“Leonardo da Vinci liked to boast that, because he was not formally educated, he had to learn from his own experiences instead. It was around 1490 when he wrote his screed about being “a man without letters” and a “disciple of experience,” with its swipe against those who would cite ancient wisdom rather than make observations on their own. “Though I have no power to quote from authors as they have,” he proclaimed almost proudly, “I shall rely on a far more worthy thing—on experience.” basing his science primarily on observations, then discerning patterns, and then testing their validity through more observations and experiments. Dozens of times in his notebook he wrote some variation of the phrase “this can be proved by experiment” and then proceeded to describe a real-world demonstration of his thinking. Foreshadowing what would become the scientific method, he even prescribed how experiments must be repeated and varied to assure their validity: “Before you make a general rule of this case, test it two or three times and observe whether the tests produce Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 174). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. principles. “My intention is to consult experience first, and then with reasoning show why such experience is bound to operate in such a way,” he wrote. In other words, he would try to look at facts and from them figure out the patterns and natural forces that caused those things to happen. “Although nature begins with the cause and ends with the experience, we must follow the opposite course, namely begin with the experience, and by means of it investigate the cause.”6the same effects.”7 his uncanny abilities to engage in the dialogue between experience and theory made him a prime example of how acute observations, fanatic curiosity, experimental testing, a willingness to question dogma, and the ability to discern patterns across disciplines can lead to great leaps in human understanding. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 176). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 174). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (pp. 173-174). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 170). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 170). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. ”
