I think you raise a good point that our evolution is likely not due to a single event and that there was probably a build up towards an eventual explosion of knowledge within our species. To add to that idea, I think that communication and language probably played a huge part as well. In large groups language is a necessity for group organization, knowledge transmission and even group bonding. Other ape species bond through grooming which tends to only work well in small groups because its basically a two organism activity. One individual can groom and be groomed by only a small number on other individuals because of obvious time constraints. In large groups, grooming practices fail as a bonding mechanism because it takes too much time to build relationships that way. Language and communication then becomes a natural bonding activity as stories can be shared to larger groups. Language also aids in passing on information and knowledge to others as its much faster then simply watching someone else do something. Similarly, as the group grows the more information is shared which has a compounding effect - like what you are discussing. This is also why the past few years in human existence have seen an explosion of information and technological advance. A large population with an effective and efficient communication system (the internet) allows massive amounts of knowledge and ideas to be shared rapidly.
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