Child prodigies in Asia.

To my surprise, in the past week, Edvantage, a Singaporean education site, included Ainan in an article about "Child prodigies in Asia". He was just one of quite a few examples, given. You can read it here.

http://www.edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/photos/1307362/Child_prodigies_in_Asia.html

I note though, that Edvantage's knowledge of Ainan's achievements is quite limited since he has done much, much more than they have mentioned. However, I am not surprised at this, since Ainan has been essentially ignored by the Singaporean media, since we left, with only one recent mention (of just 120 words), in the New Paper - and nothing else at all. So, it was a real surprise to me to see Edvantage writing about him, even if they are short on the facts.

There is one ambiguity in their write up. They mention that "Ainan's father, Valentine Cawley, moved to Malaysia for higher education". This is funny because it seems to be saying that I moved to Malaysia to go to University - and not my son. I wonder if that is what they meant to say, or whether they just became confused in their expression?

Anyway, for those who don't know, we moved to Malaysia so that my SON, Ainan, then 10, could go to University - not me.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

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 athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

City Harvest Church scandal is Singaporean greed, not “Western”.

City Harvest Church is a very wealthy Christian church in Singapore. It requires its members to donate 10% of their income to the church. It has 24,000 members, so it takes little calculation to realize that City Harvest Church's income from this largely young professional congregation, is vast. Recently there has been a scandal at City Harvest Church. The Star carried an article by Seah Chiang Nee about it that was most odd in its assertions. In response, I wrote the letter below, to the Star, hoping it would be published. Four days have now passed and it has not. Normally the Star publishes letters before then, so I am assuming that they are not going to publish this one, though I am prepared to be surprised. Given my assumption, I have pasted the text of my letter below. Thank you.

"I object, strongly, to Seah Chiang Nee’s bizarre assertion, in his article “The rise of the mega-churches”, that the alleged crime of Kong Hee and his fellow pastors, in misusing 23 million Sing. Dollars, was somehow the fault of the “West”. It was not. It was the simple and direct product of Singaporean greed.

I have lived in many countries, both Western and Asian. I have visited around 20 countries in my life. Of all those countries, Singapore is by far the most obsessed by money. It does not surprise me in the least, that a Singaporean pastor, of a very wealthy church, should be accused of using tax-free charity funds for inappropriate purposes – in this case, funding his wife, Sun Ho’s, pop music career to win more converts.

Seah Chiang Nee argues that City Harvest Church is just copying the fundraising zeal of TV evangelists, in the US. This is nonsense. Had the Americans not pioneered this kind of prosperity theology, it is certain that the Singaporeans would have stumbled on it, themselves. Singapore is highly inventive in all the ways to make money. They don’t need to be instructed in finding money-making schemes, by the Americans.

Furthermore, it is very self-serving, of Seah Chiang Nee, to explicitly defend a fellow Chinese man, by suggesting that his crime was somehow America’s fault. Kong Hee did not allegedly misuse that money because of America – if he did it, it was because of his implicit own character flaws, around the issue of money. The responsibility for this crime does not lie far away, but very nearby. Singaporeans need not  look for others to blame, in a rather paranoid fashion, but need to own up to their own crimes and their own criminals, should these be so proven to be. Only then will there be the possibility of addressing the underlying problems. As long as Asians blame the West for their own problems, those problems will remain unfixed. Asians should take responsibility for their own flaws – then try to overcome them.

Finally, it must be said, most clearly, that greed is not a "Western norm", as implied by Mr Seah's article...nor is the misuse of monies. It is deeply offensive to all Westerners that he should suggest so. Furthermore, the "West" is not defined by America, or what transpires there - there are many Western countries, each with somewhat different cultures. Mr. Seah should find out more about the West before making such allegations. In particular, he should note that a typical Western country is far less obsessed by money, than is Singapore."

Perhaps my letter to the editor about City Harvest Church was a little too strong to be published. Never mind, please comment below if you have anything to contribute. Thank you.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

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 athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

Top 10 countries for child prodigy.

Google Trends provides a list of the top 10 countries for interest in child prodigy. This is a listing of the relative density of searches from various places, for child prodigy. It is, therefore, a measure of what the populace of those countries are interested in.

I would like you to take a moment to write down what you think this list of the top 10 places interested in child prodigies would be. Please do so. (By the way the search summary is from 2004 until the present, so it is a very significant snapshot of interest in the phenomenon of prodigiousness).

Right. Now which did you think was the number one country in the world for interest in child prodigy?

The answer is, tellingly, Singapore.

I said, "tellingly" because Singapore is one of the world's most competitive societies, educationally: every parent wants a super bright, super successful child. Most parents push their children there (we don't) in ways that are most disagreeable. The child is forced to study endless hours, to practice deep into the night and to endure many hours per week of extra tuition. It is a system designed to turn every child into a drudge for academic work. So, in that society, it is no surprise that there should be so much interest in child prodigies. Unconsciously, or otherwise, the child prodigy is somewhat of an ideal for Singaporean parents.

The other societies in the list were:
2) Malaysia
3) Philippines
4) United States
5) New Zealand
6) India
7) Canada
8) Australia
9) Ireland
10) United Kingdom

Note that the search density in Singapore was twice that of Malaysia and the search density in the UK was a small fraction of that of Singapore. So, Singapore is, by far, the winner in this "competition".

(This trend is even more interesting when the listing for interest, city by city, is looked at. On that listing, Singapore is still no.1 in the world in interest in child prodigies - but Austin Texas is no. 2 and ALL the other 8 places in the top 10 are American cities. This shows great interest, in parts of the United States, for prodigies, exceeded only by that of Singapore. It is, perhaps, no coincidence that both countries are very competitive.)

What is most interesting about this result is that, although the people of Singapore, as a nation, are very interested in child prodigy, the government of Singapore, as embodied by the education system, is not. We found great opposition to the provisions we needed from the education system, in Singapore. It was very difficult to work with the Gifted Branch of the Ministry of Education. In the end, we decided that it would be easier to get Ainan what he needed, elsewhere - and so it has proved.

So, this is another example in which the government of Singapore is out of sync with its people. Singaporeans are enamoured of child prodigies...but the PAP is not. The state of Singapore does little to support prodigies and quite a lot to oppose them. How interesting it is, therefore, to see the contrast between the government's position and the irrefutable tale of Google Trends.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to:
http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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

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

An unexpected word.

Yesterday I did as I have done, many thousands of times in my life: I held a door open for someone. It was at a petrol station, where I had been buying a newspaper.

Now, I have done this many, many times, in Singapore. This time, however, I was in Malaysia. I was surprised to note that there was a distinct difference in the two experiences. Can you guess what it was? Please have a think about it, before reading on.

Well, have you come to a conclusion? What difference could there be in simply opening a door in Malaysia or Singapore? Well, I was surprised. You see, the Malaysian man - who was Malay, in appearance, and in his fifties, I would say, said: "Thanks".

That is all. He said, "Thanks." Oddly, I found myself startled to hear that word. Now, why, you may ask, would I be startled? Well, because in Singapore I never heard the word at all. I had become accustomed to holding doors open for people - be they men, women or children - who would never, ever say "thanks" for doing so. They would walk through in silence, as if I were some kind of lower life form or personal servant (the same thing, in Singapore). So, here, in Malaysia, when I heard that word, I found myself rather surprised. How sad it is, that I should be surprised to be thanked.

I must say, that I am not always thanked when I hold the door open in Malaysia - however, it does seem more common, here, to hear the expression of thanks, than it was in Singapore. The polished city state to my south, may believe itself to be a higher civilization than Malaysia, but, in terms of the manners of its citizens, it is most certainly not.

Perhaps, in Singapore, manners are not regarded as important. In that CITY state, CIVIL behaviour is not thought of as important. Yet, it makes a difference. I felt suitably appreciated for having had the forethought to hold the door open for that middle aged man, yesterday. In Singapore, however, I would usually be made to feel like an idiot for caring enough to do so. One word makes all the difference between appreciation and a snub - and, personally, I would rather be appreciated. So, Singapore could learn something from that middle aged Malay man: a single word, "thanks" and when to use it.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to:
http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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

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

A creative future

It is interesting to contrast Singapore and Malaysia. These two nations, once one, have taken a different path - and whilst many would think that Singapore is the more "successful" of the two, I am not at all sure that this will always be so. After all, it is not so great a secret that many of the "talents" that make Singapore a success actually come from Malaysia. The contribution of Singapore's homegrown talents is not as great, in many ways, as it should be. If the contribution of all foreigners, of all kinds, is added up, that makes up a great deal of Singapore's "success".

Anyway, the way things are now, is not, necessarily, the way it will always be. I read, today, something that suggests that Malaysia may have a brighter future than its neighbour, in decades to come. It is all a matter of what the education systems want to achieve. Singapore is presently focussed on glistening A grade students: only those with straight As are approved of. Yet, it doesn't take much observation of these youngsters (whom I have had much time to observe in my time as a teacher), to note something very much lacking in them: creativity. The way they are taught leads them to shine in exams, but to be utterly unable to think of anything new. In creative terms, almost all of Singapore's star students are "dead wood"...blockheads if you like. The one thing they never learned how to do was to think for themselves.

Malaysia has recently expressed the wish to do something different. Not for them the focus on "straight As" or rigid educational atmospheres where conformity is sought as a prime objective. No. Malaysia is going to adopt a mellower kind of education, one that encourages individuality, allows for creativity and doesn't demand perfect grades from all, as a basic requirement. What they are seeking is an education system which will allow creativity to grow and genius to be born. The whole PUBLIC education system is going to move away from being focussed on exams - as Singapore's is - and focus instead on nurturing creative young minds. (This announcement was made by the Deputy Prime Minister/Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in the nation's newspapers including the New Straits Times - see below).

Now, if this change can be achieved - and I do wonder at how teachers who were themselves brought up with rigidity and conformity can be expected to give something different to their students - then Malaysia will soon become a very interesting place indeed. If the promise of this idea is kept, Malaysia will become a very special place indeed: it will produce generations of creative young minds, able to change the world, with their ideas. I hope they succeed. It would be refreshing, indeed, to be in a country focussed on creativity and not "grades". It is good to see that Malaysia realizes which, of the two ideals, is the more important.

Note: Source for the above news: New Straits Times, page 1 and page 6, several articles, 24th February 2010.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to:
http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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

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

The impossibility of winning approval.

The first lesson that everyone should learn, about Singaporeans, is that it is impossible to satisfy them: whatever one does, will be seen to be wrong, by some. I shall explain.

On my blog, I have written of the ways in which Singapore's education system did not help Ainan, when it could have done. I have written of its obstructiveness, of its sloth, of its lack of imagination, of its essential unwillingness to do the obvious. I have also written of the times and people for whom we feel gratitude for their support. However, the response to my blog, in certain quarters, is very revealing: they criticize me for being "ungrateful" and for "attacking those who helped you". Well, that is just not true: I have thanked those who actually helped us - and I have criticized only those who did not help us. At no time, have I attacked anyone who helped us, in any way. It seems that these critics have a very selective way of processing information: they only see the criticisms, and do not recognize who the targets are. They also ignore the times I have thanked people.

So, the situation is simple: if I point out the failings of anyone with respect to Ainan, they call me "ungrateful"...but if I express gratitude, as I did in my last post - they are either completely silent, OR THEY ARE NEGATIVE and CRITICAL. Basically, whatever I write, I attract criticism and rebuke from a certain portion of readers who are almost always Singaporean (I don't know why, but they seem to love to bring down their countrymen).

You will note that my last post, which has now been seen by hundreds of people, attracted only two comments: a negative one from "Keith" - from Singapore, saying Ainan had no right to an education, anyway - and from a girl inspired to thank me for what my blog has given her. Note that the Singaporean is critical and hostile - and the foreigner is thankful. I am truly puzzled that this should be so, because the post is one of thanks to an employee of a Singaporean educational institution. Apparently, thanking people is regarded as bad form, by some Singaporeans.

This is not the first time I have seen this tendency from Ainan's countrymen. It can mean only one thing: some people simply resent what we are and what we are doing. So, if we say something negative, they will attack us - and if we say something positive, about the same thing, they will ALSO attack us. They will attack us whatever we do.

Given this, I think it was wise of us to move overseas. All the people we have met in our first two months in Malaysia, have been very pleasant towards us - and I can see, too, that the online chatter, from strangers, is much warmer about us, too. To me, this is mysterious. Ainan was born a Singaporean - but there were too many people there who were cool towards him, or even downright hostile. Yet, we have found the opposite, so far, here in Malaysia. The general tone towards us is warm, some very warm indeed. How strange.

Anyway, it is good to recognize this situation now, rather than have spent more years, being subject to criticism in Singapore. Life looks likely to be happier here, in KL.

I should point out that not all Singaporeans were critical or hostile towards us. Some were nice. It is just that their niceness was drowned out, particularly online, by those who were unpleasant. That is a pity.

Despite this tendency of online critics to criticize us whatever we do, we shall continue to do as we are. There is no point in trying to adjust our behaviour or online presence, to cater to the critics, because, as is abundantly clear, they will criticize us no matter what we do.

So we shall just be ourselves. It is all anyone should be, or should do, whatever others say.

Have a good day.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to:
http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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

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

On inspiring the gifted.

Over the last week or two, we have learnt something interesting about the consequences of Ainan's move to Malaysia, to receive an appropriate education. His move has, basically, not gone unnoticed, and is not without its influence.

The other day, I was speaking to someone in education, in Malaysia. They observed that parents of gifted children, from as far away as the United States, had contacted her, with regards to finding a place for their gifted child to pursue an education in Malaysia. She spoke of two specific examples, that she was in touch with: one from America and one from Asia.

Now, just think what this means. I spoke to ONE person in Malaysian education and they had had TWO recent contacts from parents wishing to migrate to Malaysia for the education of their gifted child. Both sets of parents had been prompted to make enquiries in Malaysia, on hearing about Ainan.

It seems clear that, in choosing Malaysia, we have, effectively, endorsed its private education sector as a viable choice, for the parents of gifted children. We have put Malaysian education "on the map".

What is most telling about this is that we have only spoken to one person in Malaysian education - and they were personally handling two cases of gifted children, from overseas, seeking a suitable schooling, in Malaysia. How many others, therefore, are there, throughout the Malaysian education system? As I write, there could be many parents, from around the world, making enquiries of Malaysian institutions.

This is about more than Ainan, of course. You see, Ainan's move only highlighted an existing situation in Malaysia's private education sector: the open-ness to being flexible with a gifted child. This is a property of Malaysia's private education sector. Our discovery that this flexibility existed and the move of Ainan to the system, only brought attention upon this open-ness. Had the open-ness not been there, we would not have moved and there would be no spotlight upon Malaysian education. Thus, the credit goes to HELP University for being open, not to us, for going through the door.

It is fascinating to consider, however, that the move of one gifted child, from one country to another, can actually affect the lives and life choices, of many other gifted children. Thus, the effect of Ainan's life choices (or the ones we make on his behalf to open a way for him), ripple outwards and affect many lives. There is no telling how many lives are changed by that simple decision. As other gifted children investigate Malaysia as an option, and some choose to migrate there, their examples, will, in turn, inspire others. So it is, that the decision of one person, to move to Malaysia for an education could have the effect of making Malaysia, what Singapore strives to be, "an education hub".

Malaysia has certain advantages over Singapore that Singapore can do nothing about. The cost of living in Malaysia is much, much lower than in Singapore. Thus, the cost of securing an education is a mere fraction of what it is, in Singapore - for, not only are school fees lower, but the cost of being there, is lower, too. Thus, families can afford a BETTER education in Malaysia, than they could in Singapore, if their budget is in any way constrained (as most middle class and below budgets are).

Then again, Malaysian people are warmer and more friendly than their Singaporean counterparts - who are usually too busy making a living, to make life comfortable for others. So, living in Malaysia, can be more enjoyable, for many.

Singapore thrives on its own legend, which has been carefully crafted over decades of international PR efforts. Yet, it is all just PR. This public relations has had two sides to it: a) Singapore is no. 1 and b) Malaysia is awful. The funny thing is, that neither statement is true, in any way. Singapore is not no.1 in anything significant (most Europeans consider it mediocre in most respects, except public safety, public transport and predictability) - and Malaysia is actually a very pleasant place to be, in most respects. Sadly, however, many people believe Singapore's PR - because they are Singaporean and don't know enough about the wider world to know that Singapore is NOT "no. 1" - or they have not spent enough time in Malaysia to come to know it, and so believe the negative propaganda that Singapore spews out, about it, on a daily basis.

There is a world beyond Singapore and there are viable education choices, outside of Singapore, in South East Asia. Though it was not Ainan's intention to do so, his simple move from Singapore to Malaysia for an education, has been a revelation for many: it has shown them that an education is possible in Malaysia, in the private sector, that it is viable, affordable...and decent enough to be chosen by Ainan. Already, people are reacting to this news and gifted families are now considering Malaysia, for their children's education. This is something we did not expect, but perhaps it is something we should have foreseen.

It will be interesting to see how many gifted families move to Malaysia. I will keep in touch with my friend in education and see what happens in the cases that come their way.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to:
http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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

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

Of beauty and ugliness.

There is a beauty in the apt expression of words. There is a beauty too, in an honest description of childhood - for in a child's mind, much is still beautiful that, by adulthood, seems no longer. I have tried to write of the beauty of the child's world, through my daily glimpses of it, in my own sons. I have tried also to choose words which, though simple, are beautiful in themselves, for how they capture that world.

So, I have been striving to embody some of this beauty, that I see, daily, in my life, on these electronic pages. To some extent, I am sure that I have succeeded - for some of my posts have captured some of the daily wonders that I encounter. It is true, however, that, at other times, I have failed to fully reflect the beauty that I see: my words do not come close to embodying those moments that are most precious - yet, at least, I have tried. Something of those times will, thus, remain for future contemplation.

Now, on the one hand we have my own striving to capture beauty - but on the other hand, I have seen much ugliness on the internet. There are truly a vast horde of stupid, jealous, spiteful people out there in the world. In particular, quite a few of them seem to come from Singapore. I say this because, on the odd forum, here and there, I have seen the most unpleasant of comments, coming from people who almost always have Chinese names, and use terms such as Ang Moh...they also have Singlish phrasing, so I can conclude that they are Singaporean. More than a few of their remarks are highly insulting about me, or members of my family - and, this is what gets me most, THEIR INFORMATION IS ALMOST ALWAYS WRONG. Yet, they spew their spite, and justify their erroneous views with what amounts to lies, on the internet. Oddly, I have seen this kind of behaviour from two nationalities only: Singaporeans, and Americans. The Americans seem to be doing so out of an extreme sense of competitiveness (ie. your son can't possibly be brighter than my son and I am going to do my damndest to prove it...). The Singaporeans are often doing it out of sinocentric racism. It is quite sad to watch what they do, online, to one of their own citizens. Yet, they don't see Ainan as a Singaporean - they see him as a MALAY...and so they feel apart from him. They think him "OTHER" and therefore unworthy of the fellow feeling that citizens of most countries, show to their fellow citizens. Singapore is a country in which anyone who is non-Chinese is never fully integrated, never fully accepted, by the majority (who are, I might point out, Chinese themselves). Indeed, the way the Chinese forum commenters treated our family is one of the big reasons we decided to leave Singapore. There was just no way that I was going to bring my family up in a country which had so much hate of its own people. Why should I subject them to daily racism, when I can easily find another country that will treat them as one of their own? So, we did...

Anyway, for me, the internet is a place of contrasts, therefore. I am making my own personal efforts to create something of lasting beauty - my thoughts on my children's childhood as they grow up - amidst a world of public arenas that are anything but beautiful. It is a strange contrast. You see the medium that allows me to attempt to express the beauty that I see, daily, is also the medium that allows these antagonists to spew their hate, their envy, their misunderstandings and their, lets be blunt, racism.

It is my hope that the beauty that I succeed in capturing, on these virtual pages, will outshine the ugliness that is found, all over the internet. Personally, I would rather a world that did not have such people in it, as I have seen writing rubbish on the net. Their minds are too crude, too uninformed, too dim and too nasty, to be allowed access to the public arena. Yet, there they are. Would it not be a better world were they not to exist? I can't help but feel that they would vanish, if they were readily identifiable on the net. My thoughts, therefore, again turn to the idea of anonymity on the net. I don't feel there should be any. Were everybody to be immediately identifiable, people such as I have seen, would not dare to write the things they do, lest they face libel charges, or other consequences. A net without anonymity would be a much better one, I think.

In the meantime, I hope my words have more power than theirs; that my thoughts have more readers than theirs - that my readers are able to distinguish truth from lies; beauty from ugliness.

Thank you for reading.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to:
http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm/3305973/
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.)

Did you hear?

Sometimes conversations are strange affairs. They can change one's perspective on life.

Today, while in Singapore, I was engaged in conversation with a very enthusiastic homeschooler. She was really happy that her kids had "never been to school". She spoke of how "free" they were and of how "they actually got to sleep." (For those who don't know, sleep is frowned on for Singapore's children, since they have to get up at about 5.30 am to go to school. Great stuff.)

Then the conversation took an unexpected turn.

"Have you heard about that boy, who is gifted in physics and chemistry?", she began, as if about to broach a matter of some seriousness.

"Yes. I think so." After all, I am his Dad.

"Well, they wouldn't let him homeschool." She frowned at this. "...and now he lives in Malaysia."

I sort of nodded sympathetically.

"It is very sad.", she said, with what seemed like genuine feeling.

Somehow, I didn't feel like telling her quite how I knew the boy she spoke of. It felt better that way. I didn't want to colour her reactions or her feelings, by letting her know. It was better, instead, to observe her genuine sadness that Ainan should have had to leave Singapore because he had not been free, here, to pursue an education to his liking and needs.

It did feel odd, however, to be spoken of, as if she knew of us - and yet, she didn't know me, at all. She didn't even know she was speaking to the boy in question's father. I was just an attentive listener, to her, a sympathetic ear. I can only imagine her surprise if she had known just who I was.

It was good, though, to see that she was sympathetic to Ainan's situation. She understood the need to go elsewhere, to find a more fitting educational environment - and she sided with him, not with the "system".

This encounter has made me aware that our family story has become one shared and related by people in the region. It is a matter to be discussed and reflected on. It was heartening to hear, quite innocently, from this lady, that some, at least, side with us, over the issue. Her words of empathetic support are all the more valuable, in that she had no idea who she was saying them to.

Thanks to that Singaporean homeschooler.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6, or Tiarnan, exactly 4, 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, Malaysia, College, University, HELP University College, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Computer Programming, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, prodigy, genie, 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. 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 about another fifteen credits have yet to be uploaded. This will take many months before they are approved. Please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ for my listing. Ainan’s listing is at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley’s listing is at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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

Ainan's first days at HELP University

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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

Singapore's scientific racism.

There are many ways to be racist. Singapore likes to explore such possibilities, unconsciously, in the choices it makes and in the projects it deems worthy of pursuing. It is clear, though, that Singaporeans are unaware of the racism that they are steeped in, so deeply are they so steeped.

A recent example of Singapore's racism is a project to map the genome of the Han or Southern Chinese. This was backed by the Genome Institute of Singapore, the GIS. Apparently, they saw fit to draw on the genomes of 8,200 Han Chinese people from all over Singapore and China.

Please mull over the implications of such a project, in "multicultural", "multiracial", "integrated" and "harmonious" Singapore. A Singaporean state-funded institution, the Genome Institute of Singapore, sees fit to pour money into a project aimed at uncovering the secrets of the Han Chinese genome to ultimately help this racial grouping with various genetically linked diseases. I wonder if one of those "diseases" could be racism itself? You see, this project has rather overlooked the Malay and Indian populations in Singapore - not forgetting the Eurasians, Caucasians, and "others". What about these races? Don't they have diseases to worry about too? Oops, I forgot: in Singapore only the Han Chinese really matter. They are, after all almost 80% of the population. They do, after all, own almost everything. They have, after all, allotted almost all the best jobs to themselves. So, it should be no surprise that government money should be devoted to uncovering the secrets of their genome, so that they might be rescued from such earth shattering, mindbogglingly important conditions as "lactose intolerance" (Yes, the researchers actually used that example to justify the enterprise). Other susceptibilities apparently include diabetes and nasopharyngeal cancer. (No investigation, however, is being done into the causes of relative poverty among Singapore's minorities...is that genetic...or perhaps social?)

Worryingly, Associate Professor Liu Jianjun, who headed up this rather odious project, went to the trouble to point out that the results could be used to determine a person's racial origin. He was quoted as saying: "We can determine whether an anonymous Singaporean is a Chinese, his ancestral origin, and sometimes, which dialect group of the Han Chinese he belongs to." Now, excuse me for asking - but why is it so important to know that? Why would so much money be wasted, (sorry "invested") just to be able to prove that someone is, or is not, an authentic "Han Chinese". This smacks of Hitler's Aryan race dogma - and his obsession with "pure" Aryans. The abhorrent stench of a profound, unconscious racism rises from every base pair of the enterprise.

I am struck by the sharp contrast between Singapore's understanding of the possibilities of modern genetics, and the West's understanding. In the West, they had something called the Human Genome Project, to determine the genetic map of a HUMAN. In Singapore, they don't care about humans, at all...they just care about Han Chinese. Thus, Singapore has reinvented the project as the Han Chinese Genome Project - because, after all, no-one else matters, do they?

Now, if Singapore was really, really interested in Singaporeans, the project would have comprised not 8,200 Han Chinese, but perhaps 2,733 Han Chinese, 2,733 Malays, and 2,733 Indians. Then one would have had results of benefit to almost all Singaporeans. However, Singapore has never been about Singaporeans...it has only ever been about the Han Chinese. Were this not so, I would not have had to write this post, because the Han Chinese Genome Project (or whatever they have actually called it) would have been, instead, the Singaporean Genome Project. I could understand a project that focussed on all racial groupings in Singapore - but not one that focussed exclusively on the dominant race. That is a very sharp insult to all members of the minority races in Singapore. It says, most clearly, that "your diseases are not important to us".

Singapore has certain merits. However, fairness between the races is not one of its more evident ones. There are an infinity of examples of instances in which unfairness towards one race or another, can be found. However, what is most interesting, is that that unfairness is never towards the Han Chinese. This study of the Han Chinese is unfair to every member of every minor race in Singapore. It shows, more clearly than anything else the state could have done, that the minor races are, quite literally, of minor concern to the dominant race - and rulers of Singapore.

It is interesting the way science becomes perverted by the local racial-political agenda. When handling human genetics, the West focusses its attention on the nature of the Human and the species as a whole. In Singapore's hands, however, genetics become a tool to further an unconscious - or perhaps even conscious - racist agenda. Just imagine if the tools of genetic mapping had been available to Hitler and ask yourself what would Hitler have done? He would, rather disturbingly, have used them in the same way that Singapore is doing: he would have used it, first, to prove that the Aryans were a separate race and how to identify them. He then would have taken the next step of mapping Jews, so that he could identify - and eliminate them.

Singapore has taken the analogous first step. It has developed the capability of identifying "true" Han Chinese. The next step would be to be able to identify "true" examples of Singapore's minorities and so classify them as "non-Chinese". At this point, I shall halt my train of thought and writing, for I don't know what Singapore would do with such information, were it readily available. A clue lies, perhaps, in the immigration policies of the country: the vast majority of newcomers are PRCs/Han Chinese. This seems to show that a nation consisting entirely of Han Chinese would be seen as desirable. Perhaps gene mapping tools might one day be used to further that end and ensure the great, grand Singaporean future of a monoracial, Han Chinese, island and effective southern most offshoot of the Great Motherland - or is that Fatherland?

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

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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

A Singaporean Chinese person on Malaysia.

Yesterday, I had an encounter that is fairly typical of the talk one hears about Malaysia, from Singaporeans. I was struck, however, by the certainty of her views, which made me think them fit for remark, here.

I was in KL airport, waiting for a delayed Jetstar Asia flight to Singapore. It had been supposedly delayed by an hour and a half, but in fact, the delay turned out to be even longer (almost two hours).

Sitting next to us, in the boarding lounge, at KLIA airport, was a Singaporean Chinese woman. Her manner, accent, appearance and expressed views all identified her, immediately, in this manner. She was in a talkative mood, one largely provoked by her irritation at being delayed.

"I will never take a budget airline, again...", she began, her lips curling dismissively.

Before we could comment, she continued: "Jetstar is my first time...but never again will I fly budget."

"We have found AirAsia to be quite good, so far.", I interjected.

She looked at me blankly, as if she did not know what to say to something that countered her world view.

"You know, Jetstar is Malaysian.", she said, her stress on the final word, as if she spoke of something truly disgusting. Her tongue could barely bring itself to say the word, and her face was an image of revulsion. I was, actually, rather offended by her tone, by her expression and by her clearly evident beliefs. I was offended, on behalf of Malaysians, as anyone of humanity, would be on behalf of any people, so disregarded.

Now, I didn't know if Jetstar was Malaysian or not, so I couldn't comment and so remained silent. She, however, did not.

"I have travelled on Malaysian Airlines several times...and they were ALWAYS late." She shook her head, her lips curling downwards, a vision of one unimpressed.

I thought it odd, that she should think so, since I, too, had travelled on Malaysia Airlines, several times and never had any problems at all. I said, nothing, however, because, in fact, I was curious as to how far she would go, in her rant.

She leant forward then, as if to confide something of the utmost significance: "The Malaysians have NO system." She sat back, then, as if I should be shocked at the idea that a nation might not be as systematic (read "robotic") as Singapore is.

Now, my wife is Malay - and so, of course, could easily be Malaysian. This Singaporean Chinese woman's friend looked across at my wife, sitting silently beside me - and nudged her friend, with a glance to my wife. The thought was clear: "She might be Malaysian....shut up!"

The nudge brought the rant to an end, but I was glad to have heard it. It was most instructive as to what goes through the mind of quite a few Singaporeans. The reflexive thought is that all that is Malaysian is "bad" and all that is Singaporean is "good". There is also a tendency to blame Malaysia for things it is not responsible for. You see, there is one big problem with the core of this woman's rant against Malaysia: Jetstar Asia is not Malaysian, at all - it is Vietnamese. The Malaysians are not responsible at all, for this woman's flight delay. However, I will say one thing: she was right in thinking that Jetstar Asia are rubbish...it is undoubtedly the worst airline I have personally travelled on. The problem is, she is blaming the wrong nation.

Jetstar Asia is based in Ho Chi Minh city and is 42.5% owned by Quantas, the Australian Airline. However, that is where the resemblance to Quantas ends: Jetstar is a truly awful airline...but more of that in another post. What interested me, more, about this encounter, was that this Singaporean Chinese woman should have been so certain of her anti-Malaysian views. She truly believed that Malaysia was a terrible place and that Singapore was inherently superior. I found this odd, since my experience of both places does not place Singapore above Malaysia in the overall picture. Yes, Singapore is more glossy, but I don't think that, as a whole, it offers anywhere near as much as Malaysia does in terms of variety, potential ways of life or experiences. It is, in fact, a much bigger, more diverse nation than Singapore. It interests me, therefore, that so many Singaporeans have this reflexive superiority concerning their neighbour...it would, in fact, be funny, were it not, in fact, racist, at its core.

Two pieces of advice: don't fly Jetstar...and don't believe Singaporeans who badmouth Malaysia, without checking the place out, yourself, first. Start with Kuala Lumpur.

(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 roots of kindness.

World Kindness Day is on 13th November 2009. So, it is apt that attention should, once more, focus on the Singapore Kindness Movement. The big question to be asked, first, of course is: is Singapore an essentially unkind society?

The short answer, unfortunately, is yes – and I shall tell you why. Singapore is a country built on competition. It is a nation that has raised competition to be the apex of all human endeavour. Were there Ten Singaporean Commandments, the first would be: Thou Shalt Win (At All Costs). Here, in Singapore, the only thing that matters, really, is that one should “win”, no matter what it takes to do so. In a culture where the only success is to be “No.1”, it seems necessary, to the people, to step on everyone else to get there. People brought up to believe that “winning is all”, become people who will do anything to win. This creates a fundamentally unpleasant attitude towards other people. You see, in such a “winner takes all” culture, other people are not seen as one’s fellow citizens, of a shared nation, but as one’s COMPETITORS. It is a small step from the word “competitor” to the word “enemy”. Thus, true Singaporeans don’t love their fellow man, they compete with them; fight with them; trample on them. They come to be people who only think of one person: themselves – no-one else is considered, or even considered worthy of being considered. No-one else matters, but “me”.

Singapore is a nation of people each of whom has the same thought running through their heads: “me, me, me”. There is no room for thought of anyone else. The consequences are clear. Singaporeans won’t do even the most basic of kindnesses for each other. They slam doors in each other’s faces, instead of holding them open. They get on trains, or into lifts, before others have got off. They steal each other’s taxis, getting into cabs others have called. They jump queues and get angry if challenged (which rarely happens). If offered a seat, on a bus, or a train, they will almost always fail to say “thank you”, but will sit in silence. Unbelievably, they even attack their fellow Singaporeans online, for doing well, in any endeavour. The list of poor behaviours could go on forever – but there is no need, for all the behaviours share one thing in common: a lack of thought for anyone else. Here, no-one considers the feelings of others.

Now, how are we to change this? How are we to make a kinder society? The Singapore Kindness Movement is a start. At least, it might prompt people to reflect on the issues and begin a process of personal change. However, I think it is too late to expect adults to change their ways, significantly. If Singapore is to become noted for the kindness of its people (which would, after all, be a lovely thing, wouldn’t it?), the efforts must begin in early childhood. Singapore’s children need to be taught to think of their effect on others; they need to learn to consider the feelings of others, just as much as they do their own. Parents can help with this, but schools should take on much of the burden. The instilling of kindness, as a desired attitude, could be woven into every lesson, in every school, in the land. It should begin with the teachers…perhaps they can be kind to their students. Every time they do so, they are teaching the children about kindness.

Perhaps, too, if Singaporeans could learn to compete less, with each other, and appreciate more, each other’s achievements, then a greater consideration for each other, might grow in their hearts. If Singaporeans can accept that other Singaporeans can win, too, and that that is something to feel pride in, rather than resentment of, perhaps the essential attitude of Singaporeans towards each other, might be changed for the better.

Kindness is a very important quality of a people. A kind person makes the lives of every person they ever meet, better. Of course, the opposite applies, too: an unkind person, makes the lives of everyone they meet worse. So, the Singapore Kindness Movement does not represent a trivial idea. It represents something fundamental to the quality of life, for everyone living in Singapore. If Singaporeans are, on the whole, unkind to each other, then it makes Singapore an unpleasant place to live in. Thus, it is important, for every Singaporean to begin to think in terms of how they can be kind to others. At each and every interaction, with other people, thought should be given to how they might show kindness, in that moment. Were all to do this, Singapore would quickly become one of the world’s most pleasant places to live in.

Of course, it takes two people to be kind: not just one. By this I mean, whenever anyone shows a kindness to another, that other should say: "Thank you", for the kindness shown. Should they not thank their benefactor, they would be greeting a kindness, with rudeness...which is just another variety of unkindness. So there are two parts to this: being kind to others - and being polite to those who are kind to us.

Be kind!

(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 problem of genius in Singapore.

Singapore is notable for proclaiming itself as "No.1" in everything it can. At times, this is amusing, as ever more minor matters are proclaimed to be supreme achievements. Yet, in the realms of true achievements, Singapore is distinctly lacking. Where, for instance, are Singapore's geniuses?

By "genius", I do not mean people adept at examinations (Singapore has plenty of those...the whole educational system is dedicated to "results")...no, I mean people who go on to make a plethora of important creative contributions. By this measure, Singapore has no known ADULT, native-born, geniuses (though, as I have pointed out, there is the odd child prodigy, who might, with support, become one).

Now, the usual excuse trotted out by Singaporean leaders when Singapore is unable to do something is that it is "too small". So, no doubt in the case of the lack of genius, they would proclaim Singapore's lack of numbers. This excuse is no excuse at all, since smaller countries (in terms of population), like Ireland (my own), have no trouble littering their history with a respectable abundance of geniuses. No: size is not the trouble...the nature of the society is. Genius cannot thrive in a society that gives it no freedom to live. Singapore is one such place. It is a place of so many restrictions, constrictions, limitations and barriers, that it is a surprise that anyone manages to thrive at all. The truth, of course, is that they don't thrive, in the ways which are important. Yes, they live prosperous economic lives, but they utterly lack intellectual lives. The average Singaporean never has a thought in their lives, that is their own. They compute by imported, second-hand thought and live, thus, second-hand lives. It is a nation of people who yielded up their rights to an inner life, sometime in early childhood. The result is clear to see: no-one here has the makings of a genius.

I came across a quote by the writer J. B. Priestley (1894 to 1984) that I thought eminently explanatory of Singapore's situation:

"We should like to have some towering geniuses, to reveal us to ourselves in colour and fire, but of course they would have to fit into the pattern of our society and be able to take orders from sound administrative types".

These words, at once, seemed to describe Singapore's situation. It is a place in which the dullest of people are in charge, resulting in dullness seeping through society, top-down. They exert themselves solely to control the lives of those "below" them; to put in place rules and structures, that make for an orderly society. Of course, the result of all this, is that anyone with the potential to be a genius, finds that they live in a society that does not welcome their nature. Singapore seems deliberately designed to be hostile to genius. It would be difficult to conceive of anywhere less likely to foster an independent thinker, than this small, anally-retentive, city-state.

Singapore will remain the natural breeding ground of "sound administrative types" for as long as it focusses on the control of its people. As long as Singapore prioritizes the "moulding" of minds (as so many of its schools disturbingly proclaim on banners, on their perimeters); rather than the freeing of them, Singapore will be a country notable as the No.1 place not to find geniuses. They will be, instead, No.1 in "Sound administrative types". Wow. What an achievement that would be...No.1 in "human dullness"; No.1 in "conformity of thought."; No.1 in "We know better"; No.1 in "That's not allowed."

Singapore is very much like Priestley's quote: they state that they would like to breed creative people...but they insist on an environment which is hostile to them. Basically, they want creative people to grow up in an environment designed to destroy them...so that they can have the benefit of their creativity, whilst not yielding up the control of people's lives, and minds. Oddly, it has never occurred to them, that their two aims, are incompatible. Singapore cannot control the lives and minds of its people, to the level it presently does - AND have geniuses. The former will destroy the latter.

If Singapore truly wishes to be the birthplace of an abundance of geniuses and lesser creative thinkers, it must become free in all ways that it is possible to be free. The first freedom should be the right for anyone to say anything they please, at anytime they please, about anything they please. This single change to the social landscape of Singapore would free tongues that have long been silent, to begin to speak. There is no telling what they might say...but one thing is for sure, it would be a whole lot more interesting and a whole lot more creative, than a nation dominated by "Sound administrative types".

As I have noted, in one post before, Singapore, as it is presently constituted, will one day be completely forgotten. I mean not just this era and these people - but the whole nation. As hard as it may be for Singaporeans to imagine, there will come a time when not one person, on Earth, or beyond, has ever heard of Singapore, or Lee Kuan Yew and the family Lee. No-one will ever have heard of them. The reason for this is that history is long and filled with too much information. As time passes, it becomes longer...until, eventually, the only things that are remembered are the greatest of events: the greatest wars, the greatest conquests...and the greatest people. There is only one way that Singapore will ever be remembered: and that is if it is the nation that gives rise to at least one true genius. So far, no adult Singaporean, in its history, has ever achieved that status (state propaganda notwithstanding). Should no Singaporean ever achieve the level of true historical genius (a Leonardo da Vinci, or an Albert Einstein, or a William Shakespeare), then there will be no reason for Singapore ever to be remembered. A nation of "Sound administrative types" is unworthy of note in the modern world, and utterly without any reason for recall for posterity.

However, the nation where Mr or Miss Genius X, was nurtured, is a cause for remembrance. The world will forever know Vinci, for its genius, Leonardo. Will Singapore have cause to be remembered in a thousand years, or ten thousand? Will it be a land of a genius? Or will it be an unregarded nation of "Sound administrative types". It is for Singapore to decide. If Singapore wishes to be remembered, it would do well to forget the notion of pervasive state control of its people. It would do well not to be overly sensitive to the comments of its citizens and others. It would do well, to let them be free, to be. Only then, will Singapore do anything worthwhile, in the ultimate verdict of posterity.

(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.)

Lee Kuan Yew and Language Education in Singapore.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, was quoted, recently, in Petir, the People's Action Party magazine, as saying: "Initially, I believed that intelligence was equated to language ability. Later, I found that they are two different attributes - IQ and a facility for languages. My daughter, a neurologist, confirmed this,". Commentary in the articles that relate to this, state that this realization took 30 years. In the meantime, difficult education policies on bilingualism were implemented - ones that ignored the difficulty of acquiring a second language, for many students.

Now, it seems to me, that the implications of this realization have not been entirely examined. PSLE, for instance, requires, if I am not mistaken, examination in English and "Mother Tongue"...that is, a second language, determined by the race of the examinee. It has always seemed suspect to me, to state that because someone is of a particular race, that they must also be of a particular language. My children, for instance are, yes, half-Malay...but they have far less than half the normal opportunity to learn Malay. You see, I don't speak Malay, so most of the conversation in our household is, necessarily in English. Thus, it is a nonsense to have a policy which requires my children to be Malay speakers (because they have a Malay mother), when they don't really come from a Malay speaking household. There are many families like this, families which have a particular racial background but do NOT have the corresponding language background. Yet, at PSLE, all families must submit to the demand for examination in English and Mother Tongue. As we can see from MM Lee's own admission, this makes no sense at all, with regards to the intended aim of selecting the most able students. Ability in languages is not a catch-all for general mental ability: it is a specific capability. Leonardo da Vinci, the famously polymathic genius, was not so strong in languages: perhaps in Singapore he would have been relegated to poorer schools because of it. How ridiculous is that?

So, let us heed MM Lee's recent acquisition of wisdom regarding languages and IQ. Let us have a PSLE system which does NOT require multiple languages for examination. Perhaps the student can nominate which language exam they wish to take - and take only one. Either that, or they could take both - and ONLY the highest one should count towards the determination of their standing in the PSLE.

The real question we have to answer regarding the PSLE is: what is it for? Is it to determine the relative capability of students, in terms of actual intelligence? If so, drop the multiple language requirement because different students have different opportunities to learn languages, so what is being compared is not their intellects, but their environments. If, however, Singapore just wants a system to determine who is the best fit to a multilingual environment, then carry on the present system unchanged. It doesn't find the smartest students...it just finds those best fitted to a multilingual environment. They are not necessarily the same thing. Just ask Leonardo da Vinci, the famous non-linguist. (By the way, I think Leonardo would have been horrified by Singapore's education system...)

(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.)