Learning from Leonardo: Decoding the Notebooks of a Genius 1st Edition,

Fritjof Capra's decade-long study of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks reveals him as a systems thinker centuries before the term existed. Leonardo was a brilliant artist, scientist, engineer, mathematician, architect, and inventor who believed understanding the world required perceiving connections between phenomena and the larger patterns they formed. Leonardo saw the world as a dynamic, integrated whole and applied concepts from one area to solve problems in another. His studies of water movement informed his ideas about landscape formation, plant growth, bird flight, and blood circulation. His observations of nature enhanced his art, while his drawings served as integral tools for scientific studies and architectural designs. Capra identifies seven defining characteristics of Leonardo's genius and lists over forty discoveries Leonardo made that weren't rediscovered until centuries later. The book follows the organizational scheme Leonardo himself intended for publishing his notebooks, presenting his science as he would have structured it.