The Cawley Team.

My wife, Syahidah remarked today on the curiously complementary dissimilarity, of our three sons. They each have a different skillset and even mindset.

“I have realized that our boys each have different strengths,”, she began with an engaged smile. “There is Ainan, the ideas man; Fintan, the businessman and Tiarnan, the engineer.”

“They should start a tech company together, their skills blend perfectly for the task.”, I observed.

Syahidah agreed.

“In fact, that is one type of person Ainan approves of...the heads and founders of science and tech corporations...maybe he will be one, one day, working with his brothers.”

Privately I thought of another set of three brothers who worked together to form a company: the Abdul Halim brothers, known as “KRU”, behind Kru Studios – a film production company in Malaysia. One brother, Norman Abdul Halim is the finance man, as I understand it – the businessman; another Edry Abdul Halim is a Director with strengths in musical composition and Yusry Abdul Halim who is a Director with a Visual Effects background. They each bring a different skill profile to the task. So, there certainly are some brothers who do blend their skills to build companies.

The thing about the differing skills and minds of our three sons, is that each is uncanny in their own way – but those ways are so different from each other, that it is a wonder they could be brothers, at all. They each have a different way of thinking, a different set of primary strengths and their own way of looking at the world. It seems that the process of genetic inheritance of mental attributes is complex indeed, and may give rise to immense variation – at least, perhaps, from parents who themselves show immense variation and breadth in their skillsets.

So, I wonder whether they will team up, one day and work together, our little ideas man, our little businessman and our little engineer. If they do, what will they create? What world will they usher in, together?

I hope I am around to see. It would be sweet if they do work together. Too many families don’t know how to do that and I feel that the families which do, are stronger for it and more successful, ultimately. I hope that the family I have created is one of them.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

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On living up to expectations.

Many a time, I have read that so and so a gifted person, hasn’t met with expectations. There is the assumption that having been gifted as a child, they should then continue to “perform” as an adult. Now, of course, many gifted children DO continue to “perform” as adults. They become noted scientists, artists, CEOs, doctors and lawyers – and, indeed, any number of things. However, some lead less obvious lives. It is these that I wish to address.

The primary problem with this observation – that some gifted people don’t seem to “shine” as adults, is that it is a flawed one. It is based on the premise that a gifted person should do what others expect them to. This, however, overlooks one important factor: what does the gifted person WANT to do?

Some want quiet lives, built around a family, with no need to “shake the corridors of power” or strut their stuff in the wider world. Their world is family. Their “success” is in being a good parent. That is what they seek and that is what they find. Now, who is to say that this kind of life is any less meaningful than the obvious lives that everyone expects of the gifted? Indeed, in some ways, a life of family can be more meaningful than any career one cares to speak of. They are to be commended, perhaps even admired, for the love that they have in their lives.

Then again, there is another type of gifted person, who does not “shine” as one might expect. This is the gifted person who chooses not to live a life of sacrifice in pursuit of some great goal, but, instead, chooses to live an indulgent life of pleasure and personal fulfillment. These are people who do what is fun, what is enjoyable and not what society might wish them to. They live for their personal pleasure and not for the enlightenment of the wider world. For them, their greatest pleasures are not in creative pursuit, but more directly sensual ones – their lives are those of “wine, women and song”, quite often, though there may be other ways of living an enjoyable life, too, that they pursue. The point here, is not what particular life they lead, but that it is directed towards what is pleasurable and not what society may regard as most useful, or important.

Now, again, I must note that it is not for society to dictate the values of its gifted people: some will choose family, others will choose pleasure. Relatively few will choose to live a creative life, even among the gifted. You may ask why this is so. Well, the answer is quite obvious, if one pauses to consider what a creative life is like. Firstly, most creative endeavours and individual efforts are not well rewarded, as one of my brothers once opined of my first book: “You would make more money working in McDonald’s”. Perhaps he was right – after all, I have yet to publish it and it took five and a half years of work. Secondly, a creative life involves the sacrifice of all the other types of life that one could choose to lead. It involves giving up so many other choices – choices which, materially speaking, may lead to much easier, more immediately enjoyable lives. To put it bluntly, in the modern world, many creative people are poor – even if they eventually acquire a reputation and respect, the material rewards can be very slow in coming and, when they do come, they most probably do not match the rewards that could have been obtained more easily and predictably doing something else. Thirdly, a creative life usually involves quite a lot of solitude – and that isn’t for everybody. It is far easier to choose a life of partying and socializing…but much harder to choose the life of someone sitting quietly in a room, on their own, with their thoughts. Such a life is only for the select few – indeed, only those who really enjoy solitude would naturally make such a choice. For those who like to be with others, but also like to create, it is hard, indeed, to give up their social whirl, for the solitude of a garret.

Thus, we should not be surprised that some gifted children, do not choose to perform in the way society expects, as adults. There are far easier paths than that of fulfilling society’s expectations, in this respect. There are also, far more immediately rewarding lives to choose, than the ones conventionally expected of the gifted.

In a way, it is strange that society expects all of its gifted people to contribute creatively to the world – for, ask yourself this: how many ordinary people would voluntarily choose a life of solitude and financial restraint, over a life of socializing and personal wealth? Not many, I would think.

Perhaps more gifted people would choose to be adult creators, if it were a more attractive proposition: less solitude, more rewards. The only problem with this, of course, is that the solitude part is non-negotiable if one is to really have the time to create. As for the rest…society should certainly think about supporting its creative people better. The world would have far more poets and artists, if they could afford to make a living at their art. As it is, many potentially creative people, make a pragmatic decision to do something more lucrative – and have a “good life” instead. Is that choice so difficult to understand?

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

Career ambition of a young man.

The young, today, have strange career ambitions, in some cases. A significant proportion of youngsters in the UK, for instance, believe that they will be pop stars. So significant is the proportion that believes this that, if it came true, there would be little audience to listen to their works: too many would be producing works, not enough would be of a mind to buy.

A few days ago, I asked a group of young Chinese mainlanders, living in Singapore, whether they would ever consider being a criminal. Of the seven of them, six said they would not consider it. The seventh, however, said: "Yes. I would like to be a criminal."

That gave me a pause. "What kind of criminal would you like to be?"

"All kinds."

"Why would you like to be a criminal?"

"Because I would like to try all jobs."

My silence urged him on.

"...and I think girls like a bad man. I want to be a bad man."

Ah...just so he could get the girls.

"Would you consider being a farmer, then?", I asked him.

"No."

So much for "trying all jobs."!

"Why not?"

"It is too boring."

I left the matter at that. Incidentally, most of the others who would not consider being a criminal, would consider being a farmer. One might conclude that criminal farmers would be in short supply in China!

What I found interesting about this young man's views on career choices, was that he revealed no contemplation of moral or legal matters. He was only concerned whether his "image" would be attractive to girls, or not. Perhaps he had been influenced by Hollywood and the Chinese equivalent (or Hong Kong equivalent) into believing that criminals were somehow alluring to women.

I rather hope that he doesn't act on his fantasy career choice, particularly given that he would like to try "all" types of crime. (I did note, however, that one girl said regarding his criminal career choice: "He is one." - and many of the others could be heard murmuring words to the effect that it was an appropriate choice, for him.)

There is another consideration. This is a small sample - just seven Chinese mainlanders...but I can't help but wonder whether, in importing so many of them, as Singapore is, that they might not be importing many people who are less law abiding than the very carefully controlled and groomed Singaporeans they are used to here. Of course, the young man's attitudes might be a rarity, but if not, Singapore might be in for a few surprises with its immigration policies favouring Chinese mainlanders over every other race and nation on Earth.

(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 sense of achievement.

What does a sense of achievement mean, these days? When I was younger, it had a clear connotation: that of real accomplishment giving rise to solid feelings of having done something worthwhile. Nowadays, it seems to be seem somewhat different.

Recently, I got talking to a student from China. I asked him what his greatest achievement had been, so far. His answer took some time in coming.

"I don't think I have achieved anything in my life. My achievements are all the seeking of pleasure, because I am a hedonist. I used to dance and drink all night long - and abuse drugs. Those are my achievements. Now, I have changed, as I have come of age. Now, I am trying to study English."

His answer was one many young people, today, could have given. Real achievement is not the aim of many of them: pleasure and entertainment are. Many modern lives are shallow things, lived just for sensation. It has even gone so far that a member of this younger generation can regard the pleasure seeking itself as his life's most worthy achievements.

The only hope in his reply is that he perceived that he had changed and that he was now trying to learn English. Colouring that reply, however, is that he often seemed listless in class, as if the life had been drained from him. Perhaps that was the damage done by his earlier lifestyle.

I worry about the future, when the present is filled with people whose aims are shallow. A great future cannot be built on the efforts of shallow people. The civilization that such people would build would, at one time, have been called hell. Is that what the future shall bring?

(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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How big is a toddler?

Tiarnan, two, is my smallest son. Comparatively speaking he is smaller than might be expected because the other two, Fintan, just turned five, and Ainan, eight are larger than usual for their age. Fintan is both taller and bulkier, being, in terms of size, a couple of years ahead of himself - and Ainan too, has the height (but not the mass) of someone a couple of years older.

Tiarnan, however, is not unusual, at two, in terms of height. Yet, he is an ambitious boy and sees himself as more mature than perhaps we see him.

The other day, to test his self-perception, and for the fun of it, I asked him:

"Are you my big son?"

He had a bottle in his mouth, so he couldn't speak and drink at the same time. He chose to continue to drink - and shook his head, in reply. It was an honest shake - one that acknowledged the true situation.

Then I asked him, a little teasingly: "Are you my little son?". He shook his head more vigorously, this time, perhaps a little indignantly. Being the littlest was not for him - whether or not it was true.

Then I inquired: "Are you my medium sized son?"

He considered it for a second or two and seemed to like the sound of that. He nodded, acceptingly, quite content.

Thus, in the world of this particular toddler, truth and stature are both important. He wants to be the biggest, but acknowledges that he isn't - but, at the same time, he can't accept that he is the smallest - so he settles for a compromise.

I left my "medium sized" youngest son to finish his bottle in peace.

(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.)

Career ambitions of Vietnamese students.

I am privy to an informal survey of the ambitions of Vietnamese students. They make curious reading.

Of a group of twenty young students aged from 12 to 17, a number of interesting career choices were made - and a couple of worrying omissions, too.

Two out of twenty wanted to be scientists, which is encouraging; three wanted to be business people (two boys, one girl); four wanted to be doctors, one wanted to be a lawyer (a girl), two wanted to be architects (a boy and a girl); two wanted to be inventors (both boys); one wanted to be President (a boy); one wanted to go into computers; one wanted to be in Public Relations (a girl); one wanted to be an artist (a girl) and one just wanted to sleep (a boy, usually sleeping in class, or trying to.)

The interesting omissions were that none of the twenty wanted to be a teacher - and none of them wanted to be an engineer, of any kind.

If these children are representative of the attitudes of Vietnamese youth, there is some hope - and some concerns. The hope is that quite a few of them chose creative professions: artist, architect, scientist and inventor - amounting to 35% of the class. The concern is that Vietnam might be a country with few teachers - or teachers who wished they were doing something else.

I don't know what role models they have for engineers in their society - but, since engineers create the structural backbone of a society that it is not among their aspirations is a worry, for Vietnam.

Amusingly, the boy who wanted to be President is the second laziest in class (second only to the one who likes to sleep): he also appears to be one of the least bright. He does, however, have big dreams and is quite clearly able to imagine himself in the role.

Interestingly, none of them would admit, at first, to being ambitious in any way: it seemed not the thing to aspire to. They would only answer when asked, more directly, what they wanted to do in their lives.

(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 ambition of Singaporean students.

I would like you to think what the most commonly stated ambition of a group of Singaporean scholar students might be. Consider the question as broadly as you like and genuinely give it some thought.

I ask this because my wife is teaching a group of "scholars" and asked them this question today. She was quite surprised by the answer that came back from almost all of them. Not for them, the big job and the flashy cars, not for them the global travel, wealth and fame. No. They wanted none of these things.

Do you know what this group of top students in Singapore professed their ambition to be?

"To sleep".

That just about says it all, for this particular educational system: poor things!

(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.)

Long term ambition for children.

Ainan is not a child without long-term ambitions. Perhaps too long term, at times.

A few days ago, he turned to me with a thought on his lips.

"Dad...I want to plant a Redwood tree and a Kapok, and watch them grow. Then I could see one giant tree, and one tree with big buttresses."

I found it funny to hear him say such a thing, for I, too, am prone to rather long term ambitions.

"Well, you might have to wait a while: I have heard that some Redwoods can live 4,000 years."

He considered that for a moment. I interrupted his silence. "You never know...the way technology is going, you should live a long time."

"Perhaps 140 years, I think." he assessed, fairly. "So I could see the tree growing for 131 years." he said, subtracting one year for the time between now and his imagined planting of the trees.

"Yes. They should be a fair height by then."

I could see him trying to satisfy himself with that, knowing that, in all likelihood, he could only see a small fraction of the lifespan of the trees he wished to plant. He seemed to come to terms with it. To a child so young, 140 years must have seemed like a fair deal. (Though it doesn't seem so long to me...).

Remembering our conversation, I did some research today I learnt that Ainan's ambition is not so hopeless after all. Redwood trees are actually very fast growing in the right conditions, so, given his putative timescale, he could actually live to see one become rather large. A typical Redwood has a lifespan of 400 to 2,500 years, with some sites speaking (how accurately I do not know) of specimens reaching 4,000 years. However, in the early years they grow very fast and can reach good heights before slowing down somewhat. Typical heights reached are 250 feet, but again, some sites speak of peaks of 375 feet.

As for Kapok trees (otherwise known as Silk Cotton Trees), they have a lifespan of around 500 years - so he could see a much greater fraction of their lifetime. For those unfamiliar with the Kapok, it is rather impressive and its base is supported by wide buttresses that reach out from the trunk to the ground below. It is quite startling. They can become trees of great bulk.

Though young, Ainan looks ahead to the vista of his life yet unlived and has plans for it. He is not idling in the present, but already thinking long term. I think this is a good trait. It is the foundation of most great achievements. True geniuses tend to set themselves projects which others would not touch, simply because of the sheer timescale involved. They are life works. Just like Charles Darwin's investigations in support of the Origin of the Species, and his theory of evolution - his whole life was committed to one, massive project. Such is the thinking necessary to much great change. Ainan is already, in his way, showing this propensity.

Perhaps one day, he will pick a project that will occupy him for much of his life. I only hope he chooses well - and that it brings him fulfilment.

In the meantime, of course, he can watch trees grow: funny boy.

(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.)

Prince Charles on Human Achievement.

In 2004, Prince Charles commented on the aspirations of young people today. His comments were widely reported and were critically attacked. Many people thought he was trying to say that people shouldn't try to rise above their station, in life. They thought he was being, in some way, feudal. However, I don't think he really intended that. Let us look at what he is quoted to have said:

"What is wrong with everyone nowadays? Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far beyond their technical capabilities? This is to do with the learning culture in schools as a consequence of child-centred system which admits no failure. People think they can all be pop stars, High Court judges, brilliant TV personalities or infinitely more competent heads of state without ever putting in the necessary work or having natural ability. This is the result of social utopianism which believes humanity can be genetically and socially engineered to contradict the lessons of history."

He is observing what is evident in young people in the Western world (and perhaps elsewhere, too): they seem to think they are going to be great. By this, I mean, that a typical teenager believes he or she is going to be one of the things that Prince Charles refers to: a pop star, a TV personality, a High Court Judge, a Head of State. One could extend the categories: a film star, a footballer, a millionaire (a billionaire), a model...etc, etc...Young people of today think their success is assured. They think that they stand above others now and ever will in the future. From the perspective of an experienced adult, who has actually seen the world in action, such an abundance of exuberant ambition is sobering to witness. It is sobering precisely because it is unrealistic.

What Prince Charles was grappling with is the simple fact that all of these aspirations that the children hold, require something most of the children will not have: natural ability, for one, and often a degree of willingness to work hard towards one's goals. For instance, any child can kick a ball. Many a child can dream of being the next David Beckham - but how many of those children actually have a significant athletic ability? How many of them have signicantly greater an athletic ability than their fellow children? How many of them, furthermore, are willing to hone their skills and their bodies through long years of training? Very, very few, indeed, I expect. They see the glamourous end: the famous footballer jetting about the world, from game to game, enchanted fans in hot pursuit. What they don't see is what that footballer had to go through to get there. They are able to envisage the beautiful life they would have, as a famous footballer, but not the life that is actually led to reach those goals.

Prince Charles was much criticized for his views - but I don't think that people were right to do so. I think that the media, in general, failed to understand what he was trying to say. He was saying that the youth of today had aspirations beyond their ability to achieve them. They aspired to be famous film stars, when they couldn't act and were not beautiful. They aspired to be pop stars, when they could neither dance nor sing, and did not delight the eye. They aspired to be High Court judges, when their academic prowess was only mediocre at best. His view is that the children had unrealistic expectations. His view was that the school system, which never chastised the children for mediocrity, never used the word "failure" in their general direction, did not acquaint the children with the idea that failure was possible. While this is good for self-esteem, it may lead to children who have unjustifiably high self-esteem. These are children who really, really, really, believe in themselves - but who really, really, really, lack justification for that self-belief. It was Prince Charle's implicit view that this situation was not rare, but common. Most youngsters of today fell into that trap. Most of them thought of themselves as great people, for whom great success was assured. Sadly, of course, almost all of them are going to fail. Statistics alone guarantee it. If you have a nation of 60 million people of whom 20 million aspire to be film stars and that nation only has enough room for 20 such film stars in that generation...how many are going to fail in their aspiration? 999,999 out of every 1,000,000. Only one in a million will see their dream come true. It is the same for all their other aspirations. So many people will be aspiring to their positions of success than there are places in those respective realms. The result is, of course, that almost all of them are destined for failure in their primary goals. Almost all of them will have to revise their goals, along the way, and settle for something else.

This is the reality of which they are unaware that, I think, Prince Charles was trying to awaken them to. The modern media world has conditioned people to believe that great success is available to all. The modern media creates stars out of nobodies, through reality shows. The modern media creates the belief in people that celebrity and wealth and a life of ease, are available to all, when in fact that they have always been and always shall be available only to the few. This is the "lesson of history" to which I think he refers. Great success has always been a rarity and always will be.

Prince Charles is not saying that people should not rise above their station - as some media criticized him. He is saying that they should have a realistic understanding of who they are, so that they might aspire to something they can actually achieve. A life spent chasing pop stardom when one doesn't have the requisite and multiple, native abilities, is going to be a life wasted. What if that person has, instead, other skills that might be better employed as a nurse or a doctor? Then that person really should look at the medical field. It is a question of finding a good match, in terms of career, for who you are. Too many people waste their lives aspiring to dreams that have no realistic possibily of coming true, simply because the people in question lack the requisite abilities.

Thus there is wisdom, not foolishness, in Prince Charles' advice.

Aim for what is a reasonable choice, for you. Do not aim for iconic cultural roles such as footballer or film star - unless you really have what it takes to succeed in such fields.

(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 six months, and Tiarnan, twenty-three 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, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The career ambition of a young child

It is a cliche, throughout the Western world that many children want to grow up to be firemen or policemen (or the like). I suppose this is because these figures seem to play such a dramatic role in the tv dramas and stories children are aware of. Such people seem to have interesting, heroic lives and are, of course, in a tv show, or a story in a book, at the centre of the action.

Fintan's ambition, however, is a little different, though it shares one characteristic: his ambition is of someone at the centre of things, too, though in a rather more chaotic way.

We asked Fintan, four, in early December, what he wanted to be when he grew up.

His answer? "Mr. Bean."

I thought that funny and interesting, but the question is why would he wish to be Mr. Bean? It is clear that Mr. Bean is funny...but not intentionally so. It is also clear that Mr. Bean is different from the people around him. Perhaps that is part of the attraction. There is no-one, in real life, like Mr. Bean. Then, again, another thought occurs to me. Perhaps he means to be a performer, like Rowan Atkinson, the real life actor behind Mr. Bean.

It is unclear why he would like to be Mr. Bean, when he grows up. I shall have to ask him.

Note: For those who live in countries that don't receive the Mr. Bean tv shows, Mr. Bean is an idiosyncratic man, who doesn't speak, but interacts with the world in a logical but absurd fashion. His solutions to problems are always just the wrong way to get something done - even though there is reason behind them. (For instance, trying to paint a room quickly by putting an explosive into a pot of paint and letting it off.)

(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.)

Does Japan have a future?

Does Japan have a scientific future?

You may think this a strange question to ask since Japan, presently, has the world's second largest research industry (after the United States) and is known as a technological powerhouse, in commercial terms, at least. Yet, all is not as well as it seems.

The recent PISA comparative survey of the abilities of 15 year olds in 57 countries worldwide held some warnings for the possible future of Japan. If the results are any indication, Japan seems to be in decline. Japan's mathematical results were disappointing: they came in 10th, showing a steady decline over the past few years - having been 6th in 2003 and 1st in 2000.

That is not the worst of it, however. Japan fell to 6th place in science, having been 2nd in the two previous PISA surveys. That, in itself, may not seem particularly worrying - but another piece of information obtained from the thousands of students who took part is. Almost NONE of them want to be scientists. Only 7.8 per cent of Japanese students expected to be in a scientifically related career by the age of 30. This was by far the LOWEST scientific ambition of the youngsters out of all 57 countries. If young Japanese don't want to enter scientific careers, there will soon come a time in which there just won't be a Japanese science base.

It seems, from other information, that young Japanese are aiming for financial careers, instead. This doesn't bode well, however, in a technological and scientific era, that promises to become even more strongly technological and scientific as the decades pass and new technologies mature - such as nanotechnology and its associate, nanomedicine. Such technologies require a strong science base to sustain. It looks as if Japan is in grave danger of not having such a base by the time such technologies mature.

In contrast, the United States, while it came in the bottom half of the table, in Science, in terms of the abilities of its 15 year olds, actually, and surprisingly, came 3rd in terms of the AMBITION of its students. Many of them want to be in a scientific career at the age of 30 (even if most of them are not actually showing much ability at the age of 15). However, no matter what the ability of the students, without the wish to be a scientist, that ability will never translate into a scientific outcome.

Thus Japan has scientific ability, but no scientific aspiration, in its youth. America is in the opposite position, at present. Oddly, I think there is rather more promise in America's situation - since at least whatever ability there is, may actually translate into a scientific base, in the decades to come.

There are many problems in Japanese education, not least of which is the lack of investment in science. Apparently, the budget for science experiments in elementary school is 40 cents per student. It is no wonder that students are lucky to get to see any science in action at all. The results of this short-sightedness are beginning to show.

By the looks of it, the technological Japan of today, is staring ahead to a much less heady future.

(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.)

Tiarnan tries Daddy's shoes

Tiarnan is an ambitious baby. Though his feet fit comfortably in the palm of my hand, with plenty of room to spare, he wants to start wearing my shoes.

Last night, I caught him trying on his mother's shoes. He had placed one foot in one of her shoes and was dragging it around with him, looking down at it to see the effect. He seemed quite pleased with himself.

Then I asked him: "Do you want to try Daddy's shoes?"

He took his foot from his mother's shoe and walked over to one of mine - which I had not pointed out - so clearly he knows who wears what. Then he put his foot into it and proceeded to walk in the same way - dragging it with him, keeping his foot close to the floor lest it fall off. He must have learnt this lesson at some point, for only with this style of walking was it possible to keep the rather large shoe on his foot.

Then he did something sweet. He stopped. He looked down at his shoed foot - and suddenly leant down to press with his outstretched finger the leather of the shoe. It was hilarious: he was testing where his toes got to, in the shoe! He was comparing his foot size to my own, by discovering where his toes were in the shoe.

I didn't see, the first time, precisely where his finger touched the shoe - it was just along its end section. However, he did it a second time. This time he placed his finger directly on the little bump in the leather where my big toe has shaped the shoe. Was he being hopeful that it was caused by his own toe? Was he wondering what that bump was?

Once again, I am confronted with evidence of his perceptual abilities: for it was dark outside, where he was - yet he was able to distinguish that bump, in the dimness of the light, not knowing what it was. How observant of him.

It is in actions like this, that one can see the reasoning processes at work in a baby's mind. Were he not curious about the place of his foot in that shoe, he would not have pressed upon the leather. These little things are easily missed by a parent, in this busy modern life of ours - but it is worth watching one's children closely - for so many things become evident about them, if you do.

Have a great parenting day!

(If you would like to learn more of Tiarnan, fourteen months, or his gifted brothers, Ainan Celeste Cawley, seven years and four months, a scientific child prodigy, or Fintan, three, 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, adult genius, baby genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children. Thanks.)

Ainan and the future of Science

Many a child thinks of the future, of their adult life to come. Most have a childhood dream of what they want to be when they "grow up". For Ainan that dream is not a fireman, a policeman or a Doctor, as is common - but a scientific researcher.

Yesterday, as we sat and talked, about the evolution of atomic theory, Ainan turned to me, and voiced something that concerned him:

"So much Science has been discovered...how many discoveries will be left for me to make?"

"A lot, I hope."

"Why?"

His why was not for why I "hoped", but for why I thought there might be a lot left.

"I am not sure if science is infinite...it could be, though I am not sure," I began, "but it is certainly very large...much larger, I think, than we have presently explored. The closer you look at any given Science, the more detail there is - the more there is to understand. I think it will take Mankind a long time to master all of that. It is possible that one day, there will be no more science left to do. It is possible that everything will be known one day...but that is not going to be soon. There will be things left for you to do."

He was quiet in reply - there being no need for words. I don't know if my answer reassured him, but it was clear that he still thought that much that was "big" had already been done.

Ainan wants to be a research scientist. He envisages being one rather young (since he has the capacity to be so, if only barriers in his way are removed). Yet, he does not want to be a researcher in a world in which all has been found, already. He wants his life to have purpose. He wants to make a contribution. This is quite a mature ambition for a seven year old. There is something in him that wants to matter - to do something of significance. His unspoken thought was: "If by the time I become a scientist, there is little science left to be done, what is the point of being so?"

In some ways, Ainan doesn't see himself as I see him. I see a boy whose every thought bubbles with originality. He just sees himself being himself. He has no perspective to know how unusual he is, in that regard. If there is Science left to be done, by the time he begins a career, and Ainan is in an area which still has work to do, I have no doubt that he will make many a contribution to the development of Science. All we have to do is get him ready to begin.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and three 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.)