Technology and systems are developing so quickly in so many domains that we haven't even had time to cross-pollinate most of them. Especially when using digital data and systems, software and processes built for one domain can, in many cases, be powerfully applied in another.

There are many rich solutions waiting to be crossed. You don't have to be a breakthrough-business or person in your own domain to discover and bring breakthroughs into your domains. Watch this video for a living example of what I mean.

Video after the jump.

Luis von Ahn presents a brilliant real-life example of how the internet can be used in new ways to solve multiple problems simultaneously using massively distributed online collaboration and provide value to all participants while doing so.

This is mind-blowing from a business perspective, and world-opening from a world education, learning and language perspective. Watch, enjoy, be amazed!

(Video after the jump)

We have a fabulous amount of beginner's language material available freely on the net - and that is great. And, as a tool for advancing specific translation needs, Google Translate is a great tool.

However, once you get into the more technical areas of a topic or industry, it can be hard to find materials that are written by native speakers for a natural translation. That's where Wikipedia comes in.

I like the format of Howard Rheingold's new mini-courses. Topics include:

• Infotention - a mind-machine combination of brain-powered attention skills and computer-powered information filters
• Network Literacy
• Introduction to Cooperation Theory
• ...and more.

Each is a single box on the web page with tabs: videos, more videos, resources, and fresh links.

Thanks to Wendy Drexler for posting this video which features one of her 7th graders demonstrating her personal learning environment.

(Video and more after the jump)

A nifty infographic from OnlineEducation.net... click to see it in it's entirety.

The handwriting is on the wall.

"I don't understand why I have to go to school at all, the internet knows more than all the teachers there put together."
-- Jeb Thorne, age 10

Many people who use the Internet on a daily basis would think the headline as obvious, but this Infographic by OnlineEducation.net gives some recent numbers and specifics to the trends.

Graphic after the jump.

I want to thank Arika Okrent for her book "In the Land of Invented Languages" and her chapters on Lojban. Not only does she do a nice job summarizing the history of it, she also presents the "theory" behind it - how Lojban is based on a structure that is similar to function calls in computer code, built on the idea that language can express equations, or at least information about our world and perceptions in an equation-like form that precisely maps the relationships of objects.

Pp.198-252 in Arika's book gave me exactly the overview I was looking for about Lojban. One of the coolest thing I learned was about how Lojban enthusiasts enthusiastically embrace the task of improving Lojban with nifty features as they are discovered in other languages. Arika gives the example of how using evidential markers (indicating how the speaker knows his statement is true) for each sentence caused a stir of excited activity as Lojban core fans jumped into configuring that ability into Lojban. They were even so polite as to ask Suzette Haden Elgin, the creator of Láadan, if it was okay with her that they did so. She was okay with it.

I also like the way Arika talks about language creating culture - even if unintended (Lojban has a goal of being as culture-nuetral as possible). The Lojban culture is growing richer every passing year. I wonder how much of a language's success, adoption and "liveliness" is directly due to the cultural development in that language. A neat concept to ponder; a sort of tangent from the Worfian Hypothesis, eh?

o - o - o

So, kudos and thanks for writing "In the Land of Invented Languages," Arika. Great research and data. I recommend it to fans of language and linguists, both professional and hobbyists. Oh, and thanks for the list of 500 created languages, both in the book and on the book web site!

From the introductory book, "What is Lojban?":

Lojban (/LOZH-bahn/) is a constructed language. Originally called ‘Loglan’ by project founder Dr. James Cooke Brown, who started the language development in 1955, the goals for the language were first described in the article Loglan in Scientific American, June 1960. Made well-known by that article and by occasional references in science fiction and computer publications, Loglan/Lojban has been built over four decades by dozens of workers and hundreds of supporters, led since 1987 by The Logical Language Group.

There are many artificial languages, but Loglan/Lojban has been engineered to make it unique in several ways. The following are the main features of Lojban:

• Lojban is designed to be used by people in communication with each other, and possibly in the future with computers.
• Lojban is designed to be culturally neutral.
• Lojban grammar is based on the principles of logic.
• Lojban has an unambiguous grammar.
• Lojban has phonetic spelling, and sounds can be divided into words
  in only one way.
• Lojban is simple compared to natural languages; it is easy to learn.
• Lojban’s 1350 root words can be easily combined to form a
  vocabulary of millions of words.
• Lojban is regular; the rules of the language don’t have exceptions.
• Lojban attempts to remove restrictions on creative and clear
  thought and communication.
• Lojban has a variety of uses, ranging from creative to scientific,
  from theoretical to practical.