“The Arno projects, the circular fortress, and the draining of the Piombino swamps had one thing in common with many of Leonardo’s grandest projects, and even some of his less grand ones: they never came to fruition. They showed Leonardo at his most fantastical, dreaming up schemes that darted back and forth across the boundaries of practicality. Like the construction of his flying machines, they were too fanciful to execute. This inability to ground his fantasies in reality has generally been regarded as one of Leonardo’s major failings. Yet in order to be a true visionary, one has to be willing to overreach and to fail some of the time. Innovation requires a reality distortion field. The things he envisioned for the future often came to pass, even if it took a few centuries. Scuba gear, flying machines, and helicopters now exist. Suction pumps now drain swamps. Along the route of the canal that Leonardo drew there is now a major highway. Sometimes fantasies are paths to reality. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (pp. 353-355). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 353). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. ”
