The Mystery of Leonardo da Vinci, & Do We Allow Enough Play?
A hint--we probably don't, otherwise I wouldn't have written this darned thing, would I?
My latest YouTube video is about Leonardo da Vinci, sharing my takeaways from the Walter Isaacson biography on da Vinci called ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ (a very creative title).
In it Isaacson calls da Vinci ‘the most diverse genius of all time’, given how many fields he traversed and the discoveries and breakthroughs he made centuries before the rest of the world. There are too many to count—engineering, music, physics, anatomy, dentistry, light optics, science… oh, and let’s not forget painting.
You’d think da Vinci would have been out there getting all these discoveries and designs patented, developed, published and promoted. You’d think he could have sat back and raked in the royalties.
That didn’t really happen.
Mysteriously, da Vinci never shared much of what he discovered or created, and most of his traversing is uncovered from private notes he kept.
Why on earth did he hold so much of it back? Was it laziness? ADD? Fear? Humility? Disorganisation and ill-discipline?
It’s all the more mysterious because, from all the accounts I’ve read, da Vinci was never a wealthy man—he sometimes struggled to make ends meet. Even more mysteriously, da Vinci rarely helped his own cause. He frequently agreed to jobs and commissions without following through.
Kids today call this ‘ghosting’.
Da Vinci was a ‘mad ghoster.’
The whole thing is mysterious.
In the video I explore some theories, and also look into why da Vinci was so creative and accomplished to begin with. There’s also a full write-up version of this video on my blog if you’re the sort of dinosaur who prefers reading to watching animated videos that took me weeks to make.
The Tension between the Commercial and Creative Worlds
Towards the end of the video, I ask a question about balancing creativity and sustainability, spotlighting the tension between the artistic and commercial world. I think this question is interesting on all levels—on a macro, corporate and institutional, like in Hollywood and big business, but also on a personal level.
I wrote an article about that, too, if you’re interested. Here it is.
Although to spoil it, I’ll give you my my uplifting conclusion:
My uplifting conclusion is that we should let people play around a lot more—but only if they’re good.
To recap:
Full Youtube video & corresponding blog post is out now.
We should let people play around a lot more, without fear of failure, without putting pressure on them—but only if they’re good.
It’s also worth remembering I’m ahead of my time—and so are my books. Don’t forget to check out the latest book, “Holy Sh!t, It’s Only… Tuesday?”—a comedy about the workplace.
By reading this, you have supported the journey of a people-watcher and young author. Thank you. The Doorman Newsletter is ahead of its time. It is many times funny, often interesting, and occasionally sad. As always, it is trying not to be too serious.