sought after - and something with which to be impressed. I doubt whether it would be so, to the same extent, anywhere else.

It is funny to think about, but a more mature response might be: "Why are those people spending so much on such expensive seats - when they can watch it just as well in seats that are 60 times cheaper? How wasteful."

A concern for the wastefulness of such expensive seating is a more considered response - for it considers the true value of what one is doing and whether those resources might be better deployed elsewhere. Surely there are better uses for 2,500 dollars than a high-class Formula One seat? Most people can think of more mature uses of the money. In Singapore, however, it is considered admirable to spend thousands of dollars on such a thing. Is it elsewhere? What does the rest of the world think about spending so much for a seat at a race that can be a) watched just as well from seats about 60 times cheaper...or b) watched for free with consistently better viewing angles, on TV, at home? Comments please. Also, what are your thoughts on the social status of attending such events: is it a status statement to do so, in your country? Does it impress people to spend so much on such an event? I would be interested to hear from you.

Happy Formula One watching...to those who watch it, freely or otherwise.

(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.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)