Gregory Pittman is right. English may be the current lingua franca but that may
not last. The New York 'Times' reported lately that folks in Southeast Asia
especially, Indonesia and Singapore, are learning Mandarin Chinese so they can
send their children to school in China. It seems the current security mania is
keeping students and research workers out of the USA so they are turning to the
new power house for their education.
France and Germany are also said to be benefitting (as are Canada --including
Quebec!-- Australia, the U K and N Z). This will all have enormous effect on
the current US dominance in research and its ability to set an example in
scholarship and idea and practices -- including computer practices.
China has its own internet we hear and may soon go into outer space. They are
said to want a permanent base on the moon. At current rates of growth, China
will equal the USA in 2040 which is NOT a long time as time is counted by
serious historians.
Bart Alberti
