1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,320 What if I told you the secret to becoming a genius like Leonardo da Vinci wasn't just about talent, but about a handful of simple mental models anyone can learn? 2 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:31,440 Stick around, because we're about to unlock da Vinci's most powerful secrets for lifelong learning and a mind that never stops growing. 3 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:32,400 Hello, listeners. 4 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:36,640 Welcome to The Science of Self, where you improve your life from the inside out. 5 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:47,440 Today's featured book is Leonardo da Vinci's Mental Models, Secrets of the World's Most Famous Polymath. 6 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,160 This is from Peter Holland's Learning How to Learn book series. 7 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:58,320 Today we're looking at the beginning of Chapter 2, The Mind of the Polymath. 8 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:07,720 When we discuss the concept of a polymath, there's one trait in common among all the examples that we elicit, and that is a curiosity. 9 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:16,920 And it's possible to cultivate your own curiosity to drive yourself to becoming more of a polymath. 10 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:22,680 The beginning of this episode talks about cultivating that da Vincian curiosity. 11 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:27,240 And then, after, we'll talk about the right attitudes that are necessary for learning. 12 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,200 We must understand that learning never ends. 13 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:35,640 We have to test out our theories in the real world, not just in our minds or in theory. 14 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,280 We have to be willing to embrace the unknown. 15 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:45,040 And, as a learner, we have to be humble, childlike in our approach to learning. 16 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,160 We're going to delve deep into each of those phrases in this episode. 17 00:01:49,160 --> 00:02:00,000 And don't forget, at the end of the episode, there'll be a summary of points with quick synopsis of the entire episode, should you need to get that takeaway in its own little segment. 18 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:07,880 Thanks for being with us today, and here's the episode. 19 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:22,040 Hopefully, you are now on your way to securing a mentor or teacher for yourself, have started to read and gradually build up your own library of books and notes, and have started paying attention to the environment around you. 20 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:30,600 As you consider your own goals, you may have come up against a pretty fundamental question: Why do any of this? 21 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:39,280 Why learn ballet or ancient Japanese calligraphy or maritime history of New England in the first place? 22 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:46,080 In the last chapter, we took steps to build a foundation onto which we can begin to build a learning life. 23 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:51,880 Now the question arises: How will we build on that foundation? 24 00:02:51,880 --> 00:03:01,960 In this chapter, we’ll be considering the most fundamental traits required of a lifelong learner—and they are not tools, but rather attitudes. 25 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:17,000 As you’ll soon see, da Vinci and others like him were intelligent, but they were also masters at cultivating the mindset required to genuinely discover or create something new in their worlds. 26 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:22,040 It may just be the mindset that makes the real difference, and not the intelligence. 27 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:25,400 What exactly is the mindset required? 28 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:31,280 Arguably the most important characteristic is curiosity. 29 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:43,400 Da Vinci demonstrated an insatiable intellectual appetite that spanned diverse disciplines, including architecture, anatomy, aeronautics, and robotics. 30 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:55,440 Despite his wide-ranging talents, da Vinci also found success in theatrical production, notably designing lavish festivals in Florence and Milan. 31 00:03:55,440 --> 00:04:13,880 Unashamed of his curiosity and operating in a child-like fantasy world, he prioritized safety, appreciation, and the freedom to explore over financial gain, creating not for others but to satisfy his intellectual hunger. 32 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:28,840 Unbound by formal education, he relied on acute visual thinking, seamlessly integrating groundbreaking scientific studies into his artwork and vice versa, contributing to his exceptional versatility. 33 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:43,000 Compared to the business moguls and tech billionaires who pass for genius in our modern era, da Vinci was called to something higher than financial gain or market domination. 34 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:48,040 He learned because he genuinely, sincerely wanted to know. 35 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:59,280 His curiosity was underpinned by a keen power of observation, sparking profound explorations that evolved into marvelous creativity. 36 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:09,440 Flamboyant, authentic, and unabashedly alternative, he embraced his uniqueness, exhibiting a secure and self-assured demeanor. 37 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:18,240 His self-reflective nature led to copious journal writings, capturing thoughts, frustrations, and ongoing projects. 38 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:32,400 These notes fueled his self-discovery and self-development, providing insights into his creative process and leaving behind a rich legacy for future generations to study and admire. 39 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:35,880 His life’s work was colorful, rich, and lively. 40 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:39,080 And it all started with curiosity. 41 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,200 Why were birds’ wings shaped the way they were? 42 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:47,080 Could it be possible for water to flow uphill? 43 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:48,880 What is truth? 44 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,280 What is beauty? 45 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:58,960 If I put a rudder on the bottom of this thing here, will it stop it from tipping over? 46 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:01,600 What is Neptune made of on the inside? 47 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:10,640 Cultivating Intense da Vincian Curiosity 48 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:19,720 Da Vinci lived in a curious age, and he was both the cause and result of a period of intense intellectual growth. 49 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:37,600 Our own era by comparison is stifled; those who would learn can often see no greater end purpose than perhaps “disrupting” some industry to eke out a narrow margin of profit, or acquiring a skill for the sole purpose of increasing hireability in a hostile market. 50 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:55,120 Creativity is seldom more than the recombination of tired tropes, and knowledge is demoted to mere “data”—cheap information in enormous quantities that nevertheless amounts to little. 51 00:06:55,120 --> 00:07:01,960 Leonardo da Vinci fostered an intense curiosity about people and the world around him. 52 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:11,680 He knew how to ask questions to get interesting answers, utilizing the information to inspire his inventions and creations. 53 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:23,960 Da Vinci meticulously documented his inquiries and observations in numerous notebooks, chronicling days spent exploring the countryside in a quest for understanding. 54 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:43,400 His curiosity delved into diverse subjects, such as the existence of shells on mountaintops, the immediate visibility of lightning compared to the delayed sound of thunder, and the mechanics of how a bird sustains itself in flight. 55 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:56,360 Da Vinci, as described by scholar Michael Gelb, extensively studied and sketched flowers and plants from various perspectives to gain a comprehensive understanding of their anatomy. 56 00:07:56,360 --> 00:08:13,520 In a journal entry, da Vinci expressed his fascination with the multitude of actions humans perform, the diversity of animals, trees, plants, and flowers, and the variety in landscapes, architecture, instruments, costumes, ornaments, and arts. 57 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:25,560 Beyond botany and nature, da Vinci applied his intense curiosity to his artistic creations by examining paintings through a mirror. 58 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:33,040 This reflective practice aimed to enable a more objective assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of his artworks. 59 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:49,920 This, in effect, is what curiosity is: looking at familiar things, but backward, in an attempt to see them as they really are, to see them as they are without our assumptions and foregone conclusions. 60 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,640 But what does curiosity look like in the internet age? 61 00:08:53,640 --> 00:09:03,280 Is it possible to cultivate a little of that same attitude today, in a vastly different world to the one da Vinci inhabited? 62 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:05,080 The answer is yes! 63 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,560 It does, however, take a mindset shift. 64 00:09:09,560 --> 00:09:13,360 Da Vinci was a genius because of what he didn’t know. 65 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:24,200 He went out in search not of questions that he could easily answer, but of those that stumped him, challenged him, and demanded much patience and diligence to answer. 66 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:30,280 What we can learn from this approach is that true genius is not about ease and accomplishment. 67 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:38,840 Rather, it’s about the process of uncovering knowledge, and the journey from ignorance to understanding. 68 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:43,000 That process isn’t always neat, pretty, or comfortable. 69 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:49,800 The person who is uneasy with mystery cannot embrace it long enough to learn from it. 70 00:09:49,800 --> 00:10:08,680 The person who is too egotistical to admit they don’t know, or too proud to ask a simple question, will never have the privilege of learning or having that simple question answered (and it’s the simple ones that are often the deepest and most mysterious of all!). 71 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:19,040 One foolproof technique is to follow da Vinci’s reported childlike nature and do what all children naturally do: ask loads of questions. 72 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:27,680 The man asked questions of himself, of others, of the books he wrote, of nature itself. 73 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:35,840 He was not automatically satisfied by the easy, conventional answers of the day, either, and kept interrogating. 74 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:40,960 Why was such-and-so the case? 75 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:50,440 In Michael Gelb’s book How to Think Like a Da Vinci, he suggests the following exercise to practice formulating great questions: 76 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:50,680 1. 77 00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:58,920 Try to make a list of the one hundred questions that are most important to you in one sitting. 78 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:03,440 Then, go back through the list and look for themes. 79 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:05,760 What are most of your questions actually about? 80 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:08,960 2. 81 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:14,960 Now, choose ten questions that are most important to you and rank them in importance. 82 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:20,120 These questions should relate to your broad quality of life. 83 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:24,480 Remember, learning should be focused on a goal or purpose. 84 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:26,720 3. 85 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:35,600 Next, develop ten questions from your professional field about your career or some other aspect of your professional life. 86 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:42,400 Don't be afraid to ask the simple questions, since they're often the most profound. 87 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:55,160 You can also take a page out of esteemed Richard Feynman’s book and compile your own list of twelve burning questions—things that you are truly, almost maddeningly curious about. 88 00:11:55,160 --> 00:12:09,200 Compiling and regularly updating this list not only keeps you focused and “on purpose,” but it also allows you to uncover interesting areas of overlap between seemingly disparate areas. 89 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:16,480 Renaissance thinkers were looking for big ideas that encapsulated all subjects. 90 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:22,080 If you look at your list, can you find what connects two seemingly unrelated questions? 91 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:33,720 Finally, one useful technique is to actively welcome your mistakes and convert them into questions that will help you learn. 92 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:39,360 If you failed at something, ask why and be genuinely open to learning the answer. 93 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:51,760 Rather than enjoying the knowledge you’re accumulating, look more closely at the gaps and what you are currently ignorant of, or else the assumptions you are making. 94 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,240 If you have a blind spot, how can you address the issue? 95 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:57,320 Who can you ask? 96 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:01,880 If you don’t have the answer, then where might it be? 97 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:11,400 Having an open, receptive mindset means accepting that fumbling in the dark is a big part of being a creator, inventor, scientist, and thinker. 98 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,720 Start with your own pet theories and biases. 99 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:18,880 Do you have quality evidence for your various beliefs and theories? 100 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:25,640 Challenge yourself if nobody else will challenge you—make your ideas earn their keep! 101 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:31,280 Remember, too, that just because you don’t know something now, it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn it. 102 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,960 Lacking a skill today doesn’t mean you will lack it forever. 103 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,600 Just be curious about the next step. 104 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:45,160 Learn a little every day, fine-tune your skill one step at a time, and you cannot help but learn. 105 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:48,400 The Right Attitude 106 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:48,400 107 00:13:48,400 --> 00:14:07,480 Though it’s probably going too far to suggest that Renaissance-era polymaths possessed a certain type of personality, it is true that they conducted themselves in remarkably similar ways—in other words, their approach to life was predictable. 108 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:11,560 Idea 1: Learning never ends 109 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:11,560 110 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:16,240 Commit to continuous learning. 111 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,920 We develop not so that we can arrive at the end of our development. 112 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:25,640 We continue on—one horizon, once reached, opens up to another. 113 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:34,920 There’s no doubt that had da Vinci lived longer than his almost seventy years, he would have continued to learn and create. 114 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:44,000 What’s required is that we don’t get too comfortable in what we already know, what we’ve already achieved, and the skills we’ve already acquired. 115 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:52,280 Instead, we need to keep learning alive by asking what remains unknown, unachieved, and unacquired. 116 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:58,320 Idea 2: Test out your theories in the real world 117 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:00,480 118 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:08,440 Apply everything you learn, develop, or create to the real world and the practical goals you have there. 119 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:17,320 It can be a trap to get lost in abstraction; instead, continually see how your predictions and ideas measure up against reality. 120 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:19,040 Do they work? 121 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,160 How do they compare to what’s currently out there? 122 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,680 How can you test and improve on what you’ve done? 123 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:33,680 Experience is a master teacher, if you’re courageous enough to embrace your mistakes and failures. 124 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:38,880 Idea 3: Embrace the unknown 125 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:38,880 126 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:57,320 Da Vinci was a man of science and learning, but he was also a Catholic and a “spiritual metaphysician” who would have embedded all his learning in a framework wherein God was the master mathematician, artist, and architect of the universe itself. 127 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:08,720 All this is to say that for a man like da Vinci, the world was not a machine to be broken into parts and coldly analyzed, but a beautiful mystery. 128 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:18,800 Great thinkers of old had a depth and nobility of soul that helped them understand the value of the mysterious and the enigmatic. 129 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:26,680 Practically speaking, this meant that their curiosity was often tinged with awe, respect, and wonder. 130 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:39,160 They were comfortable with ambiguity and could endure paradox and contradiction for a long time as they chiseled away at problems, trying to grasp their deeper meaning. 131 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:48,760 Uncertainty, then, is not an enemy to be destroyed but something that is always beckoning, something to relish and appreciate. 132 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,920 Idea 4: Be humble 133 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:52,920 134 00:16:52,920 --> 00:17:06,760 Learning is about the privilege of knowing the previously unknown and seeing the previously unseen; it’s not about the glory and vanity of being the knower or the seer. 135 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,400 Being humble has practical value, too. 136 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:22,920 Those people who are best able to move past mistakes, faulty assumptions, outright failures, and wrong turns are the ones who are quickest to get on with the real work of doing better. 137 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:33,360 Ego and pride only get in the way—bearing in mind that feeling down on yourself or overly pessimistic is a kind of vanity, too! 138 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:42,080 If something is difficult or beyond you, don’t give up simply because it’s a little humiliating to be confronted with evidence of your limitations. 139 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:51,320 If you receive a correction or critical feedback, realize that there’s nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to defend against. 140 00:17:51,320 --> 00:18:00,880 Da Vinci and many others like him were fantastically wrong about more things than the average human being. 141 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:08,440 The trick is to see far beyond “right” and “wrong” and simply become curious about what is. 142 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:23,440 In conclusion, embracing the spirit of lifelong learning can truly transform our mindset and unlock endless possibilities. 143 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,400 Here are the primary takeaways from today's episode. 144 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:35,560 The most fundamental trait of a lifelong learner, like da Vinci, is an attitude of insatiable curiosity. 145 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:40,040 Shift your mindset toward a focus on unanswered questions. 146 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:45,440 Be childlike and continually experiment with different perspectives. 147 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:50,320 Keep a running list of open questions to guide and inspire your learning. 148 00:18:50,320 --> 00:19:08,160 The right attitude is patient enough to practice learning as a lifelong pursuit, humble enough to engage with mistakes and the unknown, and practical enough to use real-world experience to inform one's mental models. 149 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:14,600 So with all that in mind, go forth, explore, and let curiosity be your guide. 150 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:24,040 As Leonardo himself urged, learning never exhausts the mind.