Friday, 17th April 2009
Boyle’s Law, Re-Written
For a fixed amount of an ideal gas kept at a fixed temperature, P [pressure] and V [volume] are inversely proportional (while one increases the other decreases).
That, of course, is the original Boyle’s Law.
As far as I’m concerned, however, the new version of it goes – Never judge by appearances.
Unless you have spent the last week in suspended animation, you are bound to have been sent links, tweets, e-,mails, and sundry other indications pointing you towards the magnificent performance by a “rough diamond” in Britain’s Got Talent... I ought to know – I sent zillions of those messages, myself.
Hot on the heels of young Farrel Smith, the teenager with the golden voice (http://www.wiganlive.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=7289 ) comes another unexpected jewel – Susan Boyle ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY ). And I challenge anyone who still has some sensibilities to keep back the tears, during either performance, or both
Frail-looking Farrel’s mighty voice belied her appearance. And when homely to the point of dowdy Susan came onstage, most people – including the judges – expected her to be something straight out of La Corrida (if they know the show).
Like most super-talented people, both Farrel and Susan have no airs and graces. They sing because they love to sing – and the fact that their voice is created for singing is a nice bonus.
The first “yes” made their eyes shine – the second one, after an eternal moment, hit a message to some corner of their brain, that they had “made it” – and the third yes will probably be imprinted in their hearts and souls as one of the best moments in their lives.
Daily, most of us make split-second decisions about people, based on appearance or circumstances. What is worse is that we sometimes rely on second-hand information (read gossip) about a person, when formulating a judgement... this, despite the fact the adage “judge not, lest you be judged” has been dinned into us since cradle days.
Of course, there are several (other) proverbs that we use to salve our conscience – both British ones (There’s no smoke without fire) and Maltese ones (Għidli ma’ min tagħmilha u ngħidlek x’int...).
The fact remains, however, that even if you boast you can read people’s minds and souls and hearts by looking behind their eyes, there still exist some innermost corners into which you might not be able to penetrate.
Farrel’s rendition of Ave Maria and Susan’s performance of I Dreamed A Dream merely hint at the wealth of talent that sets them apart from the rest of us. The standing ovations both received were the cherry on their cake.
In the same way, someone’s boldly brassy blonde hair, and someone else’s perfectly coiffure hair, only indicate what you think they might be like... or the image, the veneer, they want to present to the world. As Susan Boyle herself said, “Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances.”
It is interesting to note that American television presenter Kathie Lee Gifford actually grabbed a sock – prepared for the next segment of her programme – and used it to wipe her eyes as she watched Susan sing. Ashton Kutcher put the link on Twitter... and Oprah invited her across the Pond, to her show.
As anticipated, the public relations people will ask Farrel and Susan to change their looks, in conformity with the “image” the public expects from “super-stars”. Whether – and if they do, how much – they bow to this pressure, remains to be seen.
Inevitably, some sections of the Press chose to be smarmy: The New Zealand Herald, for instance, described Susan as “A middle-aged volunteer church worker with the voice of an angel is Britain's latest unlikely showbiz star.” But this was more than compensated for by the French news agency AFP’s description of a “stunning musical debut”.
Once, when I worked as a facilitator for children with different needs, my young charge was a child who would not consent to colouring in the sheets as his peers so enjoyed doing.
I was determined to change that, but when I tried to coax him into giving me a reason, he always replied that he did not want to. One more try, I always told myself – to no avail.
However, one morning, just when I was about to pick up the green crayon to make a couple of dots in the vine leaves attached to a bunch of grapes (which I knew the child loved), he grabbed my crayon and lobbed it across the room, yelling “waħdek, waħdek!” ...his command of Maltese was not too good.
So, I said to him “Fine, young man, let’s see what you can do with this...” and handed him the picture and the holder of crayons.
The rest of the class had used to outer line of the bunch as a boundary; they had drawn the whole bunch in as one silhouette-unit. But this lovely child had drawn each grape separately, complete with shading and veins on the leaves.... All he had wanted was to receive a page unmarked by someone because he felt he could take his won decisions when it came to selecting colours.
This blog is a tribute to all those of us who do not fit into preconceived module-forms for what “singers” “writers”, “children”, “and indeed “humans” ought to be like.
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Comments
What the papers don't seem to care about is that Susan Boyle is Catholic, is a parish volunteer, yes, in the Legion of Mary, which is the organisation I myself have been in for over 45 years. Her parish priest was interviewed in this article in our Catholic News. He says he isn't surprise at her "victory" -- he has seen this happening many times in the annual Legion of Mary visit to Lourdes when she stopped being a dowdy fellow pilgrim the moment she opened her mouth and sang. She became somebody.
Thanks too for supplying the link to Farrel, the 12 year old with the powerful voice praying Our Lady's most common prayer of the Hail Mary. What a Catholic twosome! -- Joan
Had I read your post last Friday, I wouldn't have bothered to write my own. You have said everything that needed to be said.
What I resent most are the pretty people who say, "Nobody would be paying attention to her if she was pretty." Not true, not true. Her extraordinary voice would rise above any external factors. But it is true that she provides a teachable moment for adults and children alike.
I hope the advent of Susan Boyle corrects a tendency of Western culture to glorify and worship the lovely to the exclusion of the talented. Looks fade, but talent grows with practice and experience. Long live Susan Boyle!
most are inclined to judge a book by its cover......and,
especially in show business, as I have been saying :on
air" for several years, it's how good one looks not how
good one's talents are !! The "sweet revenge" mentailty
may have driven Susan to appear as a "nerd"....only to
HIT HARDER once her angelic voice came through !
If that was the case, then KUDOS for Boyle for she truly
hit the note......in more ways than one !
I vowed to never prejudge anyone again and have tried my best to keep it.
http://tinyurl.com/d9xgv8