A fiercely independent boy.

A couple of days ago, I asked Tiarnan, my four year old son, an unexpected question:

"Tiarnan, will you have nanobots in your blood, when you are older?"

His eyes evaluated me, as if considering the meaning of what I had said and having a fair idea, but not absolutely certain.

"Nanites", I translated, into a term he knew from a computer game based on Marvel superheroes.

"No!", he said, shaking his head, firmly.

That surprised me, in a way. What followed was even more surprising.

"I want to be Dead Pool...because he has no team."

How interesting...here was my four year old, declaring himself to be an individualist who doesn't want to work in a team. I understood then, why he didn't want "nanites" in his body - because in the Marvel game, all the nanite infected people work together in a giant team. They are not individuals, as such. Tiarnan doesn't want to get lost in a group, he wants to be himself and himself alone.

I think it somewhat unusual for such a young boy to so fiercely declare his independence. It seems to me, that when this is allied with knowledge of what he likes to do - often artistic pursuits, such as drawing, and acting, that here we have an artist of some sort, in the making. He will certainly be an individualist whatever he does become, one day.

Perhaps he will read this entry one day, and have his memory jogged of the day he declared his independence and individuality so clearly. I hope so.

Be what you can and be what you must, Tiarnan - and especially if that means being true to yourself.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.htmlI also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

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

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

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.)