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The boy who knew too much: a child prodigy

This is the true story of scientific child prodigy, and former baby genius, Ainan Celeste Cawley, written by his father. It is the true story, too, of his gifted brothers and of all the Cawley family. I write also of child prodigy and genius in general: what it is, and how it is so often neglected in the modern world. As a society, we so often fail those we should most hope to see succeed: our gifted children and the gifted adults they become. Site Copyright: Valentine Cawley, 2006 +

Friday, October 01, 2010

Changing the English language.

Today, someone arrived on my site, with the search terms: "Is Ainan a name?"

I found that most revealing. You see, to use Ainan's name, they must have heard it. Yet, to ask the question, they must also not be conscious of who he is. Thus, Ainan has influenced their knowledge of the world, by placing the word "Ainan" in their mind - but he has not informed them of his existence. This is very interesting and it is overwhelmingly likely to be because of my son, Ainan, for he is the most well known bearer of that name, in the world.

It is a funny thought, but by naming Ainan, Ainan, we have made that word better known. Of course, we could not have known, in advance, what Ainan was going to be like. However, in choosing such a rare name, we have had the effect of making a rare name, widely known. This person in Brighton, East Sussex, in England, who was searching today, has clearly heard our son's name - even if all other details of his story have been stripped from his name, such that the name stands alone and unadorned with any identity, as it appears to be in his or her mind.

It is a strange thought, that. Somehow, Ainan's name has become known to this person, without any other details of his life story or actual existence being known to them. Had they known that a boy called Ainan existed, they wouldn't have to ask whether his name was a name: his use of it, makes it a name, by definition, for he is so named. Thus, they know Ainan's name, but do not know of his existence. To me, this means one thing: Ainan is actually changing the choice of words available to English language speakers - and most probably speakers of other languages, too, around the world. The word "Ainan" is becoming known to them, perhaps by word of mouth, indeed most probably so, since were it by direct media, this person would know Ainan's story well and would know that a boy of such a name existed.

So, even if Ainan has no other effect on the world, (which I doubt), he has already left an imprint of his name upon it. That imprint is growing and spreading and becoming a word in the minds of people all over the world. Some know that he is a boy and of what a boy he is - but others, like my searcher, know nothing but the word. Ainan has, therefore, become part of the languages of the world, a sound in people's minds - a word that ranges from no attached meaning, to much attached meaning, depending on what else they know about who is the most famous bearer of the word.

The thought gets stranger as I hold it in my mind. Is this the first effect of a person upon the world, who is to change it? Do they first change the language...alter the choice of words and terms available in people's minds? Ainan is now a word in hundreds of millions of minds, where once there was not such a word. Over time, the meaning of that word, will grow and change. Should he affect the world enough, the word Ainan, might be a noun of more general meaning, than just a name - or even an adjective. It would have become a word that, perhaps, embodies not only the sound of his name, but the essence of his person. Ainan might one day become a concept, in people's minds: a word that captures what Ainan is. This process has already begun, for he is already a word in people's minds, who know so little about the word, that they do not even know it is a name.

I wonder what the word "Ainan" will one day, mean? What associations will accrue to it? Will they be permanent connotations, that never fade from the languages of the world? Will the word, Ainan, become a ubiquitous one found in many of the world's languages, carrying much the same meaning in each? This is possible, for the unitary concept behind them, at present, is Ainan himself. That he is one being, with this name, presently known and becoming more known to the world, could so easily mean that, one day, his name might enter all the languages of the world, in countries that communicate with mass media. His name might become a single concept present on all tongues.

For, now, however, he is my young son. I know what "Ainan" means for me - and it is something richer, deeper, more rounded and resonant than it could possibly mean for anyone else, except my wife and his siblings. Yet, I know this: something of Ainan is seeping into the world, and staining it with his hue: he is becoming an influence on the wider world, part of it, a shaper of it, slowly, and who knows what, eventually. Though he is but 10 years old, he has already become an idea in some people's minds - and a word, divorced from all attendant meaning, in others. He has began a journey, whose ultimate end cannot be known, in which what Ainan is, reaches out to the world, to touch it. I cannot know the full extent or nature of that touch or its reverberant effects: but that search today (and many other signs) tells me that it has already begun.

Ainan is my young son - but to the world, perhaps, one day, he will seem to be much more than one man's son. I cannot know what that will be, but at its core, there will be a concept, one that grows over time, deepens, enriches, until it is something rather complex indeed. It will be something known to all, understood by some. That concept will be the sum total of the effects of my son, upon the minds of the world.

The way I have written of this, it might all seem rather exotic - but it is not. This process of which I speak, is common to all who influence the world in any way. So, it is not just Ainan who is becoming part of the wider world - but all who become known, in any way, that impinges upon it, in any tangible fashion. To me, however, it is strange that it is Ainan, my son, who is becoming part of the world in this way. I see him as no others can - but I also see how others see him. I see the bridge between the two, as how I know him to be, connects with how others see him. The former, informs and flows to the latter. To my mind, it looks like others awaken to him. It looks like that, at first, all slept, but now some stumble around in growing awareness. We, however, are already awake to what Ainan is. Thus, we watch as the world awakens from its sleep - some to surprise (at him), others to delight, a few, perhaps, to envy...but more and more, awaken each passing year. It feels strange to watch it unfold. First it begins with a word in people's minds, whose origin they do not know, and one day, it might end in changes profound in the way things are. For that is what thinkers do: they change the world, at the level of our perception of it. The world is made anew in the minds of true creators. Ainan has the cognitive foundations of such a creator - but I cannot say what world he will make, one day, or how he may change the one we have.

I know, for sure, however: it all begins with a word, in people's minds, that appears there, one day, and puzzles them. Today, in Brighton, a person wondered: "Is Ainan a name?"

I don't think it will be long before they and all the people like them, will know the answer.

(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.)

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posted by Valentine Cawley @ 12:40 PM  2 comments

Thursday, September 30, 2010

A true love of cars.

Ainan is an unusual boy...and I mean that in a good way. One of his unusual qualities is his retentive memory. Ainan collects new information, much as middle-aged men collect fat around their waist: effortlessly and involuntarily - it just keeps on piling up, no matter what he does.

Let me give you an example. Ainan likes cars. In fact, he really likes cars. He actually takes the time to seek out new ones, read about them, analyze and critique their designs and their engineering and, often propose something that would work even better. In the course of his perusal over a wide range of car magazines and books, something that would be odd in another child, or adult, has happened: all this information has just stuck. It has accumulated within him, like a dripping tap filling a swimming pool. He is just bursting with car related information. It is quite surprising to hear him talk about them, if you are unaccustomed to his ways.

Several months ago, he sat down, one day, to make a little list. Off the top of his head, without any recourse to external reference sources of any kind (since his computer has no ability to connect to the internet, for good parental reasons), he made a list of the cars he knew. The list is very striking in a number of ways. Firstly, is that he ordered the brand names of the cars alphabetically - and he did this, in his head, before writing them down. Secondly, is the detail with which he refers to the cars - he always includes full model numbers. Thirdly, is the sheer vastness of the list, when you consider that it means that he is personally acquainted with the characteristics, design, engine power and engineering of each and every one of them.

Here is Ainan's list, as he wrote it, composing it, on the fly, with only the "Google" in his head to work with:

"CARS I KNOW OF


Alfa Romeo:
147
8C
Brera
Brera Spyder
Zagato TZ3
156
159

Amuse Powerhouse:
S2000 GT1 Turbo

Ariel:
Atom 200
Atom 300
Atom 500

Art Morrison’s:
Corvette 60

Ascari:
A10
KZ1

Aston Martin:
DB9
DB8
DB7
DB6
DB5
DBRS9
V8 Vantage
Vanquish
DBS
DBR9
V8 Vantage N24

Audi:
TT
TT RS
R8
R8 V10
R8 Spyder
R9
Infineon R10
RSQ
RS4
RS5
RS6
A1
A4
A8
S4
Q7
Q5
S6
S8
R8 GT
R8 GT RS

Bentley:
Brooklands
Flying Spur
Arnage

Blitz:
Dunlop ER34 Skyline

BMW:
M3 Coupe
M3 4-Door
M3 GT2 Le Mans
M5 Coupe
M5 4-Door
M6 Coupe
1
3
5
6
X5
X6
135i
760Li
750Li
328i
Z4
Z4 M Coupe
335i
550i
650i

Brabus:
SL Biturbo

Bristol:
Fighter
Fighter T

Bugatti:
Veyron 16.4
Veyron FBG per Hermes
Veyron Pur Sang
Veyron Grand Sport
Veyron Linea Vincero by Mansory
Veyron Sang Noir
Veyron Pegaso
Type 47
Type 57
Atlantic
Royale
16C Galibier 16.2S
Baby Bugatti
Veyron Super Sport

Cadillac:
CTS-V
DTS
Escalade
Escalade EXT
SRX
STS-V
XLR-V

Chaparral:
2E
2D
2J

Chevrolet:
Corvette
Corvette Z06
Corvette ZR1
Volt
Impala
Cobalt SS
Camaro SS
Cobalt
Camaro
Corvette Callaway
Corvette Z51

Chrysler:
ME-FourTwelve
300C

Citroen:
GT by Citroen
C3
C3 Picasso
C4
C4 Picasso
C4 Grand Picasso
C5
C5 Picasso

Dacia:
Lancia
Lancia Beta Coupe

Daihatsu:
OFC
OFC-1
Copen
Terios

Dodge:
Ram
Challenger
Challenger SRT8
Viper
Viper GTS
Viper SRT10
Charger
Charger SRT10
Nitro
Viper ACR

Ferrari:
Enzo
FXX
FXX Evoluzione
512BB
360
360 Modena
360 CS
California
430
F430 CS
F430 Scuderia
458 Italia
458 CS
F2005 F1
F2007 F1
599 HGTE
599 GTB Fiorano
612 F1
599 GTO

Fiat:
Abarth 500 SS
Panda
Panda Mammy


Ford:
GT
GT LM
Focus
Focus RS
Focus STi
GT90
Shelby GT
Shelby GT500
Model T

Gumpert:
Apollo S
Apollo Rr

Honda:
Integra
Integra Type R
Civic
Civic Mugen Type R
City
FCX Clarity

Hummer:
H1
H2
H3

Hyundai:
Sonata
I10
Santefe
Genesis Concept
Veracruz
Veracruz Limited

Infiniti:
G35
EX Concept


Jaguar:
XK
XKR
XJ
XJS
XJ220

Jeep:
J8
Patriot
Grand Cherokee

Koenigsegg:
CC8S
CCGT
CCR
CCX
CCXR
Agera

KTM:
X-bow
X-bow R

Lamborghini:
Gallardo
Gallardo LP560-4
Gallardo Superleggera
Gallardo LP570-4 SV
Gallardo LP550-4 Balboni
Gallardo LP570-4 Blancpain Super trefeo
Murcielago
Murcielago LP640-4 SuperVeloce
Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce
Underground Racing LP670-4 SuperVeloce
Reventon
Reventon Spyder
Diablo
Diablo VTTT
Countach
Jalpa
Jota
Sesto Elemento

Land Rover:
Discovery
Freelander
Freelander 2
Range Rover
Evoque

Lexus:
LF-A
IS-F
LS600HL

Lotus:
Evora
Exige
Exige S
Elise
Elise 111R

Maserati:
Quattroporte
MC12

Maybach:
62S

Mazda:
Furai
5
3
CX-9
RX-7
RX-8
MX-5
Miata

Mclaren:
MP4-12C
F1
F1 LM

Mercedes Benz:
SL55 AMG
SL AMG Black
CLK55 AMG
CLK AMG Black
SLR Mclaren
SLS Gullwing
E63 AMG
600 Grosser
CL600
CLK GTR
C63 AMG
SLR Mclaren 722

Mercury:
Marina

Meyers:
Manxster

Mines:
EN34 Skyline GT-R

Mini:
Cooper
Cooper S
Cooper D


Mitsubishi:
Lancer EVO I
Lancer EVO II
Lancer EVO III
Lancer EVO IV
Lancer EVO V
Lancer EVO VI
Lancer EVO VII
Lancer EVO VIII
Lancer EVO IX
Lancer EVO X
Lancer EVO X FQ-360
Lancer EVO X FQ-400

Mitsuoka:
Orochi
Galue

Nissan:
GT-R R34
GT-R Prototype
GT-R Concept
GT-R Spec-V
GT-R R33
350Z
370Z

Noble:
M14
M15
M400
M600

Panoz:
LMP-1 Roadster S

Peugeot:
308 RCZ
408
4008

Porsche:
Cayman
Cayman S
911 GT2
911 GT3
911 GT3 RS
911 GT1
911 Turbo
911 GT2 RS
Cayenne
Cayenne Turbo S
Panemera
9FF GT9
Boxster
Boxster S
918 Spyder
928

Proton:
Saga 12V
Gen-2
Savvy

Radical:
SR8
SR8 LM
SR3

Renault:
Clio
Clio Sport
Avantime


Rolls-Royce:
Ghost
Phantom
H.J Mulliner Park Ward

Rossion:
Q1

Saab:
9-5
9-5 Aero
9-3

Saleen:
S7
S7 TT

ShelbySuperCars:
Ultimate Aero
Ultimate Aero TT
Ultimate Aero EV

Spyker:
LM85
Ailerone
Ailerone Spyder
Zagato


Subaru:
Impreza
Impreza WRX STi
Legacy
Outback

Suzuki:
Cuppacino
Swift
Swift Sport
SX4
XL7 Hill Climb

Toyota:
Camry
Camry G
Corolla
Corolla Altis
Hilux
Hilux Invincible
Supra

Tuscan:
Speed Six
Eight Speed
Sagaris
Twelve speed

Vauxhall:
Astra
Astra VXR8
Insignia
Vectra
Vectra VXR8

Volkswagen:
Golf GTi
Golf V GTi
Pheaton
Scirocco
Scirocco TDi
Scirocco R
Touareg W12
Touareg V10
Touran
Polo
Passat
Nardo W12
Eos
Jetta

Volvo:
XC90
XC60
C70
S80
C30 Polestar

Westfield:
XT1

Zenvo:
ST1

356 Cars"

When I saw that, even I was taken aback, because for most of us, the apparently random numbers and letters and arbitrary names of cars, just blur into one undifferentiated mass, after a handful or two of them. Yet, not for Ainan: for him, they are each unique, discrete memories of great detail and power.

Please take a look at that list and reflect on the fact that it was written spontaneously, by a ten year old boy, as a summary of the cars he was personally acquainted with. Then think again this thought: Ainan is like that with everything he is interested in. He need only develop an interest in something and it is not long before he becomes knowledgeable beyond one's most unleashed imagination. It is quite startling to behold - and a little humbling, for those who might be insecure about themselves.

The other thing to consider is that, for Ainan, such displays of erudition, take no effort at all. All he had to do was sit down, and without any seeming difficulty, order the list alphabetically, in his head - and write it out. To do so, he had, of course, necessarily, to sort through every car he had ever come across, and place its brand in order, before he wrote them down. What is even more remarkable is that he didn't go back and change anything, that he wrote: it was all written, in one direction, top to bottom, in alphabetical order, with no subsequent alterations. Frankly, it was spooky, even to me.

I have been meaning to write of this deed of Ainan's for some months, now...but I have only just managed to find the time, and attention to do so. I think it is worth recording it, as an exemplar of what his mind is capable of, with regard to information retention and processing, in a rather savant-like manner.

Of course, cars are not the most serious matter in the world. However, the very same mental capacity that allowed him to do what he did, could be applied most helpfully in many other areas. I hope that, as Ainan grows older he will find ways to apply his uncanny abilities, in uniquely productive ways.

(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.)

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posted by Valentine Cawley @ 9:55 PM  7 comments

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Time to go to school.

Fintan doesn't accept the adult world, he questions it. Just because older people do something that doesn't means it's the right way - at least not according to young Fintan, seven.

About two weeks ago, I was putting my sons to bed, whilst Fintan wandered around the room, propelled by some inner ponderings. It was a Sunday night and Monday was looming.

"How come adults don't go to school?", he queried, somewhat piqued at the seeming injustice of it.

"Because they have finished school.", I explained.

"No, they haven't!", he retorted, utterly unconvinced by my reason, "...because they forget a lot of things."

Ah. The "Dumb Adult" syndrome - I, too, knew it well, when I was a child. Now, it was my turn to see it expressed on the tongue of my son.

He had a point, though: adults do forget much of their school days' knowledge - and they really should go on learning throughout their lives. This, I think, was Fintan's essential point: adults need to be learning too - but generally aren't.

He wasn't finished with me.

"Tomorrow," he began very seriously, all intent on his plan, "I am an adult, so I don't need to go to school."

He looked at me, in challenge, as if to say: "If that is so, how can you protest?"

"Tomorrow, I am 20." His eyes added: "So, there!"

I looked at him just as seriously.

"If you are 20 tomorrow, there will be no need for you to go to school."

His eyes brightened, and he smiled, broadly, and unbidden, perhaps unaware of how much he did so.

"But," I continued, just as seriously and without a hint of the smile I felt, within, "If you are still 7, you have to go."

He was silent for a moment and wandered off, his back turned to me.

Finally, he turned and addressed me from across the room, with a renewed certainty in his approach.

"Tomorrow,", he announced, "I will be 43!", he paused triumphantly, for a second, before continuing, in explanation: "I will grow really fast in 24 hours."

Satisfied with his solution, he settled himself to sleep - and a new life, on waking, as an instant adult.

I left him to his dreams - those both waking and sleeping.

I note, now, how he shifted, from the present tense, description of "tomorrow", to the future tense, on hearing me use it, once. That indicates a certain attentiveness, in him, to speech. It also shows, of course, what kind of verbal structures he is exposed to, at school, where English is but one of the languages spoken, and Malay predominates.

His choice of ages, too, is significant. If you are a long term reader, you will know that I am 42. Fintan knows that I don't go to school...so he clearly chose 43 as a safe, school-free age: how funny.

He slept well and woke early the next morning - and went to school, as usual. He had had a great plan - but unfortunately, reality wouldn't oblige. At least, not this time. Maybe it will do so in 36 years time. We will see.

(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.)

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posted by Valentine Cawley @ 9:26 PM  0 comments

Monday, September 27, 2010

A punishment to fit the crime.

It seems to me, that there is, sometimes, only one punishment to fit a crime - only one punishment which seems punishment enough for an evil deed. One such evil deed, has come to light, in China. Eight people have been arrested for something truly terrible. I would like you to guess what. Please use liberal doses of imagination. Just try to guess what crime eight Chinese people could have thought up, in the name of making some money.

Please have a good think. I want you to imagine the most imaginative, but cruel, crime you can.

Well, what have you come up with? How does it compare to manufacturing and selling FAKE RABIES VACCINES in a country rife with rabies. Please pause to reflect on what that means. Rabies is one of the most horrible ways to die imaginable. It is also essentially 100% fatal once symptoms begin, which are, at first, loss of appetite, fever, pain at the site of infection, malaise, fatigue and headache. They then progress, two to ten days later, to disorientation, hallucinations, seizure, paralysis, and the fabled "fear of water" combined with an inability to swallow liquids without great pain. Death often ensues from cardiac or respiratory failure, though sometimes patients can linger for months on life support, in a coma.

Now, these eight Chinese people manufactured and sold over a thousand doses (1,260 doses have been recovered) of fake vaccine without any capacity to immunize a patient. Six doses of this vaccine were given to a four year old boy who had been bitten by a dog. He subsequently died of a completely preventable case of rabies. That is monstrous.

These criminals sold their "vaccines" for 330,000 Yuan, which is 49,250 US Dollars. That, to them, was justification enough for putting in peril the lives of all who received their vaccine.

Under Chinese law, it is certain that these people will be sentenced to death, should they be convicted. Yet, death by shooting, as might be expected, does not seem an appropriate punishment: it is too quick, too sudden, too fleeting. No. The only suitable punishment - and one in which they would assuredly learn to understand what they had done, is if they are given an injection of LIVE rabies virus. They should then be held in isolation, so that they won't infect others, until they die, rather slowly of the disease they sought to inflict on random strangers, for a few bucks.

My proposal might be objected to, by some, as inhumane, or as "cruel and unusual punishment". No. It is not. It is merely ensuring that the perpetrators suffer in precisely the way they made others suffer, including a little four year old boy, who died needlessly, and terribly, at the beginning of his life.

It seems to me that, were it known, criminals of the breed in question would assuredly suffer the death that they hazarded for others, there would be far fewer of them.

I shall return to more customary topics for tomorrow's posting, but I felt that I had to comment given my shock at what these people are alleged to have done, for mere money.

(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.)

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posted by Valentine Cawley @ 8:30 PM  0 comments

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The incredible Internet essay writing machine.

To some students, indeed, I hazard, many, the Internet is seen as an incredible essay writing machine. All they need to do, to "write" their essays, is to type the question, set by their teacher, or Professor, into the Internet - and hey presto, out pops links to a thousand different answers, instantly. Then, all the student need do, is copy and paste the judiciously chosen text, into their MS Word - and they will have "written" their essay, in a few clicks of a mouse.

Today, I was moved to reflect on this phenomenon by an apparent student from Cebu in the Philippines, who arrived on my blog with the search terms "Write on future hope". He had not even rephrased his teacher's request into something more likely to get the right kind of response - he had just entered his teacher's request into the Internet. This, in itself, suggests that he or she has a limited understanding of search engines, as well as of essay writing skills. The searcher, of course, arrived on my post about "future hope", in which I write of writers not aging in terms of their writing skills, but maturing instead. I now expect that somewhere in Cebu, a teacher is going to be digesting some interesting views, indeed, perhaps, surprising views, from his student that show a remarkable understanding about what it is to get old. How funny.

There is a serious side to this. The Internet may lead to a generation of students who do not write for themselves, who do not think for themselves, who do not make mental effort for themselves. The lazier members of the Internet generation, may become people completely unaccustomed to personal thought or mental effort. The result will be a future world in which most people cannot think, at all. It would be ironic, indeed, if the consequence of sharing knowledge, globally, via the Internet - which I think is a wonderful facility for THINKERS - should turn out to induce a generalized mental malaise.

This is not the first time I have seen searches which indicate that someone is looking to plagiarize an essay. I have seen this kind of search many times. Sometimes it is even as sad as asking me to write a single sentence for them as in a very popular search: "A sentence with the word "prodigy" in it". This kind of search occurs every month. Scrutinizing the search terms that lead people to my blog, I am led to the conclusion that there are an extraordinary number of student plagiarists out there. Frequently, for instance, I have what I assume are teachers arriving on my blog, whose search terms include large or distinctive quotations of my writing. They are clearly checking up on their students to see where they got a particular piece of writing from. So, it is not all the students' way: some students, out there, are clearly getting caught for their plagiarism. Unfortunately, however, the student searches outnumber the teachers seeking plagiarism perhaps 30 to 1, maybe more. So, most teachers either don't notice, or don't care to find out.

To my mind, I see the Internet creating two classes of people: those who use it to enable to think more about more topics - and those who use to stop thinking altogether. The first class of people will grow in power and influence, and the latter class will eventually be found out, with consequent harm to their lives, careers and hopes, if their societies think ill of such conduct. Thus, the Internet, far from being a great leveller, as people think of it, may actually end up being a great divider - not because of the Internet, itself, but because of the people who use it. The Internet allows people to become MORE of what they already are. The thinkers can think MORE, the slackers can slack MORE. Thus it is that the Internet becomes an exaggerator of who we are: we become more extreme versions of ourselves. Perhaps this is a good thing, in a way, for it will make it clearer who people are, fairly quickly. We can then save much time in the assessment of our fellow man. The thinkers become greater thinkers - and the slackers, become even more slack. To tell which is which - just use a search engine on their written work and it should soon become clear. The thinkers will have no exact matches for their work. The slackers will often be found to have plagiarized a writer, somewhere in the Internet universe.

All this leads me to advise that all teachers, everywhere, should run a check on characteristic phrases of their students' work - particularly for those students whose written contributions seem better than their classroom participation. It is altogether probable that many of the students who are able to perform so well in homework, but relatively poorly in class, are, in fact, Internet plagiarists. There is no excuse for not finding them out, in the modern world: all you have to do, is Google "their" work. I believe there is even an Internet service for checking up on students call Turn It In...so check it out and unearth all the plagiarists in your classroom. To do so, is to do them a favour, since it might prevent them from falling out of the habit of thinking. That could save them from a very dull life indeed.

(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.)

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posted by Valentine Cawley @ 2:33 PM  0 comments

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