Blog

Hi, Matthias Brendler here, transdisciplinary designer blogging what's interesting or significant relating to: Design, Education, Culture, Technology and Business (as well as anything that's really cool).

Why Bilinguals Are Smarter

“The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment. “Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often — you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language,” says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of Pompea Fabra in Spain.”

“In a 2009 study led by Agnes Kovacs of the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy, 7-month-old babies exposed to two languages from birth were compared with peers raised with one language. In an initial set of trials, the infants were presented with an audio cue and then shown a puppet on one side of a screen. Both infant groups learned to look at that side of the screen in anticipation of the puppet. But in a later set of trials, when the puppet began appearing on the opposite side of the screen, the babies exposed to a bilingual environment quickly learned to switch their anticipatory gaze in the new direction while the other babies did not.”

“Bilingualism’s effects also extend into the twilight years. In a recent study of 44 elderly Spanish-English bilinguals, scientists led by the neuropsychologist Tamar Gollan of the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals with a higher degree of bilingualism — measured through a comparative evaluation of proficiency in each language — were more resistant than others to the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: the higher the degree of bilingualism, the later the age of onset.”


Micello Places | Micello

Cool as hell. Micello is the leading provider of comprehensive indoor venue maps for mapping and navigation companies, retailers, hospital groups, mobile carriers and application developers.  We create the indoor venue maps and navigation content that powers locations based solutions around the world

Digital Binocular Display Aiport Information As A Digital Overlay

The Observation Dock B is a popular sightseeing spot at Zurich airport. The 250-meter long open-air observation deck was recently equipped with a pair of Airport Scopes that allow visitors to look through and reveal real-time infographics.

The digital binocular retrieves data from airplanes and airport buildings and displays information as a graphic overlay. The augmented reality device is able to detect the exact position of airplanes by analyzing real-time data from the control tower and reveal the plane’s carrier, type, destination or point of origin.

Networked Society ‘Thinking Cities’ - Ericsson (by ericssonmultimedia)

Ericsson’s Networked Society Program has produced a second documentary, which is available for viewing by ReadWriteWeb readers a day before it is released publicly. The documentary series and program are attempts by the Swedish telecom company to investigate larger ideas, ones that affect how technology is created and used. Here’s how Ericsson describes the focus of the latest film.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ctxP6Dp8Bk...