Records: Book of Learning

## Assisted Learning

A book, *any book*, was technically an assisted-learning experience, but a *Book of Learning* (BoL) took it to a whole different level. There was debate about whether the honor belonged to the lowly *Glow Stone*, keeping the world in light without burning it down, or whether it was *Arcane Crystals*, powering the world's magical revolution, or perhaps the *Aegis of Gaia*, protecting the earth from annihilation...

It was the opinion of the head of the Order of Merlin that the single most powerful magical creation *ever* was the *Book of Learning*.

### What it Does

A Book of Learning takes a subject that has been written into it and imparts that information directly into the mind and memory of the person reading the book. There are actually several different methodologies, both arcane and neurological (effectively psionic), but the end result is rapid retention and recall capacity of a large volume of information.

That information can range from raw data to complex methods of performing actions. Sitting down with a book of learning that teaches literacy of any given langauge will take that person from illiterate to artfully fluent in a matter of hours. Reading a BoL on swordfighting will give the reader relatively-instant mastery of blade combat (though most BoLs do nothing for strength and conditioning – so following certain master techniques can be quite hazardous for the "beginning master."

### The First Developmental Leap

The written word had been around for millenia, and there were early thoughts on how human learning takes place, but from the insider's point of view, it was comparatively primitive. The Ricardian experience was said to channel the advice of the angels, who were able to offer a different and more comprehensive perspective of the process, from data organization, through human neurology, to logic and epistemology itself.

The first Books of Learning weren't books at all, but were artifacts of the same function that worked through complex neurologically-attuned transmitters, building memories and in some cases, nervous-system pathways, even inspiring new neural growth and synaptic connections.

As the Ricardian grasp of magic increased, these functions could be mimicked with arcane tools, and the BoLs could be produced in a simplified production line that was able to get the power of the programmed content into the heads of the recipients.

### The First Recipients

The immediate Ricardian circle, the original Order of Merlin, were the first recipients of BoLs.
It is said that the innermost circle of the OM has educational BoLs that were handed down directly from the angels, with both sanctioned and unsanctioned lessons. These were said to illustrate the very fabric of the universe – and were carefully guarded at Leeds Castle.

Leeds Castle, as some may remember, was obliterated in the closing moments of Skyfall – and the angels' secret wisdom obliterated with it.

### The Current State

There are several BoLs that now exist, from arcane production of the books and arcane delivery of the information, to arcane production (so far) but "mundane" (technically neurotransmission) delivery.
In the core of the Commonwealth, and gradually spreading, mandatory/compulsory education via BoLs is creating a highly-trained, extremely-capable workforce literally over night. While the power of the instant-education is unquestionably good, ethics and applications complicate faster and wider delivery, with such issues as *what language are the BoLs produced in...?*

## Variations on the Theme

### The Binder of Learning

The Binder was a BoL variation that cradled any book's binding, allowed that book to be quickly memorized. It didn't have the deep imprint capacity, but it allowed a user to quickly learn what lessons the book had. Whether somebody chose to believe the lessons was the user's choice – but they would definitely remember.

The Binders of Learning became particularly important to teachers who already classrooms – and had written their own books. In here, their lessons were guaranteed to be taken into the world, applied and remembered. At Cambridge and Oxford, the Binders quickly brought some teachers fame, and filtered out others as rubbish (or illustrated the necessary art of editing).

### Books of Duplication

In a different direction, blank books were created that would copy the content of other books. This was the Alexandria Insurance Policy, and allowed mundane books to be copied and transported.

A dozen versions and evolutions of the BoDs were created, including some that physically changed form to match the original, some that corrected spelling, some translated (and later ones translated but also kept the original language for reference, just in case).