IUBio

Time Magazine: Man of the Millennium

Beast of Bourbon locknar at earthlink.net
Tue Sep 29 07:04:05 EST 1998


On 28 Sep 1998 14:50:31 -0500, juola at mathcs.duq.edu (Patrick Juola) wrote:

>Not necessarily technological advancement -- but I think that
>restricting the scope of the award to someone who has influenced
>society in some way is quite reasonable.

Well in that case I would give you a different answer: Thomas Alva Edison.

>>He displayed mastery, or did extensive studies, of many fields and trades:
>[laundry list omitted]

Needless sarcasm noted.

>He also didn't *DO* anything with them.

da Vinci himself felt the same way.  "Tell me if anything at all was done," he
wrote in his journals over and over.  Suffice it to say that although through
much of his life he was able to pursue that which interested him, because of
political turmoil and his own restless nature, he was never able to focus his
energies on one field and be highly productive.

>Geometry?  I must have missed "Da Vinci's Theorem" when I took the
>class.  I similarly missed the "Da Vinci" school of architecture 

Note what I wrote, smartass.  "He displayed mastery, or did extensive studies,
of many fields and trades," which included geometry and architecture.  His
extensive notebooks contained many geometric studies and advanced architectural
designs, and he was court architect to Louis XII of France and also to Francis I
(but in a largely ceremonial position).  So he didn't exactly start the Bauhaus,
but he also didn't just doodle on a couple of napkins.

>I can't think of a single one of the fields you mention in which there
>are any substantial contributions made by Da Vinci, with the
>exception of painting, in which he produced (at least) two
>acknowledged masterpieces.
>
>Contrast Da Vinci's contributions with John von Neumann, who revolutionized
>mathematics, computer science, and politics -- in the sense that
>his contributions changed the fields significantly.  Da Vinci may have
>known everything, but he did nothing with it.

I think you missed the spirit of my list of nominees, but hey, it's my damn
opinion anyway.  Deal with it.  For me, examining the life of da Vinci would be
infinitely more rewarding than reading up on John von Neumann.




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