Hafiz Osman's Economist Art Exhibition.

Hafiz Osman, my brother-in-law (and uncle to Ainan) has been commissioned, by The Economist magazine, as one of the Singaporean artists to answer the question: "What is your opinion of the world today?".

The Economist Art exhibition is in to its second week now and goes on until the 26th November 2008. Hafiz's work, which used 500 backdated issues of the Economist magazine as its materials of construction, is a comment on both the fleeting nature of the media, and the fact that it is so often seen as nothing more than visual sensation that is not understood in context. His work is meant to reflect the "-human interpretations, language barriers, political and cultural interventions, all of which obscure true understanding of what is actually happening." He goes on to say that: “I would like people to form their own, independent opinions, through viewing the work, about modern media.”

Hafiz is an up-and-coming young artist, who has held fourteen exhibitions (this is his fifteenth), and been an artist-in-residence, three times. He has had exhibitions as far afield as Istanbul, in Turkey; Belgrade, in Serbia and Delft in Holland. He is also presently a lecturer in Fine Art at La Salle College of the Arts (he was previously earning his living entirely from his art).

If you would like to catch a glimpse of one of his works it is to be found at Chevron House, in the foyer, at 30 Raffles Place, until the 26th November and is available for viewing from morning until 6.30 pm.

I hope you get a chance to see it. Thanks.

(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.)

Another classic Russian tale.

To teach, is to learn of worlds far away. The meaning of this becomes clear, with some teaching experience (which I advise everyone to try, sometime).

One lesson came to me one day, in a conversation with the, by now, famous Russian student I have written of, twice before.

I asked her: "When did you last go to the library?"

"I have never been to a library." said this twenty-four year old woman.

My somewhat stunned silence was my only answer. She took this as a challenge of some kind.

"Why?", she began, defensively, "For what?"

Again, I didn't answer. I let the amazement of her fellow students answer for me.

She had managed to get to the grand old age of twenty-four without stepping foot, even once, in a library.

Perhaps not liking the silence that had greeted her words, she began to talk:

"When I was in school, I got the clever boys, the ones with glasses, to do my homework." (She paused momentarily, as if for effect). "I never did it." She looked up at me, quite proud of herself.

So, not only had she never been to a library, she had never done her homework, either.

"Did you get good marks?" I enquired, keeping judgement from my voice.

"OK...".

On another occasion she revealed: "I never read books. I learnt English by talking, only."

When all these statements are put together, one gets the impression of a determinedly illiterate girl, thriving in the modern world on social skills alone. She has never entered a library; never done her homework, never read a book...yet she manages to get by with a smile and her feminine ways.

I find her revelations a bit of a shock, actually, brought up, as I was, in a world that believed in the primacy of literacy and learning. Here, however, was a girl who believed in neither - and was quite proud of it, too. The funny thing is, she also managed to make her way, despite rejecting the two major tools of the educational world: reading and knowledge.

How many others, are there, like her, in the world? Is she a rarity or is she common in some parts of the world? I wonder...answers, please, if you have any knowledge of this matter.

Thanks.

(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.)

"No resources" for Singaporeans; abundance for PRCs

I find the recent fuss over a Chinese PRC (People's Republic of China) student who took up a bond-free scholarship (that is one with no obligation to work for a set number of years in Singapore), but then fled, without notice, to a destination unknown (though suspected to be a US university), of great interest. You see, I find the contrast of the Singaporean educational authorities' response to PRC students marked indeed to what we experienced when we were working with the Gifted Education Programme.

I have written before of the differential treatment given to foreigners (particularly PRC students) and locals, but it bears writing of again, given the topicality of the issue - and the fact that I have personal experience to bring to the matter.

When we were seeking help, for Ainan, from the Gifted Education Programme, we were repeatedly told, in regards to our need for a Chemistry lab for him, that there were "No resources". The Gifted Branch Officer, Yogini, even said: "Why don't you find a private school and pay for it yourself?" Well, we checked out private schools. One, for instance, quoted a price of 600 dollars a lesson. That is a huge amount of money. Clearly, given the mercenary attitude of private schools in Singapore, it simply wasn't an option to hire a lab for ourselves. We found the GEP's response puzzling. Ainan had shown himself to be unusually gifted (he is, after all, the youngest child ever to pass an O level) - yet the GEP couldn't find the resources to help him. This seems strange given the hundreds of school laboratories across the face of Singapore: surely one had a teacher with the time and inclination to help? We were told that this was "too resource intensive" and that the GEP refused to arrange it.

Thus, we wasted a year and a half looking for a school or college for Ainan that would help. We found one, ourselves, in the Singapore Polytechnic (to whom we are most grateful). The GEP did not help, however, in any real way.

Now, contrast this experience of a gifted Singaporean child, with the experience of an imported PRC student on a government scholarship. Their education is free. They are given accommodation and a monthly stipend to meet their expenses. They have access to the best schools and facilities - and, in the case above, they are under no obligation to Singapore. There is no talk, for PRC students of "no resources".

Apparently, a gifted, even prodigious, Singaporean child is of less value to Singapore, than an imported PRC. A gifted, even prodigious, Singaporean child is of less concern to the system - it is OK not to support them, to let them be unstimulated, to deny them access to the resources they need to grow - because, heh, after all, they are not the all important PRCs of China.

We have heard of other gifted children in Singapore not getting the resources they need, or finding the response of the GEP frustrating. I doubt that PRC students have to experience the same thing.

So, my point is that if resources are available, in plenty, to lure foreign students - particularly PRCs - to Singapore, the resources should be available, in plenty, to ensure that no gifted Singaporean child (or indeed any Singaporean child of any level of intellect), goes without the resources they need to best optimize their talents.

A system which does not recognize the importance of native born Singaporeans (as my son is) and preferentially supports PRC imports, is one that has lost sight of who is more likely to make a contribution to Singapore. You see, as the flight of the PRC in question shows, the loyalty of an imported "talent" is always going to be less than that of a homegrown Singaporean (assuming, of course, that Singaporeans are well looked after and not treated poorly by the system, since that will lead to a decline of loyalty and national affection).

I understand why resources are made available for PRCs and the like: it is to seduce them into staying in Singapore, it is to increase our pool of talent. That is all very well and probably has a certain wisdom to it - but - and this is a big but - it should not be a discriminatory practice: Singaporeans, particularly ones of gift, should have just as much access to special resources as the imports. Otherwise, something strange will happen: just as the PRCs arrive, the Singaporeans will leave. Is that a desirable outcome?

(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 right thing to do.

Sometimes the right thing to do, is the last thing that is likely to be done - especially in some parts of the world.

I will explain. In October, across the breadth of Singapore, residential customers of Singapore Power were levied with a 21% increase in electricity charges, on the justification that "the forward price of oil has an upward trend". This, of course, was despite the fact that the price of oil had already started to fall rapidly and promised to fall a great deal more - which it subsequently has. Slothfully, and finally recognizing the situation, the-powers-that-be, have stated that electricity rates are to return "probably the level they were before October". In other words they will drop by the margin by which they rose.

That might seem fine...but hang on a minute. What price SHOULD electricity be? We have been told, most clearly, that the price of electricity, in Singapore, is linked closely to the price of crude oil (after all that was the justification for raising the price in the first place), thus, should not the price of electricity reflect the new price of oil? The last time I checked, today, oil was at 58 dollars a barrel - a price in the range of the early part of 2005. Thus electricity tariffs in Singapore should be reduced to what they were in early 2005: that would be a true reflection of the situation. Reducing the tariff to the rate of just before October 2008 doesn't truly reflect the situation with oil, now.

There is another matter. Since it is clear that there was no REAL justification for the electricity price rise (it was a phantom based on incorrect data), shouldn't there be a refund for all domestic customers of the amount they were over-charged? That, in these recessionary times, would be the right thing to do. Like I said, above, I expect that it is the last thing that is likely to happen.

However, I will check my power bill, in January, on the offchance that someone up above, has decided to do the right thing, after all.

Try this link for information on previous oil prices: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_price_increases_of_2004-2006

Thanks.

(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.)

Ainan's invents mathematical notation.

Ainan has invented his own mathematical notation to express his understanding of numbers.

Now, I rather wish I could explain it, but I don't understand it. (I did sit down with him, for an explanation, but it turned out to be elusive in its complexity and I didn't have time to get to the bottom of it). It is a straightforward notation that looks simple enough when written down, but which seems to have very complex outputs. It is useful, it appears, when working with very large numbers.

The point of this observation is not about conveying a detailed understanding of his work (for that would not be of interest to most and, as I have said, I am not in a position to do so, anyway), but conveying an understanding of Ainan. He is turning his mind to other things, beyond Chemistry. His interests are spreading to Physics and Mathematics. He is beginning to do with maths, for instance, what he started to do in the early days, with Chemistry: experiment with it, to create his own projects, works, theories and practical results.

I find this heartening. You see with his wider interests in mathematical and physical areas, he looks set to become a more complete physical scientist and this will open up more options for him, in years to come.

It is sweet to note, too, his deep interest in his mathematical work. He gets a very great reward from playing with mathematical ideas in this way.

This development leaves me with less of an ability to predict his future, but more of a certainty that it will be a broad one. He is maintaining his interest in Chemistry and is continuing to develop along that line, too.

(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.)