Ainan's recipe for Fish and Chips

Unusual knowledge, gives rise to unusual perspectives - and, it seems, an unusual sense of humour.

It is Saturday. In England, where I once lived, on a Saturday night, one would often see people queuing outside Fish and Chip shops across the land. It was, in some strata a tradition, to "down a pint" with their Fish and Chips, of a weekend. The most modest of outlets was often able to attract quite a crowd, if they had the fatty flavour just right.

The other day, Ainan jested about a recipe for the flavouring of Chips (as in Fish and Chips). For those who don't know, chips are "french fries" - but thicker and generally softer than the variety sold in MacDonald's, Burger King and the like.

In England, most people added vinegar and salt to their chips, for flavouring.

Ainan looked at this situation and laughed to himself, before remarking:

"Why not add HSbF6 and CsF, to them?"

He thought this was hilarious. Perhaps I should explain. Vinegar is actually a 5% solution of ethanoic acid, salt is actually sodium chloride. What Ainan was proposing was that the Vinegar be replaced by Fluoro-Antimonic Acid. It is still acidic and therefore sour in taste. The only problem might be that this acid is 10 to the power 19 times stronger than Sulphuric Acid. Anyone eating it would be somewhat inconvenienced. The other suggested chemical, Cesium Fluoride, is also a salt made in the same way as Sodium Chloride - a combination of an alkali metal and a halogen. However, in this case he chose the most extreme readily available elements of their kind for the combination. By all accounts Cesium Fluoride has a truly awful taste, being far more flavoursome - in the most negative of ways - than sodium chloride.

Thus, Ainan's recipe is an analogy to the traditional one. It is still the adding of a salt and an acid, as flavouring - though with rather different effects!

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, or Tiarnan, eighteen 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, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted children and gifted adults in general. Thanks.)

Ainan counts calories

Ainan has his own brand of humour. Sometimes his jokes are rather technical in nature, requiring knowledge of some branch of science or other, to be understood. I find these interesting because he is finding humour where others would only see obscurity.

At other times, his remarks are more accessible. Today he remarked:

"Butter has the same energy per kilogram as TNT. It is just that it tastes better and doesn't explode."

I know which I'd rather spread on my toast, same energy or not.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, seven years and seven months, a scientific child prodigy, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and no months, or Tiarnan, seventeen 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, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Fintan's perspective on the adult world

Every morning I see Fintan up and about. He is the second earliest riser in the family, needing to do so, to get ready for school. I am the earliest.

Every morning he asks me the same question, perhaps hoping for a different answer, as I stand by the door saying goodbye:

"Where are you going Daddy?"

"To work." I say, ritually.

Today, Fintan's response was a little different. "Again?" He cried, aghast. It was as if his tone had said: haven't you done that already?

There was no reply to that. After all, he had fully captured how I sometimes feel!

I left for work. Again.

Fintan makes fun of Daddy

If you are a parent, you will know that having an energetic child is a "mixed blessing". Yes, they are fun to be around...but sometimes that "around" is a little too big - and that child gets everywhere. Fintan, three, is one such child.

Today, Fintan wanted to run around, while we were out and about with him. Singapore is a small city with a population which, in my opinion, is proportionately quite large. Public places are often crowded places, therefore. Having a child who is ever running far and wide can easily lead to a lost child.

We took a bus on Orchard Road, to go to buy some electronic goods (more of that in another post). Fintan wanted to run around inside the bus...but that isn't acceptable, and wouldn't have been welcome, so, instead I sat him inside of me, locked away safely between me and the window of the bus.

To distract him, I pointed out of the window at things we were passing, thinking it might settle him down.

"Look Fintan at all those flags!" I pointed at a wall of flags on a shopping centre.

Then: "Look Fintan, at those neon lights!"

"Neon lights", he echoed, learning the name for them.

Then he said something with what I took to be sarcasm:

"Look Daddy, the sky is there!"

That silenced me. I hadn't heard him be sarcastic before, but now that I did, I knew my ruse had not fooled him, at all.

Perhaps, my attempt to distract him was just not sophisticated enough: I will have to recalibrate my view of what is appropriate for him.

The manner in which Fintan makes his social understanding plain, is always so clear, that sometimes I am humbled by him. He sees through everything - and always chooses an apt way to reply.

I think he is going to grow up to be a funny guy. He is a funny little guy already.