A child prodigy on the secret of the afterlife.

Computers influence us in many ways. Today, Ainan posed a question that deliberately played with that influence on our lives.

“What if when you die,” he began, with whimsy in his eyes, “you see a high score screen?”

I laughed uproariously...so loudly I no doubt worried our neighbours. He joined me in laughter, though his lungs couldn’t muster the same volume.

Then, I sobered up.

“In a way, you do. At least other people do.”

Ainan’s gaze tightened on me, in curiosity.

“You see when a celebrity or a rich person dies, newspapers tend to report the net worth of their estate at the moment of death. This is a kind of high score that summarizes your life achievements.”

“How do they know that?”

“There are people who track the wealth of celebrities and rich people.”

“Why do they do it?”

“Because some people find that interesting.”

He looked perplexed. Clearly, Ainan didn’t find this a meaningful datum about a person – and that perplexity was encouraging, for it bespoke of a deeper way of looking at the meaning of people and their lives.

There are other “high scores” they could focus on, but usually don’t so much. Were they married? (That is a life achievement.) How long was that marriage? Did it endure lifelong (a testament to stability)? How many children did the deceased have? How many grandchildren and great-grandchildren? How long did they live? What were their greatest achievements? What made them happiest? What would they most like to be remembered for? How many books did they write? How many did they sell? How many patents and papers did they have to their name? How about music compositions or works of art? Or articles in newspapers? How many and how important were their life works? Whom did their life touch? What effect did they have in the world, or on their family and friends? Did they make a positive contribution to life, society and the environment overall? Were they honest? Were they warm, loving and kind? Did they help others or predate upon them?

I could go on forever. There are so many more meaningful ways to assess a life than to declare a person’s net worth. Sadly, we live in a world that values wealth more than all the other indicators of a worthy life put together.

As for Ainan’s question: “What if when you die, you see a high score screen?”

I could have answered, but didn’t, until now.

“They are called biographers.”

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.) 

A perspective on old age.

It is a privilege to get old - because so many never get the chance.

So, if you are old, and feeling a little less well than you used to - consider the alternative: dying young. Is that really better?

I am middle aged. I have no idea whether I will ever be old one day - but I say from this vantage, I expect to be grateful to have gotten there, if I am so lucky to live so long. I think everyone should because we all, along the way, live to see others die much younger than ourselves having lived lives tantalisingly incomplete and unfulfilled. If a person lives so long that they have fulfilled even one of their dreams and been happy enough along the way, then that is something to be satisfied in. So many have so much less, in life.

Recent events have prompted me to reflect on life and death a bit...hence the motivation for this post. I might write more in another post.

Keep on living!

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.) 

Patrick Swayze's death: a note on what is important.

Patrick Swayze has died. He was rather too young, of course, at 57, but it had seemed rather inevitable, recently, given the seriousness of his pancreatic cancer.

At times like this, it can give comfort to those loved ones he has left behind, to realize how full a life he lived - and I am fairly sure he lived a full one. He was also successful in his chosen field and has left a substantial body of work. So, perhaps, his loved ones will draw nourishment from that. How he touched those he knew, how rich was the life he lived with them, is what is important. So, too, how fulfilled he felt in his work. I think, regarding that, that he must really have loved being an actor - because he took the lead role in The Beast, after his diagnosis and so chose to spend some of his final months working. That, in itself, tells us that, in his own view, he lived life the right way.

The reason I have chosen to write this post, however, is because of my surprise at what some of the searchers to my blog have searched for today. Some have used the terms: "Patrick Swayze net worth" and "What was Patrick Swayze worth" (this latter search was from Yonkers, in New York...I didn't check where the other was from.). I find these searches tasteless and really off the mark. The man has just died and all they are interested in, is the size of his estate. His wealth didn't matter much when he was alive - and it matters even less now that he is dead. What matters is did he live well, did he fulfill himself and did he share a good life with those he loved? Nothing else matters...certainly, not how many greenbacks he managed to accumulate. Really, I often find myself surprised - even shocked - at how shallow the world is becoming.

Rest in Peace Patrick Swayze.

(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.)

"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.)