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The genius within us

I read with much interest, the story about a Singaporean Eurasian (Part Irish, Part Malay) boy, age 8, who has passed his Chemistry O level paper at age 6. He’s probably Singapore’s first known child genius. Recently, he had given a lecture on Chemistry to several primary school students. His ability to articulate his thoughts in an animated, child-ly manner allowed him to impart his knowledge to his peers who would be more than happy to learn from this underaged prodigy.

Ainan, and the Malay child prodigies before him, seem to debunk the myth that Malays are (in very tame terms) less gifted educationally. While many would be quick to point out that Ainan is not a pure Malay (as with Sufiah before him), it should be noted that, like his father, his Malay mother is ambidextrous, suggesting that her left and right brains are equally developed, contributing further to Ainan’s super-genes. It should also be noted that Ainan seems to get most of his genes from his mother as he has clear Malay facial features and therefore is as much a Malay as he can get.

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A new move towards standards and web 2.0 by a Singapore government ministry

Back in October 2007, I related an experience of mine with a government statutory board and its complete disregard for people who are not on Windows. Several months on, and for the first time, I am able to use a government website, on my Mac, with zero problems at all. more »

Halal, another feared idea

On Tuesday, non-Muslim parents of children studying at Boon Lay Garden Primary School protested against a recently formalised ban on non-Halal food items entering the school’s canteen. The school have had this rule since 2002 when all the stalls in the canteen were certified Halal. more »