Computer programming by a child.

Ainan is ever surprising - and that, in itself, is the most surprising thing about him. One would have thought that he would have run out of surprises by now...but no, he hasn't.

One of Ainan's surprises is his ability at computer programming. Yesterday, for instance, my computer was behaving in odd ways. It was "talking" to me, in written words, in response to my typed entries. Furthermore, it was doing things in response to my typing, that I hadn't asked it to do.

I asked Ainan, knowing that he must have done it: "How did you do that?"

"It is simple." he began, obviously believing it to be, before he launched into a very rapid, detailed and utterly incomprehensible description of the programme he had used to do it. He listed the programme from memory (or recreated as he went along...I couldn't tell which), detailing, in a programming language, how to achieve what he had just done. After a while, I tuned out, knowing that attention would not inform me any better what he was saying. Finally, he ended his descriptive download. I hadn't understood a word of it.

"Who taught you to do that? Do they teach that at school?"

He looked at me like I had said something fundamentally silly. Perhaps it was the suggestion that school might actually teach him something.

"No, Daddy." he began with the kind of patience that told me he didn't think much of my question, perhaps questioning its underlying view of the world, "You can teach yourself that."

So, in between all the other things he was doing, in the sciences and maths, in art, and writing, in reading, and playing, he had found time to learn to programme computers, too - in what seemed a very natural way. He did it as if it were as easy as breathing.

I programmed computers, once. I was 17 and working at the National Physical Laboratory, in the UK. I had to create a programme to analyse data, but didn't know the language to do so - so I picked up a programming book and began to read. Three days later, I was programming. However, I was 17, not 9 and Ainan has been programming since at least 8, perhaps younger.

I am left to wonder what other surprises he has for me...and what other things he has learnt without me realizing that he has done so.

(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.IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals.

If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

"The richest Cawley in the world".

"Who is the richest Cawley in the world?" was a search which arrived on my blog, a couple of months ago. At the time, I ignored it and didn't remark upon it - but now, upon reflection, I think it is time to remark.

My recent post on Macaulay Culkin (odd that he has the sound caulay/cawley in his name!), brought to mind what it is that people find interesting in others. In the case of Macaulay Culkin, no one has ever shown any other interest, in their search terms, for arrival on my site, but in his personal wealth. The same cannot be said for those who use the name "Cawley", in searching. However, the search is worthy of comment.

The search: "Who is the richest Cawley in the world?" originated in the UK. Now, the UK has heard a lot about Ainan Cawley, recently, so I can't help but wonder if it was hearing about my son, and his talents, that prompted this searcher to wonder about the Cawley family. It also made me wonder why they would think in terms of wealth, on learning of his talents. It seems that some people only find value in others, in terms of how valuable (or wealthy) they are. It seems as if, for them, the ONLY way of measuring another's worth, is in terms, quite literally, of their net worth.

There are many ways in which a person may be of value to the world and wealth is, in truth, a minor one among them. A person can be kind, or supportive; helpful or friendly. A person can creative, or intelligent, honest or sympathetic. A person can be hardworking, reliable and committed. A person may be beautiful, or loving, or loyal. There are SO many ways in which a person may be valuable to the world, that it really puzzles me that so many people should reduce people purely to their wealth, to the number of dollars/pounds/yuan attached to their name.

I shall, however, address the person's question directly: I don't know. There are many Cawleys in this world. The tales tell that this particular family originated in ancient times in Ireland, from a descendant of a King and spread out across the world, in more modern times. There are Cawleys in America, Cawleys in Australia, Cawleys in the UK, and now there are even Cawleys in Singapore. For all I know, there might be Cawleys in every country of the world - but the first three countries I mentioned will have the bulk of them. Now, these Cawleys have done many things. A quick search of the internet reveals an astonishing range of Cawleys getting up to all sorts of things. However, what IS noticeable is that a lot of these Cawleys have the term "President" attached to their names. (Others have CEO). It is clear, therefore, that quite a few Cawleys have done very well for themselves. This makes it difficult to decide who is the richest. There was a Cawley who founded a bank, in America. There are several Cawleys (including one big firm in the USA) who own property companies. There are Cawleys high up in computing companies (including IBM). There are, in fact, Cawleys in all sorts of well placed positions, as the internet so easily tells. So, I am afraid, I can't answer the question of "who is the richest Cawley in the world?" It may, in fact, be impossible to know. You see, it is quite likely that the "richest Cawley in the world" doesn't want you to know that he is the richest - and so won't necessarily appear on lists of the wealthy anywhere in the world. It is called, I suppose, "none of your business" - for that is an attitude that I would be unsurprised, for this fabled richest Cawley to have.

Then again, the question, "who is the richest Cawley in the world?" is, itself, meaningless, for it implies a value judgement. It seems to be saying that the richest Cawley is somehow the most worthy Cawley - well, this may not be true. The richest Cawley is no more or less than the richest Cawley: that is all. This fabled richest Cawley may not be the brightest Cawley, nor the most creative Cawley, nor the most beautiful Cawley, nor the most pleasant Cawley, nor the most honest Cawley, nor the most kind Cawley, nor the most sympathetic Cawley, nor the most friendly Cawley. There is no way of knowing from knowledge of how much they are "worth" alone what they are, in fact, worth as a person.

I think the question was asked without an understanding of what is truly valuable about a person. I think the question was asked with too narrow a conception of value and meaning in others. A different question to have asked might be: "Who is the BEST Cawley in the world?" After defining "best", I rather think that the answer would be a different one, to the one found with "Who is the richest Cawley?" (That assumes, of course, that one defines "best" in terms other than wealth.)

I can't answer either of these questions, however, for certain. This is because I do not know which of the hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of Cawleys in the world is the richest, the best, the kindest or any other quality or measurement. I simply don't know all of them. I don't even know how many of them there are.

I know this, though: once upon a time, long ago, there was a King, who had a son, who had many children and those children had children, and so on until today. Those children are now spread all over the world. They are the "Cawley family". Whether they be rich or poor, bright or kind...they carry my name - and I, too, wonder, sometimes, who they are and what lives they live. Do they know that they can all be traced back to the same point in time? (That is a question I will revisit another time...that of origin.)

I know this, too, that searcher's question is just not important enough to answer. There are better questions to ask of people in this world - and more interesting things to know about them. Those are the things I would rather know, learn and share.

One final thought: is the richest Cawley the happiest Cawley?

I doubt it.

(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.IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals.

If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.

Hollywood is dying. The signs are clear. All you have to do is to have had the misfortune to watch Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. I did. I wish I could get those hours of life back - for I sure did waste them.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is a very distinguished movie. It distinguishes itself by being, in fact, the worst film I have ever seen. Since enduring it, I have tried very hard to recall anything as bad. Even Japanese Godzilla type nonsense is not as bad, for at least the special effects are amusing, in their ineptness. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, is just inept on every level that it is possible for a story to be inept. The plot is drivel. The characterization doesn't even begin. The acting is so "cardboard cutout" that I began to wonder why, in fact, cardboard cutouts were not, in fact, employed instead of Shia La Boeuf and Megan Fox, both of whom showed little evidence of acting ability. However, it is difficult to know where to lay the blame: was it the director for not directing them...or the editor/director team, for choosing to show them at their worst?

My favourite parts (for all the wrong reasons) were when Shia "I won't trouble you by actually acting" La Boeuf, went into a strange twitching fit every time he had messages from his splinter of the Allspark (I know...sounds like nonsense, doesn't it? Because, of course, it is...) The twitching was so overdone, each time, so monstrously overacted that it was abundantly clear that neither actor nor director had the remotest idea of how real people behave. I shall remember that twitching for a long time to come.

Michael Bay is famed for not directing - he just blows things up. He is a man who doesn't make movies, he makes money. However, that is why Hollywood loves him: Hollywood exists not to make movies, but to make money. If Hollywood could make more money not making movies, but just pretending that they do - they would stop making movies immediately. Oh, dear, they have already thought of that: Michael Bay's work is the evidence.

This "film"...well, actually, "series of explosions", distinguished itself in another way: it put me to sleep TWICE, despite the noise and the chaos. Perhaps it was the repetitiveness of it all that did it. I actually fell to sleep TWICE in the final 30 minutes explosive finale. It was the sheer dullness of those dull, seen them before, robots, fighting each other, in dull, seen them before, ways. It was the most boring half an hour I have ever suffered in a cinema.

Sadly, this "film" is not the great failure it deserves to be. Indeed it did 583 million dollars at the box office (in the US, I believe) in the first 5 days. Thus, the world's film audiences are damned to receive a deluge of such nonsense, in the future. That which makes most money, is that which will be most copied.

The big question is: why does a film as dire and dull as Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, do so well at the box office?

My only conclusion is that the human race, itself, is in decline. People have lost any vestige of taste or discernment that they once had - and now, they really do not know what a good film is. They don't recognize deficiencies of plot, characterization, acting, or directing. If it blows up, is brightly coloured and moves fast, they think it is great. The global film audience is basically at the level of a toddler, when it comes to film comprehension: they are excited by something visually stunning, even if it is mind-numbing as well. They don't notice their minds being numbed...because that is the permanent state of them.

I see little hope for an upsurge in public taste. Every passing year seems to see an incremental decline in what people are and in what they seek. A comparison of the public tastes of people in my childhood and those, now, reveals a perturbing decline. Of course, it may be Hollywood itself that is to blame by acculturating people to nonsense.

I cannot see any present mechanism that could reverse such a trend. The only thing that would work would be if Hollywood suddenly started losing money on Transformers X, or whatever it will be. Once empty "Michael Bay" type films start to lose money, then Hollywood will try something else. Oddly, people get what they deserve, in a way. If great films, with great acting and great writing and interesting premises, were the biggest films at the box office, that is exactly what Hollywood would be striving to make. So, you have the power to change the situation: seek out the best films that you can - and avoid the trash, and urge others to avoid the trash, too. In time, there may be a change...and great films may once more become dominant.
(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.IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals.

If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

The tragedy of Macaulay Culkin.

Macaulay Culkin is, in my eyes, a tragic figure - but not for any reason that anyone else, would necessarily know, before I write of it. Indeed, he is doubly tragic. I shall explain.

Firstly, there is the obvious fact that Macaulay Culkin's greatest successes are behind him. The peaks of his life all lie in childhood. Unlike some who achieved renown, whilst very young, Macaulay Culkin did not go on to an adult career the area of his initial expertise. Once the cuteness of childhood was gone, so was Macaulay Culkin's great career.

Imagine, if you will, what it must be like to have been so gloriously successful, whilst still a child - and then to be so notably unnotable, as an adult. In a sense, he has lived past his life, as most people think of life - a time of aspirations and achievements, strung together from birth until death.

We cannot know what he may be aspiring to do, now, for he is nothing but quiet. There is not a word of his doings, as an adult. He seems to create nothing and do nothing that would amount to creative work. But then, he doesn't need to work, for he is rich. How rich is a matter of speculation, but a couple of years ago, I read estimates that he was worth 30 million US Dollars. Whatever he is actually worth now (and if he was invested in the wrong things, in the recent turbulence, it could, of course, be a lot less now), I am sure that he is worth enough to be considered "rich" by the common man and even by the quite uncommon one.

I have come to view Macaulay Culkin as tragic for a reason known, most probably only to me. This reason is simple. Ever since I posted once on Macaulay Culkin a year or two ago, I have had a lot of traffic for him. Indeed, about 2 to 3 % of the traffic to my site concerns Macaulay Culkin. The former star might be pleased to learn this - but I wouldn't, if I were him - because ALL of the searchers have had the same set of search terms - or variations on them. They have only ever been looking for one thing about Macaulay Culkin. The search terms are always, in effect: "What is Macaulay Culkin's net worth?" or "What is Macaulay Culkin worth now?" I have never, once, not even once, seen a search for ANYTHING else about Macaulay Culkin except his net worth. It appears that no-one is interested in anything, now, about him, than his net worth.

This seems to me a very sad situation. After a childhood of great and globally renowned filmic achievement that established him as one of the great child stars, as an adult, he has no discernible career or creative outlet (that I have ever heard of...which probably means that it is not happening). The only thing that people find of interest, now, about him, is how rich he is. That is it: how rich is Macaulay Culkin? That is the only question they have arrived on my blog in search of.

I wonder at what motivates these searchers. Are they people who have met him and wonder if he is worth trying to sponge off of? Are they fans who wonder on what financial pedestal to raise him? Are they financial workers, seeking background on him, in an effort to gauge what they might be able to sell him? I have no way of knowing...however, I know this: they don't care about his work, about his films, about his past greatness - they only care, now, about his money. Macaulay Culkin has become, in their eyes, nothing more than a rich adult, worthy perhaps of befriending solely for his money, or perhaps attempting to scam in some way. Nothing Macaulay Culkin did as a child has left a mark on these people. Now, that is sad. Macaulay Culkin, former child star, is now nothing but a great, big wallet, to all the searchers who have arrived on my site, in search of him, these past couple of years.

In many ways, I think Macaulay Culkin's fate is rather worse than being forgotten. He is now remembered as someone who should be rich - and nothing more: what a fate.

(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.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

IMDb: Internet Movie Database.

IMDb is the Internet Movie Database. It is the world's greatest cache of film and tv information. If the information you seek is related to film or tv, it is likely to be on IMDb.

Two or three months ago, I accidentally stumbled on the fact that someone had started an IMDb page, for my son, Ainan Celeste Cawley. This was because of an appearance of his, on tv, in the UK. It was probably the production company that started a page for him. Now, every actor who has ever worked in television or film, in a serious way, has an IMDb listing. IMDb has become the way that the public and the industry alike find out more about an actor, a writer, a director, a producer, a lighting man etc. Although, the industry tends to subscribe for extra information, by getting IMDbPro.

Perhaps I should have expected Ainan Celeste Cawley to have an IMDb listing...but I didn't. It never occurred to me. It wasn't long before I had one too...and my wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley.

Now, some of you may know that I have been an actor, in my time. I have worked in theatre, tv and film. So, looking at my IMDb listing, all shiny, new and with few credits, I thought to fill it up with the many eligible credits (at least 15) that would fit the rules of inclusion. These rules are simple: if many people have seen it or could see it, if they wanted to, then it is possible it might be included. This means, basically, that the film or tv show has been broadcast nationally in at least one country, or it has been subject to widespread cinema release. Minimally, it is possible to get a short film listed if it has been shown at various prestigious film festivals, though it is probably harder to do so, than for the other categories. What these rules mean, however, is that quite a lot of an actor's work cannot ever be included. No theatre is accepted, for instance - and many films that actors do, end up never getting wide enough distribution to be counted as eligible. So, discounting the categories that cannot be included, I have about 15 more credits that should be listed. There, however, the problem begins.

IMDb is very, very choosy. It doesn't take long to realize that getting a listing on IMDb is a BIG thing. I thought, rather naively, to try to upload a couple of my tv credits over two months ago. This process involves providing very detailed information about the film. They ask for full cast and crew details. They ask for technical issues like what camera was used (I hadn't a clue), or how long is it, what "aspect ratio" it was and so on. They enquire after the production dates (when it shot or would shoot) and who owns it. They query one on producers and production companies and the distribution arrangements. I think you get the picture: the questions are endless for each and every show you would like to list. So, here's what happens at IMDb: you input all the information you have to hand (which can take ages, given the menu system they use), then you wait. Almost invariably, a week or so later, they email me with a standard form letter that says: "We have been busy and haven't looked at your submission yet...but please provide more information to allow it to be considered." So, then, you scrabble around for some more information (in my case this involved writing to the production company a polite letter) and upload it. A week later, you get the same reply: "We have been busy and haven't looked at your submission yet...but please provide more information to allow it to be considered." There then ensues ANOTHER letter to the production company asking for even more information (with a slight begging tone, this time). The information is uploaded and the wait begins again. Guess what? A week later, they send an email saying: "We have been busy..."

For BOTH of the tv credits I tried to upload, this went on for two months. Finally, a few days ago, one of them was accepted. My role as Stanley Warren, in A War Diary (a tv series made in Singapore by Dreamforest Productions) was finally listed: yippee! For those who don't know much about Singaporean history, Stanley Warren was an artist interned in a prison camp, (Changi Prison) during World War II. He is famous because, despite the terrible conditions inside the camp, he managed to paint five murals on a religious theme, in St. Luke's Chapel, Changi Prison during his imprisonment. So, I was playing a real historical character, who really lived in Singapore, at one time (he died in 1992): it was an interesting role and a great responsibility. I even had to paint, on camera, one of the murals he made (a recreated version).

So, I have had one success in uploading IMDb credits. The other credit I have been trying is a tv show executive produced by a well known producer, in Singapore...but still I am having trouble getting a listing...they keep making that same request for more information. I kept on writing letters to the production company. Finally, the production company told me that they had given me ALL the information they had on the show. I told IMDb this and, guess what? They asked for more information. I have answered them, and am presently waiting for their decision.

Now, that I have tried to upload credits to IMDb, I have come to realize just how difficult it is to do so. I have come, therefore, to appreciate what it means when an actor actually HAS credits on IMDb. It means that their work has been screened, checked and verified (as IMDb does to all entries). It means that their work has received wide distribution and is of public interest. It means, basically, that the work is a solid achievement and, to my eyes, given the difficulty of securing a listing, worthy of respect.

I have fifteen credits waiting to be uploaded. It won't be easy. For each one, I will have to contact the production companies and secure the answers to scores of questions. If the companies don't help, I will never be able to upload the information. Even if they do, I will face months of "back and forth" and waiting for each one. Even then, there is no guarantee that I will ever be able to satisfy IMDb on a listing. It may all be fruitless.

Why do it, then? Well, the film and tv industry have come to value IMDb highly. It is where they go to find out about artists. If an artist's work is NOT listed on IMDb, it may as well not have been done - for it will not benefit the artist in any way, in terms of securing future work. Thus, an IMDb listing is, in fact, essential to the long-term future of any creative in any aspect of tv or film. That is why I think I should try to list my work, even though it is going to take a lot of work to do so.

My IMDb listing is just beginning. I write this post in celebration that I have managed to achieve my first acting credit on it. I have another fifteen credits to upload. Though there are two other credits on it, in other areas, already.

If you would like to look at my IMDb listing (which may get longer at any time after this post is written, since I will be trying to upload my work, over time) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look.

My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Thank you. I have found IMDb a very useful and fun resource...I hope you do, too. Happy reading.

(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.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

A child's curiosity about the world.

Tiarnan, three, is curious about the world, as many young kids are. Yesterday, however, I was surprised at just what he was curious about.

"Daddy...what is lightning?", he asked, his elfin face full of intent.

I explained. When I had done so, he turned his mind to another question.

"How about neutrons?", my three year old son, asked, saying the word "neutron" as if it were most familiar.

This rather stunned me. How did he know about neutrons? What had made him curious about them? What did he already know about them?

I told him what they were.

"How about virus?", he then asked.

I explained.

"How about acid? Is acid small?"

That really surprised me...that he should ask about the SIZE of acids. That, in itself, seems to be a fumbling after a theory of the world as made up of minute things: a proto atomic theory if you like. I rather had the feeling that he had come upon this thought himself, from the way it was expressed.

I told him about acids.

"How about Rhino beetles?"

"I don't know anything about Rhino beetles. I am sorry."

He stopped asking questions, at that point. I think the fact that Daddy didn't know was enough to silence him. To him, I am a living Google, able to answer any and all questions with encylopaedic authority. Unfortunately, he had asked a term with no references in my particular inner encyclopaedia - except in terms too vague to provide a satisfactory answer.

This exchange with my three year old son, called to mind his elder brother, Ainan, who was also very interested in matters scientific from an early age. I am led to wonder what kind of boy Tiarnan is going to turn out to be. He has the personality of an actor - and the mind of a scientist. Perhaps he will be both - or, like Michio Kaku, make science documentaries for the masses.

The funny thing about all of this is that, even though I have been a father for nine years, I still find myself surprised by my children, at times. They seem to have infinite creativity in the surprise department.

(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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