In the eye of the beholder.

A week or two ago, Syahidah was talking to Fintan, eight. She was looking through a magazine, at the time. Suddenly, her attention was caught by a particular photo of a model.

Her finger tapped the page. "That looks very nice.", she remarked to him.

He looked aghast, at once. "No, she doesn't.!", he said, clearly appalled. "She looks like a MAN!"

"No. I meant the clothes.", corrected Syahidah.

It was a funny moment, not so much for the misunderstanding, but for what it revealed of Fintan's outlook on people and his personal aesthetics. He has come to an understanding of what female beauty should be like - and what connotes masculinity. He is also able to dismiss the machinations of the fashion world and see people for what they are - in this case a boyish girl. It is good to note that he has such a clear view of people, as they truly are, and is able to stand apart from the efforts to sell him an image of "beauty" that does not truly match his inner sense of what should be seen as beautiful. He is demonstrating that he has his own, inner standards for what is beautiful. I wonder, now, at what age he came to this inner view and this personal standard?

By the way, he was right. The girl did look rather like a man...as quite a few models do. It is interesting to note that, even though he is still pre-pubertal, he has opinions on female beauty, already - and is aware of who is and who is not, truly beautiful (in the feminine sense). From the way he spoke, it is clear that those opinions are quite strong ones, too. I sense that, in time to come, he is going to be rather passionate in his views of who is beautiful and who barely qualifies for the female sex.

I am going to look out for further comments from him, on his aesthetic perceptions, to get a better sense of how he sees the world in this way.

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Rousseau: correction of a misunderstanding

Regarding the posting on Rousseau's thought regarding women and genius, a number of women have posted, on another site, a misinterpretation of my intention.

Firstly, I do not hold Rousseau's opinion myself. I was just interested in whether his opinion actually represented a phenomenon at work in the modern world: what do women actually think about and feel towards geniuses? I would also ask the question the other way around: what do men think of WOMEN of genius? Are they attracted or not?

One poster thought that Rousseau implicitly stated that women could not be geniuses. I don't think he meant that at all, since he clearly thought highly of women, for a man of his time, calling them: "Cleverer than men...in matters of practical reason." Also there were a few distinguished women, from aristocratic circles, that Rousseau would have known about and perhaps had acquaintance with.

Neither, as one poster suggested, do I have "veiled contempt for women": an astonishing conclusion to come to. I have always had a fondness for women, and, indeed, most of my friends have been women, in my life. Furthermore I have been more interested in those who were talented, gifted or otherwise on the way to genius (at least one is a genius), than those who were not - so I personally have shown a bias TOWARDS women of gift.

So, let us consider the question both ways: what do men think of genius women...and what do women think of genius men?

I would be interested in your comments. Thanks.

If you would like to read the original posting on Rousseau, click here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/12/how-is-genius-perceived-welcomed-or.html Thanks.

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How is genius perceived? Welcomed or rejected?

Today I am going to make a departure from my usual style of post, to ask you a question. It is a question which I may look at in several ways, in the future, but today I want women among the readership of this blog, to think on the words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, an influential 18th Century philosopher.

"Women, in general, are not attracted to art at all, nor knowledge, and not at all to genius."

Rousseau.

Was Jean-Jacques Rousseau, (June 28 1712 to July 3 1778) right? Are women unattracted to men of genius?

Rousseau was not hard on women, for a man of his time and, indeed wrote of women as being "cleverer than men...in matters of practical reason." It may be of interest to know, too, that Rousseau was a very handsome man, so I cannot think that his opinion derived from any negative experience in that department. Yet, he was a man of genius, too.

So, please give the matter some thought, and post your thoughts in a comment. Does Rousseau's observation hold true in the modern world? Do women welcome genius or reject it? Why do they do so, in your opinion?