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thameryst 's review for:
Leonardo Da Vinci
by Walter Isaacson
"True creativity involves the ability to combine observation with imagination, thereby blurring the border between reality and fantasy."
That quote is the crux of what I think Isaacson wanted to illustrate when he chose Da Vinci as his subject of a creative genius. What I loved about this book that positively lit me up was reading about this man with virtually no formal education due to the circumstances of his birth, but who left such an indelible mark on history due to one critical trait: a thirst for learning and a naturally insatiable curiosity.
Basically, this book is about a man who loved learning for the sake of learning. He was genuinely fascinated with the world around him and wanted to understand how it worked. He had a finger dipped into almost every field of knowledge, it just happens that art was where he left his most recognizable mark.
I agree with Isaacson's thesis statement that true creative geniuses understand that combining different fields of learning and looking at a subject from multiple perspectives simultaneously is what gives rise to innovation.
For me, this book seemed a call to action. I feel as if, in modern life, education is simply a means to an end and not as much pursued for its own sake. I have firmly believed for many years now that there exists no greater cure to many ailments than to while away the hours learning something new. But this book reminded me the world is so vast and so full of fodder for the mind willing to embrace its mysteries. Da Vinci was obsessive when he embarked on a subject of study. His level of dedication and minuteness of observation humbled me to read about. This book reminded me to take a deep and dedicated interest in whatever I set my mind to--that to sip at knowledge will not yield any grand results but rather to gulp it down deeply and fervently.
As a medical student, where the amount of knowledge I am expected to become functional in can seem overwhelming, I felt I read this book just when I needed it most. I think medical school made me a bit numb to learning and resentful of the attendant anxieties associated with the volume I am responsible for. It's hard not to resort to apathetically memorizing and drilling facts, hoping the rest will follow. This book reminded me of what set me on this path in the first place: my own fascination with the world and people around me and wanting desperately to understand it better in order to enrich myself and my writing.
Reading about Da Vinci spending a nauseating amount of hours watching a bird to see whether its wings flapped faster on the upstroke than on the downstroke made me realize that if I wanted to feel the satisfaction of true excellence in my chosen field, nothing short of that kind of obsession is required of me. I want to fall in love with learning again and not have it feel like a chore as it has for some time now. This book inspired in me the feeling that I can and must do just that.
Read it!
That quote is the crux of what I think Isaacson wanted to illustrate when he chose Da Vinci as his subject of a creative genius. What I loved about this book that positively lit me up was reading about this man with virtually no formal education due to the circumstances of his birth, but who left such an indelible mark on history due to one critical trait: a thirst for learning and a naturally insatiable curiosity.
Basically, this book is about a man who loved learning for the sake of learning. He was genuinely fascinated with the world around him and wanted to understand how it worked. He had a finger dipped into almost every field of knowledge, it just happens that art was where he left his most recognizable mark.
I agree with Isaacson's thesis statement that true creative geniuses understand that combining different fields of learning and looking at a subject from multiple perspectives simultaneously is what gives rise to innovation.
For me, this book seemed a call to action. I feel as if, in modern life, education is simply a means to an end and not as much pursued for its own sake. I have firmly believed for many years now that there exists no greater cure to many ailments than to while away the hours learning something new. But this book reminded me the world is so vast and so full of fodder for the mind willing to embrace its mysteries. Da Vinci was obsessive when he embarked on a subject of study. His level of dedication and minuteness of observation humbled me to read about. This book reminded me to take a deep and dedicated interest in whatever I set my mind to--that to sip at knowledge will not yield any grand results but rather to gulp it down deeply and fervently.
As a medical student, where the amount of knowledge I am expected to become functional in can seem overwhelming, I felt I read this book just when I needed it most. I think medical school made me a bit numb to learning and resentful of the attendant anxieties associated with the volume I am responsible for. It's hard not to resort to apathetically memorizing and drilling facts, hoping the rest will follow. This book reminded me of what set me on this path in the first place: my own fascination with the world and people around me and wanting desperately to understand it better in order to enrich myself and my writing.
Reading about Da Vinci spending a nauseating amount of hours watching a bird to see whether its wings flapped faster on the upstroke than on the downstroke made me realize that if I wanted to feel the satisfaction of true excellence in my chosen field, nothing short of that kind of obsession is required of me. I want to fall in love with learning again and not have it feel like a chore as it has for some time now. This book inspired in me the feeling that I can and must do just that.
Read it!