Leonardo da Vinci - Research Paper Example

The Mystic Brain: Leonardo da Vinci and His Capabilities Details: al Affiliation: SubmissionThe Mystic Brain: Leonardo da Vinci and His Capabilities A painter, an architect, a musician, an inventor, a mathematician, an engineer, a sculptor, an anatomist, a geologist, a botanist, a cartographer, and most of all, a writer, Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was but a natural genius of all time, gifted in almost all things scientific; a characteristic that more that epitomized the ideal “Renaissance man.

” Born in Anchiano, Tuscany (currently Italy), Da Vinci received no formal education beyond basic reading, writing and a bit math; he was apprenticed at age 15 to Andrea del Verrocchio, a prominent sculptor and painter, in efforts to nature artistic talents that his father had long recognized from an early age (Popović , 2013). Largely self-educated, Da Vinci went on to fill thousands of dense and neatly penned secret commentaries and theories, a number of which have been descriptively difficult to interpret.

Though his ideas and findings had no direct influence on later science, the very combination of intellect and imagination to create such inventions as a flying machine [aircraft] based on the physiology of a bat would later enter the world of manufacturing with the ultimate assembly of a number of powered engine machines like the automated bobbin winder. A polymath with an "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination," Da Vinci’s intellect, energy, and bravery in confronting problems and/or questions his time cut him uniquely among the rest as perhaps the most diversely talented individual that has ever lived.

Indeed as art historian Helen Gardner (1970) notes, Da Vinci’s personality was without precedent, not only with regards to the scope and depth of his interests, but also in terms of the mystery as well as how remote his observations were; for the empirical methods he employed were far much beyond the workable designs of his time. His private life was kept much way from the public limelight, drawing much speculation from a section of scholars, more so about his sexuality. With reverence for sight (“knowing how to see”) as the most important aspect of human life, Da Vinci saw art and science as complementary rather than distinct, in effect, summing up his intellectual acumen that traversed across fields of study (Freud, 2012).

Accordingly, he spent a great deal of time testing scientific laws, dissecting bodies, those humans as well as animals, structuring his observations, and finally releasing his thoughts in the thousands of manuscripts that have more than divided scholars on the specificity of his vision. Probably due to his varied interests, he [da Vinci] failed to deliver a significant number of projects. As expected, his life and work embodied the basic tenets of the ideal Renaissance man, stretching his capacity beyond limits, to include every attainable knowledge.

To be sure, if all his work would have been published, da Vincis place in history as a pioneering scientist would have been would have been well assured. The controversies concerning his life capabilities aside, the achievements remain spectacular, but infeasible in the 21st century. Nonetheless, da Vincis personal development attest to the very possibility that every individual is but capable of excelling in whatever field or combination of areas of interest. ReferencesFreud, S. (2012). Leonardo Da Vinci.

New York: RoutledgeGardner, H. (1970). Art through the ages. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Popović , M. B. (2013). Biomechanics and robotics. Boca Raton: CRC Press.