Singapore's strange media silence.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Ainan was not Singaporean. You might form that impression by reading the Singaporean newspapers. You see, what was remarkable about them, over the past couple of weeks, was the absence of any mention of Ainan in them. Only one newspaper, the Zaobao, made mention of Ainan's scientific discovery of Velociperception, at the age of 8 - but even that was a very strange article for it claimed that Ainan's mother was a Malaysian (in other words, "Ainan is no loss to Singapore, because he doesn't even come from here".)

Now, I find this all very odd. Firstly, Ainan's mother, Syahidah is a Singaporean by birth. However her MOTHER was Malaysian by birth. Thus Syahidah is half Malaysian by blood and half Singaporean Malay by blood - and Singaporean by citizenship. Ainan was born in Singapore and was thus born into Singaporean citizenship. It is odd, indeed, therefore, that Singapore's national media should almost entirely ignore a Singaporean born boy who made a scientific discovery at age 8. Any other nation on Earth, would be so proud of such a development that they would scream it to the world at the top of their media lungs. Not so Singapore. Singapore, it very much seems, cannot be proud of the achievement of a half-Malay boy. No, you see, in the unwritten script of the national Singaporean story, Malays achieve nothing worthwhile and all the kudos goes to the dominant Chinese. It doesn't fit their national script to have a half-Malay boy achieve anything, let alone become the youngest person in history, to discover anything scientific, as he is.

There is something else interesting about the Zaobao story. Firstly, they called Ainan's mother, Malaysian, to rewrite his script as no loss to Singapore, because he wasn't from Singapore in the first place. This is, of course a lie. Secondly, I recall that they referred to Ainan as "Yinan". This is very interesting, for this is a CHINESE name. They are reframing Ainan's Malay success story, as a Chinese success story.

Now, I don't know whether these are innocent mistakes on the part of Zaobao - whether they, in fact, picked up this misinformation elsewhere and simply repeated it. I know this, however: the Zaobao article has been PULLED from the internet, since then and Google is no longer able to find it. Old links that point to the article now go to a blank page on Zaobao. This is very interesting. It seems to show that Zaobao's coverage, though minute, was not approved of, by other members of the PAP power structure - and even that little coverage was pulled once they realized it had gone out. The idea, of course, is that Singaporeans should not ever know about Ainan's growing achievements. I believe that Singapore will follow a rule regarding Ainan: the more he achieves, the less they will write of him. In the long term, this will mean that the people on Earth least informed about Ainan, a born Singaporean, will be the Singaporean people themselves.

None of this really matters to us, personally. If Singapore wants to keep the truth from its people, there is little we can do about that, except perhaps write a comment on a blog that only a small number of people will ever see. Eventually, however, the people of Singapore will work out what Singapore is doing. They will see, for instance, Ainan's growing presence on the internet and the many articles, IN OTHER COUNTRIES, referencing his achievements, and they will realize, that their local media have been unaccountably silent. They will understand, then, what is happening. Will this improve the impression Singaporeans have of their media? I don't think so. It will just show them what kind of media they have. It will show them that, more often than not, the most interesting stories, are the ones they never get to hear.


Imagine a future in which Ainan wins a major scientific prize, one day. It doesn't have to be the Nobel. There are other science prizes, too. What would happen then? Well, I think it would be very instructive for any Singaporeans who keep an eye on the internet for news of Ainan. If Ainan should one day win a major scientific prize, or make a major scientific discovery (in a way he already has...), the whole world will be alive with news of it, except for one, very quiet little island. In such an eventuality, the only country that would not know about Ainan's achievement, would be Singapore itself.

What a strange, little country Singapore is. Is there anywhere else in the world, outside of Soviet Russia, China, Burma and North Korea, capable of such a thing? Clearly, Singapore is keeping very interesting company, in the way it conducts itself. I wonder if the powers-that-be ever reflect on their own nature? What do they think of themselves and what they are doing?

Now, this post is written with two background facts in mind. Firstly, the only article to make it, briefly, to the internet, from Singapore, was the Zaobao article. No other article had an online presence. Furthermore, none of our relatives in Singapore heard of any news articles about Ainan. Therefore, I am assuming that there were no other articles of which I am unaware. If you know otherwise, please comment below.

Given that our relatives didn't hear anything, about Ainan, in the papers, it is most likely that there are no other articles - certainly not in the English or Malay press. That, in itself, is enough to support the analysis of this article.

It is funny to contemplate that, in the long term, the people least informed about the life and achievements of Singaporean born Ainan Celeste Cawley, look set to be the Singaporean people themselves. Now, how strange is that? By contrast, all other Chinese speaking countries in the world, and all other Chinese speaking newspapers in the world, gave significant coverage to Ainan's discovery. The question is: why didn't Singapore's media do the same?

Answers, please, below.

(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.

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

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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.)

A lesson in Chess

This post is a little delayed. I had meant to write it on the day it occurred: 23rd July 2010.

On that day, Ainan played his fourth game of chess with me. It was his ninth game, or so, in all his life. He wasn't exactly what you would call an experienced player.

Shockingly, he beat me. Now, I say "shockingly" because in the first three games I had played with him, I beat him, easily...I absolutely trounced him. This is not surprising since I am more than four times his age and, though not a chess player, I had at least played it more often than him, in my life. Somehow, in just nine games of play, he had learnt enough about the game to beat me.

Now, you might think this a fluke, but I have played him twice since – and on both those occasions, too, he totally routed me.

It must be borne in mind, that I am not an experienced chess player, however. Yet, the fact is I am an adult and not a dumb one, either. It is not to be expected, therefore, that Ainan could beat me at chess, after so few games. Yet, he does.

No doubt there are child players out there, more experienced than Ainan, who could beat him. However, I think it a mark of how quickly he learns that he can go from being trounced by me to beating me, in just nine games. Should he keep up an interest in Chess, he is likely to become a very good player. Presently, an online rating system rated him as a “strong social player”…after less than 10 games!

Who knows, perhaps the 23rd July will mark not only the first time Ainan beat me at Chess...but the last time I beat him, too. We will see.

Well done 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.

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.)

A word of gratitude.

We have reason to be grateful to a special man, who may never be able to read these words.

It seems long ago, now, when we first met Dr. Ng Kok Chin, of Singapore Polytechnic. He was Head of his own Chemistry department there. He was a man of medium height, but more than medium pleasantness. He had about him, the sense that he actually cared. We were introduced to him by one of his colleagues Priya Naidu, a lecturer that Ainan had met on a Nanotechnology workshop, at Singapore Polytechnic when he was 7. Our meeting was to discuss whether Ainan could join Singapore Polytechnic for regular Chemistry courses based in the laboratory. Dr. Ng Kok Chin's attitude was positive and welcoming, throughout. He seemed to be looking for ways to make it work, rather than seeking (as some people in such a situation would tend to), ways in which it wouldn't.

Though Ainan was 7 when we first met Dr. Ng Kok Chin, it was not until Ainan was 8 years and 4 months that he joined Singapore Polytechnic to do Chemistry courses, there. Ainan's mentor at SP was Dr. Ng Kok Chin - it was he who arranged the courses which Ainan was to attend and he who negotiated with all other parties at SP to make it all happen.

Ainan enjoyed his sessions at SP. He gained much from them, too - and became quite adept in the lab. These sessions were the highlights of his week. Typically he attended SP two days a week from April 2008. He fit into the classes well. His labmates treated him very kindly and he was very popular. We were very happy with how things were. Notably, Dr. Ng Kok Chin was always around to make sure things were going smoothly. He always took an interest in how Ainan was doing.

Then, things in early 2009, got very strange. Our emails to Dr. Ng Kok Chin, went unreplied to. Our calls to his answerphone met with no response. Suddenly, SP which had been so supportive, vanished from sight. Ainan's classes stopped. No-one contacted us about what was happening.

Months passed. Intermittently, I tried to contact Dr. Ng Kok Chin, to no avail. Finally, I wrote to his boss. A reply came slowly, after I had written twice. The mail was not a welcome one: Dr. Ng Kok Chin had fallen ill. We were later to find out that he had had a stroke and was now in a coma, from which we have no news of any recovery. It was very sad - and still is, for Dr. Ng was instrumental in opening doors for Ainan's scientific and intellectual growth.

Things never really recovered at SP, after Dr. Ng's tragic illness. After a long time, someone else was appointed to look after Ainan's courses there - but he didn't seem to have the interest in Ainan, that Dr. Ng had had. Things happened very slowly with Dr. Ng's replacement. He also didn't seem to have the same ability to get lecturers on side. Instead of four whole modules a term - as Dr. Ng had arranged for Ainan, his replacement eventually came up with a single class, on one occasion, at the end of the term. (It had taken him the whole term to arrange it).

In the holidays, after that class, we made enquiries about the arrangments for the following term, asking for the usual four classes to be arranged. Dr. Ng's replacement dragged his feet, and didn't make the necessary arrangements. Finally, we mailed the Director of SP with news of Ainan's latest success in Chemistry AS level. He didn't reply. His subordinate - the one assigned to replace Dr. Ng - replied after a week to do something most strange: he wrote to say that SP was withdrawing all support of Ainan and that there would be no more classes for him at SP.

We were stunned. It didn't make any sense. I had written to thank them for the support they had given Ainan and to tell them of his latest success - and they had replied by withdrawing all support of him, and removing his access to courses. It was the oddest thing they could have done. In my understanding of the world, a College when shown evidence of the progress of a child, in such a situation, would usually be more interested in, at the very least, maintaining support or expanding it - not withdrawing it.

I wrote to the Director of SP several times seeking an explanation. He never replied to me or acknowledged my mails, even once.

So, the essence of this story is that we have much reason to be grateful to Dr. Ng Kok Chin for masterminding Ainan's presence at Singapore Polytechnic - but we also have much reason to be doubtful about his colleagues and their intentions towards Ainan.

The story is more complex than it seems - in a sad sense. You see Dr. Ng Kok Chin, who was so supportive of Ainan is MALAYSIAN Chinese. He is not a Singaporean. Yet, he was very supportive and helpful towards Ainan. The senior staff who remained after Dr. Ng Kok Chin was gone are SINGAPOREAN. Yet, they were not supportive of Ainan, once Dr. Ng Kok Chin's influence was gone. To us, this seems very telling. In fact, recognition of this situation was our first clue that, perhaps, we should look to Malaysia for help for Ainan - for it had been a Malaysian, in Singapore, who had rendered most help to him.

Thus, we have two things to thank Dr. Ng Kok Chin for: the great support he gave Ainan at Singapore Polytechnic - and for inspiring us to look to his homeland for further support, once it dried up, at SP, upon his illness. So, it can be seen, that Dr. Ng Kok Chin played a key role in Ainan's development: he afforded Ainan the chance to learn practical skills - and guided us to seek further opportunities in Malaysia, even after he became ill.

Thank you, Dr. Ng Kok Chin, for your kindness towards Ainan. I hope you recover enough to read these words, one day. Best wishes from all of us.

We miss you, Dr. Ng.

(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.

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.)

Ainan's first days at HELP University

This week has been a happy one. I have known the happiness of a father seeing his son, happier than he has long been.

After his first day, in class, at HELP University College (Tuesday, 5th January 2009), Ainan came home looking quite upbeat.

"What did you think of your first day?", I asked, hoping for a positive answer.

Ainan paused and looked a little distant, for a moment.

"Nine...", he began, slowly, "Point Five...out of ten."

It was my turn to be upbeat, for that was a very high mark from Ainan.

Before I could ask it, he answered the question I would have posed.

"The classes were much better than anything I have known in school before."

"That's good...so you like it?"

He just nodded, in his minimal way, in which a little gesture, is worth an entire, never uttered, conversation.

This may seem like a subdued exchange but by Ainan's standards, this was a jubilant display. Never have I known him to be so pleased about an educational experience. For him, formal education has always been a disappointment, except for practical classes, in Chemistry. Other than that, he had always found it a matter of personal excruciation.

Long term readers will recall Ainan's incredible disappointment, after his first day in school, in Singapore, several years ago. He returned, very long faced and utterly dejected, at the experience: he had expected so much more, he had expected to LEARN things - but, in Singapore, learning wasn't on the table - the challenge was aimed rather low, for him. They were asking him to do things he had learnt to do a lifetime ago.

So, to understand how pleased I am at Ainan's response to HELP University College, you should hold those two images in your mind: Ainan's utter dejection at his first day in a Singaporean school - and his quiet elation at his first day at HELP University. The former school, he would have rated ZERO out of ten; the latter he rated at 9.5 out of 10. For me, this is likely to be the highlight of my year (well, it would be difficult to top, anyway). You see, it confirms for me what I had long known, in my heart: that if Ainan is given an educational challenge more on his level, that he will come alive and enjoy it. That is, after all, what I tried to tell the Singaporean education system (which consists of people who have ever-moving mouths, but no ears).

I was right. Giving Ainan a more meaty intellectual task, has made him happy. For the FIRST time in his life, he considers school a worthwhile experience.

Thank you, HELP University College, for allowing Ainan to know happiness in his education...and thank you, Malaysia, for being, so far, what Singapore is not. That, by the way, can only be a good thing.

(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.)

Kissing the Blarney Stone

There is a legend, in Ireland, that whosoever kisses the Blarney Stone, at the top of Blarney Castle, near Cork, Ireland, shall be bestowed the gift of eloquence. Indeed, the Blarney Stone is otherwise known as the Stone of Eloquence.

Apparently, over the centuries, the legend of the Blarney Stone has led Presidents, leaders, noted eminences, such as Sir Walter Scott and entertainers of renown, to wend their way to Blarney to kiss the Stone.

A couple of days ago, Syahidah, my wife, was telling Fintan, six and Tiarnan, three, the legend of the Blarney Stone. Funnily enough, though I am the Irish one in the family (well, pure Irish...our sons are half-Irish), my wife took it upon herself to tell some old tales of Ireland to the kids. They listened, as usual, most intently, to the tales of this strange world called Ireland, where Daddy comes from - but they have never been. Strange indeed, it is - a land of legends, of leprechauns, mythic Kings and otherworldly beings. It must, to them, seem rather an odd enchanting place, besides the prosaic, predictable Singapore they know so well.

Syahidah explained the Blarney Stone, to Fintan and Tiarnan, with her round amazed eyes: "Anyone who kisses the Blarney Stone is given a special gift: they can talk and talk and talk and never stop talking. They always have something to say."

Fintan looked very serious then and turned to his mummy: "Did Tiarnan kiss the Blarney Stone?"

She would have laughed, but she is too kind to do so. So she just allowed herself a little smile.

"No, he hasn't". Yet, she understood why it might seem so for, of all the little Cawleys in the world, Tiarnan has more talk in him than all the rest put together. His tongue is supercharged with an ever flowing river of words that needs only one thing to set it flowing: that he be awake. Tiarnan talks about everything and anything, often making interesting observations or asking apt questions - or sometimes saying something quite bizarre. That he talks so much is one of the first things strangers remark about him. Yet, he does not talk in an annoying, intrusive way - he talks in a charming, enchanting way. There is something about him, that makes even the most jaded of listeners, want to pause to listen, and find out just what is going through his little head.

Perhaps, I wonder, Tiarnan might, one day, do something that requires ever flowing words. He might be a writer, or an actor, or a politician. I would be most unsurprised if he ends up doing something that requires verbal fluency of a high degree - for that is what he is already showing.

Of course, there is a deeper meaning to Tiarnan's talk. He talks because he thinks. He only speaks so much, because he has so much to say. So, in that sense, it could presage anything. He might not end up as a writer, an actor or a politician - but I am sure he will end up in something that requires fluency of thought for, after all, it is fluency of thought that leads to fluency of speech.

It is too early to tell, of course, what Tiarnan might be. Yet, it is good that my sons present such contrasts. I would say that Tiarnan speaks the most and Ainan the least. However, that is only conditionally true. Ainan can speak superabundantly, when someone engages him in conversation, though he often speaks so as to refute what is being said, to point out its logical flaws - yet, speak he does. Most of the time, though, he is quieter than the others, more involved in his own thought, than in the need to convey it to others. Fintan is somewhere in between. Together, they present quite a spectrum of talkativeness, yet all are brothers. As long-term readers will know, they are different in other ways, too. That variety, of course, provides an ever stimulating environment to their parents. In our household, there seems to be one of just about every kind of person.

One day, I shall bring my family to Ireland. Perhaps, then, we could visit the Blarney Stone - the one Tiarnan does not need to kiss. In fact, of all my sons, I would prevent him from doing so! Carry on talking, Tiarnan!

(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.)

A special request from the Cawley juniors.

A week or two ago, Syahidah asked our three sons if there was anywhere they would like to go, in Singapore. Their answer was unanimous:

"Mohammed Sultan Road, at 7 pm on a Friday.", they said, their bright eyes aglow at the prospect.

She thought this a very strange request. You see Mohammed Sultan Road is a famous nightlife area of Singapore. The Cawley boys at just 9, 6 and 3 years old were really rather too young to be making special requests to visit a nightlife area. To her mind, there flashed an image of her three young boys, out in a clubbing district, amidst the social whirl. It was jarring.

"Why," she asked, without the laugh she no doubt felt like making, "do you want to go there on a Friday night?"

"Because there you can see lots of Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Maseratis!", they replied, as if it could not have been more obvious.

It was then that she laughed. It was the boys' love of CARS, not nightlife, that was on their minds.

In recent months, all three of the Cawley boys have become interested in cars - and in no small way, too. Their speech is filled with references to engine designs, horse power, turbochargers, superchargers, acceleration, which car has beaten which car and so on. The funny thing is, even little Tiarnan, all of three years old, makes references to them. His tongue, too, speaks of "Bugatti Veyrons" and "Lamborghinis".

I suppose we should be thankful that their interest in Mohammed Sultan Road is such an innocent one! Then again, it was rather observant of them to notice the right time and place, to find supercars and sports cars in abundance, in the first place.

(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 art of a child.

Sometimes, my children draw odd things. It is not, necessarily, that the drawings themselves look odd...but when you ask them what it is that they have drawn, the answers can sometimes be far from expected.

A few days, Ainan, nine, and Fintan, just turned six, were drawing. Both had chosen to draw something based on circles. Fintan's consisted of a couple of concentric circles, standing about being mysterious - and Ainan's was truly enigmatic: there was a circle, with various other things intersecting with it in a manner which escapes easy description, in easy words. It looked like some ancient hieroglyphic, from an undiscovered dead tongue.

Of course, seeing these mysterious objects drawn made me ponder what they were. No immediate answer came to mind, so I had to ask:

"Fintan: what's that?"

"A shockwave.", he observed, as if nothing could be more plain to see.

Now that I knew what it was, it did, indeed, look like a shockwave. The question that then came to me was: why was Fintan, all of six, drawing a shockwave?

Then I asked Ainan: "What is yours, then?"

"The LHC: the Large Hadron Collider.", he revealed, appraising it as he spoke.

Ah. No wonder I hadn't guessed. Yet, again, now that I knew what it was, it did, indeed, look like the Large Hadron Collider. He had even drawn the particle detectors.

It sometimes seems to me that my children live in a strange world. At times, it doesn't seem like a child's world at all. They can be very arcane, can my children, as children go. Their knowledge sometimes seems absurdly abstruse for kids yet in single digits, when it comes to years. Yet, that is how they are. They find pleasure in things that other children might find only boredom in - and I suppose that is a good thing, for the world needs people who find shockwaves and Large Hadron Colliders interesting enough to draw. In fact, we wouldn't enjoy so many things in our daily lives, were there not children who liked such things - for they become adults who work with such things, to the general benefit.

There is only one worry in all this: can they share their interests and viewpoints with other kids of their own age? What would they think, for instance, of Ainan's Large Hadron Collider? I cannot imagine that they would greet it with much enthusiasm. Luckily, however, Ainan finds his own enjoyment in such things, and, hopefully, that is enough for him. Anyway, he can always share it with his little brothers, who are remarkably open to him.

Now, what do you think Tiarnan, three, had drawn? Rather sweetly, he had drawn his mother's skirt, fluttering in a breeze, all graceful lines and curves.

We were both touched.

(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.)

Brotherly love vs. Harry Potter.

Which is more powerful in the life of a child: brotherly love or the magical wizard, Harry Potter, lord of the box office? Well, yesterday, that was put to the test.

Syahidah had planned to take Fintan and Tiarnan to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This seems quite apt since they are both "half-bloods", themselves...though, I have yet to secure the title "Prince" for them!

When Syahidah arrived at the cinema, where I waited, she had only Tiarnan in tow. Fintan was nowhere to be seen.

The story turned out to be a sweet one. On leaving for Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, Syahidah noted that Fintan was hesitating.

"Are you coming?", she asked him.

"I don't want to see Harry Potter: Ainan will be lonely.", he said, looking at his brother who was soon to be left behind.

Syahidah objected that he would not.

"You can't see it...but he is very upset.", he said, concernedly. Perhaps the "upset" he thought he saw, was the thought of being left home alone, without his brothers.

Syahidah relented and let Fintan stay with his brother. She was touched to see that he cared so much about his elder brother that he would forego the film she knew he so wanted to watch.

As it went, however, it was lucky that Fintan didn't go to see Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince - for it was a dire concoction. Syahidah judged it as being up there with Transformers 2 as among the worst films she can recall seeing. Truly, Hollywood is churning out trash these days. She particularly criticized the PLOT as utter nonsense - and that would seem to be J.K "I don't plagiarize, honest" Rowling's fault. She also observed that it had disturbingly close similarities to elements of the Lord of the Rings - except that LOTR was fun, well put together and skillful - none of which could be claimed for Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.

Now, I wasn't able to see Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince myself, at that time...even though I had gone to the cinema: so I consider myself lucky not to have wasted another couple of hours in a darkened room.

Given the creative poverty of Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, it is fortunate that Fintan's brotherly love is stronger than his taste for all things Potter. It seems, therefore, that his brotherly love has wisdom in it, too, as well as sweetness.

(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.)

Happy Father's Day, 2009

Happy Father's Day, all. At least, it is Father's Day in Singapore...I am not sure if other countries celebrate it on the same day.

Syahidah and our children have been abundantly thoughtful today. I am grateful for all the surprise gifts - from each of them. Even Tiarnan, three, made something for me, so it was most pleasing. So, thank you to Ainan, Fintan and Tiarnan for your welcome gifts.

Syahidah went to exceptional lengths to make this a special day - and I am thankful for each of her surprises. Thank you, Syahidah!

As for my own father: Happy Father's Day, to you, too! (If you get to read this.)

(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.)

Tiarnan studies his brain.

"Mummy", Tiarnan, three, began, with something of import to say, "when I do this," he rocked his head back and forward a little too rapidly, "My brain feels like water inside."

"Well stop doing it then!", she urged, sensibly.

I find this brief tale interesting for one primary reason: it shows that Tiarnan is observing himself closely. This reminds me of another observer in the family: Ainan, who ever since he was very young (like the first days), seemed to be always watching, studying and observing the world and himself in it.

In seeing the ways of the brothers, I can't help but feel that they are united in more ways than just the fact that they are brothers: they echo each other in their essence. Some of what each is, is found in the others. I wonder if they will draw sustenance from these commonalities, in later years, when they have grown up? I hope so, for they will find in each other, people who can understand them, very well. What they could offer each other, therefore, is a deep rapport, that, so often, is, I find, missing from siblings, when it should so easily be there.

Now, stop sloshing your brains around Tiarnan.

(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 day of numerical coincidences.

Today, is a day of numerical coincidences, or hidden relationships between numbers. Today, is the 14th of February...and I am 41 years old: same numerals, different order. This is the only time in my life in which such a thing will happen. It is a crossover point. It is also, curiously, halfway through a typical life, where I come from.

Yesterday, I said to Ainan: "Tomorrow is a special day: can you guess why?"

He paused and then observed: "Well the month is a prime number - and the day is one more than a prime number."

"No, Ainan. It is my birthday."

In a way, I thought the moment characteristic of Ainan, who sees the remote so easily.

So, today I am 41. There are hints of surprises to come, today...but I don't know what they are, since they are surprises. However, personally, I am surprised enough just to know that I am 41. It seems like an awfully big number for the little time it took to get here.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone...I've got a birthday to celebrate.

(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.)

Of memory power and interest.

There are some people who think that the gift of a child like Ainan consists of nothing more than "memory power" and "interest". They think that to be a prodigious child and achieve at an adult level before the primary years are over, that nothing more is needed than a good memory and a liking for a subject. Clearly, such people are unfamiliar with the requirements of the subject Ainan is dealing with.

To be a chemist, one needs to be competent in spatial skills (the spatial arrangement of molecules is important); verbal skills (lots of complicated words and naming systems); mathematical skills (there are numerical problems to solve); memory skills (yes, there is a lot to know); logical skills (for the problem solving, some types of problem can be quite tricky); conceptual skills (understanding the physical concepts involved in Chemistry). Now, to be competent in Chemistry, a child needs to be good at ALL those areas. Memory, note, is just one of those areas. Of course, an interest in Chemistry is necessary too...but without a good level of native skill in all the areas, the child will not succeed in Chemistry, no matter how "interested" they are, or how good their "memory power" is.

I wonder, sometimes, at the lack of reasoning powers of some people that I have encountered on the internet. They think that the sum total of gifts required to be a young scientist is a good memory and an interest in science. I can tell you now that those two attributes alone will not get anyone very far at all in science. Primarily, science is not about memory, but about REASONING. Without highly developed powers of reason, no child, or adult, can expect to do well in science. Of all possible disciplines, the scientific ones tax reason above all other attributes. It is possible to be a savant, and know everything about a science - but such a person would most probably fail any and all exams that they are asked to do, because savants usually lack the ability to apply their knowledge with reason. Thus, knowledge alone (that is, memory alone) is not the answer. Memory alone, in science, is, in fact, nothing at all. It is basically a textbook - for a book is pure memory - but when is the last time a book passed an exam?

The other thing I observe in some of the comments I receive is that people are no longer familiar with the O level exam. It used to be taken by the upper 20% of students in the UK and all around the world. About twenty years ago, the UK dropped it, in favour of a much easier exam - the GCSE. Now, Ainan took his O level Chemistry when other children were still learning to read. This is not the product of "memory power" and "interest"...for those two characteristics do not satisfy the demands of the O level. Only a comparatively few of the marks go to knowledge alone, most of them go to what would be categorized as REASON. Almost all the children who now take GCSE would fare very badly in O level. Most of them would, in fact, fail. This is because it demands both more knowledge and more reasoning power, than the newer exam.

Since April last year, Ainan has been studying tertiary level Chemistry at Singapore Polytechnic. Again, those who characterize this as "memory power" and "interest" are being rather ignorant. Memory and interest will not even allow a student to grasp what is going on in the classroom. There is a good deal of reason and insight required just to have the faintest idea of what it is all about. Knowledge alone, will not allow anyone to cope with the demands of the situation. This should be obvious to anyone who knows what science is like at a tertiary level.

The real question behind all of this, however, is: why do some people try to characterize the gifts of children like Ainan as nothing more than "memory power" and "interest"?

The answer is probably that they feel threatened by such children and seek to diminish them. They seek to recast them not as gifted and intelligent, but as some variety of automatic recording machine devoid of intelligence. To my mind, that indicates either that the person who so characterizes them is jealous - or that they, themselves, genuinely have no understanding of what the demands of a scientific subject are. So, we are left to conclude that they are either jealous, or ignorant...perhaps both.

It is important to speak out against this characterization of gifted children as little more than pocket tape recorders, because this view of them, diminishes them to such an extent that they are no longer worthy of support or consideration. If such views are allowed sway, then more gifted children will go unsupported and will not receive the resources they need to blossom.

Ainan does have a good memory, but he has a better imagination, a better intuition, a better intelligence, than all the powers of his memory can muster.

Memory is not the answer to genius or giftedness of any kind - but it is a tool that the gifted use. Nikola Tesla was a great genius - but he also had a great visual memory, able to capture things in the finest detail. Mozart was famously able to recall long pieces of music at a single hearing and write them down. Charles Dickens when working as a young journalist, took notes only in his head (if I remember rightly). These three men were all geniuses - and they all had good memories. However, it would be entirely wrong to characterize them as a product of nothing but memory. A good memory was the LEAST of their gifts. It was their REASON and CREATIVITY that made them geniuses. Their memories were just tools to enable the other two faculties to have something to work on.

So, it is with certain gifted children. They have able memories, but these are just tools to allow their other gifts to have something to work with. If you want to know their true gifts - look to their capacities to reason and be creative.

(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 yearning for snow.

My children have never seen snow. They have never known its white mystery falling in silence. They have never felt its surprising chill against the skin, what looks so soft, and welcoming, biting, hard.

When Ainan went to England, before Fintan was born, he said that he wanted to see snow. In all the time he was there, it never snowed once. He left England, as he had arrived: without seeing a single crystal of snow fall.

I am reminded of this, today, because, back in England, they are having the most extreme snowfall for the past 18 years. There are up to 12 inches of snowfall in parts of England, including the South-East, where it is usually less likely to fall. People are snowbound, unable to move from their homes. The roads are impassable. Only children would find it wonderful - but my children are, once more, not there to see it.

I stood before a world map, a couple of weeks ago, with Fintan, and asked him where in the world he would like to go. He looked at it, for the briefest time, quickly deciding what he wanted from the world and pointed at the map. His fingertip touched Greenland.

"It is very cold there, Fintan."

He said nothing, but looked further at the map.

Then he pointed again, this time his fingertip touched Antartica.

"I want to go there.", he said, with a sense of yearning in his eyes.

I didn't have the heart to tell him how difficult it was to visit such places, beautiful though they would be.

"One day, Fintan, one day..."

He continued to look at the map, for some while, his eyes switching between Greenland and Antartica, drinking in their whiteness (for the map had made it clear that they were lands of ice and snow).

I see in Fintan's yearning and Ainan's, too, a need to know the unknown, to experience the unexperienced. They both share this characteristic. Fintan didn't want to go anywhere "normal". He had known normal all his life. He had lived at the Equator and in Europe. He didn't want such places and such climates. He wanted a world of extremes, of brutal cold and devilish ice and the silence of eternally falling snow. That, for him, held magic.

I left him with the map, having learnt something. I thought it revealing that both brothers should share the same aspiration, though we had never spoken of the subject, together and I don't think they had either. They had independently come to the same view of what would make an interesting place to be.

One day, I hope to show them snow. One day, I hope to see them play in its white wonder and witness the silence of its fall.

I know one thing for sure: it won't happen if we stay in Singapore!

(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.)

The World's Cleverest Child and Me, Channel 4.

"The World's Cleverest Child and Me", on Channel 4, in the UK, is a British TV documentary featuring London-Irish presenter Mark Dolan. It is also a show in which Ainan appeared. (Adora Svitak and Adi Putra are also featured).

Now, documentary TV shows are funny things. They purport to capture the truth of their subjects but, what is not known to the general public, is that the tv crew have very little time in which to do this. In both the documentaries in which Ainan has appeared: "Superhuman Genius" on ITV1, in the UK (featuring Kim Peek and Akiane, as well as Ainan among others) and "The World's Cleverest Child and Me", the documentary team only had TWO days of filming to capture the essence of the story and their subject.

Think about that. The TV crew are supposed to be able to capture the essence of a life in just two days. In these two cases, they are also dealing with young children - which makes for another difficulty: that of getting their subjects to relax on camera in the short time that they have.

I haven't seen "The World's Cleverest Child and Me", yet. I don't have firsthand experience of how Mark Dolan, who is billed in other places as a comedian, has approached the matter. Have they shown respect? I don't know. Have they shown insight, into their subjects? I don't know. I will have to wait and see the film. I do know this, though: two days is too short a time to go anywhere near capturing the fullness of the life story of a gifted child of any kind. There is always a lot more to such children than a handful of hours with a tv crew can record. The viewing public doesn't know this, of course. So, I rather think that the impressions we get of documentary subjects are only thin slices of who they are. Most of the nature and character of such subjects will be missed. That is, of course, unless the documentary team have not had to travel far, and their budget can be used on time filming the subject rather than hotel bills and airplane fares (as was the case with Ainan, of course - and all the subjects in "The World's Cleverest Child and Me.")

People I know in England have seen the documentary, however. One of them remarked that, at one point Mark Dolan says that I sent him lots of emails. I find this a strange thing to say, considering that I don't even have an email address for him, at all. On parting, he referred us to his myspace page, which we haven't joined and so can't use to contact him. I will wait to see the documentary, however, before I comment further on the correspondence that never was.

Another comment, which I have actually seen, in an outtake, which I wish to counter, is Mark Dolan's statement that Ainan was rehearsing "for weeks" before they arrived in Singapore, to do the Pi memorization record. Again, this is a strange comment, since Ainan's total time to learn it consisted of brief sessions on most, but not all the days, in a two week period. When I say "brief", I mean that each session was measured in minutes, not hours - and not a lot of minutes at that. Mark Dolan's comment is puzzling because the production team have the video of Ainan's rehearsal period (which they requested that we make). So, he knows exactly how long it took to learn. There should be no need, therefore, to exaggerate the timescale, using an open-ended phrase like "for weeks".

Ainan very much enjoyed the filming, however, even though he is innately quite shy in such a situation. I do feel that more time would have been required, to get a fuller sense of him, though. Again, I will await the documentary to see the end result.

Should anyone wonder how such documentaries come about: well, we get asked to do them. We have had a lot of offers to do documentaries and other tv shows in the past couple of years. It might surprise you to learn that we have actually turned down about eight tv shows in the past twelve months or so. These are shows based all over the world and of various different kinds. We turned them down for many different reasons. I think a project has to seem like a good fit, for us, and for Ainan. So, despite what some people might think, by accepting only two projects out of ten offered, we are being rather moderate in our response to the situation. We are trying to be wise in what we accept - but we are still learning. Perhaps some that we turned down, would have been better than what we accepted. We cannot know. All we can do is make a judgement on whether to participate on the information available to us at the time. Sometimes, we might get it wrong...but we can only do our best.

"The World's Cleverest Child and Me." also featured Adora Svitak, now 11, who is a young writer of fictional stories, from Seattle, and Adi Putra, a mathematically gifted boy, now 10, from Malaysia.

Ainan is shown doing a Pi memorization recitation record. He achieves 518 digits on camera - though subsequently, off camera, when the crew had gone back to England, he did 1102 digits! Nevertheless, 518 digits of Pi is, according the Pi World Ranking List, a World Age Record for Pi recitation (no other child under 16 has achieved such a feat). It took him 4 minutes to recite them. Ainan is also shown, briefly, at work in the Chemistry lab at Singapore Polytechnic alongside young adults. There is also some more general footage of his life, here, in Singapore.

If you get to see any of the shows, feel free to let us know your thoughts. Did they manage to capture anything of Ainan? How did the rest of the family come across? Did you enjoy it?

Thanks in advance, for your comments, thoughts and feelings.

(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.)

On intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

It puzzles me how often the parents of gifted children are assailed with the accusation of being "pushy" parents. I marvel at the essential incomprehension of the gifted situation this reveals. To be brief, it is impossible to push a child to exceed their limits and achieve something that is not in them.

A gifted child is not pushed into being a gifted child. It is an innate condition, as inherent as the colour of their eyes. It is absurd to accuse the parents of somehow creating this situation by being demanding. Yet, so often, the parents of gifted children hear this assumption wielded in their general direction.

There is a failure to understand the need for intrinsic - and not extrinsic - motivation when it comes to a gifted child, particularly a prodigious one. It is absolutely impossible, in my opinion, to create a prodigious child from one who is not naturally given to be so. The mental qualities of such a child are either in the child or not. One particular quality that must be present, if anything worthwhile is to be achieved, is that of intrinsic motivation. By this, I mean that the child must be motivated, of their own accord, to seek understanding of the subject matter of their interest. The drive to learn must come from the child. I see no real possibility of a prodigious child coming out of an extrinsic learning situation, in which the motivation to learn comes from external factors. So, I think it impossible that a parent (the extrinsic factor) could ever drive a child to become prodigious. The child must already be becoming prodigious of their own accord, driven by their own intrinsic motivations and founded on their own inherent abilities.

It is clear that those who accuse the parents of prodigies of being pushy, actually know nothing about prodigies. If they did, they would understand that it is the child, in such a situation, who does the driving.

Ainan often bugs me to do something with him. It is not what you might imagine. It is not bugging me to get him a toy, or play a game with him. He bugs me to get me to sit down with him and teach him science. He nags me to provide him with scientific stimulation. Anyone who had ever witnessed this, would, at once, have a rather different view of the origin of prodigies and gifted children, than is commonly - and wrongly - supposed. The secret of a child's gift, is in the child themselves. Their gift emerges from their own innate nature. It is not imposed on them from without. They are not a "tabula rasa". They have certain gifts and predispositions at birth and these are fostered by the child themselves, if they are truly destined to become something special. The parent can only provide what the child makes clear, by their actions, nature and requests, that they need. The rest, largely, is up to the child themselves. They must have the ability within them, to excel, but they must also have the drive to do so. It must be something that they really want for themselves. It cannot be imposed on them from without.

Thus, the model many people have in their minds of a gifted child moulded by "pushy parents" into becoming something that they otherwise would never have been is utter nonsense. It is, in fact, an impossibility. If the child is not intrinsically motivated to tread the path that has been chosen, there is no way on earth that they are going to be able to do so. Extrinsic motivations are never going to be strong enough to create the kind of child we come to know as a prodigy. Nor, I would suggest, are they strong enough to engender a gifted child of any kind. There is a reason why a child is called "gifted" - and that is because it is as if a special quality has been bestowed on them, at conception. They are in possession of a gift. It is not something that can be imposed from without, by force of will. It is there, or it is not. The child has received a gift, at conception, or they have not.

Rather than continuing to misunderstand the parents of gifted children, society would do better to enquire what those parents need for their children, to give them what they most require, to take them where they should go and become what they should be.

All parents have a great responsibility to the future of our society. I would suggest that the parents of gifted children have a greater responsibility given the potential of their charges. It seems a pity to assail them with misunderstandings instead of trying to help them do the best they can to ensure that the potential of their children, becomes something actual - for the betterment of the child, and of society as a whole.

So, the next time you hear someone speak of pushy parents, remember my words and explain to them that, without intrinsic motivation, a child could never achieve anything worthwhile at all. So, if the child has achieved something, it is because it is in them to do so. It wasn't put there, from without.

(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.)

The need for a challenge.

Too often, gifted children are given no special provision. The understanding of many teachers and educational authorities is that the gifted will naturally do well and need no particular attention. What they haven't actually given any thought to is: do well at what? Should a gifted child be given no greater challenge than that of their average age-mates? Most school systems do just that and give their gifted nothing more to do than they would any other child.

Yet, from my experience, I would say that a gifted child should be challenged. They should be given something that demands more of them. Observing Ainan's quickness of mind when he was six, we decided that he needed something to challenge him - or at least appease, to some extent, the drive to understand that he was exhibiting. Thus it was that he began to take exams more typical of young adults. It was a good decision.

What might surprise some people is Ainan's reaction to being required to take science exams. He loves it. He gets a buzz from doing them. When asked what he felt about one particular science exam, for instance, he said: "Happy." It actually made him happy to sit in an exam room faced with a paper which would distress many average students.

That is a key difference between gifted students and the average child - and one that should not be ignored. Gifted students need a challenge - and the more gifted they are, the more of a challenge they need. Ainan is happiest when he is immersed in an intellectual challenge typical of a young adult science student. This is what gives him a sense of excitement.

Now, that might seem strange to some people, but it is important to understand this type of reaction if gifted students are to receive an appropriate education. Far from being "stressed" by a challenging academic situation, Ainan enjoys it. It is actually what makes him happy.

It seems to me that most educational systems - Singapore's included - do not know this. A happy gifted child is a challenged gifted child - by which I mean that the level of stimulus should match the level of ability. In some cases, this means that a rigorous exam is the recipe for a smiling child.

(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 partial eclipse of the Sun.

We took our three sons to see a partial eclipse of the Sun, on Tuesday 27th January 2009.

From about 4.30 pm the Sun, in Singapore, began to be partially occluded. For the occasion, we went to the Science Centre, with the intention of viewing it through the telescopes, there, at the on-site Observatory.

Before viewing the eclipse, we went around the Science Centre with the boys. They were very excited and the three of them showed each other the exhibits, with great enthusiasm, interacting with them, curiously. It was their sense of excitement that impressed me. For them, the whole Science Centre is a kind of adventure, filled with strange experiences. They ran around seeking the most interesting exhibits, Tiarnan, in particular, and rather sweetly, climbing up onto them for a better look.

Tiarnan has been asking to go the Science centre for some time - which is quite an unusual request for the two year old he was, to start making. He was most keen on the idea. Finally, we took him, on the day of the eclipse.

When it came time to go to the Observatory, our eyes were met with the most unexpected queue, considering that it was Chinese New Year. The large room adjacent to the telescopes was filled with people eager to catch a glimpse of the eclipse, through the telescopes. There were three scopes and hundreds of people - so, seeing that, we abandoned the idea of viewing the Sun in that way at all.

Syahidah had been given special dark glasses ("optical density 5") for viewing the Sun directly, but I didn't want the boys to risk using them, in case they were tempted to take them off, while viewing (or they slipped). Luckily, there was a projection screen set up with a feed from the largest scope.

There was no need to look through the scopes at all. Our view would be just as good in front of the screen - and that is where we sat on the concrete steps, as if in some Roman auditorium.

By the time we arrived, the Moon was already partially covering the Sun. About a fifth of it was gone, as if a giant with very close set teeth had taken a bite out of it.

We explained to Tiarnan and Fintan that it was an eclipse and how it worked.

Tiarnan stood up and pointed at the projection screen: "This is the Sun." he said, turning to me, as if lecturing and "This is the Moon."

He understood alright.

The boys were very interested at first, sitting, studying the screen and watching the Moon slowly progressing across the Sun, covering more and more.

Ainan pointed out what appeared to be sunspots. They were darker blotches on the face of the Sun. Now, whether they were sunspots or not, I do not know - but they did look like them.

Syahidah sneaked out to look directly at the Sun, through her glasses.

"It is very small.", she observed, somewhat surprised, on her return. I didn't do the same, but stayed with the kids.

Ainan sat throughout, beside me, watching as the Sun was gobbled up. By 5.49 pm, it had reached a maximum eclipse of 80 % or so.

Fintan and Tiarnan divided their time between sitting with us and watching for a few minutes at a time, and running around the auditorium, treating it as an impromptu playground.

It was a good day. The best part of it was seeing how well the brothers worked together in their explorations and how excited they were to do so. I think all of them found it an interesting experience.

As for the partial eclipse, I think it made an impression on them all - even little Tiarnan.

It is not the only eclipse Ainan has experienced - he once was present at a total eclipse - but that is a whole other story (and a lot more funny). Perhaps I will write of it another day, or in another place.

(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.)

Cartoon lessons in Physics.

Cartoons are teaching our children about the world. However, the lessons they teach are a tapestry of errors.

Today, I was watching a cartoon with my kids, when I saw something that is typical of the cartoon world. A baby fell from a building and an adult jumped after it, some seconds later, in an attempt to catch it, and cushion its fall. Apart from, of course, the lunacy of imagining that two falling people are better than one, I saw a fundamental problem with the sketch that unfolded - and so did Ainan.

As is the way of cartoons, the journey to the Earth was rather eventful, with many twists, turns and interesting encounters on the way down - though both baby and adult continued, generally, to fall.

Towards the end, baby and adult took different paths. The adult fell into a giant tube, the baby passed alongside the outside of it. Oddly, the adult, who had jumped second, came out of the tube at the bottom FIRST - and caught the baby, saving the day.

"Impossible!" I said, to Ainan's agreement.

I know cartoons are meant to be enjoyed, but is it necessary for them to teach young children errors about the physical world? The acceleration due to gravity is going to be the same for all falling objects, the only variation being their ultimate terminal velocity. Basically, the man cannot catch the baby, because both are subject to the same acceleration, unless, for some reason, the baby's terminal velocity were lower than the man's.

Cartoons are eagerly watched for many years by growing children. I watched them, too. Yet, now that I am a father, I find myself concerned at whether children who watch them, come to imbibe misunderstandings about the physical world.

This, of course, leads to the question: is it impossible to be entertaining without breaking the laws of physics? I don't think so. There is nothing in the nature of entertainment or a child's mind that requires physics to be discarded when making an entertaining cartoon or any other form of entertainment. I think the problem here is more likely to be that cartoonists DON'T KNOW ANY PHYSICS. I think many of the cartoonists don't know that some of the things they do violate basic principles and are thus purveying misinformation. Of course, in other cases, I am sure that violation of basic physical principles is done precisely because it leads to interesting consequences - but there is nothing about how humans are entertained that requires that cartoons do that, universally.

All that our children hear, see, touch and feel, is part of their education about the world. I would like to see more responsible cartoon making that doesn't include subtle errors that might confuse a child about how physical reality actually works. Physics is difficult enough, for most children, without confusing them about its basic laws.

Some people will dismiss my concerns with a "Of course the children know it is not real!". Well, that is most certainly not so for young children (my two year old, Tiarnan, for instance, is convinced that he knows where Ben 10 lives!). Furthermore, many of the errors of physics found in cartoons are subtle - such as the falling adult catching the baby. They are impossible, but not obviously impossible to a young child. These are particularly dangerous. It is only when a child has developed sophistication about the physical world that they will spot such errors (such as Ainan did). However, the cartoons, themselves, will interfere with the development of such physical sophistication.

I think it is time that cartoon makers and Hollywood, in general, behaved a little more responsibly towards their young audience. I don't think it helps the world to be confusing young minds in this way, with lessons in misinformation that they may, actually, never unlearn.

Films and cartoons can be fun, without misinforming the audience. Why not try making entertainments that actually respect the laws of physics? It would certainly make it easier to be a teacher of young children, without having to correct a myriad of cartoon induced misunderstandings.

Note: It has come to my attention that at least one reader thinks I am stating that my own children are confused about physics. They are not. In fact, the eldest is very competent in physics and the others are just fine. I write about children in general, in this case and NOT my children in particular.

(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 curiously personalized personal computer.

Ainan's computer does things my computer doesn't. Furthermore, it isn't because he has bought software I haven't got - it is because Ainan has made his computer behave that way.

Somehow, he has taught himself how to programme certain aspects of his computer. Making particular entries brings up unique message boxes, with comic messages in them (written by Ainan). One popular programme launch button has even been booby trapped so that pressing it shuts the computer down. Ainan thinks this is hilarious, since anyone, but him, who uses his computer is likely to run into that and various other problems. Ainan has made his computer quirky. It has a personality all of its own, with a set of responses that no other computer has.

Even after all these years, in his company, Ainan still manages to surprise me. He has never had a single computer programming lesson. He has never been to a computer class. Yet, he has taught himself, from online files, how to get his computer to behave in a personalized manner. He is programming the responses he wants from it.

As I watch him teach himself things no-one has ever ventured to teach him and master them with what seems effortless ease, I come to the conclusion that, if every child was like Ainan, schools would be entirely superfluous. A child like Ainan doesn't need a school to learn anything - they just need books (or the internet equivalent) and their own innate curiosity.

I am reminded that, when Ainan was six, he taught himself Chemistry, from the internet. Here he is, then, again, teaching himself some programming skills - also from the internet.

A resourceful child needs only a net connection (or a well-stocked library) to educate themselves. I don't see in what way schools are superior to the process I observe in Ainan. At his age, school would not yet even have started to teach Chemistry or programming - yet Ainan is quite able to learn these things on his own, already. School, perhaps, only has utility for those unable to teach themselves. Those who are, however, are probably hampered, rather than enabled by the requirements of school.

To date, almost everything Ainan knows has been learnt at home - much of it by himself. School plays little part in his education.

Back to the topic in hand: mercifully, he has not, yet, booby trapped my computer with any quirky behaviour - but I rather enjoy watching the things that his does, when one tries to interact with it in a normal way.

It is good to see him add another area of skill to his repertoire. He seems to be laying down all the key skills he would need to be scientifically and technically proficient, as an adult - and he is making the selections himself.

By the time, he reaches the age when schools actually begin teaching the skills he is acquiring, he will already be expert in all of them. It would almost be funny, if it wasn't so sad. You see, schools should really allow kids like Ainan to develop when they want to - and not put them on a "go-slow" programme, which would bore them.

Luckily, Ainan has his own solution: it is called an internet connection, a pile of books and lots of curiosity.

(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.)