The Story of Writing
Travel back in time to see how humans first turned thoughts into marks. Discover how ancient symbols evolved into the letters and screens we use every single day.
Like Duolingo, but for The Story of Writing. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
54 levels across 4 sections, about 108 minutes end to end, roughly 22 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Before the First Letters, Ancient Ways of Writing, The Birth of the Alphabet, and Books and Modern Writing. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Story of Writing
- Cave art as external memory
- Bridging memory and storage
- Visual resemblance in drawings
- Abstract symbols in writing
- Ambiguity of images
- Abstract concepts in art
- External memory storage
- Preservation of narratives
- Accumulation of culture
- Representational vs symbolic
- Limitations of images
- Role of cave art
- Observation of the natural world comes first
- The primary purpose of cave art as an external memory storage device
- Mental storage in memory precedes physical recording
- The difference between representational art and symbolic writing
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Story of Writing the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Picture a tribe passing down a story for centuries. How did the invention of visual records change how that story survived?
Get it right to open this lesson and 53 more in the app.
How to learn The Story of Writing, step by step
Go in order. 54 short levels across 4 sections, about 1 hour 48 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Before the First Letters
- Drawing on Cave Walls
- Counting with Clay Tokens
- Pictures that Mean Words
- The Very First Scribes
- 2
Ancient Ways of Writing
- Pressing Wedges into Clay
- Egyptian Picture Writing
- Making Paper from River Reeds
- Carving Stories into Stone
- The Secret of the Rosetta Stone
- Writing with Brushes and Ink
- 3
The Birth of the Alphabet
- From Pictures to Sounds
- The Phoenician Sea Traders
- How the Greeks Added Vowels
- 4
Books and Modern Writing
- Monks and Beautiful Manuscripts
- The Invention of the Printing Press
- How Pens and Pencils Changed
- Typewriters and Keyboards
- Writing in the Digital Age
4 sections · 18 units · 54 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about The Story of Writing
How do I learn The Story of Writing?
Go in order: start with Before the First Letters, then Ancient Ways of Writing, then The Birth of the Alphabet, then Books and Modern Writing. On Tomo that's 54 short levels, about 1 hour 48 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for The Story of Writing?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. The Story of Writing is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is The Story of Writing free?
Yes. The Story of Writing is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn The Story of Writing?
54 levels across 4 sections, about 1 hour 48 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start The Story of Writing?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
The Story of Writing is taught in the Storyteller style: every lesson is a story. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Story of Writing today.
Download Tomo, search The Story of Writing, and play your first lesson in under a minute.