## Highlights
I side with Da Vinci’s disciple Francesco Melzi, who wrote on the occasion of the maestro’s death: “The loss of such a man is mourned by all, for it is not in the power of Nature to create another.” As I learn more about Da Vinci, my sense of awe and mystery multiplies. All great geniuses are unique, and Leonardo was, perhaps, the greatest of all geniuses. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j7m2sfe11vsndxjrbcrze0e3))
- đź’ surely its still possible??
if you want to be a Renaissance man or woman, study Leon Battista Alberti, Thomas Jefferson, Hildegard von Bingen, and best of all, Leonardo da Vinci. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j7m338ebxbr6t13rgh7r6za5))
In *The Book of Genius* Tony Buzan and Raymond Keene make the world’s first objective attempt to rank the greatest geniuses of history. Rating their subjects in categories including “Originality,” “Versatility,” “Dominance-in-Field,” “Universality-of-Vision,” and “Strength and Energy,” they offer the following as their “top ten.”
10. Albert Einstein
9. Phidias (architect of Athens)
8. Alexander the Great
7. Thomas Jefferson
6. Sir Isaac Newton
5. Michelangelo
4. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
3. The Great Pyramid Builders
2. William Shakespeare
And the greatest genius of all time, according to Buzan and Keene’s exhaustive research? Leonardo da Vinci. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j7m342r49aag4kxajgcy09yh))
The Seven Da Vincian Principles are:
**Curiosità **—An insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning.
**Dimostrazione**—A commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.
**Sensazione**—The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience.
**Sfumato** (literally “Going up in Smoke”)—A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.
**Arte/Scienza**—The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination. “Whole-brain” thinking.
**Corporalità **—The cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.
**Connessione**—A recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena. Systems thinking. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j7m37r51fzbb1ex7rvdwqk2e))
- đź’ It's interesting to see fitness and enhancing your senses as two of the major plants
### New highlights added September 14, 2024 at 3:43 PM
Accelerating change has inspired a never-before-seen burgeoning of interest in personal growth, soul awakening, and spiritual experience. The sheer availability of information about the world’s esoteric traditions has launched a tsunami of seeking. ( ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j7s4ccz04vbd7kxak72brhrb))
- đź’ traditional optimism about the internet
Vasari claims that in his final days Leonardo was filled with repentance and apologized to “God and man for leaving so much undone.” Yet toward the end Leonardo also wrote, “I shall continue” and “I never tire of being useful.” Vasari records that Leonardo was observing and describing, in scientific detail, the nature of his illness and symptoms as he died in the arms of the French king. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j7s53f3jfqds77qjjw2gyf2k))
- đź’ I wonder how important that higher how are obligation is
### New highlights added September 27, 2024 at 12:56 PM
When you tell yourself how you feel, not just how you are, you are more likely to feel what you say, allowing your affirmations to take hold on a deeper level. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j8tbd058mf2y88jsehvm0wt5))