What do you think of at the mention of Leonardo da Vinci? Inventions and paintings are my thoughts. But Leonardo also waxed philosophical about life. His notebooks were filled with not just sketches of early airplanes but also observations.
"Let no one read my principles who is not a mathematician." Well, I'm going to ignore that one ... ha! Here's a good one: "Mechanics is the paradise of the mathematical sciences, because by means of it one comes to the fruits of mathematics." Remember all the kids in your high school algebra and geometry classes who blew off studying because they couldn't see how math would ever apply to anything in real life? I bet by now they've figured out they were wrong.
Because we are on the brink of a new year replete with resolutions, hopes, and fears of abandoned new disciplines, I've been encouraged by this gem of Leonardo's: "Oh Lord, thou givest us everything, at the price of an effort."
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