On 27 Sep 1998 10:33:26 GMT, joecosby at mixqam.seatac.net (Joe Cosby) wrote:
>> Gold: da Vinci
>>>Maybe my history is weak, I don't really know all that
>much about the life of da Vinci.
>>But did he really have any -effect- on the world around
>him?
>>He has always seemed to be a fascinating genius, and to
>embody the knowledge of his time, but did anything he
>did ever lead to other things in turn?
>>He strikes me as a synthecist; making fascinating
>-applications- of knowledge as it existed in his time,
>but he doesn't seem to have really advanced anything
>-novel-, at least not in any influential way.
Then you're limiting the scope of the "award" to one's influence on
technological advancement. I'm being a bit more free in my considerations.
Leonardo da Vinci is the supreme example of the creative potential of a human
being. His was "the most compulsive curiosity ever recorded," in the words of
Kenneth MacLeish.
He displayed mastery, or did extensive studies, of many fields and trades:
Aeronautics
Anatomy
Architecture
Astronomy
Botany
Cartography
Drawing
Geology
Geometry
Hydraulics
Mathematics
Mechanics
Metal Casting
Military Engineering
Murals
Optics
Painting
Sculpture
Zoology