How to think like Leonardo da Vinci

In the spirit of our digital civilization course I started reading a book that I had received for graduation several years ago. The book is called How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb.  The book is written as an inspirational guide to discovering the genius inside of Da Vinci and how we can cultivate it within ourselves.

The beginning of the book talks about the life of Da Vinci and his many talents and achievements. The author Michael Gelb has a fascination of the life of Da Vinci that is contagious throughout the book. The book goes on to list the "Seven Da Vincian Principles" that can be emulated by anyone. The seven principles talked about are:

1. Curiosità- "An insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning." Leonardo had an intense desire to understand the essence of things around him. This led him to turn his passions into questions. 


2. Dimostrazione- "A commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes." While Da Vinci is well known as one of the greatest genius's of all time, even he made many mistakes along the way, but that never stopped him from learning, exploring and experimenting.

3. Sensazione- "The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience." Da Vinci once said "All our knowledge has its origin in our perceptions." It is incredible to me how Da Vinci could create wonderful inventions, paint beautiful paintings and still have such a talent with music. I never realized how much he worked to refine all of his senses.

4. Sfumato- "(Literally 'Going up in smoke') A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty." As Leonardo discovered more, he began to understand more clearly just how vast the universe is. This study of paradox and uncertainty is fascinating to me and something I hadn't thought of much.

5. Arte/Scienza- "The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination, 'whole-brain' thinking." Art and science became inseparable for Da Vinci. He worked hard to use both sides of his brain to look at every problem. This allowed him to see things and work things in a very effective way. This blog gives some great examples of entries made in Da Vinci's notebooks.

6. Corporalita- "The cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise." As an athlete this one amazed me. Leonardo was known for his strength and physical abilities. Many of his passions stemmed from his own physical attributes and his mind seemed to have be greatly benefited by his physique. Apparently not all nerds are skinny and wear glasses :)

7. Connesiione- "A recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena. Systems thinking." This connected with the idea of curiosity and shows Leonardo's talent at connecting things all around him.

What I love about the book is that each section is filled with exercises for developing each of these qualities. These exercises include everything from creating your own perfume to discover how each fragrance affects you, to making friends with ambiguity. I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it to anyone.