2. A computer database, comprising: a database store for receiving, storing, and allowing access to data concerning a plurality of topics, meta data created at a time of entry of said data, meta data comprising at least one annotation concerning said data, and meta data comprising access statistics concerning said data; a viewing tool for user access to said data in said database, wherein said viewing tool comprises means for choosing topics that a user wants to learn about, viewing explanations provided to said user as a sequence of presentations, and annotating said data in said database; an electronic tutor for maintaining a user learning model, and for finding useful data in said database to present to said user; an authoring tool for enabling an author to add data into said database; said means for choosing further comprising means for naming a topic via entering a word or phrase into a topic-search engine; wherein said viewing tool then displays a map of an area of a topic space said user selects, showing a current user level and attainable user levels; a topic map in which a space of topics and subtopics is illustrated as an n-dimensional landscape, with landmarks and links showing relationships between topics; wherein a coloring scheme shows said user's level and relative importance of said topic; wherein said topic map shows paths that said user has traveled before and paths that others have traveled before; and wherein said viewing tool allows said user to move through topic space by panning, zooming, and leaping from topic to related topic; wherein said viewing tool allows said user to zoom into relevant topics, look at their subtopics and mark things that are of interest, and to mark things that are already known; at least one registry handled by a registration server, wherein a registry comprises one of: a pen name registry, a content registry and a topic registry; wherein said registration server keeps a registry of all content in said database, including any explanations, queries, paths, and annotations; wherein said registration server keeps track of where information is, said author's pen name, and when said information was registered.
2. A computer database, comprising: a database store for receiving, storing, and allowing access to data concerning a plurality of topics, meta data created at a time of entry of said data, meta data comprising at least one annotation concerning said data, and meta data comprising access statistics concerning said data; a viewing tool for user access to said data in said database, wherein said viewing tool comprises means for choosing topics that a user wants to learn about, viewing explanations provided to said user as a sequence of presentations, and annotating said data in said database; an electronic tutor for maintaining a user learning model, and for finding useful data in said database to present to said user; an authoring tool for enabling an author to add data into said database; said means for choosing further comprising means for naming a topic via entering a word or phrase into a topic-search engine; wherein said viewing tool then displays a map of an area of a topic space said user selects, showing a current user level and attainable user levels; a topic map in which a space of topics and subtopics is illustrated as an n-dimensional landscape, with landmarks and links showing relationships between topics; wherein a coloring scheme shows said user's level and relative importance of said topic; wherein said topic map shows paths that said user has traveled before and paths that others have traveled before; and wherein said viewing tool allows said user to move through topic space by panning, zooming, and leaping from topic to related topic; wherein said viewing tool allows said user to zoom into relevant topics, look at their subtopics and mark things that are of interest, and to mark things that are already known; at least one registry handled by a registration server, wherein a registry comprises one of: a pen name registry, a content registry and a topic registry; wherein said registration server keeps a registry of all content in said database, including any explanations, queries, paths, and annotations; wherein said registration server keeps track of where information is, said author's pen name, and when said information was registered. 24. The user interface of claim 2 , wherein user visualization occurs as at least one of a timeline, a map, a topic map, a hierarchical display, a display of personal bookmarks, and a combination of said foregoing forms of visualization.