Book review of X events the Collapse of Everything by John Casti

Today, one of my book reviews has appeared in the Star newspaper. This one is for X Events - the Collapse of Everything by John Casti. It is notable in that it is a negative review of a  book, and I did wonder whether it was going to be published at all. Well done to the Star for doing so.

A couple of things got changed in the editing. One sentence has been misunderstood. I was trying to say at one point that anyone who reads newspapers or online news would not need this book. Somehow that got changed to someone who "only reads newspapers or online news", would have a need for this book. That is not what I was saying at all. So, it seems that someone misunderstood my intention there.

One sentence got removed entirely. It was my most critical remark. Perhaps, as a family newspaper they want to preserve as upbeat a tone as possible. None of my truly critical remarks, in any article, have ever made it into print, in any section of the newspaper. (My excised sentence included the phrase: "a rather lame attempt to repackage something old as something new").

Please have a read. Let me know what you think, if you have a moment. Thank you.

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2012/8/19/lifebookshelf/11767744&sec=lifebookshelf

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.) 

Peak Oil? What is Peak Oil?

I had a quite remarkable and sobering conversation a couple of months ago. I was speaking to an expat oilman, here in Kuala Lumpur. He worked for a major oil company. He had spent his whole career in oil. I did something, he did not expect. I asked him a question.

“What do you think about Peak Oil?”, I prompted, carefully, watching him very closely for clues as to what he did think.

“What,” he began, a little puzzledly, “is Peak Oil?”

Tactfully, I did not reveal my surprise.

“Peak Oil is the point of maximum oil production, after which production begins to decline year on year, thereafter.”

He absorbed this foreign concept as if I spoke science fiction.

“There is LOADS of oil.”, he countered, somewhat emotionally, “Only the other day, they found a huge amount of it…as much as all we have ever found, in Brazil (I think he said).”

I didn’t hide my doubts. “Really? I thought that finds had become smaller and smaller over the years, and ever more difficult to access.”

“They are always finding new stuff.”, he said, unwilling to acknowledge reality.

As a parting question, a rather teasing question, considering that he was no more than about 30 and had plenty of time left to the end of his career.

“What will you do when the oil runs out?”

He had clearly never considered it.

“I think it will last my career.” He had grown a little more sober, during our conversation, as if my message was beginning to sink in.

“What will the world do, when it runs out, though? There will be a lot less energy about.”

“I don’t know.”, he said, with a hint of a frown.

“Cars might only be for the rich…”

“Yes.”

“Few will be able to fly…”

“Yes.”

“Lives will be much more local, with much less travel…”

“Yes.”

“Food will have to be grown locally…”

“Yes.”

“The Internet might even go down…”

“Yes.”

He looked then, out at his son playing outside in the garden. I could tell that I had prompted him to cast his thoughts forward to what his son’s world might be like. He seemed uncomfortable at what he was beginning to understand might come to pass.

I didn’t push the point anymore. I had set him thinking. The oil man who had never heard of Peak Oil, now had a pretty good idea of what that meant.

I hope you do too.

(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

To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 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.

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 at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)