The Revolutions of Knowledge 

Our Big Idea is called The Knowledge Revolution. But it is not the first one. Humanity has changed the way it shares knowledge several times — and each time, the world changed with it.

Writing — keeping knowledge alive

Around 3200 BCE, in Mesopotamia, people started to write on clay tablets. For the first time, knowledge could survive its author. What one person learned could be read by someone else, far away or long after.

Universities — gathering knowledge

Places were created where students and teachers could meet to learn together. In 859, the University of al-Qarawiyyin was founded in Fez, Morocco. In 1088 came Bologna, in Italy. Knowledge now had a home.

Printing — multiplying knowledge

Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg’s movable-type printing press made books faster and cheaper to produce. Knowledge that had been copied by hand for centuries could now reach thousands of readers.

The Web — connecting knowledge

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee proposed the World Wide Web at CERN. A few years later, anyone with a connection could access libraries, courses and lectures from all over the world.

And now?

Each revolution made knowledge easier to keep, to find or to share. But one thing never really changed: the best explanations still depend on having a great teacher in front of you, at the right moment.

That is the revolution we want to be part of: bringing the best teachers and minds to every learner, personally — wherever they are, whenever they want, in their own language.