10th grade Advanced. Unit 7. Lesson 3. To be or not to be like Leonardo?

👉Communicative area:  discussing the merits and demerits of a genius, listening and reading for gist and detail 

👉Active vocabulary: quest, to question, fad, polymath, to procrastinate

👉Grammar revision: Conditional II

1. Does the title of the lesson imply that Leonardo had only positive qualities or both positive and negative qualities?

2. Leonardo da Vinci was an ultimate Renaissance man. Was he a) a scientist, b) a mathematician, c) an engineer, d) an inventor, e) an anatomist, f) a painter, g) a sculptor, h) an architect, i) a botanist, j) a musician, k) a writer? 

3. Who is a polymath?

Da Vinci decoded

Want “to break the Da Vinci Code”? Take the following steps to become a polymath.
Developing your curiosity. Great minds have one characteristic in common: they always ask questions. Leonardo’s quest for truth and beauty clearly demonstrates this.

• Keep a journal. Write your ideas and thoughts there.
• Choose a theme and observe things according to it. For example, for the entire day, observe every type and instance of communication you come across.
• Practise freewriting. Write your thoughts and associations without editing them.

Finding proof. Wisdom comes from experience. Do the following:

• Check your beliefs. Review them and verify them through experience. Find friends who can give you different perspectives.
• Look at the advertisements in your favourite magazine and analyse the strategy and tactics they use. Choose those that affect you most and find out why.
• Find “anti-role models” to learn from. Whose mistakes would you like to avoid?

Using your senses. According to da Vinci, we can best find proof of our ideas through our senses, particularly sight.

• Write a detailed description of an experience, e.g. sunrise, in your journal.
• Learn how to describe a smell. Learn to draw.
• Listen to different sounds around you. Learn to listen to different intensity of sounds, from the softest (e.g. your breathing) to the loudest (e.g. traffic).
• Live in the moment. Practice mindfulness. Carpe diem! (from Latin – catch the day).

Studying the mysterious. An essential characteristic of da Vinci's genius is his ability to handle a sense of mystery.

• Relate two opposites. For example, think about your happiest and saddest moments.
•  Practise the Socratic method by asking questions, not giving answers. Don’t assume that you or anyone knows anything for sure. Question every idea or theory.

Relating Art and Science. It is about “the development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination”. This is thinking with the “whole brain”. Mind mapping is a powerful method that can help you combine logic and imagination in your work and life. The end result of mapping should be a web-like structure of words and ideas that are somehow related in the writer’s mind.

Knowing your body and keeping fit. Leonardo had amazing physical ability that complemented his genius in science and arts. Here is how you could keep fit:

• Develop your physical fitness: do flexibility, strength and aerobic exercises.
• Develop body awareness. Study anatomy. Try yoga. Dance. Do some contact juggling. Strengthen the connection between body and mind. 
• Leonardo could work with both his right and left hand and regularly switched between them. Cultivate ambidexterity by using your non-dominant hand for relatively simple tasks first, like brushing your teeth or eating your breakfast and later for writing.

Making connections. One main source of Leonardo’s creativity is his ability to … 

• link things that seem unrelated, e.g. geology and the Mona Lisa;
• think about how things originate. Take an object and think about what elements are involved in its creation and how.

Some other characteristics of Leonardo da Vinci that might be worth your attention are: charisma, generosity, love of nature, love of animals and the curiosity of a child.

Developing Your Curiosity

1. Why do great minds always ask questions, according to the text?

2. What is the purpose of keeping a journal in the quest to become a polymath?

3. How can choosing a theme for observation improve your curiosity?

4. What is freewriting, and why is it recommended?

Finding Proof

1. How can reviewing your beliefs help you gain wisdom?

2. Why does the text suggest analyzing advertisements in your favorite magazine?

3. What are "anti-role models," and how can they be useful?

Using Your Senses

1. According to da Vinci, why are our senses important for finding proof?

2. What exercises are suggested to improve your ability to describe sensory experiences?

3. How can practicing mindfulness help you live in the moment?

Studying the Mysterious

1. What role does handling a sense of mystery have in da Vinci’s genius?

2. How can relating two opposite experiences help your thinking?

3. What does practicing the Socratic method involve?

Relating Art and Science

1. What does “thinking with the whole brain” mean in this context?

2. How can mind mapping help combine logic and imagination?

Knowing Your Body and Keeping Fit

1. Why is physical fitness important for a polymath like Leonardo da Vinci?

2. What activities can help develop body awareness?

3. How can cultivating ambidexterity benefit your brain and body connection?

Making Connections

1. How did Leonardo’s ability to link unrelated things contribute to his creativity?

2. What does the text suggest about thinking on how things originate?

Other Characteristics of Leonardo da Vinci

1. Besides intellect, what personal traits of Leonardo da Vinci does the text highlight?

2. How could love of nature and animals influence creativity?