One Young India
Geography GeniusesThe self-paced course
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Geography GeniusesThe self-paced course

Explore how geography quietly shapes power, wealth and conflict.

26 chapters in four parts, about 12 hours, at your own pace.Maps and who draws them, why borders are where they are, rivers and resources, cities and the megacity, climate migration, and the trade routes and chokepoints the world depends on.Every claim and figure checked against its source.

Start freeOpen the courseThe welcome and chapter 1 are free. Learnacy Essential opens every chapter.
Included in Learnacy Essential₹1,499 for the year, including GST. One payment, no automatic renewal.
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1LearnEach chapter opens with a question from everyday life, tells a story, and gives you something to try: a map to stretch, a border to draw, a river to share, a ship to reroute.
2PractiseEvery chapter ends with five questions. Pass with 4 right, as often as you need, and each answer comes with its reason.
3FinishPass every chapter check and the final round for a certificate of completion with a link anyone can use to verify it.

What the course covers

Part 1Maps, power and perspectiveFlat maps, finding a place, scale, maps that persuade, who draws the map, and the eye in the sky

6 chaptersAbout 2½ hoursChapter 1 free

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  1. Before you beginWelcome: geography is everywhereDoes geography still matter, now that the internet connects everyone?Free10 min
  2. 1Why every flat map liesIs Greenland really as big as Africa?Free25 min
  3. 2Where exactly are you?How can a phone know where you are, to within a few metres?25 min
  4. 3Scale: why zooming changes the answerHow long is a coastline?25 min
  5. 4Maps that persuadeCan a map tell the truth and still mislead you?25 min
  6. 5Who draws the map?If two atlases print different names for the same sea, which one is true?25 min
  7. 6The eye in the skyWhat can a picture from space tell you that a survey on the ground cannot?25 min
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Part 2Borders, rivers and resourcesThe ground beneath us, why borders are where they are, life at the line, shared rivers, groundwater, the resource curse, and conflict

7 chaptersAbout 3 hours

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  1. 7The ground beneath the mapWhy do so many people live in some places and so few in others?25 min
  2. 8Why borders are where they areWhy is one border a straight line and another a wiggle?25 min
  3. 9Life on the lineWhat changes when you cross a border, and what does not?25 min
  4. 10Rivers that cross bordersWho owns a river that flows through three countries?25 min
  5. 11The water under your feetWho owns the water under the ground?25 min
  6. 12Rich ground, poor country?If a place sits on coal, oil or diamonds, why is it not always rich?25 min
  7. 13Do resources cause wars?Will the wars of the future be fought over water?25 min
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Part 3Cities, climate and people on the moveWhere cities grow, the megacity, the informal city, planning, a changing climate, why people move, and climate migration

7 chaptersAbout 3 hours

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  1. 14Why cities are where they areWhy is the nearest big city to you exactly where it is?25 min
  2. 15The megacityHow big can a city get, and why do people keep coming?25 min
  3. 16The informal cityWhy would anyone choose a crowded room in the city centre over a bigger house far away?25 min
  4. 17Planning a city that worksWho decides where the roads, parks and drains go?25 min
  5. 18The monsoon and a warming mapWhy does the monsoon come, and what happens if it changes?25 min
  6. 19Why people moveHas anyone in your family moved to live somewhere new?25 min
  7. 20Climate migrationWhen the land can no longer feed a family, where do they go?25 min
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Part 4Trade routes, chokepoints and your questionOld trade winds, chokepoints, ports and ships, energy routes, the minerals in your phone, whether geography is destiny, and the question you will write on

6 chaptersAbout 3 hours

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  1. 21Riding the trade windsHow did goods cross oceans before there were engines?25 min
  2. 22ChokepointsHow can a narrow strait far away change prices in your town?25 min
  3. 23Ports, ships and the boxWhy does a shirt made on the other side of the world cost so little to ship?25 min
  4. 24Where energy comes fromWhy do a country's sunshine, coal and coastline matter for its power?25 min
  5. 25The minerals in your phoneHow many countries does it take to make one phone?25 min
  6. 26Is geography destiny?Are some countries rich, and others poor, because of where they are?25 min
  7. The wrap-upYour question, and what nextSo, coming back: does geography still matter, now that the internet connects everyone?35 min
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Your certificate

A certificate of completion, issued when you pass every chapter check and the final round while logged in. It names the course and its length, about 12 hours. It is not a grade, an examination result or an accreditation.

This course is for learning. Every map you play with in it is made up. Wherever it describes India, it follows the Government of India's official maps (Survey of India). It takes no side in any border dispute or in party politics, and names no company to praise or blame.