§ about

A history of how we came to know.

Astor Academy tells the history of human knowledge as a sequence of illustrated narratives: how counting became computing, how a Germanic dialect became a world language, how two turntables became a culture. Each course is written to be read straight through by anyone, and to reward the reader who stops to dig.

Anatomy of a course

A course is one continuous scroll divided into eras. Each era opens with its story in a few measured lines; beneath it lie further layers for the reader who wants them: the mechanism, the people, the technical detail, the myths worth retiring, the consequences, and the sources.

The standard of evidence

Every claim is checked against the actual wording of a source, not merely against the existence of a link. Where scholars disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved by fiat; where the record is silent, we say so. Every image is public domain or Creative Commons, credited with its licence.

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