Human
subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more
direct than does Nature, because in her inventions, nothing is lacking and
nothing is superfluous.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
In dealing with a scientific problem, I first arrange several experiments, and then show with reasons why such an experiment must necessarily operate in this and in no other way. This is the method which must be followed in all research upon the phenomenon of nature. We must consult experience in the variety of cases and circumstances until we can draw from them a general rule that is contained in them. And for what purposes are these rules good? They lead us to further investigations of nature and to creations of art. They prevent us from deceiving ourselves and others by promising results which are not obtainable. (Leonardo da Vinci)
Leonardo
da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance architect, musician, anatomist,
inventor, engineer, sculptor, geometer, painter (and a very cool talented
artistic creative scientist / philosopher!).
Leonardo is famous for his masterly paintings, such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. He is also known for designing many inventions that anticipated modern technology, although few of these designs were constructed in his lifetime. In addition, he helped advance the study of anatomy, astronomy, and civil engineering. Renaissance humanism saw no mutually exclusive polarities between sciences and arts. Certainly his knowledge of mathematics and science contributed to the greatness of his art.
"Perspective is a most subtle discovery in mathematical studies, for by means of lines it causes to appear distant that which is near, and large that which is small." (Leonardo da Vinci)
Leonardo da Vinci’s studies in science and engineering were recorded in notebooks comprising some 13,000 pages of notes and drawings. These notes were made and maintained through Leonardo's travels through Europe, during which he made continual observations of the world around him. His approach to science was an observatory one: he tried to understand a phenomenon by describing and depicting it in utmost detail, and did not emphasize experiments or theoretical explanations. Since he lacked formal education in Latin and mathematics, contemporary scholars mostly ignored Leonardo the scientist.
da Vinci started to discover the anatomy of the human body at the time he was apprenticed to Andrea del Verrocchio, (at age fourteen) as his art teacher insisted that all his pupils learn anatomy. Fascinated by the phenomenon of flight, Leonardo produced detailed studies of the flight of birds, and plans for several flying machines, including a helicopter powered by four men and a light hang-glider.
In 1502 Leonardo da Vinci produced a drawing of a single span 720-foot (240 m) bridge as part of a civil engineering project for Sultan Beyazid II of Constantinople. Owing to his sometime employment as a military engineer, his notebooks also contain several designs for military machines: guns, an armoured tank, cluster bombs, etc. even though he later held war to be the worst of human activities. Other inventions include a submarine, a cog-wheeled device that has been interpreted as the first mechanical calculator, and a car powered by a spring mechanism. In his years in the Vatican, he planned an industrial use of solar power, by employing concave mirrors to heat water.
Why Leonardo did not publish or otherwise distribute the contents of his notebooks remains a mystery to those who believe that Leonardo wanted to make his observations public knowledge. They remained obscure until the 19th century, and were not directly of value to the development of science and technology. Leonardo da Vinci will nonetheless be remembered as the archetype of the "Renaissance man".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_vinci
We searched for information on da Vinci's religion and information is surprisingly scarce. It seems that technically he was a Catholic, but we assume an enlightened philosophical understanding more in harmony with philosophers like Spinoza and Albert Einstein. He was well aware of the hypocrisy (and ignorance) of the catholic church, Leonardo da Vinci is quoted as saying;
"I see Christ once more being sold and crucified and his saints martyred." (Leonardo da Vinci)
And he respected science (more than claims of divine miracles).
"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
"Although nature commences with reason and ends in experience it is necessary for us to do the opposite, that is to commence as I said before with experience and from this to proceed to investigate the reason."
"There is no result in nature without a cause; understand the cause and you will have no need of the experiment."
"Those who are enamoured of practice without science are like a pilot who goes into a ship without rudder or compass and never has any certainty of where he is going. Practice should always be based upon a sound knowledge of theory." (Leonardo da Vinci)
"Beyond a doubt truth bears the same relation to falsehood as light to darkness."
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes! "
The
painter's mind is a copy of the divine mind, since it operates freely in
creating the many kinds of animals, plants, fruits, landscapes, countrysides,
ruins, and awe-inspiring places by promising results which are not obtainable.
Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.
As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.
There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.
Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.
I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do. (Leonardo da Vinci)
Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.
Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are most active.
The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.
The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.
The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.
While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die.
Quotes from Leonardo da Vinci
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