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DS11 comes down for breakfast still glued to the same quantum mechanics text he was sneaking under the covers last night. Then spots Dr. Seuss on the coffee table and abandons it with glee.

Re DD and the music, I think of it being quite typical for musically gifted people to be able to play music by ear after having heard it, even without training. She will try to do that, but she's not especially great at it--it takes her a while to pick out even a simple tune (eg, Star Wars theme). To me, what's weird is remembering the full written score to a piece and then being able to effortlessly play it on another instrument (that she's also not been taught). We don't actually think of her as terribly musical. She also can generally play all her band music (to be fair, it's still easy, as she's been playing 6 months) without the sheet music. Just naturally happens for her by accident.

BTW, she does have synesthesia, though I haven't heard her comment that it affects her sense of music...but who knows.

OHhh, wow-- having some flashbacks reading that post.

And your DD is doing fine - right? I walk away from my DD sometimes with my head spinning and wonder what kind of person she will become. I think she's cool and amazing, but she hasn't found others like "her".

Well, she's seeing glimpses of hope in college, anyway. There are a few others like her, but no, there are never going to be all that many, I fear.

DS started learning the violin this year. He is on his 5th year learning another instrument as well as music theory with another instructor. He could not get around to practicing his violin pieces for the whole week because of too many things happening (including prep for adjudication for his 1st instrument and a school test plus sport tryouts). He walked into his violin class and nailed the 3 new pieces that were assigned as homework having never opened his violin case for a week. The pieces are not advanced and he can easily sight read them. The instructor held DS up as an example to the other child struggling with the same pieces. He told that other child that being exceptionally smart (the struggling kid is a chess prodigy) does not mean that violin will come naturally. He said that kids who slog at violin like my DS will be more successful than kids who think that because they are smart they never have to practice (hint: he thinks that my DS is not very smart like the chess prodigy in the room! He went all dramatic and said that "the instrument will always win against super smart kids who are complacent"). We are leaving this teacher in March to move to a reputed teacher, so, I simply commented that no one can look inside other people's brains to figure out how smart they are. But, my DS had a giggle about the teacher thinking that he was not very smart and had slogged all week on the simple pieces.

The teacher's comment made me laugh

A bulk update about DS4, as it's been a long time since I was last here:

1. DS eating crackers today

DS bites cracker. "Look Mama, a straight angle." Bites again. "Right angle." Bite "Obtuse angle." Bite "Acute angle. Aren't you a little cutie angle...NOM!!!"

2. DS in the elevator with strangers

DS pouts visibly and glares at strangers when they enter the elevator.

Stranger: What's up, Buddy?

DS: Oh, I'm just fuming about this city's fumes. There's so much smog here it's disgusting.

3. DS on inventing/philosophy

DS runs up to me after running multiple circuits of the house, extending his palm as though displaying an invisible tablet and scrolling with his index finger over his palm.

DS: Hey Mama. Know what this is?

Me: Is it a time lapse slideshow of your running circuit with you on it?

DS: No, it's a device that lets me see into the afterlife.

Me: That's interesting. How did you decide to create that kind of device?

DS: Well, science can answer most questions, but nobody has any real knowledge of the afterlife. I figure it would be pretty unique to have that kind of information.

Me: It sounds like you've stumbled onto a niche area of knowledge. I'm intrigued. Do you want to tell me more about it?

DS: Well, it's in development, so I can't really comment.

Me: That's fair. Maybe I can see a prototype?

DS: We'll see.

4. DS' catch phrase

The phrase that pays for DS these days is, "To recap..." He seems to be using this more frequently with adults when they don't seem to understand what he's saying. Because...4 year old pronunciation.

I also overheard him using these expressions with his Grandpa:

"Grandpa, correlation is not causation." (In reference to a documentary that had just been on TV and made some pretty overextended arguments.)

and

"That sounds like specious reasoning to me." (Someone had said something pedantic to him, and he bristled at being talked down to.)

5. DS socializing at the library with parents

DS to lady: Hi M'am. My name is DS. What's yours?

Lady: Hi DS, it's nice to meet you. I'm Lady.

DS: I see your little girl is toddling around among the books. She's a real cutie. What kind of books does she enjoy most?

Lady: Thanks DS, that's nice of you to say. She really likes animals.

DS: I think we all have a soft spot for animals. And how is your day going otherwise? Are you enjoying yourself here? I'm just here with my mum, reading some books, before we go for a swim at the pool.

Lady: That sounds like a wonderful morning. Yes, we both love the library.

DS: Well, don't let me interrupt you. Have a nice day! It's nice to meet you.

My note-- he does this ALL THE TIME. He will go up to a family, introduce himself to an age peer, then befriend the parent. He recently started chatting up a parent about the US election, and is surprisingly conversant about favorite sports teams.

And DS is obsessed with "The Hobbit" and is begging for me to read him the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. I doubt he'll be able to stomach the prose, but he loves the themes.

I was having a snack with DS4 at Starbucks and drew his attention to a "Coffee Belt" world map. I mentioned that the shaded areas were where coffee beans grow. His eyes flickered to the map and he almost instantaneously said "Oh, they grow in Mqdagascar, I wonder if lemurs eat them."
No one heard that, but we did get some funny looks later when we walked by the map again and he said "I notice that coffee grows in Australia, but only in a very small area."