The Mind Of Leonardo Da Vinci

Waqās Ahmed connects Leonardo's worldview with systems theory.

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“These are the principles for the development of a complete mind: Study the science of art. Study the art of science… Realize that everything connects to everything else.”

- Leonardo da Vinci

The five-hundredth anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) presents an important occasion to reflect not only on the maestro’s incredible work and life but perhaps more importantly, on his mind. Not only does Leonardo’s work provide profound insights into his worldview, but his worldview provides profound insights into his work.

Leonardo sought to maximize the thinking and being of every lived moment. Perhaps this is why he insisted that “time stays long enough for those who use it,” and that “a life well spent is long.” How else was he able to enquire and create to such an astonishing extent in a single lifetime?

What is undisputedly clear is that Leonardo had the mind of the quintessential polymath, characterized by remarkable self-awareness, insatiable curiosity, exceptional intelligence, unparalleled versatility, a heightened sense of imagination, and a vision of unity. When I interviewed the art historian Martin Kemp, a leading expert on Leonardo, he remarked: “The mind of Leonardo is a mind that is entirely curious, like a child – [asking] why does that happen? what am I looking at? how can I understand it? – and if you combine that sort of child-like curiosity with enormous intellectual power, you get something very potent.” (The Polymath: Unlocking the Power of Human Versatility, Waqās Ahmed, 2019. Quotes from this unless otherwise stated). What can we learn from this today?

Systems & Connections

It is agreed by anthropologists, behavioural scientists and evolutionary biologists that curiosity is a universal human trait. No wonder that Aristotle proclaimed (in his