Ainan is a boy of many peculiar talents. He can do things which, at times, seem uncanny. A few weeks ago, he gave me insight into one of these quirks.
“I knew it was you, Daddy.” He began, as if an expectation had been fulfilled.
My eyes queried him in silence.
“You see I always know who it is, if they are carrying a cup – because both you and mummy move in a different way, and so the cup clinks differently.”
I was not surprised, not because this was not surprising but because I was used to being surprised by him. Thus, I was unsurprised to be surprised, by this latest revelation.
If there is one thing that sets Ainan apart from others, besides his intelligence, it is his perception: he is so acute in his observational ability that it is, at times, a bit like living with Sherlock Holmes. He does things with his senses that one might only expect to find in Marvel comic fiction. Yet, he does it so naturally, so casually, and so effortlessly. This, of course, only emphasizes the uniqueness of his perceptions.
I walked across the kitchen and set my cup down carefully by the sink, with a new appreciation of just how much my cup was telling about me – at least to Ainan, anyway.
Posted by Valentine Cawley
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This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)
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If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html
If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175
To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, 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.
There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html
Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.
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 athttp://www.genghiscan.com/
This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)
wow, it's like having a super hero in the house. he's awesome.
ReplyDeleteit kinda funny you see it as a special ability while for me it isnt.
ReplyDeleteu see, i do that a lot n i dun find it really special.i think everybody does that.
u didnt do that?
i think this blog will be a sentimental value for ur sons someday. well done :)
Yes, indeed it is - much more so than I have written of, actually. His perception is astonishing at times.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment.
No, Alia, I didn't do that - and don't do that. I am more aware of Ainan's perceptual sensitivity than you are. This story is one attempt to show that. There is much more to it than this.
ReplyDeleteI very much doubt whether you could tell the difference between my wife and I, with your eyes closed, just by the carrying of a cup. You think you could, but I doubt that you could. I couldn't for sure.
Yes. I think this blog will be seen as special by them one day. It is already by me.
I'm not sure what you mean by "carrying a cup." What is the cup clinking against to make the distinctive sound?
ReplyDeleteSo I'm not sure if this is similar or not, but I remember as a kid being able to discern who was walking down the hall by footfalls (out of four possible family members). Definitely came in handy for quickly hiding presents and surprises. :)
Hi Lemni,
ReplyDeleteWell that is just the thing. He had very little to go on, in terms of sensory opportunities. The cup was being carried freely in my right hand, at the time. The only sounds would have been made by my knuckles and fingernails against the cup. Those were the "clinks" that he had the chance to analyse. So, he really had to be being close attention to his environment to pick up on such small cues.
I think the footfall method you speak of is related, though, of course, you would have louder cues and more information to go on. He is paying attention to a subtler signature than that.
However, I must say that your attentiveness to the sounds of walking is pretty Holmes-like, too!
Thank you for your comment.