Forbes' World's Most Powerful List: a reflection.

Forbes has produced a list of the world's most powerful people. Now, I suppose there is nothing particularly wrong - or particularly novel - about such a task. However, I took exception to how Forbes defined their effort. Forbes said of its inaugural ranking, that it had narrowed the list to 67 people: "a number based on the conceit that one can reduce the world's 6.7 billion people to the one in every 100 million that matter."

Wow. So, Forbes thinks the rest of us don't matter. They are, rather crassly, defining their list as the only 67 people "who matter". Well, pardon me for a moment, for having an opinion of my own...but I don't think much of what - and whom - Forbes thinks "matters".

According to Forbes, a person matters if they are rich, powerful or both. Power is defined in terms of the ability to influence people or events. That is it. No other ingredients appear to be necessary. They completely omit all qualities of character, mind, personality, intelligence, creativity...apparently, these things just don't "matter".

Let us look at the Top 10 on Forbes' World's Most Powerful List:

1. U.S. President Barack Obama
2. Chinese President Hu Jintao
3. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
4. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
5. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page
6. Carlos Slim, Chief Executive of Mexico's Telmex
7. Rupert Murdoch, chairman of media group News Corp.
8. Michael T. Duke, Chief executive, Wal-Mart Stores
9. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz
10. Bill Gates, co-chairman, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

It is a list of people most of whom are familiar, yes. It is also notable that everyone on the list is, by most people's standards, wealthy. Many of them, are billionaires...all of them are, at least, millionaires. That Forbes...a magazine most obsessed with wealth, should compile a list of wealthy people to define those that "matter", should be no surprise. Yet, in my view, only two people on this list actually matter...the rest shall largely be unregarded by history.

Those two people are the founders of Google: Sergey Brin and Larry Page. They matter for a very simple reason: they had an idea. They created something. They contributed something new and useful to the world. Now, Bill Gates also started a company...but I don't really consider him to be a creative person - his software was bought from others, his ideas were all secondhand, observed from others. No: Bill Gates is not a great creator, but he is a great business person. However, in my view, being a great business person does not constitute someone who "matters".

The most important people in the world, the people who really "matter" are not the rich; not the powerful, nor necessarily the influential: the people who matter are those who create something new. Everyone else is dependent on these creative people - everything else is derived from their efforts. Thus, the people above, in that Forbes list are SECONDARY, to others who created that which those people are working with. They are not the key people. They are not the key drivers. They are not, contrary to what the rather shallow thinkers at Forbes "think"...at all people who matter. They are, in fact, people of no real consequence at all.

Think about it: Barack Obama, did not create the United States. He appears to have no real personal creative powers. He brings nothing new to the world. The same applies to all the other world leaders and Kings: Hu Jintao, did not create China; Vladimir Putin did not create Russia; the Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz did not create Saudi Arabia - nor does any of them exhibit much true creativity. They are decision makers, yes...but creators, no.

Then again it should be pointed out that the role that these Presidents and Kings perform exists apart from them. They did not create the role of President or King. Anyone could be President or King...it is only a series of accidents and blessings of fortune (and perhaps in the case of Obama and the like, a personal hunger), that makes them President or King. It could easily have been someone else (though, in the case of a King, it was determined at birth). What they do, would be done anyway, by someone else, by some other blessed person. Their role is not unique, not self-created. It is simply a POSITION that they occupy. They did not create the position. All they are doing is occupying a position. To my mind, that does not mean that they matter. The position is simply a placeholder for a function in society, that any person could be chosen to perform. Being chosen to perform that function does not mean that the person who performs matters in particular...because they did not create the position that they perform. There was no creative step involved, at any stage...nor need there be at any stage of the performance of their duties. Their roles are not creative roles, they are roles of decision and power. They do, however, nothing new. They subsist on worlds created by a host of others. They are not, therefore, themselves of much significance, by this measure of significance. They do not "matter".

Apart from Ben Bernanke, all the others are business people...but like I said, in general, business people do not create that which they do business with and in: they merely sell, promote and package the creative work of others. The business people are not, therefore, in themselves, significant, by this definition of significant.

Forbes' entire list, apart the Google founders, consists of relatively uncreative men. If what matters is defined as those who are creative, then none of these people actually matter at all. They may be immensely rich; they may be immensely powerful; they may be immensely influential - but their entire lives and essence are secondary to the creators on whom they depend. They are, therefore, of no true significance, themselves. The minds they subsist on, are the significant ones. We would have to know whom they base their life work on; who has formed them; who guides them, from whence "their" ideas come. Then we would know who is of true significance.

I realize that there are those who would argue with my view that it is creative people who really matter...but consider this: everything in the human world, was created by a human mind. Most people do not create anything at all, they simply spend their lives manipulating the creations of others. Who are the most significant, who matters most: those who create and contribute something new to the human world - or those who are best at manipulating that which has already been created? To my mind, the ones who create and contribute to the world of human possibilities, are the ones who matter. The others, those so expert at manipulating this world, that they become stupendously rich, immensely powerful or unbelievably influential, do not matter at all, by comparison - for they do not add anything new to the world, all they do is take control of it. Now, as anyone would know, who has ever worked, the one in charge is often not the best person in an organization...they are just the one best suited to seizing power. So, too, is it with this Forbes list: it is a list of people most adept at "working the system", leveraging power and wealth in their own directions...but not necessarily at creating anything new. Thus, in the ultimate scheme of things, they have no true significance. They do not matter - for they did not create that which they control.

The sad thing about all of this, however, is that those who created the elements of the worlds that these men control, are, generally speaking, not known: they are anonymous inventors, unfeted thinkers, whose names have not been so much lost in time, as never known at all. Our world is one that regards those most unworthy of attention, and ignores those who most deserve our respect. We elevate the administrator, above the creator; the man of state, above the man who changes our state of understanding. In this modern world, those who do again, what has always been done, but do it well and do it loudly, are feted - but those who do, for the very first time, what has never been done before, are too often, hounded for it.

Success is easy if you don't dare to be original. However, if you wish to change the world, in any way at all, though it be for the better, the whole world will be against you. Everyone on that Forbes list, took a relatively easy path to success. By this I mean, that, though they have great power, wealth and influence, that pathways exist for people to tread to their positions. What they have achieved was, in almost all cases, something that already existed. It was a position that needed to be filled, or a product that needed to be sold. They did not create it. However, should anyone ever wish to do anything new, they will find that there is no path to success in that endeavour: there is nothing but a blocked road, with no visible way through. The creator must find their own path....indeed, more accurately, they must build their own road, where no road has gone before.

Though the creator's path is so much more difficult to travel than the politician's, or the businessman's, or the administrator's - for none of the elements exist, and all must be created along the way - our society does not regard the creator as often, or as highly, as it does the President, or the King, or the Tycoon. Oddly, we live in a world that cherishes the worthless, and yet belittles the priceless. A President is no match for a poet; a King no match for an artist; a Tycoon, no match for a writer. The merest scientist is worth more than the greatest administrator. The world was built on the bricks called ideas - and it is those that contribute new bricks to this world, who should be most regarded. It is not those who then use the bricks, to build their wealth, their power and their influence, who should be well-regarded - for not a one of the bricks came from them. They did not fashion the ideas with which their empires are forged.

Forbes is in error, to state that its 67 famous names, are the only people who "matter" in this world. Almost none of their chosen names, really matter. Forbes has chosen money men and powerbrokers, over creators. That tells us nothing of real importance about the world - it just informs us, of Forbes' value system, that is all.

A list of people who really matter, would be a list consisting purely of creative thinkers. It would be a list of scientists, writers, artists, poets, musicians, social innovators, mathematicians, musicians and philosophers. It would not contain a single President, King, powerbroker, businessman or administrator - unless that person was also one of the creative categories mentioned.

It is telling of our times, that Forbes thinks its list of the powerful important. They have completely forgotten what the Greeks learnt so, so long ago: it is the thinkers, who matter, to a civilization most. What does it say of our times, that Forbes doesn't know that?

(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 most famous man in the world.

Who is the most famous man in the world? Indeed, who is the most famous man in history? There are many, many candidates, but, at this time, one comes to mind who really, really, really should not be there.

Whom do you think is the most famous man in history? Most would say Jesus Christ. Others, more topically, might say Barack Obama. The founders of various religions, come to mind: Prophet Muhammad, Buddha and so on. However, there is one man whose fame outshines them all - and whose fame really should not, at all. I would like you to think about who that man might be.

To decide this question, we first need a measure of fame. There is one that researchers into fame have come to agree on: the number of hits, on a search of the person's name, on Google. So, we will use that.

How many hits does the name: "Jesus Christ" get from Google? Well, on the 3rd July 2009, at 10.50 pm my time, in Singapore, it received 48,800,000 hits. That is a very respectable number indeed and does show that Jesus Christ is still uppermost in many people's minds. By comparison, the film star Ewan McGregor received 3,170,000 at the same time. Ewan, while famous, is no Jesus Christ. Even Tom Cruise received only 28,400,000. So, quite happily Jesus Christ is more famous than Tom Cruise (though, perhaps, the great Scientologist would dispute that).

So, is Jesus Christ the most famous man in history? Let us look at Buddha. He receives 29,100,000 hits. That is somewhat more than Tom Cruise - but rather less than Jesus Christ. Then there is the Prophet Muhammad. Here, though, we have a problem in that many people might be speaking of him, in Arabic and that won't appear in my search results. Thus, the results for Muhammad will be an understatement since most of the activity will not be in English. This, perhaps, explains the relatively few 2,760,000 hits for "Prophet Muhammad" in Google.

Can we find anyone more famous than Jesus Christ? He has, in English, beaten the leaders of other religions...he has beaten one of the world's most famous film stars: who could be more famous than him?

Well, one name comes to mind: Barack Obama. A search on Google reveals an astonishing 102,000,000 hits for that name, meaning that Barack Obama is more than twice as famous as Jesus Christ, by this measure. Perhaps that is a reflection of the almost messianic quality he has and the fervour many people show for him. It is, also, because he is always in the news, as "leader of the free world".

So, is Barack Obama the most famous man in the world? Well, I thought so, except that a little suspicion came over me. There was one more name that I wanted to try.

This name had, at the same time as the other searches, 120,000,000 hits. So, there is one person more famous than Barack Obama, making this person, in fact, at this time in history, the most famous person on Earth and in history (though this fame may not endure). Can you guess who that person is?

Michael Jackson is now the most famous person on Earth, according to Google.

Now, that is really something unpalatable, in my eyes. You see, the question has to be asked: is a man who wrote songs and danced to them, really deserving of being almost three times more famous than Jesus Christ? Or over forty times as famous as the Prophet Muhammad in English? What, exactly, makes Michael Jackson more deserving of our attention than the founders of the world's great religions? It is absurd. Michael Jackson's fame is completely absurd.

Michael Jackson's significance, in real terms, is dwarved by Jesus Christ, Buddha or the Prophet Muhammad - yet he is, at this time, more famous than any of them. All he did was create rather simple songs and dance to them. That is all. His songs are not particularly complex, not particularly indicative of great musicality (to my ears) - as music, in fact, they are outclassed by the works of many dead European composers. Yet, Michael Jackson is feted, in death, as if he were God himself. Frankly, it is both silly and disturbing. Yes, it is sad that a man who had so many plans, should die before achieving them. However, it does not merit, in any way, the 24/7 attention by the news media, he has received since his unexpected death. The only kind of death that WOULD merit that kind of response is that of a great genius, the founder of a world religion, or a humanitarian who had improved the lot of millions of his/her fellow humans. A song and dance man does not merit this kind of response.

There are those who call Michael Jackson a "genius"...well, to do so, is to kind of forget the nature of the contributions of true geniuses in music and other areas, in the past. The work of true geniuses is, always, of greater richness, complexity, depth and value than the entire body of Michael Jackson's works.

However, nothing I say will make any difference to the avalanche of eulogies and praise that has followed his death. I have no doubt that the attention will roll on for many more years to come. The whole global population will be steadily brainwashed into believing that the death of Michael Jackson is one of the most significant events in the 21st Century - and that the world will never be the same without him. Yet, none of the media manipulation will alter the bare facts of the situation: a song and dance man, of some skill, but not one of the world's "great geniuses" has died, somewhat before his time. That is all.

Of course, Michael Jackson deserves a fair measure of fame, simply for being one of the world's best selling "artists"...but he does not deserve to be the most famous person in history. That is ridiculous and, in a way, reflects how shallow modern society has become, that it should elevate to the position of "most famous" a man of such relative insignificance, in the great scheme of things. Were we living in deeper times, with people who had higher standards for what they regard as important, Michael Jackson would have received, for one day only, a brief mention, in the middle of most newspapers - and then they would pass on, having said all that needed to be said. However, in these shallow times, the death of a creative minnow, has resulted in a whale of a response. Indeed, the response, in some ways, seems more of an entire ocean, than a single whale.

Watching the endless publicity attendant on Michael Jackson's death, I was left to wonder how did the world treat the death of someone who had truly made a significant contribution: Albert Einstein? If you, my reader, were alive at that time and have memories of Albert Einstein's death, could you comment below about what the posthumous publicity was like? Was it as great as now Michael Jackson is receiving? If not, something is wrong with the world...for if a person of truly significant achievement receives less attention than a song and dance man, it says, most clearly, that the modern world doesn't know what is truly important (or that they didn't know in the 1950s).

Memories of Einstein's passing, below, please...if you have them.

(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.)

Thanks to Google Webmasters Discussion group

Yesterday, my blog was not found in normal searches in the Google search engine. It did not appear for either "child prodigy" or "ainan cawley" - both of which had previously returned results on the first page for over a year. Consequently, I tried to contact Google directly (no use, there, since there is no live customer service). Instead, I posted the problem on the Google Webmasters Discussion group. Surprisingly, within hours half-a-dozen people had posted their advice.

I would like to thank those who made the helpful posts and to tell them that, today, the problem has been resolved, for now. It is much appreciated.

(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.)

Google search and successful blogs

If you have a successful blog, it is quite possible that no-one will be able to see it.

I should explain. Today, I have been unable to get to my own blog, using Google as a search engine. It just says: "We are sorry but your query looks like an automated request from a virus or spyware application".

How bizarre. I can't access my own blog. I tried using the search engine to find it, by typing in "scientific child prodigy". Sure enough, my listing came up No.1 - but when I clicked on it, I wasn't allowed to go to the page: I got the "We're sorry but..." page, again.

Every way I tried to get to my blog, I got the same result. Even from my blogger interface, I can't view my own blog.

Now, I don't know if it is just my computer, or if this is a global problem - and everyone who tries to read my blog is being blocked by Google. If so, it is very ironic indeed, since my blog is hosted on Blogspot which is OWNED by Google.

I am at a loss. So, if you have had trouble getting to my blog I apologize. Somewhere, there is a machine that equates popularity of search, with viral infection. There is no virus. There is just a simple case of a lot of people searching for the blog at the same time.

Thank you for your patience. I hope this is resolved soon because otherwise I may as well stop writing - for what would be the point if no-one can get to my site?

Blogger display failure: help wanted.

First of all, I am sorry if the display looks strange. Everything is NOT meant to be in one vertical column with the sidebars beneath the posting text. I did not put it that way and have no idea why it is that way. So, I have a request: if you do know how these things work and have some advice regarding how to restore my formatting to its usual self, please advise me in a comment post or email so that I can correct it.

Note that before this re-formatting occurred, I did nothing to change it. All I did was post - and note the alteration.

Thanks very much for your help in advance.

The mysterious white box on the left hand side.

At present, as I write, there is an empty white box on the left hand side of my blog, beneath the introductory text. There is a reason for this.

You see, noting the interest in IQ of my many visitors, I thought to include a link to an IQ test program offered to me by Google. I thought it was a good idea. The test would allow a quick assessment of the testee's strengths in verbal, spatial and mathematical areas and provide a full report as to the meaning of these diverse strengths and abilities.

However, it seems that the program is not immediately active. I shall wait. So, if you see an empty box on my page, know it is there for a reason. One day it might even be filled with a very interesting link, which would allow anyone to gain some insight into their own mental abilities.

As I write, I am still waiting for the mysterious ways of Google to fill their empty box.

If it is full, you might like to take the test. Have fun.