Leonardo da Vinci's Unquenchable Curiosity and Acute Observations

Helen Gardner, in her book Art through the Ages (1970) writes of Leonardo da Vinci’s “unquenchable curiosity,” and we see this reflected in the 13,000 pages of his famous journals, in which he made a daily record – in notes, drawings, and scientific diagrams – of his observations and studies. These notebooks cover a wide range of interests and phenomena, from human anatomy and facial expressions to animals, birds, plants, rocks, water, chemistry, optics, painting, astronomy, architecture and engineering.

Biographer Daniel Arassa recounts just how far da Vinci would go to try to understand everything around him. On one occasion, the great man coated the wings of the fly with honey to find out if this would change the sound of its buzzing noise in flight. Observing that the note produced by the fly was lower than usual, he attributed this to the fact that the ballasted wings were beating the air less rapidly than before. Thus, da Vinci concluded that the pitch of a musical note is connected with the speed of the percussive movement of the air.

Da Vinci’s acute observations led him to think about and try to solve problems that hadn’t been seriously considered before. Nobody, for example, was asking for a parachute, a car, a submarine, a hang glider, a diving suit, a helicopter, a calculator, or floating shoes and stocks for walking on water, but Leonardo da Vinci invented, or at least conceptualized, these things.

He also came up with military innovations like the machine gun, the armoured tank, the finned mortar shell, a giant crossbow, a triple-barrel cannon, and a mobile bridge. He sketched mechanical breakthroughs such as a steam engine, a hydraulic pump, a reversible crank mechanism, a flywheel system, ball bearings, a hoisting machine, a more accurate clock, an automated bobbin winder, a lens-grinding machine, and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire. He designed the world’s first canal lock system, a method for excavating tunnels through mountains, a 720-foot (220 m) single-span bridge, a new kind of musical instrument, a double hull for ships, an industrial use for solar power, and a fully functional robot (which he built and displayed for his patron, Ludovico Sforza, at a celebration in Milan in 1495).

“Da Vinci,” writes Rowan Gibson, “was able to spot unmet needs and innovation opportunities because he was vastly more observant and more engaged with his environment than others. He was focusing his attention on issues and frustrations that most people simply ignored.”

[Quoted from The 4 Lenses of Innovation (2015) by Rowan Gibson. Title mine]

                                                                                                                    

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Change Your Life: Be Mindful of the Wonder

“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth
are never alone or weary of life” (Rachel Carson).

What we see in the world around us is to a large extent a matter of choice. Do we take time every day to look, really look, at things? To find the beauty, or the humour, or the charm, or the mystery in them? When driving car to work or better at traffic light, do we stare aimlessly out the window, or do we make an effort to look at the colour of the sky, the shapes of the clouds? Do we look closely enough to allow ourselves to be delighted by the funny little dog trotting along the sidewalk? Or to feel sympathy, or admiration, or sadness when we watch an elderly woman walking slowly and carefully out her front door?

It is natural to be preoccupied by our own thoughts, or to be lulled into not noticing all that is around us while we do routine errands. And there is nothing wrong in daydreaming from time to time (in fact is it good). But the more we can be mindful of what we are doing as we doing it, the healthier and happier we will be.

Mindfulness is a choice, and it is something we can practice: When our mind wanders – whether while eating, doing the dishes, writing a report, or walking to our car – we can gently shift our focus back to the wonders that are everywhere to be found.

I like what Helen Keller (she lost her sight and hearing when she was 19 months old as a result of an illness) noted in her essay, Three Days to See:

“I who am blind can give one hint to those who see – one admonition to those who would make full use of the gift of sight: Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind… Hear the music of voices, the song of the bird, the mighty strains of an orchestra, as if you would be stricken deaf tomorrow. Touch each object you want to touch as if tomorrow your tactile sense would fail. Smell the perfume of flowers, taste with relish each morsel, as if tomorrow you could never smell and taste again. Make the most of every sense: glory in all the facets of pleasure and beauty which the world reveals to you.”

Don’t overlook life’s treasures,

Be mindful of the wonder.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

 References:

1. Choose the Life You Want: 101 Ways to Create You Own Road to Happiness by Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD (New York: The Experiment, 2012)

2. Full Catastrophe Living” Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness by J. Kabat-Zinn (New York: Delta, 1990)

How to Spark Your Creative Mind

“All human beings have the capacity to generate novel, original, clever, or ingenious products, solutions, and techniques. Creative human beings develop that capacity… Creative people take risks and frequently push the boundaries of their perceived limits” (Art Costa).

“A mind that is stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimensions”
(Oliver Wendell Holmes).

Creativity can be hard to define. How do you describe the “Eureka!” moment when a person experiences a creative insight? Some researchers define creativity as combining existing elements in an innovative way that creates a new purpose (for example, motor + bicycle = motorcycle). Others see creativity as the art of generating novel ideas from taking a fresh look at how things are interrelated (for example, as Charles Cave writes, “…noting the regular diet of ladybugs inspired organic farmers to bring ladybugs in to consume crop-destroying aphids”).

Thinking about what is creative may call to mind images such as street buskers playing guitar and drummer banging out a complex rhythm at Waterfront Kuching or the designs for the Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Sarawak building. Creativity, however, encompasses much more than music and art. Creativity gives rise to innovative ideas and products that bring changes both great and small.

Consider the following examples of creative innovations that have had an impact; Art Fry and Spence Silver invented the Post-it^TM in 1980, enabling people to save paper and protect documents by using removable notes; agricultural chemist George Washington Carver developed the revolutionary method of crop rotation – alternating soil-depleting crops with soil-enriching ones – allowing land to be used more efficiently; Jim Henson revolutionized children’s television and the way children learn about the world through his invention of the Muppets and development of Sesame Street (a TV program that I like very much when I was a kid); and more.

Creativity doesn’t just happen on these world-shifting levels. You too are a creative thinker. Every day you do some sort of creative works. Your everyday moments of creativity might include events similar to mine as following: Thinking of a new way to talk to co-worker about a problem, changing how I commute to office so that I can work or listen to audiobook while I’m in transit, and finding a unique way to write a blog topic that sets it apart from other articles posted in the internet (Okay, maybe not everyone doing these. But I hope you get what I mean). 

Learning how to heighten your creativity will boost your ability to think productively and successfully. Begin by thinking of creativity in three separate ways:

1) The characteristics of the creative person

2) The type of environment that fosters creativity

3) The stages of the creative process

As you work toward any creative outcome – a novel solution, idea, approach, tangible product, work of art, system, or program – focus on these three elements to maximize your creative abilities. I will post each how-to boost your creative thinking in following post article. Stay updated.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Barriers to Creativity #5: "Play is Frivolous"

Creativity, like common sense, is supposed to be common. Creativity is natural and spontaneous. Yet it is not exhibited as frequently as it should. Experts believe that there are several reasons for this. These reasons are called ‘Barriers to Creativity’. ‘Barriers’ are the thing that stop us from thinking creatively and the reason that make us not as creative as we should be.

Barrier #5: “Play is Frivolous”

            A playful attitude is fundamental to creative thinking. We generate most of our ideas when we are playing in our mental playground. That is because our defenses are down, our mental locks are opened and there is little concern with rules and regulations. Play also free us from worry which is the root cause of our mental block. Unlike reality, during play – when we win we win, and when we lose we learn. (The only cost is time). Children know play is a good way to learn. Children love to play at cooking and driving. Just watch a kid playing in the school bus or at the computer. They try everything!

            We germinate ideas during play. We toy with an idea before we come up with the real product or process. Some of the most important inventions were originally conceived during play. How to nurture your creativity? Play. Play. Play.

   

Play is fine.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

How-To Generate Ideas #11: Be in a Conductive Environment

 

“We have very few inferior people in the world.

We have lots of inferior environments.

Try to enrich your environment” (Frank Lloyd Wright)

I wondered why I and my friends were more active, expressive and creative in the school football field or in the canteen or even behind the school corridors or during co-curricular activities than in the classroom. I know now. It’s the environment and the atmosphere that makes the difference (also partly because there was no teacher to control us).

Too serious and nonconductive environment can hinder creativity. Having fun during work or class however allows us to be more relaxed – and thus open our mind to get inspired with great ideas. A stressful or depressing environment doesn’t give us the mood to think of new ideas or doing thing differently.

Can we transfer the more relaxed atmosphere outdoors into the workplace or classroom? If can, then do it. If can’t, why not? In our office we have whiteboard to communicate, television to watch the latest news, DVD player for entertainment and video studies, boiler to make coffee, sofa to rest and take a nap, a set of carrom and playing card to play, a room to pray, a mini library for inspiration and reference, three floor stairs enough for exercise, fairly nice scenery outside office (or just look at the sky).

This kind of environment is healthy and natural. I don’t feel like I’m in the office, it feels like I’m in the playground. Good conductive environment and atmosphere gives birth to good ideas. “Try to enrich your environment.”

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)