Would you trust this man?

We had a strange experience, today, whilst shopping at Low Yat, Kuala Lumpur's answer to Sim Lim Square, Singapore. For those who don't know, Low Yat is Sim Lim on steroids, but with cheaper prices, in some areas. It specializes in all things to do with computers and is a bigger more spacious mall than Sim Lim, but this is probably owing to Singapore's space constraints.

Anyway, we were looking for a computer to buy and so thought to do some shopping around. One man in particular is memorable for reasons no-one would wish to be.

We had asked at several shops, for a particular type of computer. We had listened whilst they spoke of specs and prices, and what they would bundle in free. Then we came to this particular young man. He was Chinese - but then, that wasn't what distinguished him, since about 90% of those who had served us, were also Chinese. No, what distinguished him, was a certain look in his eyes. It was the strangest look - one that tried to be unrevealing, but all seeing at the same time. He was, clearly, appraising us carefully, but, at the same time, guarding his own thoughts, from discernment.

We looked at the computer in front of us, which was the same model as the one we had been looking at - except for one important difference. He tapped out a price on a calculator in front of him. It was 450RM less than the other guy had asked.

"What are the specs?" I asked.

He tapped the screen and up came the specs.

"Has it a graphics card?" I asked.

He nodded in a manner that didn't convince me. "Yes. Got."

"Which one?" I pursued, a little puzzled by what the screen showed, for I saw no mention of a graphics card at all.

"Got.", he said, with another nod.

I pointed at the screen. "It doesn't say it has a graphics card, here."

"Has. I haven't loaded the drivers yet."

"Can it run Adobe Illustrator?"

"Can.", he began, before launching into a spiel. I tuned him out.

Something made me feel uncomfortable and I urged my wife to come away with me.

When we were out of earshot, I turned to her and said: "I don't think that guy can be trusted."

"Yes,", she said, "I got that feeling, too."

It was a strange moment. I had wondered if it was just me, in having that feeling - but my wife had felt it too. There was something both untrustworthy and predatory about the man.

Then, I remembered something that he had said which only confirmed my view. On being asked about Adobe Illustrator, he had said, that "It can run even without a graphics card...because it depends on the processor speed."

Now, that is absolute nonsense. Adobe Illustrator is a graphics intensive programme that needs a considerable graphics capacity - which, in the pc model he was referring to, meant that it would need a graphics card. I saw no evidence that his machine had a graphics card. So, basically, he was trying to offload onto us, a pc that couldn't possibly run the software we wanted to run on it.

There is a lesson in this. I think, often, it is wise to listen to one's instincts, mysterious and primitive as they may seem. For, I felt on edge, the moment I saw his first look upon us. There was, from the beginning, something eminently untrustworthy about the man.

Yet, I am thankful for the lesson he poses - for I learnt that there is value in those primitive instincts, within, even in this modern world. If we hadn't listened to them, we might, at this very moment, have a new pc in our home, that couldn't possibly run the software we need to run.

Once, man lived in a jungle and survived only by daily struggle: in some ways, we still do, it is just that we don't recognize it anymore. Today, however, I did, for one moment, I did - I saw the world with instinctive eyes, and was saved from a modern economic peril: being ripped off.

It was a good lesson.

(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.

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