Ainan on a Theory of Everything.

A couple of days ago, I was talking to Ainan, ten, about Einstein's efforts to create a Unified Field Theory...which in modern parlance, would be termed a "Theory of Everything". This would be a single physical theory that would unite and explain all physical forces and phenomena.

As I spoke of Einstein's purpose, an understanding entered Ainan's eyes with such certainty that I could almost read it, there, before he spoke:

"In Physics," Ainan began, quietly, but with a force of conviction that was unmistakeable, "if your equation isn't simple, there is something wrong with your Universe."

Ainan had, it seemed, come upon the belief, for himself, that in Physics, truth and simplicity are one: that which is true, is also that which is simple. Of course, what Ainan means by simplicity might not be what most people mean...but I think the intention is clear: a Unified Field Theory, or a Theory of Everything, would not, in Ainan's view, be complex to express, even if it is was difficult to derive.

What I find most interesting about this little observation of his is not the observation itself, whatever anyone might think of it - but the certainty with which he conceived it. There is, in him, an inner barometer of scientific truth, that tells him what the world is like, and what science should be. This barometer is vital, I believe, to the essence of a true scientist for, without it, it is easy to flounder in misconceptions, that, with it, one would never be tempted by. Ainan has developed, it seems, an inner guide as to what science should be. That, to me, is a very hopeful sign. I look forward to where it might lead him and to what. I only know this: that whatever he finds, he will try to express it as simply as he can. Thus, he would try to make known, even his most masterful thoughts, in the clearest manner possible - for that is how he believes science should be.

Happy hunting Ainan.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

The magic of a baby name.

Sometimes, the search engines teach me surprising things about the way others think. Today, for instance, someone arrived on my blog, having searched with the terms "prodigy boy names". The searcher was from Stanwood, Washington in the USA.

Now that search gave me pause for what it suggested about the thinking of the searcher. The most obvious interpretation is that they were searching for a name for a new born or soon to be born boy - and had decided to name their child after a prodigy. I found that rather sad for what it suggested the child's childhood would be like. The most likely outcome would be that the child would not meet the parents' expectations - for, it doesn't take much knowledge of people to realize that anyone who would name their child after a prodigy, is implicitly stating that they would like a prodigy for a child. The problem with that, of course, is that, unless prodigiousness is in their genes, as a gift that they may pass onto their child, there is just no way that they are going to have a prodigious child. They can wish all they want. They can choose the most prodigious of names - but that name has no magic in it. It is not going to cast a spell over the child and make that child, suddenly, miraculously, into some kind of clone of the prodigy from whom the name comes. The name of a prodigy is an accidental label, that may be readily detached from the prodigy and used to label someone else. Yes. However, the properties and qualities of that prodigy do not come with the label. Conferring the name of a prodigy onto a child does not make that child into a prodigy. In fact, it is going to do something else: it is going to make the child very sad indeed.

The problem, you see, is that, one day, the child will understand where the name comes from. This is clear because prodigies tend to become famous - so the child is likely to hear of their famous namesake, at some point. When the child does, it will eventually occur to them that they could have been named AFTER the prodigy. Indeed, if the name is a rare one - as I have observed the names of some prodigies are - such as Ainan, for instance - then the child may conclude, quite fairly, that he or she MUST have been named after the prodigy. Then the line of reasoning will lead the child to understand, in time, that the only real reason that their parents could have for selecting that name is if they admired the prodigy in some way. It is a small step from that to realizing that the name was an aspirational choice of the parents - and that they, indeed, wanted their son or daughter to be LIKE the prodigy in question. In short, they would realize that their parents wanted to have a prodigious child.

What happens, however, if, as is overwhelmingly likely, the child in question is NOT a child prodigy? Well, that can only lead to a deep unhappiness about who they are and what they have achieved. It can only lead them to conceive of themselves as inadequate, as a failure and as not meeting their parents' expectations. This is psychologically very damaging for a child. Thus, it can be seen that, far from being a good choice for a child's name, the name of a prodigy is, in fact, the worst choice of name for a child. Indeed, it gets worse. Imagine, now, that the parents of the child TRULY wanted a prodigy for a child. Imagine that they TRULY admired the nature and quality of the prodigy after whom they had named their child. Imagine then, how TRULY sad, it would be to have to use the name of that prodigy, every time they spoke to their own child, constantly reminding themselves of the contrast between aspiration and reality, between the fabled prodigy, and their own, rather more normal child. I am sure, indeed, absolutely certain, that that would take a toll on the parents, after awhile. They may not even be aware of the source of their unhappiness: but it would lay in the very name they had chosen for their child. Every time they utter it, they would be invoking the image of the OTHER, in their minds, unconscious or otherwise, they would be recalling the nature of the one they had admired enough to name their child after them - and would then, reflexively compare that image to the reality of their child before them. It would lead them to see their child as less than they should be. It would lead, perhaps, to them being disappointed with their child and perhaps, to undervaluing them. Yet, it should not be. You see, their child is uniquely special. There will never be another child in the whole history of the human race, like their child. Their child should be valued precisely because he or she is NOT like the prodigy, precisely because he or she, is uniquely his or her self. It is not in the particular abilities, that a human being is truly valuable, but in their particularities: the uniquenesses that make them unlike any other. Once that is understood, all children are to be equally cherished, for all children are equally unique.

Yes, of course, it is a wonder to a parent to have a child with special abilities. It is something that can bring great pleasure to any parent. However, one must not forget that ANY child, indeed, ALL children should bring great pleasure to their parents. Each child should be accepted as they are, treasured for what they are and not found wanting for what they are not.

To name a child after someone special, is a mistake that will reverberate throughout the life of the child - for it is vastly more likely that the comparison will not be a favourable one, for the child -and therefore would be a damaging one, to their self-esteem to have it constantly recalled to mind, each time their hear their own name or are moved to say it. In some way, to be named after another, is to have one's own life and identity taken away from one. It is to become less unique and somewhat blended, in people's minds and unconscious understandings, into the image of the one after whom they are named.

Thus, if you are to name a child, choose a name for personal reasons, for internal reasons that have nothing to do with the famed individuals in the outside world. However, if you do choose a famous name be aware of this: to do so, would be to ensure a life of constant comparison between your child and the famed person. The question is: would your child do well in that comparison? Is it fair on the child? Do you want them constantly to be reminded of a probably greater other that they were supposed to be like, but never were?

It is a dangerous game, therefore, to name a child after the famous. Choose instead, a quiet name, into which the child can grow. Choose a name they can make their own. Who knows, perhaps, the child will grow into someone special indeed and leave others with the dilemma of whether to name their own child, after yours.

Happy baby naming! Choose wisely and with aforethought...

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.htmlI also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to:http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Hope for the future.

I love to write, in the manner in which other people love to eat. I do it to live, and it satisfies, to a degree, an appetite for self-expression that has been with me, since earliest childhood. In short, I have things to say, and a need to say them. That is the first good part about being a writer. The second good part - in fact, the better part, comes from something I read, by chance, in my random meanders across the Internet.

In a book entitled "Aging and Old Age" by Richard A. Posner, I stumbled on this statement, that imbued me with a definite hope for the future:

"Writing ability, which in the best judges can fairly be termed literary, is an aspect of crystallized intelligence, and is one of the aspects least likely to decline with age until senility sets in."

Later on in the same paragraph Posner notes: "Comparison of the writing style (not intellectual creativity) of the same person at different ages often reveals steady improvement to a quite advanced age, with no decline from that late peak, until shortly before death."

To me this is a phenomenal statement, for it unseats what people generally think of old age. There is, in most people, a belief that old age is decrepit, mentally and physically and that the old are less capable than the young. However, with respect to writing ability, it is clear that the opposite holds true: the old are MORE capable of writing than the young. This, of course, overturns the beliefs and habits of modern publishing - for is it not the young, beautiful, marketable, "star" that they ever seek to highlight, to give big advances to, and to hold up to us, as the greatest of the great? Yet, it is simply not true. That same youngster will be far better in old age, should they continue to write, than they ever could be, when so young. So, too, other, perhaps unknown and unheralded older writers, are likely to be much better writers than the ones who are selected for youthful stardom.

However, that is not to say a young writer can't be brilliant at writing, at choosing just the right words and fashioning beautiful prose (or poetry, for that matter) - of course, they can. Yet, what this distillation of research is saying is that they are likely to be much better in old age, than they were in youth, as long as they continue to write.

Writers don't get old, they get better. However, it is the young who get publishing contracts!

So, should you have your eyes on a young writer with promise: know this, that as the years pass, their talent is not likely to fade, but to grow. That young writer you so admire is likely to grow into a writer you admire even more. Now, isn't that a hopeful thought to hold in mind, as you assess any writer you read? The future of a writer, may very well be much better than their past.

Thus, if you are a writer, don't fear to age, for your talent will grow as you do. If you are a reader, don't fear the aging of your favourite writers, for they will only offer you sweeter words than the ones you have already read, by them.

I am glad I read that article - it makes me feel altogether better about the passage of time. It gives me the hope that, if I am lucky and my health holds out, that the years ahead will be more fruitful than the years behind and that I might grow, one day, into a writer, so much more skillful than I am today. That makes age something not to fear, but to welcome and look forward to, in anticipation of the written works to come.

Your favourite writers are only going to get better.

Happy reading all.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.htmlI also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to:http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

The dream of a genius.

Geniuses dream whilst they are awake. Thus it is that they are more asleep than everyone else.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.htmlI also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to:http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Fourth anniversary of my blog: an assessment.

Yesterday, marked the fourth year of my blog, exactly. So, as is my custom, it is time to review how the year went.

Firstly, I was much busier, in my life, than in previous years, with less time to write. Thus, I posted less frequently than in any of the previous three years. Then again, only a few weeks ago, I almost gave up writing altogether because of "hate mail" I had been receiving for writing some things, which some people just didn't want to hear. However, after much deliberation I decided to write on: after all, when others urge us to silence, is that not precisely when we should speak out loudest? No man should be silenced for his views, for it is the unpopular view that is the most valuable, since it may show us, all, that the prevailing thinking is wrong - as it is, often, of course and has been throughout history. That is why "geniuses" are remembered - because they managed to show the world that, whatever at the time had been commonly thought, was, in fact, mistaken. A genius is one who can show us not so much how to think, but what we have been thinking wrongly.

Here is the good news: I still enjoy writing this blog. Indeed, it is my favourite personal hobby just to sit down and express my thoughts, freely and without needing to ask another human being whether I can publish them. That is the great pleasure of blogging: the freedom to publish whatever one pleases, whenever one pleases, without needing permission of anyone. Perhaps at no time in history, before, has this been the lot of all. Before now, only those with printing presses could publish what they pleased, when they pleased - and even then, their societies might have censured them, arrested them, or killed them, for it. Now, however, I, and all others with access to the Internet, can publish whatever we wish. It is a freedom that is too little appreciated and, perhaps, not used as wisely as it could be. There is a lot being published in this world, that adds no value to it - but, at least, there is the compensation that much of value is also being allowed to be expressed - so, on balance, the freedom to do so, is of benefit to the world and everyone in it.

Posting less frequently has led, it seems, to a small decline in annual readership figures. My total number of readers since the blog began on September 19, 2006 was 317,867 visits (as of midnight last night). To my mind, that is a good tally, since it is almost a third of a million people to whom I have communicated something that they thought worth reading. So, it is a special, very modern kind of achievement. However, of those readers, 95,153 visited in the fourth year. That is a decline of 21,845 readers year on year. In other words, a drop of 18.67% in readership from the previous year. Yet, it is not as bad as it seems, since over 10,000 of the readers in the third year visited in ONE DAY, when the German newspaper De Bild (the paper with the highest readership in Germany) linked to my blog, owing to a news article on Ainan. Thus the real decline, for any reasonable way of looking at it, is half the apparent decline. Another way of looking at it would be to relate it to the frequency of blog posting. Now, I haven't the time, at this moment to count the posts, but I estimate that the frequency in the fourth year probably went down by about 25%. Thus, the drop in readership is less than the drop in posting frequency. This actually indicates that readership per post in fact INCREASED.

The total number of page views since the blog started was, as of midnight last night, 656,607. This represents approximately seven times that, in blog posts, since a single page of the archives is one week of posts. (In some weeks however, there might be as many as 15 posts...and in others there might be fewer than seven.) This means that in the region of 4,596,249 posts have been read, on my blog, since I started it. Given that a typical post might be a thousand words long, with up to 13,000 words or more of comments, thereafter, it can be seen that readers have read BILLIONS of my words, since I began writing the blog.

The number of new page views for this year was 166,685. This is a decline year on year, but is very similar to the tally attained in the second year, which was 160,169. The decline from last year's total of 224,066 page views, was 57,381 page views. This is a decline of 25.6% in page views, from the baseline of last year. Oddly enough, that is in line with my own decline in output, which is, perhaps, indicative of what is happening: they have been reading less, because I have been writing less. The total number of posts read in the past year was about 7 times 166,685 or 1,166,795 posts. This suggests at least a billion posted words were consumed and several billion words of comments (over half of which will have been written by me, since I tend to reply to almost every post, at least once).

So, it has been another billion plus word, reading year, on my blog. I am pleased with that. As I have noted before, the level of communication achieved by this blog is on a par with the level of communication achieved from having a best seller. The 1.166 billion words of posts read by my readers equates to 15,556 copies of a 75,000 word novel. Should comments be included in that reading tally, then we can, perhaps, estimate another 30,000 to 45,000 copies of the "novel" in question. Thus, the scale of communication is significant, in terms of volume of information. Furthermore, the actual number of people reached is much more than a well selling novel typically reaches.

As always, I have had readers from all over the world - even from places where one doesn't really expect to find Internet connections - for instance, towns in Africa and small islands in the middle of vast oceans. I have had readers from many such places. Peculiarly, these people, from places rare and unknown, have sometimes searched for me, or my son, by name. Thus, one can only conclude that the reputation we have begun to acquire is spreading very far and wide, indeed (by word of mouth and word of Internet, I would say).

In the coming year, I hope to write more frequently than I have been doing so in the past year. I have put in place a more conducive environment for writing and should have time, now, to devote more energy to it. So, I expect to see a resurgence of my readership figures in the year ahead.

Another factor, though is coming into play. I am publishing my blog at the Kindle store on Amazon.com. I cannot say, at this time, what effect this will have on my "readership figures" because those readers will not be counted by visits directly to my blog. Thus, though they won't appear in my readership tally, a new audience will be growing. I will have to provide estimates for them, too, in my fifth year assessment.

Thank you all for reading The Boy Who Knew Too Much: A Child Prodigy, over the years. It continues to be a pleasure to write and to read your comments. The only blemish has been a few hostile anonymous commenters - but now, that there are no anonymous comments, civility has returned to the blog and I am grateful for that.

Happy reading, all, in the year ahead. I shall, I hope, continue to be happy writing it. Best wishes, all, on the year to come.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.htmlI also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to:http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

The Kindle Blog Report reviews The Boy Who Knew Too Much.

The Kindle Blog Report is a website dedicated to reviewing blogs available on the Kindle, Amazon. It is an excellent resource for anyone who would like to be guided to the best and away from the worst, of what the Kindle has to offer.

The reviews are very clear to read and it is very simple to extract the important information from them. They are broken down into sections so that you can focus on the most important ones for you: "Reviewed by..."; "My recommendation"; "Amazon subscription link"; "Web address"; "Blog description"; "My review", "Sample post" and "Recent posts". This review outlay gives a very comprehensive insight into what a blog is like. The second section "My recommendation" is a simple one word statement: "Yes" or "No"...thus, if you have little time, you can immediately see whether the review is a positive one or not - and know at once whether the blog being reviewed is worth your time. The "Sample post" section is also useful, in that it includes a sample of writing found on the site, giving the reader an idea of the quality of writing concerned. The "Recent posts" section gives a glimpse of the possible variety of material on the site.

All in all, I found the layout of The Kindle Report very accessible and open to immediate understanding. It is a very clear, uncluttered presentation that makes it easy to see, at once, what you need to know about a new blog.

Well, those are my thoughts on The Kindle Report. Now, what were reviewer "Marguerite Zelle's" thoughts on my blog. Well, her judgement can be summed up in her own phrase: "This is a fascinating blog on a fascinating subject - that of child prodigies." She really liked the blog and gave it a "Yes" in her recommendation.

You can read her review here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Whilst you are on her site, I recommend that you take a look around and see what I did: a huge range of blog reviews on every topic you can imagine.

I understand that The Kindle Report has quite a few reviewers working with them, so it is not just Marguerite Zelle doing all this work (that would be too much for any one person, I think).

Marguerite finished her review of my blog by saying: "I found this blog a fascinating read, and I recommend it for everyone who has gifted children, extremely intelligent children, or just children in general. "

Personally, I was touched by her words. You see The Kindle Report is the first review of my blog that I have seen in my four years of writing it. I have put in a lot of effort over the years and it is gratifying that a reviewer, whose job, after all, is to review blogs, should think it worthy, in the context of all the blogs they get to read.

Thanks to The Kindle Report for taking the time to read and review my blog. It is much appreciated.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.htmlI also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to:http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

My blog's fourth anniversary.

I find it hard to credit, but, as of today, I have been writing this blog for precisely four years. So, I am wishing my blog a big happy birthday. I hope you do, too.

Now, I had no idea I would still be writing, after four years, when I began...but here I am. I find, now, that keeping the blog has become a natural part of my life, so I can envisage continuing to do so, as long as the writing remains enjoyable (which I see no reason to think it won't be, forever and a day, at least).

It is my custom to do an analysis of the number of visitors over the year, at this point - but that shall wait until tomorrow, when I am able to see the final total number of visitors for the year (at midnight, today).

Thank you to all my loyal long term readers and my newer readers, too, and it is my hope that these more recent ones, become future long term ones, too. I aim to write in the manner that you have come to expect, and hope to entertain and enlighten, in equal measure, as many have made clear to me, over the years, that I do. That, at least, is what I am seeking to achieve, anyway, among other aims.

Thanks for reading.

Please see tomorrow's post for an assessment of the year. Thank you.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.htmlI also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to:http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)