Leonardo da Vinci, scientist

Abstract

Among all scientists, Leonardo's research was not only inspired by images, but also achieved through images. He expressed his scientific ideas not just via words or formulas, but by means of a visual language. Leonardo is this anomaly. Never in science will such a coincidence between science and art be repeated. Moreover, he merged different fields of science, in a continuous symbiosis. For instance, he transferred his studies on water waves to atmospheric waves, or his studies in optics to perspective in visual arts, or the properties of mechanical levers to the study of the motion of limbs. Leonardo has been defined as the most curious man who has ever existed. Actually, his interests span across all known subjects in his age: from painting to sculpture, from mechanics to hydraulics, from architecture to geology, from anatomy to zoology, from physiology to geography, from mathematics to optics, from statics to astronomy and botanics.
In this seminar, some of Leonardo's most important achievements will be touched upon, with an emphasis to their breakthrough character with respect to the scientific dominant ideas in his time.