"The richest Cawley in the world".

"Who is the richest Cawley in the world?" was a search which arrived on my blog, a couple of months ago. At the time, I ignored it and didn't remark upon it - but now, upon reflection, I think it is time to remark.

My recent post on Macaulay Culkin (odd that he has the sound caulay/cawley in his name!), brought to mind what it is that people find interesting in others. In the case of Macaulay Culkin, no one has ever shown any other interest, in their search terms, for arrival on my site, but in his personal wealth. The same cannot be said for those who use the name "Cawley", in searching. However, the search is worthy of comment.

The search: "Who is the richest Cawley in the world?" originated in the UK. Now, the UK has heard a lot about Ainan Cawley, recently, so I can't help but wonder if it was hearing about my son, and his talents, that prompted this searcher to wonder about the Cawley family. It also made me wonder why they would think in terms of wealth, on learning of his talents. It seems that some people only find value in others, in terms of how valuable (or wealthy) they are. It seems as if, for them, the ONLY way of measuring another's worth, is in terms, quite literally, of their net worth.

There are many ways in which a person may be of value to the world and wealth is, in truth, a minor one among them. A person can be kind, or supportive; helpful or friendly. A person can creative, or intelligent, honest or sympathetic. A person can be hardworking, reliable and committed. A person may be beautiful, or loving, or loyal. There are SO many ways in which a person may be valuable to the world, that it really puzzles me that so many people should reduce people purely to their wealth, to the number of dollars/pounds/yuan attached to their name.

I shall, however, address the person's question directly: I don't know. There are many Cawleys in this world. The tales tell that this particular family originated in ancient times in Ireland, from a descendant of a King and spread out across the world, in more modern times. There are Cawleys in America, Cawleys in Australia, Cawleys in the UK, and now there are even Cawleys in Singapore. For all I know, there might be Cawleys in every country of the world - but the first three countries I mentioned will have the bulk of them. Now, these Cawleys have done many things. A quick search of the internet reveals an astonishing range of Cawleys getting up to all sorts of things. However, what IS noticeable is that a lot of these Cawleys have the term "President" attached to their names. (Others have CEO). It is clear, therefore, that quite a few Cawleys have done very well for themselves. This makes it difficult to decide who is the richest. There was a Cawley who founded a bank, in America. There are several Cawleys (including one big firm in the USA) who own property companies. There are Cawleys high up in computing companies (including IBM). There are, in fact, Cawleys in all sorts of well placed positions, as the internet so easily tells. So, I am afraid, I can't answer the question of "who is the richest Cawley in the world?" It may, in fact, be impossible to know. You see, it is quite likely that the "richest Cawley in the world" doesn't want you to know that he is the richest - and so won't necessarily appear on lists of the wealthy anywhere in the world. It is called, I suppose, "none of your business" - for that is an attitude that I would be unsurprised, for this fabled richest Cawley to have.

Then again, the question, "who is the richest Cawley in the world?" is, itself, meaningless, for it implies a value judgement. It seems to be saying that the richest Cawley is somehow the most worthy Cawley - well, this may not be true. The richest Cawley is no more or less than the richest Cawley: that is all. This fabled richest Cawley may not be the brightest Cawley, nor the most creative Cawley, nor the most beautiful Cawley, nor the most pleasant Cawley, nor the most honest Cawley, nor the most kind Cawley, nor the most sympathetic Cawley, nor the most friendly Cawley. There is no way of knowing from knowledge of how much they are "worth" alone what they are, in fact, worth as a person.

I think the question was asked without an understanding of what is truly valuable about a person. I think the question was asked with too narrow a conception of value and meaning in others. A different question to have asked might be: "Who is the BEST Cawley in the world?" After defining "best", I rather think that the answer would be a different one, to the one found with "Who is the richest Cawley?" (That assumes, of course, that one defines "best" in terms other than wealth.)

I can't answer either of these questions, however, for certain. This is because I do not know which of the hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of Cawleys in the world is the richest, the best, the kindest or any other quality or measurement. I simply don't know all of them. I don't even know how many of them there are.

I know this, though: once upon a time, long ago, there was a King, who had a son, who had many children and those children had children, and so on until today. Those children are now spread all over the world. They are the "Cawley family". Whether they be rich or poor, bright or kind...they carry my name - and I, too, wonder, sometimes, who they are and what lives they live. Do they know that they can all be traced back to the same point in time? (That is a question I will revisit another time...that of origin.)

I know this, too, that searcher's question is just not important enough to answer. There are better questions to ask of people in this world - and more interesting things to know about them. Those are the things I would rather know, learn and share.

One final thought: is the richest Cawley the happiest Cawley?

I doubt it.

(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.)

What one would most give to another.

I asked a class of students, once, what they would most like to give to another. The answers were many and various - indeed, some were sweet and thoughtful, even surprising. However, it is to the answer of the Russian student to whom I have referred before (she of the brand buying obsession), that I shall turn.

The Russian girl, who so loves branded goods, didn't wait to answer the question in writing: she shouted it out across the classroom, seemingly unaware of how people would respond to her stance.

"Give?", she began, scornfully, "Never! I never like to give...only to take, take, take. Especially from men. I take and receive presents from them, only - but I never give." (She paused here in consideration of her own words). "I think a lot of girls do like this."

Even though I had come to expect something empty-headed from her, her words perturbed me. They were spoken with such passion, that they gave me the creeps. Here, for sure, was one who liked to use others.

I wonder at people like her. How common are they? Is this a typical way of thinking and viewing the world, among some nationalities, today? Is it all about "me, me, me!"? I rather hope not. I hope that my Russian student is an aberration and that she is wrong in her opinion that "a lot of girls do like this".

However, if she is right, then men would be wise not to place much faith in the women they meet, nowadays. The Russian student's attitude leads directly to a breakdown in the relationship between the sexes - for what faith can the man have in the woman if her sole interest is the material goods he can give her? That would be a relationship based on the transfer of goods and not a relationship based on love or any emotion of either substance or endurance.

In a way, I shudder at the thought of a world filled with people like this Russian girl: a more soul-less, empty, life-destroying world would be hard to imagine. Here is a girl who gives nothing to others, who seeks to take as much as she can and who wishes to milk the men she meets for all the material goods she can get from them. I see for her either a lonely future (as people realize what she is and stay well away) or a whorish one - for such is her core attitude.

Attitudes like this Russian girl's are the inevitable end product of a materialist society. If life is measured by the goods one accumulates, then it makes sense to be a taker and not a giver. He or she who takes, will achieve a relative accumulation of material goods, over one who is generous and gives as much as they receive. It seems that she has imbibed too well, the material philosophy of our age.

To me, this girl represents an Archtype of all that is undesirable in the modern age. She brings emotional poverty and material greed together in one unending quest for branded goods at the expense of any man she meets. She sees life and human relationships as a means to rob another of their wealth and find gratification in the piling up of branded symbols of the age.

The most urgent question posed by her most ugly of ugly attitudes is this: how common are people like her? Is it right for modern man to be on guard against such exploitative personalities? (Of course, there could be cases of men like this, too).

As a final comment, I would like to note that, unlike every other student in the room, she never wore the same clothes in the several months that I taught her. Every day was a fashion parade with her - with each outfit carefully thought out, sometimes in the most elaborate manner. Truly, someone, somewhere was spending an awful lot of money in keeping this particular Material Girl, materially happy. It was quite unnerving, in a way, especially since she was in a classroom with others who almost always wore the same clothes and could barely afford their school fees. The contrast could not have been more discomfiting. She never seemed to notice, however.

What did the other students think of her? Well, sometimes they smiled or laughed at her expense. Perhaps there is hope for this world, after all...

(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.)

On living a life of significance.

I always listen to the words of "great men" and "great women", for what they say of the life they have led. Now, whether or not Vidal Sassoon could be considered "great", he is certainly successful and I remember what he once said of his life. He expressed regret into having gone into "hair" and wished he had done something else with his life.

I remembered his words, today, and they reminded me of how important it is to check whether the goals one sets for oneself are actually worthy of achievement, in the first place. Vidal Sassoon didn't think much, in the end, of his life work. He rather rued that he had chosen something as trivial as hair to build a life around. I have seen this kind of thinking in many successful people. They mature as they get older and realize that the goals they set themselves when younger were not really worth achieving: life is so much deeper than the choices they made.

So, if a life is to be lived well and worthily, the first thing to consider is what, ultimately, would make a meaningful life? Is the glittering path laid out for one by the society around, actually worth treading on? So many people lead lives that are externally successful - by which I mean that other people adjudge them successful (usually in material terms) - but do those lives actually have meaning? I would suggest that that question should be answered, first, before embarking on such a life. Otherwise, at the end of a long, successful career, one could end up like Vidal Sassoon, looking back on his life and thinking of how pointless it was and how he would rather have done something else.

A significant life has a different meaning for different people: for some it means to be socially connected, for others it means to be rich, for others still it means to be famous - for many it means to help others, for a few it means to create lasting works in either science or the arts. Whatever it is that is significant to you, and you alone, should be what life is built around. One should never live a life that is significant only to others (meaning that fulfils the common values of the society in which one lives) since, too often, those external values are not in alignment with one's core inner values. The values of modern societies often seem a little too shallow, a little too materialistic, to constitute a purposeful and meaningful life, for deeper people - or people who mature into deeper people as they get older (like Mr. Sassoon).

Only you know what is of value to you. I wish you luck in living a life that fulfils those values - irrespective of what society actually thinks of your goals. It only matters what you think of your goals.

Be significant!

(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.)

The aspirations of a Russian student.

Recently, I read a declaration by a Russian student over what she wanted most from life. She is studying English in Singapore but her remarks made me wonder whether studies were her true desire.

She wrote that she most wanted her parents to be healthy and to do well in her studies. That, I thought was reasonable enough, and expected. Then she wrote that she wanted to meet a rich Singaporean guy, marry him and spend her life, "shopping everyday for branded stuff". She topped this off with "I want to be a famous model."

The girl in question has a very high self-image, which has comic effects on her movement - she sashays around as if everyone has nothing better to do than to look at her. The funny thing is, they usually do look at her - but only to wonder why she is moving in such a strange way. The looks are not, I feel, in admiration of her appearance.

I have seen other things written by this girl. Her most frequently expressed desires are to "have lots of plastic surgery" and "to buy branded stuff". She lives entirely for image and seems to think that life actually consists of image - that that is the meaning of life, itself.

Considering her, I wonder how many other young foreign women, studying here, in Singapore, are actually here, not for their studies - but for the chance of capturing a "rich Singaporean guy" and occupying the rest of their days spending his hard-earned money on "branded stuff". In a way, I feel sorry for anyone who gets caught up with a girl like this. She is too shallow to give deep meaning to anyone's life - and will very quickly impoverish anyone she encounters.

There is a recent trend towards Singaporeans marrying overseas women and men. This is fine and should bring many interesting people into the world, of diverse background (assuming that they have children). However, I am a little concerned over the quality of the women concerned (and perhaps men, too...I haven't any information concerning them). Are many of them like this young woman with her fantasies of an earthly branded goods heaven? If so, then I fear for the future of Singapore - for surely the children of such a one can only promise more shallowness? Surely, she can only bring more empty-headed people into this world?

There needs to be an assurance of a certain level of sophistication in the migrants to Singapore, if Singapore is to maintain and enhance whatever sophistication it possesses, in the long-term. On the other hand, if the intention is to create a consumerist society with no deeper purpose than to shop (which seems to describe a lot of people in Singapore, actually) then this Russian acquaintance of mine is perfectly suited to the society in which she finds herself. Perhaps she will find a husband here who is delighted that she is so interested in Gucci, Cartier, and Bulgari (her top three brands according to her).

Perhaps it is all part of some cunning plan to boost the local economy: import hundreds of thousands of consumerist airheads to flood the local shops and buoy up the economy with their excessive purchases (or excessive demands on their boyfriends' pockets). Perhaps we should start shipping young Russian girls in by the cruiseliner load. It could do wonders for the local economy and its brand name stores.

Then again, such women could lead to a lot of unhappiness for local men, caught up in their consumerist whirl.

You have been warned.

(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.)

Formula One Night Race and Social Status.

The world's first Formula One Night Race takes place tonight, in Singapore.

Many in the nation seem very proud to be hosts of this event, but it struck me as curious as to what it seems to mean for them. The other night, for instance, I heard a commentator on Singaporean TV say, with awe, "Those seats are far too expensive for me...". It was strange to hear a professional broadcaster comment in that way on the price of seats to an event. He then went on to praise the good food and drink those rich spectators would enjoy.

His tone gave me much to think about. He seemed to be very impressed by the STATUS of those who could afford such expensive seats. I understood, then, what this event means for certain people here - it is not about racing, as such, but about social position and "showing-off". If you are wealthy, you can afford the expensive seats and this will impress everyone else. It struck me as funny - all this posturing around one's seating position and the amount of money that one could afford to throw away on watching people move very fast. In Singapore, social status seems to be a very important thing - and many things are done just to show status: the place one lives at, the cars one drives (to drive at all is a status thing given the price of cars, here), the clubs one joins, the games one plays (golf)...the whole nation is driven by a tiresome pursuit of social status. Ultimately, of course, this is all quite empty. They would lead more fulfilling lives if they were driven by love, friendship and family - for these are more rewarding aspects of life than impressing the neighbours with one's shockingly expensive Formula One seating position.

Singapore is not a fully mature society. It is too hung up on appearances and things that ultimately lack substance. This can be seen in the commentators remark concerning the expense of seats: I have never heard a similar comment from any other commentator in any other nation in all my life. Here, however, there is a tendency to be impressed by, and obsessed with, material things. An expensive Formula One seat is regarded as something to be sought after - and something with which to be impressed. I doubt whether it would be so, to the same extent, anywhere else.

It is funny to think about, but a more mature response might be: "Why are those people spending so much on such expensive seats - when they can watch it just as well in seats that are 60 times cheaper? How wasteful."

A concern for the wastefulness of such expensive seating is a more considered response - for it considers the true value of what one is doing and whether those resources might be better deployed elsewhere. Surely there are better uses for 2,500 dollars than a high-class Formula One seat? Most people can think of more mature uses of the money. In Singapore, however, it is considered admirable to spend thousands of dollars on such a thing. Is it elsewhere? What does the rest of the world think about spending so much for a seat at a race that can be a) watched just as well from seats about 60 times cheaper...or b) watched for free with consistently better viewing angles, on TV, at home? Comments please. Also, what are your thoughts on the social status of attending such events: is it a status statement to do so, in your country? Does it impress people to spend so much on such an event? I would be interested to hear from you.

Happy Formula One watching...to those who watch it, freely or otherwise.

(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.)

Parenting a gifted child: anxious moments.

Every child has their needs. That is fine and understood. Yet, every child also has their wants - and sometimes those can be difficult to meet.

A few days ago, I was walking with Syahidah, through the central city area of Singapore, at night, surrounded by tall buildings of varying heights. Except for the heat, it could have been any modern city, anywhere - but that humid air bathing one is unmistakable.

Syahidah turned to me and said: "Ainan wants you to buy him a skyscraper...", my heart leapt at the size of the acquisition I was being asked to make: I knew he loved tall buildings, but his very own skyscraper was a little out of my league (perhaps Donald Trump could help out).

Before, however, I had time to feel too sick about the latest aspiration of my gifted kid, she continued her sentence: "book".

At once, I felt better. My parenting anxiety vanished in an instant: a book, a skyscraper book, well, I could manage that. Suddenly, my instant inadequacy at not being a billionaire able to indulge his children's every whim, evaporated: a book purchase, I could handle.

Of course, before the relief, came the laughter - my own, as I understood how disparate were my instant emotional reaction to what I thought was to be an excess of materialism and the actual request, for a simple book.

It made me think, though. As a parent, one is always faced with the requests of one's children for various things. Some of those requests are easily met. Yet others are harder and some are simply impossible. With more children, so the requirements expand - at some point, most parents will encounter this gulf between the ideal of what one's children would like, and the reality of what they can have. That is one of the tensions of parenting: the difference between the children's material and experiential aspirations and their practical reality.

I was rather glad that Ainan didn't really want a skyscraper - or at least wasn't saying that he wanted one. The question is, of course: if I were a billionaire, like Donald Trump, or Bill Gates - would he want one and would he ask for one? Ainan knows I can't just buy a skyscraper - but if he knew that I could, would that be on his shopping list?

I am unlikely to be in the position to test his response to such an abundance of wealth, being presently short of the odd billion or two. However, you never know...

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty 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.)

The value of Science in Singapore

Singapore is a materialist nation. Just how materialist became clear to me today.

We were attending a biomedical science lecture, with Ainan, 7, and after the lecture we were given a tour of the lab facilities. Outside one particular lab, the scientist in question asked the audience for their questions.

There was a pause while people collected their thoughts - and then the questions began. In the context of a science lecture and a science lab, I expected scientific questions - but that is not what came from the audience.

The first question was: "How much is the budget of this department?"

The scientist deflected the question.

The second question: "How much do these prosthetics cost?"

He answered it: "A piece this size is about 2,000 dollars."

The third question: "What is the value added here?"

Answer: "They sell for about 5,000 dollars."

No-one but us asked any questions that were scientific. We asked ones about the nature of research done - after the crowd had moved on.

Science in Singapore has, for most of the population, no value apart from the money it can make. I am not being critical of the people who asked these questions: I am just observing that their values are purely economic. They don't see value in science for science's sake. True scientists, of course, see value in science itself; value in the pursuit of knowledge, understanding and insight of the world. Yet, in Singapore, nothing, really has any value unless a dollar sign can be attached to it.

The adults in the audience were all parents of children who were interested in science. Yet, the parents' interest was purely and clearly: how much money will my child make if they go into science? The question about departmental budget was an indirect reference to how much money the scientists themselves are likely to make.

There was another question that I omitted to mention - one about turnover. "How many of these do you sell?" I took it to mean per year - and so did he.

He answered. There were no more questions. The audience had managed to assess the financial possibilities of this particular science department.

The exchange was, for me, the most unexpected of things to happen. It never occurred to me that the obsession over money extended so deeply into the local population that science, itself, had no value apart from the economic ones.

I grew up to believe in the value of science for science's sake. It is a value that I assumed all scientists to have. However, perhaps I should revise that opinion. Perhaps in some parts of the world, the only value of science, is in dollar terms.

The question then is, of course: if science is only valued in terms of dollars - would the resulting science - pursued for economic reasons alone - have any true value as science? It may be that pursuit of dollars, alone, might prevent the pursuit of higher, deeper truths. It may be that dollar-driven science might overlook everything that is of lasting importance in science. That danger has clearly not occurred to Singaporeans. The only scientific danger here is that it just might not pay as much as banking.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and nine months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and two months, and Tiarnan, nineteen 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, 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.)