Introduction

The gap between the haves and the have nots is growing bigger every day. This is not disputed by any one any more, but is the gap caused by income distribution or lack of knowledge? In this paper, I will try to illustrate that the gap is a knowledge gap; by looking firstly at a brief history of how knowledge spread followed by the World Bank indexes analysis.

Historical inputs

The invention of the wheel, around 3500 BC, led to mobility. Being more mobile meant that people could move their goods around more easily which led to an increase in the movement of people and hence the spread of arts, cultures, customs, religions and knowledge. New knowledge had to be created related to the invention of the wheel that later led the development of mechanics.

Figure 1:The Silk Road Timeline
The Silk Route linked the regions of the ancient world in commerce from the Constantinople in the West to China in the East and covered areas like Greece, India and Asia. “The greatest value of the Silk Route was the exchange of culture. Art, religion, philosophy, technology, language, science, architecture, and every other element of civilization was exchanged through the Silk Route along with the commercial goods the merchants carried from country to country” As people from different areas interacted, disease were spread as well. Cures for these diseases were exchange amongst different cultures. “Diseases, most notably plague, also spread along the Silk Routes. In addition to economic trade, the Silk Road was a route for cultural trade among the civilizations along its network.” Religion also moved along the Silk Route and here Islam was one of the main religions that were spread. With religion came the Arabic text, astronomy, mathematics, science and medicine. Mathematics influenced astronomy and geometry which in turn was greatly used in the navigation process when trading took to the