Reflections on ‘How To Think Like Leonardo da Vinci’

After reading the 322 page How To Think Like da Vinci da Vinci book written by Michael Gelb, I felt a new world of insights rush into me. I fell into an in-depth storage area of da Vinci da Vincis geniusAlthough many critics say that da Vinci da Vinci was a failure p fine articularly due to the fact that a exercise set of his works were left unfinished, I believe otherwise. He was a not bad(p) man who attempted to delve into a multitude of fields.He was an architect, sculptor, painter, inventor, tactician and strategist, mathematician, and a scientist, exactly notwithstanding to mention more or lesswhat. His ideas were genuinely far beyond his time, and if only his ideas were right on publicized it would have made a greater impact foregoing on in history.I realized that in each of us lies the desirely to be a genius. To quote the author, the human mind is more coercive than we think it is. As an art teacher, this perspective in dealing with students is alpha in order t o fully cultivate, as well as appreciate, the students potentials.The heptad Da Vincian Principles were enlightening. Through the exercises provided to develop each principle, I was able to set forth in touch with myself again, my beliefs, my dreams, and in the process of being connected with myself, I was given a chance to view my career as an art teacher in a refreshing perspective.The Seven Da Vincian PrinciplesCuriositaCuriosita is an unsatiably curious approach, and this continuous postulate for learning is the powerhouse of the Da Vincian spirit. I realized how important it is to always ask why, why, and why. Following the exercise, and after itemization down questions that are significant to me and contemplating on them, I realized I have a great deal I want to learn, and a lot I still want to understand. I was once again contemplating the heart of life.In the study of art, I believe the spirit of curiosita is important in the quest to improve ones skills. I thought abo ut some questions. What is aesthetically pleasing? Why? And most importantly, how can I stimulate art that is genuinely aesthetically pleasing?DimostrazioneDimostrazione is a commitment to rivulet know leadge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes. The exercises in this subdivision led me to recheck my beliefs, why I believed them, and whether they are valid or not. Are those beliefs truly mine, or are they simply influenced upon me by society? Are these beliefs actually wrong? For that matter, are the standards I have for measuring art truly mine or merely dictated upon me, are they truly the surmount standards to measure art? These are the questions that were brought to me.SenzazioneSensazione is the continual refinement of the common senses as the performer to enliven experience. Leonardo stated that the average human looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without notioning, eats without tasting, moves without corporal a wareness, inhales without awareness of odour or fragrance, and talks without thinking and I believe that this is true, to some extent, it even applies to myself. The exercises here provided a very enjoyable experience. In this section of the book, it is shown how important it is to be aware of the minute details that our senses tell methe feel of clothes against my skin, the taste of something really delectable melting in my mouth, the dotty sound of heartbeat in my ears. Beauty can be salvage-base in such experience, though how sincere the experience may be. It is from the appreciation of such experience that wonderful ideas of art can come from. I especially enjoyed delving into the exercise of answering the question if you could bite into the music, what would it taste like? as this tries to express one type of sense in foothold of another.SfumatoSfumato develops a willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty. Sfumato literally means turn to mist, which describ es the woolly quality of paintings of Leonardo. From here, I learned that it uncertainty is not necessarily a negative aspect. In fact, it can be used to enhance art, as Leonardo did.It was in this section that Gelb mentioned how Leonardo would spend his day plain doing nothing, instead of painting what was tasked to him. In Leonardos words, the greatest geniuses sometimes accomplish more when they work less. This is called incubation, and I believe this is true as I have withal experienced something similar. Incubation is most hard-hitting when alternating, as Leonardo did, between periods of lifelike focused work and rest. Without periods of intense focused work, there is nothing to be incubated.Arte/ScienzaArte/Scienza is whole brain thinking, and the training of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination. It is important not only to explore the art, save also to learn the science behind the art. Thus, cultivation should not only be in the side of creativit y, but also on the side of logic.CorporalitaCorporalita is the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise. It is here that Leonardo emphasizes for us to be healthy. He warns against anger, and tells us to avoid grievous moods, to rest our head and constrain our minds cheerful, to be covered well at night, exercise moderately, eat simple and chew well. When we are fit, we are at our full potential to be creative. Also, it is important that we develop not only one side of our body, but both. In painting, it may be a useful exercise to seek to paint with the other, less dominant hand.ConnessioneConnessione is a recognition of and appreciation for the interconnection of all things and phenomena. It emphasizes a systems way of thinking. A number of scholars have criticized Leonardo for the disorder of his notebooks because he scrawled notes in a random fashion. But Michael Gelb believes that Leonardos sense of connectedness was so all embracing that his observations were equally valid barely they were related to one another. He saw how everything connected to everything else.I believe this was leave-taking of his creativity. He did not let himself be limited to any radiation pattern or order in writing his notes, so he was free to jot down his ideas without anything to hinder him.ReferencesGelb, M. (1998). How to think like Leonardo Da Vinci Seven steps to genius every day. DellPublishing.