On the obviousness of research.

It is a complaint often seen in the comments below newspaper articles, that quite a bit of research seems “obvious” to the layman. The big mystery for many an article reader, is why the research was supported or even conducted in the first place.

Ainan, too, has noticed this. Presently, he has been tasked, in his English class (as part of his American Degree Programme), to write an essay on gender inequality. I was pleased to hear that he had been asked to do this, for it invited him to consider matters which he might not normally do. It would be a chance for him to expand his view of the world in a new way. Yet, when he did as he had been asked, and started to read a wide range of academic articles, on gender inequality, he became exasperated. “What is the point of these articles?”, he said, in irritation. “They don’t say anything I don’t already know!”

Ainan was experiencing “the obviousness of research”. He was right. So many of these articles, though dressed in academic language, said no more than what a layman might assume to be so, off the top of their head. Ainan felt that he wasn’t learning anything by reading these articles, for their conclusions were just too obvious.

I didn’t want Ainan to lose faith in the task he had been set, so I explained to him why it was still helpful to read the articles.

“In academic writing, you have to support what you say, with references to articles that are based on research of the topic. This is to show that what you say has backing. So, even though you know it already, and it is nothing new to you, using the articles for reference, will give credibility to your statements.”

“Yes,” he said, in a manner which implied “no!”, “but, each article refers to others and those refer to others and so on, until far back, there is the first article, which cannot refer to anything: so that has no support at all.”

I smiled to myself, though not to him, on hearing that. Ainan was discerning a logical flaw in the whole of academe – or at least what seemed like one.

“Yes, Ainan, but that first article will be based on research of the topic. There will be some study, or calculation or something, to support its statements, even if there is no prior article in its field.”

He seemed neither convinced nor impressed. I could almost see in his eyes, the imagined infinitely receding column of academic articles, ultimately suspended over nothing and supported by nothing, since the first one floated, unsupported in mid-air. That was Ainan’s vision – and in a way, he was right, because the first of any field cannot make references in its own field, though it might call upon others. The first academic article of all, of course, would have no prior articles to refer to, in any field – so Ainan’s insight had merit. Ultimately, the system of academic reference cannot go back forever. At some point, there are unreferenced articles. It was sharp of Ainan to see through this and see the basic assumption of academia – that everything is supported by something else. Ultimately, of course, that cannot be.

I am pleased that Ainan is writing papers on topics outside his natural interests. It should give him the chance to grow in new ways. Yet, I see, that doesn’t stop him questioning the very nature of the enterprise...but then that is good too, in fact, in many ways, that is the best part of it – that he should not accept what he has been asked to do, without question. He is thinking for himself and that is the best sign of all.

Now, however, that he has pointed out the basic problem with academic referencing, I can’t quite consider it in the same way at all. That image of a vast pillar of articles, floating unsupported in the air, keeps coming to mind. Trust Ainan to cast an old idea, in a new light.

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.)

Synaesthetes for a research project

I have a research project, which requires that I work with synaesthetes. If you are a synaesthete, or know someone who is, please contact me, or get them to. I am interested in synaesthetes from everywhere, in the long term, though in my initial project, it would be best if the synaesthete was located in Malaysia or Singapore, for ease of access.

Synaesthesia is a condition in which there is an apparent cross wiring of the senses, in which stimulation of one sense evokes a response in another sense, or mental experience. Examples include graphemic synaesthesia, in which a person sees black letters as coloured; or musical (sound colour) synaesthesia in which music or sounds, produce colours. There are others too, involving all the senses. Curious ones include personality smell synaesthesia, in which different personalities, evoke particular smells, in the bearer of the condition.

Basically, if a sensory stimulation produces any consistent cross modal response, then that would be a variety of synaesthesia.

My first project would involve administering certain tests, from which the synaesthete could learn interesting things about themselves. For later projects, when funded appropriately, there could be financial compensation, though this will not apply to the first project.

Please contact me in the comments below or via email. 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/11136175

To 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.).

The problem with Universities

Universities are often not the havens of academia that they are portrayed to be in movies and literature. There is a very profound problem with many of them.

A University may be of two kinds, in the pure sense: a teaching University and a research University. From what I have seen, it is often the latter kind of University that wins attention and praise and fame, and for which students all over the world compete for admission. I went to Cambridge University - a great research University. However, all research Universities suffer from a very human problem. The staff are researchers, not teachers.

At a research University, it is usual for the staff to have mixed duties: they have their research and they have their teaching duties. You might think that this could create a situation in which students benefit from "cutting-edge" thinking from their famous researcher/Professor. This is usually not the case. What is more common is that the famous researcher type is really only engaged by his research work and couldn't care less about his - or her - students. That was most certainly the impression left on me by my University. The research staff really were only concerned about their research: students were in most cases seemingly regarded as an inconvenience - a distraction from the purity of their research.

Thus, what is a student to do? Well, I would, if I had my life again, ignore all famous research Universities for an Undergraduate or First Degree. I would go somewhere that had, at its heart, a love of teaching (if such a University could be found). I would not even be tempted to attend somewhere famous for its research - for such a place would tend to ignore its student base, for its own inward looking research work.

Perhaps a new norm should be established. Students should attend specialized teaching Universities for their first degrees - and only later, should they go to a research University - when they are doing a research degree. No-one should have to suffer the experience of being ignored by research staff intent on their personal research, at the expense of their teaching duties. That is a terrible experience that usually destroys the student's love of learning. So many people that I know who went to famous research Universities were very disappointed with the experience. It often destroyed the lives they had planned, in a very profound way.

So, if you have a bright child, I would suggest that you look beyond the famed Universities. Sometimes the less famous, more teaching based institution may be a far more welcoming place, than a place that has built its reputation on research, but not on teaching.

In many ways, this is one of my more important posts.

(If you would like to read of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and seven months, 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.)