Seeing the world with chemical eyes.

At unexpected times, I am reminded that Ainan sees the world in a rather different way, to most young boys. He sees the world with chemical eyes.

A few weeks ago, I was out with Ainan. Now, anyone who knows Malaysia will know that there are open drains beside the roads, perhaps to offset the chance of floods. We had just come out of a Starbucks onto a quiet roadway, that ran along the shops. At the outer edge of the little road, was a wall. We stepped up onto the wall. Immediately beyond it, was a ditch all along the road, that acted a drain. Beyond that, was the main road proper, that we wanted to get to, in search of a taxi.

So, we stepped up onto the wall and jumped across the ditch, down onto the side of the main road beyond.

Ainan said nothing.

We spent some ten minutes trying to flag down a taxi – and being ignored by the very few which passed by.

“Let’s go back to Starbucks and call a cab from there.”, I suggested to Ainan.

So, we walked across the road, to the drainage ditch. With an effortful stretch, Ainan stretched his leg across the ditch and stepped up onto the wall.

Standing on the top of the wall, he remarked: “That was an endothermic reaction.”

He looked down at me. “...and when we came out it was...”

“...an exothermic reaction!”, I said filling in.

He had a point. To return the way we had come and go up to the wall, from down beside the drainage ditch, required an input of energy...hence endothermic. To come down off the wall, one only had to use gravity to do so...so, in a sense, energy came out, from one...an exothermic reaction.

I thought it was very telling of the way he sees the world that he should notice a physical and visual analogy to endothermic and exothermic reactions, whilst out walking around town.

Not for the first time, I was moved to reflect that children of his own age, would not grasp his thoughts, should he ever choose to express them, unfiltered, to them. Of course, he never really did that. With children his own age, he would select his utterances very carefully and never really reveal what he was truly thinking. He would decide to talk about something else, something more readily understood, than to actually make the remarks that came, unbidden, to mind.

For me, I was happy to have a glimpse of the way he interprets the world, as we crossed the ditch. He allowed me to see, for a moment, how he perceives, analyzes and understands the world. Of course, he did so, because he knew that I would understand his reference. Had I been another child, he would have walked in silence.

This incident is a simple example of his chemical perception. Often it is not so simple. Sometimes, I really have to reflect on what he has said, carefully, so elusive is it. At such times, I do wonder how many people he shall really be able to connect with, fully, in his lifetime. Such people would have to be quite unusual in their own way, I think. I do hope he manages to gather around him enough such people to feel properly connected to the world. In the meantime, I shall be there for him, when he chooses to speak his mind. I hope it is enough, for now.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

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HELP University College, KL, Malaysia.

It is time to announce it. Ainan has joined HELP University College, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

We spent the last three years trying to secure the right educational opportunities for Ainan, in Singapore. However, it wasn't easy. The "system" was very difficult to work with. It took us, for instance, about 22 months to secure consistent practical Chemistry classes for him, in Singapore, at a Polytechnic there, (which we much appreciate and which helped, at the time. Sadly, though, it wasn't really enough.). That is almost two years completely wasted...two years of frustration, of being stalled, of being thwarted. It is not as if we didn't try to get what he needed in Singapore. We did. However, the system was most modest in its response. The GEP (Gifted Education Programme) arranged for a handful of practical Chemistry classes for him - which we were very grateful for, at the time - but it never led anywhere. There was no ongoing practical Chemistry provision made available for him. We were, at the time, given two excuses for this: "There are no resources available" and "If we do it for him, they will all want it."

The funny thing is, it was never clear who the "they" were, since, in Singapore's history, to date, there has only been one child like Ainan. Presumably, providing Ainan with lab access would suddenly have turned the whole nation into science prodigies by a kind of infective osmosis. How ridiculous.

Anyway, we tried everything we could in Singapore. We even asked to homeschool him, on many occasions, but permission was never granted. (We were always fobbed off with "We will revert to you shortly"...and then we would never hear from them - the Compulsory Education Unit - again.). After three years of it, we quietly gave up and started looking elsewhere for an education for Ainan.

Remarkably, Malaysia proved very responsive - and, through the wise advice of Zuhairah Ali, President of the National Association of Gifted Children of Malaysia - Ainan secured places at University Colleges in Malaysia, in a very short time...not much more than a week.

Of all the places on offer, we chose HELP University College, in Kuala Lumpur. It offered the best overall support of Ainan.

At HELP, Ainan will be taking an American Degree Programme - starting immediately. He will take Computer Science options, but also keep up his Chemistry. He will, in addition, be broadening his science foundation by adding A levels in Physics and Maths to his tally, simultaneously. He already has AS Level Chemistry, O level Chemistry and O level Physics, as well as having taught himself some degree of programming skills.

Our thanks to HELP for offering him a place and being so supportive - and to Zuhairah Ali for her speed, efficiency and immense resourcefulness. Thank you.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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Science is harder than the Arts.

A recent study has proven what has long seemed obvious to anyone who has ever observed pupils in school: Sciences are harder than the Arts.

The study, at Durham University examined the examination results of over a million students and was commissioned by the Institute of Physics and SCORE (Science Community Representing Education).

Students of similar ability, but different subject choice were compared to extract the relative hardness of subjects. The core finding was that science subjects at A level were a grade harder than Arts subjects, in general. This means that a student will score lower on a Science subject, than an Arts subject, although be of the same intellectual standard. Indeed, those behind the study commented that: "A student who gets a C in Biology is going to be generally more able than a student who gets a B in Sociology."

Differences were noted within the Arts subjects, too, with some being demonstrably easier than others. A student studying film studies instead of History can expect more than a grade improvement in his or her results. A student picking media studies instead of English, improves by half a grade.

Students seem to be aware of this. There is a long-term decline in the number of students studying the harder science subjects - and a long-term rise in the number of students picking soft subjects. Since the mid-90s, the proportion of students taking media, film and tv studies has risen by over 250 per cent; while the proportion taking Physical Education and Psychology has doubled. Meanwhile, such subjects as Physics and Chemistry have slipped.

Now, I find this very strange. It seems that examining boards are not standardizing the grading across subjects. All that is necessary to correct for this is to ensure that a student of known ability would perform at the same grade across all subjects, assuming equal effort in each. An A grade in Film Studies, should be just as hard to get as an A grade in Physics. If it isn't, then more credit should be given to students who study harder subjects. Either the exam grading systems must change to reflect these inherent differences in ease of subject - or the way exams are regarded by Universities should change.

Indeed, there are signs that Universities are making moves in the right direction. Both Cambridge University and the London School of Economics have published a list of subjects that they consider too easy = and indicated that they will not accept anyone who studies more than one of them, out of their subject offering.

If it is indeed so, that a Biologist with a C is better than a Sociologist with a B, then Universities should begin to decline Sociologists with a B in preference for Biologists with a C. Perhaps then their student body will begin to reflect the best of the applicants, rather than the most adept at choosing cushy subjects.

I don't know if it was just my school, or not, but this phenomenon was easily observable among the students there. The pupils of exclusively Arts subjects were generally less bright than the students of Science subjects. It didn't take a large study to see this: it was immediately evident.

My question is: is this a global phenomenon? Is it just UK exams that reflect this bias, with Science exams being inherently tougher than Arts exams? How about your country? Do you think Arts students seem less bright than Science students? Are Arts exams easier?

Comments please.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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

A day in the chemistry lab.

What does Ainan do at Singapore Polytechnic? Well, today he prepared tris(2, 4 pentanedionato)chromium (III).

The details of what he did to make it are not the subject of this post, what is, is a glimpse at the skills he is developing in working at SP. Firstly, before the laboratory session, he has a series of questions to answer in preparation. These are written down and handed in to be marked. There are matters to be explained, problems to be solved, situations to be examined, in these questions. There are also structures to be drawn. The skills acquired in doing them, are basically those of the theoretical side of chemistry. Then, there is the lab class, in which Ainan performs the experimental manipulations needed to synthesize the target material. This allows him to learn classical chemical techniques - the how of making chemicals in a lab. The results are recorded and handed in to be marked. Then, there is the lecture component of the class in which the lecturer delves into the deeper chemical issues in and around the substance of the day.

In all, I would say that the work at Singapore Polytechnic offers a good grounding in Chemistry, particularly in how to actually do it, rather than just sit around and talk about it.

Ainan is enjoying his time at Singapore Polytechnic - and is looking forward to expanding his studies into other areas in the coming semester.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and five months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and ten months, and Tiarnan, twenty-seven 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, niño, gênio criança, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

I am not a Chemist.

The headline is an important statement that must be understood, if Ainan is to be understood.

It has come to my attention that some people assume that Ainan's interest is an echo of my own. I have had people assume that I am, in fact, a Chemist - and that Ainan's pursuit of the subject is just him either aping his Daddy or being indoctrinated by him. Neither proposal is true. Ainan chose Chemistry, it was not chosen for him.

When I was very young I, too, was interested in Chemistry. Yet, I didn't introduce Ainan to it. It never occurred to me to do so. Ainan introduced himself to Chemistry. He taught himself at first, without any influence from either of his parents. In recent months, he has begun looking at other sciences, too. This, again, is his doing - a need to explore more widely, as well as deeply (for he continues to explore Chemistry). Again, it is Ainan that is leading - he is the one who lays down his own fields of interest and begins to address them.

I was a type of scientist once - a physicist. So, if I were forming Ainan's interests it would be to that subject I would have led him. I certainly would not have led him to a subject other than my own prior core interest.

So, Ainan is a Chemist because he wants to be one. Ainan is exploring other sciences, now (including Physics) because he wants to explore them. Ainan is his own path-chooser.

I address this issue because I was surprised to learn that even relatives of mine made the assumption that Ainan was doing what I wanted, rather than what he wanted. Frankly, I was surprised at that for many reasons - not least of which is that I think it is impossible for a child to perform at a high level in an externally chosen area. They would not have the drive to mastery if it was imposed from without: their own curiosity must be the guiding force.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and five months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and ten months, and Tiarnan, twenty-seven 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, niño, gênio criança, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The beauty of the molecular world

Today, Ainan came to me in some excitement, "Daddy, there is a molecule that looks like a butterfly!"

He was very pleased at his new knowledge. "It is called lepidopterene!"

Indeed, it does look like a butterfly and indeed it is beautiful. Yet, this moment, sweet as it was, makes me wonder what life will be like for Ainan. Who will share his enthusiasms? Who will understand his references? Am I to be the only one who understands what it is that he is saying?

I hope not. I hope he gathers around himself, in time to come, others to share his view and understanding of the world. That is vital in the long-term. One day, I may not be here - and Ainan will not be able to refer to me, to share his latest wonderment. I hope that day never comes, but statistics and the history of mankind are against me on that one.

Ainan sees a beauty in the world that few others know - and it is doubtful whether any other 8 year old is quite as aware of the beauties of science, as Ainan is. At least, we have never encountered such a child. Ainan, therefore, must come to his own understandings and be his own witness to the beauty of the things he encounters and ideas he has. I am here, for now, to share in them, with him - and, one day, perhaps, there will be others who can see what he does and understand it with him.

Yet, Ainan is also privileged to see, understand and know the things he does. For, in doing so, he has a much richer appreciation of the unseen world all around us. He has a deeper grasp of reality than most ever achieve. He sees the reality of the molecular world on which all of us are founded. His eyes are searching deeper, still, now, as he branches off into studying the physical world. One day, perhaps, he will see things no-one has ever seen before. I hope he will be well equipped by then, to explain what he sees and share his understandings. It is my job, as a parent, I suppose, to ensure that he is so prepared.

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy his outbursts of enthusiasm and the moments of excitement he has when he sees something new and learns something amazing, or comes to some insight, on his own, of what was previously unknown. It all gives a new dimension to fatherhood, beyond what might be expected.

Happy parenting, all!

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and four months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and nine months, and Tiarnan, twenty-six 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, niño, gênio criança, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Chemistry experiments beyond the book.

When does being a student end and being a scientist begin? When the student goes beyond the book and does something new.

Ainan regularly goes beyond the book. He does his own thing. He thinks up his own experiments. This past week or so, provides an example.

Ainan has a chemistry set at home. It is pretty basic since I haven't seen anything sophisticated on sale in Singapore. One surmises that, in this age of threats from far and wide, that this is probably policy. The kind of chemistry set which used to be so readily available when I was a child (one with plenty of different chemicals in plentiful supply) doesn't seem to be so easy to find. At least, not in the shops here.

Nevertheless, given the severe limitations of the chemical resources available to him, Ainan has managed to find something new to do with his chemistry set.

The details of his reactions are unknown to me - but I saw them in action. In one he combined two seemingly uncoloured items, to produce a virulent blue product. It was quite the strongest colour. "This is a dye, Daddy.", he announced.

It seemed like it would make a good dye, to me.

"That experiment is not in the book, is it?" I checked, for I had read it myself and saw nothing remotely resembling this reaction in it.

He shook his head, in confirmation.

"How do you know how to do that?"

He just sort of shrugged. "I know.", he said, before launching off into a rapid-fire explanation of what exactly he had done - which I failed to follow well enough to describe here.

Then he did it again. He produced another tube of clear fluid, dropped another fluid into it - and produced a rich brown colouration. "And this is another dye." he declared.

Sure enough the colour was rich enough to be so used, to my eyes.

I don't know what the reactions were - but I know this: they weren't in the book. Nowhere in the materials provided to him, was this particular suggestion present. He had, therefore, gone beyond the book.

I think when a child does this - when they venture out onto their own and make something new (to them, at least) out of the resources to hand - they are demonstrating that they have the instincts of a scientist, of an independent thinker.

I am left to wonder what he would do - or try to do - had he a greater range of resources to hand. Given the constraints on chemical purchases here, I don't think a home lab is a feasible possibility. We will just have to get him consistent access to a fully-equipped lab. (As regular readers will know, this has proven anything but easy, here in Singapore. Lab owners seem most reluctant to let an interested young scientist into them. They only cater to bored older ones, who have lost their enthusiasm.)

Of course, there are dangers inherent in open experimentation. Some end products are not to be made lightly. It is clear, in this instance, however, that he knew what he was doing.

Furthermore, he is aware of the dangers of chemical synthesis - and knows how to steer clear of making commonly known dangerous products. So, I am not concerned that he would stumble on a dangerous outcome. He knows what to avoid. Nor would he ever deliberately seek to make a substance that would be hazardous to him.

However, if you have an experimentally minded child, it might be wise to supervise them, lest they be less circumspect than I know Ainan to be.

Of course, if you have a commercially bought chemistry set, it is unlikely that any of the chemical possibilities found within it, could result in a dangerous outcome - so that is another layer of safety.

These concerns aside, I was pleased to note that Ainan was applying his imagination to the possibilities inherent in the relatively few reactants available to him. I now have two samples of dye in my house to prove it: one a deep blue, the other a rich brown - both quite beautiful.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and one month, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and seven months, and Tiarnan, two years exactly, 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, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

When is a hand big enough?

There was a story, some time ago, distributed by a news agency, based in America, about Ainan. They put together this story without checking any of the facts with us - and so it came out, rather distorted.

The story was a simple one. They said that "boy genius" Ainan was too small for the labs at Nanyang Technological University, and that his hands were not large enough to hold beakers and the like.

Well, it is true that NTU have expressed reservations on Ainan with regards to his size, in their labs. The benches, for instance, are rather tall. Yet, simple measures could be taken to obviate this. A simple platform, for instance.

That, however, is not my concern in this post. My interest is in just how big or small my son's hands are, in relation to what they need to be, for NTU's labs (or any other lab).

Today, quite spontaneously, Ainan measured his hand span. He then set about measuring everyone else's. He asked me what the average span for his age was...and that gave me an idea. How, indeed, did Ainan's hand compare to other children's?

Ainan's handspan measured at 18.5 cm. Now, is this too small for a lab? I checked out a website that detailed the mean size of Canadian students. The data was taken from 2004/5. In this survey the mean span of a TWELVE year old CAUCASIAN boy's hand was 18.52 cm. Thus Ainan's hands, far from being small, as declared in the American article (which didn't check with us), are actually very large for his age. He has the hand size of a Canadian twelve year old boy.

Readers should note that Ainan is not Caucasian - he is Eurasian - so the norms for hand size would be correspondingly smaller. In a Singaporean context, therefore, Ainan's hands are even larger than a twelve year old's would be. He has a teenager's hands.

How do Ainan's hands compare to those of an adult? Well, 19 year old male students in Canada had an average hand span of 20.22 cm. Thus an adult span, as typified by a Canadian, is just 1.7 cm greater than Ainan's.

I found that rather revealing. We have been consistently denied access to labs by certain institutions - on the basis that Ainan would be "too small". Yet, this is an assumption. None of these places actually checked his size. None of them actually measured him against the requirements of the labs in question. They just looked at his age and assumed.

Assumption is not a substitute for thinking - but in many places, it does seem to be used as such.

Ainan's hands are more than large enough to handle the physical requirements of experimental work. They are the hands of an Asian teenager - or a small adult. They are not diminutive hands in the least.

This observation is supported by experience. Ainan has had no trouble manipulating his experimental environment on the eight occasions that he has managed to gain access to labs. He has been able to carry out all experiments without any physical problems at all. He may be smaller than an adult - but he is not so small as to be unable to accomplish all tasks required.

The next time someone questions his suitability based on size, I rather think I will point their way to the Canadian handspan chart. Hopefully, that will make the point.

No longer will I let anyone make the "handy" excuse, that Ainan's hands are too small. They are not.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two 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, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

A Global Search for a University

We are looking for a University for Ainan because he will soon have taken A level - and once he has done that, he would need further opportunity to study - otherwise he would stagnate.

A level is at the level of a Major in an American Bachelor's degree. Ainan is ready to do that soon. But what will he do then? We have nothing in place at present, so we have to line something up for him. We are, therefore, interested in hearing from any University, worldwide that offers Chemistry and other sciences.

Our needs are quite specific, but a University need not meet all of our needs to be acceptable. Firstly, the University must have a strong Chemistry department. Then they should offer a wide spectrum of other sciences especially Physics, Material Sciences, Geology and Astronomy, as well as, ideally, Nanotechnology and Biology. These are secondary interests.

The medium of instruction should be English. The culture should be warm, accepting and welcoming. It should be a supportive, co-operative environment. Too many Universities are overly competitive, aggressive and hostile environments (in my view). That would not suit Ainan.

The University should be prepared to offer mentors. He is young and their guidance would be helpful. It should also be located in a relatively safe place. We don't want to have to worry about such things, unduly.

We are prepared to look anywhere in the world that is a reasonably comfortable place to live. As long as the University can provide a nurturing environment we would be interested in hearing from them.

If you are with a suitable University, or know of any, please contact us and tell us the details. We will then correspond to see if anything can be worked out.

Your help in this is very much appreciated. Thanks.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eleven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and four months, and Tiarnan, twenty-one 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, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The strange vocabulary of Tiarnan Cawley

Yesterday, Tiarnan, nineteen months, was fiddling with his elder brother's Chemistry equipment. I watched from nearby lest he do anything untoward. He took the little bottles in his hands and shook them, watching their contents. I wasn't bothered by this because the caps are not easy to remove being "child-proof".

As he played, I heard one unexpected word on his lips: "Cyanide". He had heard it, no doubt, from his elder brother, Ainan, but it was funny to hear a nineteen month old baby utter such a word. The incongruity of it would have made me laugh but I was intent on watching him play, lest he find a way to harm himself - but it is most certainly funny now, to recall.

It is not easy being Ainan, 7, with College level Chemistry to his name (compared to the American system) - perhaps he is going to bring up a little friend, in Tiarnan, to talk to, regarding his central interests.

He has certainly got him off to an early - and amusing start.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and nine months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and two months, and Tiarnan, nineteen 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, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Seeking a Chemistry Lab in Singapore

Long-term readers of my blog, or followers of Ainan's story, will know that Ainan has had a course in practical Chemistry at Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College. Careful readers will even know that it was for six sessions. That is good - and was helpful. However, what is not is that we have not had any practical experience for him since - and that was in May. We are still, therefore, looking for a Chemistry lab.

We have asked the educational services but they are not keen to provide for him: no lab has been made available. We have explained the reason for his need: that Chemistry is a practical science and Ainan is a practical boy who needs real experience to flesh out his learning - but they are not listening to us. He also needs it to prepare for his A level in Chemistry. Without it, passing would be very difficult indeed, given the marks apportioned to practical skills.

So, we are, after about a year and a half since we first alerted the Singaporean education system to Ainan's nature and needs, still waiting for an effective response that meets his needs. They have made it clear that, if Ainan is to be provided for, that we will have to do it ourselves.

I puzzle at this. Ainan is but one child in a whole nation who needs access to a lab at the age of seven. Surely one child is not too much of a burden on an educational system. Yet, it seems that it is. What we have been offered is way below his needs.

No doubt, many parents of gifted children face similar situations, with local education systems not making any exceptions to the robotic way in which they proceed. No doubt, my blog has many similarly frustrated readers. Yet, should it be this way? The truly gifted are few. It does not seem to me that, numerically, they would create too much strain on an educational system to meet their needs and provide for them, adequately. Yet, it seems that even one child is too many, to adequately provide for.

Our solution, therefore, is to go it alone - and so we have applied for homeschooling. We are still waiting. (It is seven months now since I first applied). At home, his needs will be much better met - but we still need that magical Chemistry lab.

Any suggestions, anyone?

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and nine months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and two months, and Tiarnan, nineteen 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, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The pace of education for the gifted

Education should match the one to be educated, in terms of both pace and challenge. Yet, unless that child is very average, with no particular gift, they are unlikely to be educated in such a way.

The problem with education is that all people are not, despite political aspirations otherwise, made equal - at least not intellectually - though they may be equal in terms of rights etc. in some societies. Education aims to educate most people in an acceptable way - so it ends up educating for the average person. This may seem fair, but it isn't to anyone who isn't average - which is quite a lot of people - at both ends of the spectrum.

As I sometimes do, I asked Ainan, this evening, whether he had learnt anything in school.

His response was very informative. He spoke in a long-drawn out way, each syllable pronounced with infinite sloth: "Slllllooooooowwwwwmoooooowwwwww!"

He was saying "Slow motion".

For Ainan, 7, school is something that occurs in slow motion. The pace of lessons is glacial. It must be very frustrating for him because I have often observed that, when I am teaching him some quite complex or subtle scientific point, that he quite often cuts me off with: "That's obvious Daddy".

Here is the rub, as Shakespeare might have said: if conceptual aspects of College level Chemistry are "Obvious Daddy" - how does he feel in School, having to learn the most basic of things, at the most tardy of paces?

It is cruel to do that to a young mind. It is cruel to so underchallenge Ainan that he sees school as if it passes in cinematic slow motion.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and nine months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and two months, and Tiarnan, nineteen 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, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The true nature of a personality

To find the true nature of a person, you need only look at what excites them.

With Ainan, my son, it becomes clear, over time, what it is that drives him. He has, at his core, a love of a subject much unloved: the physical sciences. Few children derive pleasure and passion from such a conceptual world - but he does: it is what fires him up.

I will provide an example. On the 25th August, Ainan came running out of the computer room, his face alight with passion, shouting, with the greatest of excitement: "Dimercaptosuccinic acid chelates lead! It does!". He was virtually jumping at his moment of discovery. I saw, then, how deeply did a love of science run in him. It was quite able to thrill him in the way, perhaps, others are thrilled by large sums of money, or roller coaster rides, or other stimulations of the senses. For Ainan, an idea, a concept, a fact, a moment of understanding or insight are enough to inspire in him such delight as others can only find in extreme circumstances. I am happy for him, that this is so - for it means that, should he pursue a life of the mind, that he will be very content, indeed, with it and its rewards. Ainan looks to be one of those lucky few who find their metier, their true passion, early on, allowing them to live a life of great fulfilment, for so little of it will be wasted in simply wondering what to do - as so many of us do.

I wonder how many seven year olds in this world would get so excited at simply discovering a chemical property of a molecule, as does Ainan: rather few, I would think.

Seeing him react to that discovery, as he did, has given me a strange and wonderful memory to look back upon: his excitement at his newly won knowledge. It is a good memory to have.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, and Tiarnan, eighteen 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, genetics, left-handedness, College, University, Chemistry, Science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The infinity of chemical knowledge

I have, at times, wondered about the future of my sons. What, for instance, shall Ainan become? What will he do? Will there be anything left for him to do, in his discipline, once he takes his place in it?

Presently, Ainan, 7, looks set to be a chemist. Yet, he is also showing signs of interest in other physical sciences, too: in Physics, Maths, Material Sciences, Geology, Astronomy and Nanotechnology. However, it is true to say that almost all his attention, thus far, has been given to Chemistry, among the sciences. I thought it important, however, to mention the other nascent interests, lest they, one day, become central ones, to him. One never knows on these matters.

So, then my thoughts turned to Chemistry. It is a mature science. It's basic principles are well known - so what is there left to do, for a young chemist, in such an arena? Well, it doesn't take much thought to realize something very, very different about Chemistry, compared to the other sciences. Chemistry is infinite. I mean this in a very real sense. Just think about it. There necessarily must be an infinite variety of possible molecules, since most atoms can, in some way, combine with many others, in structures of unlimited designs. Chemistry is a never-ending subject.

Other sciences, like Physics, have, one supposes, a limited set of possible information. The physical world is describable by physics - but that description is most probably not infinite. I would be very surprised if it was. The physical world is, it appears, reducible to a finite set of laws, applied in a wide, but not infinite variety of circumstances. One day, if Mankind is smart enough (or at least if one genius in the whole of history, male or female, is smart enough - the rest of us can play catch up), then Physics will one day be a fully known subject. We will, at that time, be able to describe the world and its workings in a set of physical laws which, no doubt, would not fill too many pages of too many books. All of physics will then be known. It is possible to conceive of this for physics - and even for biology (there not being an infinite variety of principles at work in life, either - or instances of it (though artificial life might change this to a great degree) and the other sciences - but, for Chemistry, such complete knowledge is, in principle, impossible. No matter how many chemicals are known and understood, there will always be others that can by synthesized, with new properties and possibilities. Chemistry can never be fully known.

Thus, although Chemistry is a mature science, although we think we understand it well - it cannot be said to be complete. It is only just beginning. I recently read one estimate that 19 million chemicals have been synthesized and defined, in Chemistry, so far. Furthermore, the rate at which new chemicals is being synthesized and defined is doubling every 13 years or so. Thus by the end of this century we will know of billions of chemicals. Yet, even then, Chemistry will just be beginning. Set against an infinity of possible chemicals and structures, a knowledge of billions is nothing. The fact is, Mankind, even if it endures for the entire Universe, will never know the fullness of Chemistry. Sure, we will know a lot. The possible things we can do with all these chemicals will be forever increasing, but we will never get to a point where there is nothing more to be done.

I find this heartening. Yes, my son, Ainan, is becoming a Chemist at a time when Chemistry appears mature - but there remains an infinite amount to be done - and this will always be the case.

So, I find myself relaxing on the issue of Ainan's future. There is still, yet, a need for Chemists in this world - and there always will be, for Ainan has chosen one of the few infinite subjects, for his attention - and that is a bit of a relief.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, and Tiarnan, eighteen 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, genetics, left-handedness, chemistry, science, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Ainan's love of abstruse chemicals

Ainan, 7, loves Chemistry. For him, its abstractions, concepts and arcana are all playthings. He enjoys them in a way that other children enjoy Playstation or football.



Today, I wandered into the computer room and caught him searching for something on the internet. I was somewhat bemused when I noted the length of the character string that he was using in his search. It was 1,913 characters long. It is comprised 267 amino acids. This is a huge molecule. It is in fact the protein, Tryptophan Synthetase (to give it an abbreviated name). The full name that he was searching with is, as follows:



methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyl lysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolylphenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisol eucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanylglycylalanylaspartyl alanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolyl threonylisoleucylglutaminylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylglycylvalylthreonyl prolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionylleucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysyl histidylprolylthreonylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylphenyl alanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalyl glycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanyl arginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinyl prolylprolylaspartylalanylaspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryltyrosylglycyl arginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginyl arginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginyl alanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysyl alanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylisol eucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyl lysylvalylphenylalanylvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysyl alanylalanylthreonylarginylserine



Do you know what really amazed me? He actually found references to this chemical on the internet! This protein is actually the longest chemical ever named in a scientific journal - so it is a molecule of some distinction. Trust Ainan to be interested in it.



(If you would like to know more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 7, a scientific child prodigy, seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, aged four years and one month, or Tiarnan, eighteen 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, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children. Thanks.)

Mira Sorvino and scientific fame.

Bizarre as it might seem, Mira Sorvino is famous in the scientific world.

Now, you might wonder how on Earth a Hollywood actress could become known in certain quarters of the scientific community, in a scientific context. What did she discover, you might wonder? When did she find the time to fit a PhD in, in between all those films? How does her film-set schedule allow for laboratory experimentation and profound theorizing?

Well, it doesn't. You see Mira Sorvino having become famous in Hollywood, has been acknowledged by the scientific community in a way which gives her a strange kind of fame. You see, Ainan, 7, pointed out to me, yesterday, that a newly discovered chemical has recently been christened Mirasorvone.

Ainan is fond of filling his mind with rare and obscure scientific information - and this chemical fact is just one nugget. I am informed that there is a beetle called Thermonectus Marmoratus. This beetle uses the newly noted Mirasorvone as a chemical defense (so it is not, actually a very nice chemical!). The common name for this beetle is the "Sunburst Diving Beetle".

The chemical was discovered by researchers at Cornell University. These fans of Mira Sorvino decided to honour her, by naming it after her, owing to her appearance in the film Mimic, which has a strong connection to insects. Curiously, they didn't name the chemical after her character, Dr. Susan Tyler, in the film - but after the actress herself. I suppose Mira should be thankful for that - otherwise she would have missed out on a kind of fame which never dies.

It is my guess that Mira Sorvino will now be known, by some scientists, for as long as there are scientists to know anything. In this way, her scientific fame, modest though it is, being restricted to one chemical name, is certain to outlast any Hollywood fame, she accumulates. Long after all her films have crumbled away, and no-one even remembers what Hollywood was - or, perhaps even, what America was - the chemical name will persist in scientific records - and Mira Sorvino's fame, will endure - even if it is as a nasty chemical. What a strange thought that is.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, who brought Mirasorvone to my attention, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, or Tiarnan, eighteen 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, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children. Thanks.)

Ainan's recipe for Fish and Chips

Unusual knowledge, gives rise to unusual perspectives - and, it seems, an unusual sense of humour.

It is Saturday. In England, where I once lived, on a Saturday night, one would often see people queuing outside Fish and Chip shops across the land. It was, in some strata a tradition, to "down a pint" with their Fish and Chips, of a weekend. The most modest of outlets was often able to attract quite a crowd, if they had the fatty flavour just right.

The other day, Ainan jested about a recipe for the flavouring of Chips (as in Fish and Chips). For those who don't know, chips are "french fries" - but thicker and generally softer than the variety sold in MacDonald's, Burger King and the like.

In England, most people added vinegar and salt to their chips, for flavouring.

Ainan looked at this situation and laughed to himself, before remarking:

"Why not add HSbF6 and CsF, to them?"

He thought this was hilarious. Perhaps I should explain. Vinegar is actually a 5% solution of ethanoic acid, salt is actually sodium chloride. What Ainan was proposing was that the Vinegar be replaced by Fluoro-Antimonic Acid. It is still acidic and therefore sour in taste. The only problem might be that this acid is 10 to the power 19 times stronger than Sulphuric Acid. Anyone eating it would be somewhat inconvenienced. The other suggested chemical, Cesium Fluoride, is also a salt made in the same way as Sodium Chloride - a combination of an alkali metal and a halogen. However, in this case he chose the most extreme readily available elements of their kind for the combination. By all accounts Cesium Fluoride has a truly awful taste, being far more flavoursome - in the most negative of ways - than sodium chloride.

Thus, Ainan's recipe is an analogy to the traditional one. It is still the adding of a salt and an acid, as flavouring - though with rather different effects!

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, or Tiarnan, eighteen 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, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted children and gifted adults in general. Thanks.)

NUS High School responds

Yesterday, Ainan, 7, moved class at NUS High.

As regulars know, he has been attending the National University of Singapore High School for Maths and Science. The problem has been that the class has been of too low a level compared to his degree of understanding.

Yesterday, however, he attended a new class. The level was higher - but still well within his range.

After class his mother, Syahidah, spoke to the teacher.

The teacher remarked: "He was able to answer all the questions I asked him."

That is good and it is bad. It is good that his knowledge is strong enough to allow him to answer all the questions - but it is also a bad indicator that even this class is not of the right level. To be at the right level, I believe a class should be extending boundaries: so it should NOT all be immediately answerable. If it is, then nothing new is being learnt. It is only when the answers require new knowledge, skills or expertise, that the student is going to learn anything.

So, yes, NUS has responded to the mismatch between Ainan's ability and knowledge and the demands of class - but the response is too little.

Nevertheless, Ainan enjoyed the class and was comfortable there: there was something about it that he liked. The only issue is that if he stays in this class, he is unlikely to learn much that is new. He might pick up something here and something there as the knowledgeable teacher strays off the beaten track onto something related, but new - but the core of what is being taught is unlikely to contain much that is novel.

I am heartened, that there has been some response to the situation - it is just that the response needs to be of greater magnitude if it is going to meet Ainan's needs. We will see what happens in the next couple of weeks. I will keep you posted.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, seven years and seven months, a scientific child prodigy, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and no months, Tiarnan, seventeen 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, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The origin of Life

I don't know at what age most children ponder the origin of life, but yesterday Ainan, 7, came to me with his own ponderings.

"How can chemical reactions, become life, become me?", Ainan began, with his mantle of curious intensity, that is always worn when he considers his own ideas, "The reactions are just reactions – they are not alive."

Thus, Ainan wondered about the relationship between chemistry and life - and the curious observation that any given ordinary, everyday reaction, is simply not life - but somehow, all the millions (billions? Who knows?) of reactions that go on in a human being somehow sum to become life. The sum, as ever, is greater than its parts.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Starting at NUS High

Today, Ainan did his first class at NUS High, in Chemistry.

There is no doubt that Ainan is the youngest student there has ever been at the National University of Singapore High School for Mathematics and Science. Ainan, however, has cultivated an interesting age-blindness.

I asked him:

"How old are the other students in your class?"

He was quiet a moment, then said: "I don't know."

In a way, it seemed he was deciding not to let himself know. By not seeing their age, perhaps he was hoping that they wouldn't see his age - and therefore he would fit in, better. It is an interesting stance on the issue. I feel he doesn't want to get into a conscious awareness of the age issue. He prefers just to focus on the content of the class.

He enjoyed the class and was in a positive mood afterwards, though he did note that the level wasn't as high as he felt he could manage. We will see how the place shapes up over time. It may be that they always lag behind his actual level - or it may be that they will catch up at some point. This is, I feel, always a problem in matching a child of particular gifts with an educational system. Sometimes the system may not respond rapidly enough to the child's changing needs. This is one I will have to watch to see how they adjust, over time.

At least, now, though, he is actually studying science formally. Today was his first theoretical science class. All that he has previously achieved has been outside the context of a school: it has all been homestudy with a book, and with his Dad. We will have to see if NUS High School will bring anything new to the table for him. My hope is that he will learn things there that I could not have taught him myself - but I am not sure if that is a realistic hope. It would be good to think that they could add some unique value to the situation. I will just have to wait and see.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and no months, Tiarnan, seventeen 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, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)