An unexpected maturity; a surprising immaturity.

Today, I saw something remarkable - and a little sad.

I was with Tiarnan in the Science Centre, after having seen the Leonardo the Genius exhibition. Tiarnan, three, was in the mathematics display area of the Science Centre and he was investigating the Double Gravity Well exhibit. He found it most absorbing.

Tiarnan first wanted to stand on the exhibit, to be able to see into it. It consists of an ellipitical table like surface, which is curved, dipping towards two holes along the central axis. The idea is that you should roll a ball along the surface and watch how it is affected by the twin wells, representing two gravitational masses near each other. I gave Tiarnan a ball, while he stood on the table but, instead of rolling it while standing on the top, he jumped down to the floor to do it "properly".

He held the ball in his left hand and rolled it. He was delighted as it careened around the table top, drawn in a curve around the wells and between them. Eventually, it rolled into one of the holes. Immediately, he rushed off to get more balls and rolled them, one by one, in different paths, to see what would happen. He managed to do it three times, before he was interrupted.

Laughing, shouting and pushing each other, there came a group of teenage boys into the room. They saw, at once, what Tiarnan was doing and rushed over to the balls and, immediately, started to throw them at each other. Tiarnan, who had three more balls in his hands, stopped in his tracks, and watched these older, bigger boys behaving so strangely.

The teenagers were among the least well behaved people I can ever recall seeing in a museum. They threw the balls at each other, hard and fast in rapid succession. Then they rushed over to the table and huddled around it. One of them jumped up and tried to punch a ball into the hole, forcing it down a hole it was never meant to pass through. He punched it several times, until it was thoroughly jammed. Tiarnan was shocked at what they were doing.

The teenagers ran around chaotically - from Tiarnan's perspective they must have seemed like giant lumbering lunatics. There was no order to their behaviour, it was just an exuberant, messy, riotous chaos. Tiarnan stood stock still, his three balls unused in his hands. He seemed to be waiting for them to go away. I looked down at him and he looked up at me in a shared understanding. He looked back at the boys, wondering, perhaps, just why they were behaving as they were. Tiarnan, you must remember, is just three years old and had never, in his short life, seen boys behaving like this before.

After the boy had given up trying to force the ball through the hole, with his fist, they started a battle on the table top. This involved moving the balls around the table as fast as possible, and trying to hit them together. This they did for a couple of minutes, before their short attention spans were exhausted. Then they decided to throw all the balls in the room on the table, upending the containers filled with them to do so. One container was upended over another boy.

I called Tiarnan away, lest they run into him.

He understood the need to move, at once, and came with me.

Behind us, the boys rioted on, scattering balls all over the hall, shouting as much as they threw.

For me, the contrast between my three year old's attentive, concentrated attempt to understand the double gravity well and its properties, and the teenage boys' mindlessness, could not have been sharper. Tiarnan seemed infinitely more mature, more composed, more thoughtful and more intelligent, than the mindless oafs who had taken over the museum hall. It was more than a little disturbing to realize that these boys - who looked to be about 18 years old - were SIX times older than my son - and yet, had none of his self-control, none of his consideration for others and none of his maturity.

After the gravity well, the gang of boys went from exhibit to exhibit, interacting with each in a very aggressive way - as if trying to test them to destruction. The hall was filled with the sounds of banging and bashing, alongside their shouts. We retreated as far from them as we could.

I didn't say anything to Tiarnan about it, then, but I think I should. I think those boys provided a terrible example to my son of what constitutes a reasonable way to behave in a public space and with public property. I wouldn't expect a three year old to try to be so destructive as those boys were. Isn't it shocking to think that 18 year olds are capable of behaving in a way which would be considered out of place even for a THREE year old?

The conventional overseas view of Singaporean school going students is that they are all a studious, serious lot. I can tell you now, however, that that is certainly not true of all of them. I imagine that far from being studious, the bunch of boys I saw today would be more likely to tear the pages out of a book, than read them.

I am left with a thought: those boys were pre-NS. I wonder, just wonder, how they will cope with the discipline of NS, when their natural inclination is to riot? I think they are in for a surprise..either that, or the NS people are...

What was sad, for me, was seeing Tiarnan watching these rioting boys huddled around the gravity well table, in utter astonishment at what they were doing, then looking down at the balls in his hands, wondering, I thought, whether he was ever going to get the chance to continue his investigation. He didn't.

(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.)

Why National Service men should not be insured.

National Service men in Singapore, should not be insured. There is a better way.

The problem with the present proposed idea of insurance for the conscripted National Service men of Singapore (NSF) is that insurance provides Mindef with NO incentive to look after the safety of its recruits. I understand that, from January 2009, the option exists for NSFs to insure themselves for 100,000 dollars personal accident insurance for 12.80 dollars per month. They have to pay this themselves, out of their earnings which are to be raised 20 dollars (wow!) to cover the situation.

I find this situation troublingly dissatisfactory. If an NSF is insured and injured, maimed, or killed, Mindef is not going to compensate the family or victim. That means that Mindef will not suffer any loss if its servicemen suffer loss. This is an inherently unsafe situation. If the situation is, however, altered so that Mindef suffers loss each and every time a serviceman is injured, maimed or killed, then Mindef will do EVERYTHING IT CAN to ensure the safety of those servicemen. If, however, there is no loss to Mindef for harm to servicemen it may not be so careful with those servicemen's lives - because it will have no repercussions for them.

Every year there is a tragic toll on young National Servicemen (NSFs) who are injured, disabled or killed in the course of their duties. None of this suffering is necessary and none of it should occur. There are safe ways to conduct training and not so safe ways to conduct training. If training were conducted with the utmost safety in mind and the lives of the conscripts placed as the highest priority, I find it hard to imagine that there would be many casualties: the chances of such could be reduced to the point of rarity. Ideally, therefore, we need to create a situation in which Mindef is highly motivated to ensure the safety of its conscripts. There is one word for the way in which this would work: responsibility. Mindef must take responsibility for the safety, health and lives of its involuntary conscripts.

At first analysis, there are a few obvious ways to encourage a concern for the safety of recruits, of the highest order. Firstly, there must be repercussions to Mindef for every injury, loss or death. Secondly, there must be repercussions for the SENIOR STAFF of Mindef, for each such injury, loss or death. By having such accountability, the organization would take every step to ensure the safety of recruits that is possible.

This analysis leads to a conclusion: there should be NO insurance for NSF/National Servicemen. Instead, Mindef should be DIRECTLY financially responsible for the compensation of all recruits injured, maimed or killed. To make this work, the level of compensation needs to be high and punitive so that Mindef has a strong incentive to look after its recruits. Mindef should be responsible for all medical costs incurred by injuries sustained while recruits serve NS. Furthermore, there should be disability pensions to provide ongoing, lifelong compensation for any disabilities acquired in the course of duties. I know, for instance, a former American soldier who suffers from tinnitus (persistent ringing in the ears) from the sounds of heavy guns firing during a war. He receives a monthly disability allowance from the US government for this injury and shall do so for his entire life. That would be the kind of system which ensures responsibility on the part of Mindef. Not only that, but if a National Serviceman (NSF) dies while serving NS, there should be substantial compensation to the family of the deceased. I would suggest a sum equal to his ENTIRE LIFETIME EXPECTED EARNINGS based on his known academic attributes would be appropriate and fair.

These two measures would create a cost to Mindef for the loss of health or life of its recruits and thus a strong incentive for Mindef to look after its recruits.

There is another aspect. Mindef's and SAF's senior staff should have a performance element in their pay linked to the safety of their recruits. If a recruit dies, they should suffer financially, in a significant way. Similarly, if a recruit is injured. It should work both ways - being both a positive and negative incentive. By this I mean that if NO recruits are harmed or killed that year, there should be a large salary BONUS. This would strongly incentivize senior management to look after their charges.

Were all of these proposed changes to be implemented, we would soon see a fall in the number of NSFs injured, maimed or killed. We would also see a force of National Servicemen who are happier to serve, since they will be secure in the knowledge that their country will look after them, and their families, in the event that some harm should befall them. Presently, of course, this is not so. Presently, NSFs know that Mindef will not look after them and their families in the way that they should. This must change.

The other aspect about my proposal which should not be overlooked is that, in theory, it could cost relatively little. All that Mindef and the SAF (Singapore Armed Forces) needs to do to make this a cheap but effective initiative is to ensure the safety of their recruits. In doing so, senior management would then enjoy bonuses to reward them for having guarded the lives of their charges.

I think everyone would be happier with my proposed system. Let, Mindef, therefore, be the automatic insurer of all NS men.

(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.

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

A debt of national gratitude.

The Singaporean nation has a debt of gratitude to any National Serviceman who is harmed while serving NS.

A case is presently in the courts concerning a serviceman who appears to have suffered a head injury while doing NS. Mindef (the Ministry of Defence) are claiming that it was not suffered on active duty since he was back at camp, at the time. In other words, they are seeking to weasel out of paying for his medical support.

The National Serviceman's situation is dire. Jeremy Tan Chia Whee's head injury has left him unable to move or speak and he is fully dependent on doctors and nurses for his needs. Despite this, Mindef, who had been paying 80% of his ward and meal charges (the amount of support for non-service related injuries) stopped paying any support in February 2007. Since then, his parents have had to find 133,000 dollars for his care.

His parents are suing Mindef for full support of his medical costs. I think their suit seems more than fair. Here is a young man, whose life was ruined, while an NS man. He appears to have fallen from a height and sustained a head injury that has severely damaged him. The least that Mindef can do is support is his costs of recovery (if he ever recovers).

It seems to me, that Mindef demands that the young men of Singapore sacrifice two years of their lives (plus 10 years on call), exposing them to risk of death and injury, yet, in return, Mindef is unwilling to bear the costs that result when things go wrong. What kind of values does this reveal? It appears that Mindef does not value the lives of its recruits as much as it values its "right" to expend their lives in its cause.

Jeremy Tan Chia Whee may never live a normal life, again. That he is in this position is the responsibility of Mindef. I think they should show an honourable response to this situation and pay for his full medical costs until such time as he recovers.

If Mindef are going to impose risk of death and injury on young men, they must, in return, be responsible for any and all medical costs incurred - even if they are for the duration of the lives of disabled ex-servicemen. This should not even be an issue that I have to write about - it should be an automatic response, in thanks for the sacrifices the servicemen have made.

Furthermore, if a serviceman dies on duty, the family of that serviceman should be compensated for their loss. After all, for some families the lost son may be the only means of support for his parents in their old age - with him gone, what will they do? There should be generous compensation in all such cases, so that one worry, at least, is not heaped on the family's sorrows: that of finance to replace the support of the lost son.

If service is to be compulsory, it should also come with generous support in the wake of anything untoward happening to a serviceman. That would, I think, be the moral stance.

There should be a collective national debt of gratitude to any serviceman who suffers loss, death or injury in service to his nation. Let us not forget to pay it, when the time comes.

(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.

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

Why National Service is a National Disservice

Is a pianist worth more than just another unit of cannon fodder?

The question above is blunt and, perhaps, puzzling, but I shall explain - especially to my international readers. Singapore is a country with National Service. This is a period of two years in which all male Singaporeans must serve their country in the military or the police (usually the Army). During this period, they train as soldiers (or police), have little time to themselves and are "paid" so little it wouldn't keep them in soft drinks (or alcohol, for that matter!). It is a form of national servitude in more ways than one, given the pay and conditions. Yet, the powers-that-be in Singapore insist on it for all male Singaporeans - even if it is detrimental to the nation, in some cases.

What does Singapore do if a young man has a special talent that he must pursue, but is of the age of National Service? Well, an enlightened country would let him pursue his talent, understanding that it is of value to the nation, in another way. Singapore, however is not an enlightened country (and probably never will be). In Singapore, National Service is regarded as more important than anything else, for a young man - indeed it is mandatory, with severe punishments lurking for those who seek to avoid it, somehow. So, in Singapore, if you have a special talent, that is just too bad - because Singapore won't let you pursue it - you will just have to do National Service instead.

An example is the musician Keegan Ng. Now, you have probably never heard of him. There is a reason for this - you see the Singaporean Government didn't let him be a musician: they wanted him to be a soldier instead. This was no ordinary young man petitioning for a chance to follow what he loved: this was one of Singapore's most gifted musicians. At the age of 11, Keegan Ng won The Marion S. Gray Outstanding Musician Award, demonstrating that he was probably Singapore's best musician in his year. In his late teens, he wanted to further his study of the piano at the Eastman School of Music in New York - but the Singapore Government had other ideas: they were desperately short of one unit of cannon fodder and insisted that he do his National Service first.

Now, it seems to me that no-one in the Ministry of Defence (or whomever makes these decisions), has actually given any thought to what it means to be a pianist or to have any special talent. A talent needs to be nurtured, to be looked after. The skill level needs to be maintained with constant practice and/or study. If constant attention is not given to the skill, it fades away: in mere weeks, there is a decline in facility, in months, things that were easy start to become difficult, or impossible, in TWO YEARS the great skill that once was, will be no more: a pianist will have become an ex-pianist. You see, as Keegan Ng found out, there is no time to practice when you are having fun being shouted at, ordered around and generally experiencing life as cannon fodder. Keegan Ng tried to practice as much as he could, but there simply wasn't the opportunity while serving NS. By the end of the two years, Keegan Ng would no longer be at the skill level required to pursue a career as a pianist - where once he would have been able to rise to the challenge of the Eastman School of Music, as a pianist, there is just no way his skill would have been good enough to do so, after two years of fallowness. So, Singapore gained a unit of cannon fodder - and lost a great pianist. More to the point, of course, Keegan Ng, lost the love of his life and the sense of purpose being a musician would have provided him all his life long.

There is a name for what is going on here, in Singapore, with regards to National Service. It is called Stupidity. It is stupid to deprive talented young men of the chance to pursue their talents. Singapore loses much more than it gains by opposing the progress of such gifted young men. Singapore does NOT need another unit of cannon fodder - but it does need pianists and other gifted young men (I say "men" because girls are not called to be units of cannon fodder).

It is time for the special needs of some young men to be recognized. People with something special to offer that NEEDS ATTENTION/PRACTICE/MAINTENANCE, should be exempt from National Service. I don't mean that their National Service should be postponed - I mean that their National Service should be completely cancelled. There is no need to sacrifice the talents of Singapore's young men just so Singapore can have another unnecessary unit of cannon fodder. There is no need to worry that this proposed policy would deprive Singapore of an effective defence force since the numbers involved will be small. People of gift are rare - so it is not going to inconvenience Singapore to lose these few men from the battle field. However it does a great disservice to Singapore, to lose them from the creative, inspiring careers they would otherwise have led, were it not for the rigidities and stupidities of the present National Service system.

National Service should be there to protect Singapore. Presently, however, National Service is doing great harm to Singapore by depriving it of the talents of its most gifted young men. It is no wonder that Singapore is often accused of being a dull society - for National Service ensures that none of the young men with something to offer ever get a chance to shine.

Do Singapore a true national service: cancel "National Service" for any and all Singaporean young men with a special gift that needs constant maintenance. To do otherwise is to do Singapore a National Disservice.

(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.)