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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
Leonardo Da Vinci Takeaways - 5*. Relentless curiosity and quirks that made him a genius. Also unaware of his own genius. Isaacson is the best in the world at his niche and all of his works contain valuable lifelong takeaways. Brilliant work on a brilliant polymath.
He would invite funny looking people over and make them laugh w crazy stories then draw them later as memes / “grotesque” drawings. Nuts.
Secrets are like oysters: speaking and blabbing is like when a fish puts seaweed for oyster to eat and fish takes pearl by baiting oyster to open up. Don’t give up pearl for seaweed / rock.
Relentlessly curious, his journals were his wild ideas and he carried pocket sized journal everywhere. Lots of sketches. Not much mundane shit nor thoughts really. Hm.
ONE MARK OF A GREAT MIND IS A WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE IT.!!!!
People think Leonardo waste of time, studying optics and anatomy, but it’s exactly that that allowed him to make the Mona Lisa in such incredible detail. Time is not usually wasted, it’s invested for future magnificence.
Relentlessly curious. Even as he was dying, he came up with new questions. It was never about having anything to prove, maybe a hint When he was young, but it was all just asking questions and striving to figure them out. Not about status nor reputation nor money nor anything (remember, he never sold Mona Lisa and it was just his modus opus), but nothing more than a passionate love of learning. Incredible and heroic. My hero along with Ben franklin.
A true genius but also had lots of incompleted work and was unaware of his legend and his greatness. Doubted any of his work would be useful. Leaving so much incomplete is a sign of his genius - always looking for what can contribute most and help with where things are going. Never stopped!
Creative = intellect + imagination. His creativity, seeing what others couldn’t see, made him a genius. Also he was a genius across many disciplines. Tried to know all he could about everything.
Relentlessly curious about everything around us - like Eva. Such a. Cool trait.
Seek knowledge for the sake of pure pleasure. Doesn’t need a purpose. Pure curiosity motivated him, led to so many new connections.
Retain childlike sense of wonder - why is the sky blue? Rather than just marveling at it.
Observe. Acutely observe things. Put in extra effort .
Get distracted. Pursuing new shiny objects gave him more connections.
Respect facts. Abandoning theories when you find facts and embrace new ones!! Growth mentality!! Fearless about changing my mind and pursuing new theories!!
Procrastinate - minds occupied w ideas and perfection and this makes your work better. Gathering all facts and ideas. Active procrastination!!
Let the perfect be the enemy of the good!! Not ok with good enough - relentless pursuit of perfection. Wow!! Holding up for internal beauty. The little things matter. Real artists shelf (? Shell?) - even when improvements still to be made - but sometimes great to hold up and embrace perfectionism.
Avoid siloes, embrace intersections and mixed focuses. Focus in interdisciplinary areas.
Create for yourself - Mona Lisa was for him. Bc he wanted to.
Collaborate. Genius is in groups.
Take notes on paper - can inspire and motivate our grandkids.
It’s okay to learn things just for the sake of wanting to know! An incredible quality.
He would invite funny looking people over and make them laugh w crazy stories then draw them later as memes / “grotesque” drawings. Nuts.
Secrets are like oysters: speaking and blabbing is like when a fish puts seaweed for oyster to eat and fish takes pearl by baiting oyster to open up. Don’t give up pearl for seaweed / rock.
Relentlessly curious, his journals were his wild ideas and he carried pocket sized journal everywhere. Lots of sketches. Not much mundane shit nor thoughts really. Hm.
ONE MARK OF A GREAT MIND IS A WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE IT.!!!!
People think Leonardo waste of time, studying optics and anatomy, but it’s exactly that that allowed him to make the Mona Lisa in such incredible detail. Time is not usually wasted, it’s invested for future magnificence.
Relentlessly curious. Even as he was dying, he came up with new questions. It was never about having anything to prove, maybe a hint When he was young, but it was all just asking questions and striving to figure them out. Not about status nor reputation nor money nor anything (remember, he never sold Mona Lisa and it was just his modus opus), but nothing more than a passionate love of learning. Incredible and heroic. My hero along with Ben franklin.
A true genius but also had lots of incompleted work and was unaware of his legend and his greatness. Doubted any of his work would be useful. Leaving so much incomplete is a sign of his genius - always looking for what can contribute most and help with where things are going. Never stopped!
Creative = intellect + imagination. His creativity, seeing what others couldn’t see, made him a genius. Also he was a genius across many disciplines. Tried to know all he could about everything.
Relentlessly curious about everything around us - like Eva. Such a. Cool trait.
Seek knowledge for the sake of pure pleasure. Doesn’t need a purpose. Pure curiosity motivated him, led to so many new connections.
Retain childlike sense of wonder - why is the sky blue? Rather than just marveling at it.
Observe. Acutely observe things. Put in extra effort .
Get distracted. Pursuing new shiny objects gave him more connections.
Respect facts. Abandoning theories when you find facts and embrace new ones!! Growth mentality!! Fearless about changing my mind and pursuing new theories!!
Procrastinate - minds occupied w ideas and perfection and this makes your work better. Gathering all facts and ideas. Active procrastination!!
Let the perfect be the enemy of the good!! Not ok with good enough - relentless pursuit of perfection. Wow!! Holding up for internal beauty. The little things matter. Real artists shelf (? Shell?) - even when improvements still to be made - but sometimes great to hold up and embrace perfectionism.
Avoid siloes, embrace intersections and mixed focuses. Focus in interdisciplinary areas.
Create for yourself - Mona Lisa was for him. Bc he wanted to.
Collaborate. Genius is in groups.
Take notes on paper - can inspire and motivate our grandkids.
It’s okay to learn things just for the sake of wanting to know! An incredible quality.
Really 3.5 stars, but that's not an option. The research is incredible, the man himself fascinating, but it does feel a bit repetitive and meandering at times. So much has been discovered and uncovered in recent years that only a newer biography would really be able to tell this complete a picture, so I'm glad I went with this one.
Wow. I read this specifically because I’m curious on the processes of such a creative giant. Some parts were skimmed, some were devoured. I love so much that LdV spent more money on books than clothing (which makes sense in the late 1400s, but I’ll still use to justify my own extravagance). I cannot fathom the amount of work that went into the creation of this text or the years it must have taken. I’m a fan, though. A big fan.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
This wasn't what I thought it was. Very well written, but not the bio I was looking for.
Not just a story of one of the greatest people in human history but a story with a lesson on how we can be a little like him and improve ourselves daily.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Very comprehensive look at one of history's most innovative and creative souls.
Potężny kawał ciekawej biografii. Oprócz życiorysu samego Leonarda otrzymujemy również wnikliwą analizę jego dzieł i dodatkowy rys historyczny dotyczący innych postaci i wydarzeń, które rzucały nowy kontekst na losy tytułowego bohatera. Zabrakło mi delikatnie większego zobrazowania jego charakteru, bo z prywatnych notatek można wywnioskować, że był postacią o bardzo barwnej osobowości. Uważam to też jednak za całkiem naturalny zabieg w biografii niefabularyzowanej. Polecam!
informative
inspiring