Seven Steps to Everyday Genius

Thanks to a heads-up from Dumb Little Man, yesterday I signed up for a free online course called How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. It’s going on over at iVillage, led by author Michael J. Gelb — and no, you don’t have to buy his book in order to complete the course successfully.

The lessons are well-written and interesting, and the assignments are geared to getting the creativity flowing… but if you ask me, half the fun is to be had on the active message board for the course. It feels sort of like hanging out in the college coffeeshop between classes…

So, who was Leonardo da Vinci, exactly, besides the dead guy who painted the famous smiling Mona Lisa?

Leonardo’s imagination took him up into the sky; he conceived a remarkable flying machine, a prototypical helicopter, and a parachute to return safely from the air… In addition to his contributions in art, science, and invention, Leonardo was also renowned for his musical talent, athleticism, good looks, sense of humor and personal charm.

Okay, a good role model, clearly.

But what does the genius of Leonardo da Vinci have to do with little ol’ me, soldiering along in the modern morass of daily obligations to a backbeat of optimistic mediocrity?

Even today, Leonardo reigns as an unsurpassed global symbol of human potential. He represents the Renaissance ideal of balance for us at a time when balance may be more elusive, yet more important, than ever.

Gelb, our instructor, goes on to outline his “seven essential principles for thinking like Leonardo”:

Curiosita: An insatiably curious approach to life.
Dimonstratzione: A commitment to test knowledge through experience.
Sensazione: The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to clarify experience.
Sfumato: A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.
Arte/Scienza: The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination (”whole-brain thinking”).
Corporalita: The cultivation of ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.
Connessione: A recognition and appreciation for the connectedness of all things and phenomena; “systems thinking.”