Leonardo da Vinci's power to question

(Leonardo da Vinci's drawing (vision?) of a flying machine)

In the book How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb, a parallel of our time with the Renaissance can be a starting point to view what might be called "the power of the maestro."

The Renaissance was a time in history that occurred after the Black Plague swept through Europe and eliminated almost one half of the population. As the wealthy began to invest in independent scholarship, answers were sought outside of prayer and dogma. Intellectual energy surged at this time and human power and potentiality was reborn. This included a number of discoveries and inventions such as the mechanical clock, the magnetic compass and the printing press. It was precisely this passion for discovery that helped to meet the challenges of the time.

With no concept of time in the 1400s, versus being controlled by the clock in the 2000s, this parallel remains: to be an independent thinker requires one to recognize one's power to question. It is this power that leads one, as it did da Vinci, to develop theories or as da Vinci suggests, "to work miracles..." da Vinci.

Thus the miracle of understanding something such as the power of water lies in the questioning of that power.

Consequently, through this questioning comes knowledge, "I know how to cut off water from the trenches...in conducting water from one place to another."

Therefore is it a guess or a theory, if Leonardo da Vinci knew that independent thinking would result in the building of the Hoover Dam, would he consider it a miracle of human genius? I believe so.

His drawings, as we shall see in further blogs, proves his vision for things unheard of and never before considered were, in fact, miracles in the making.

Leonardo da Vinci's water theory

Leonardo da Vinci--Water Studies c. 1513

Leonardo da Vinci was intrigued by water, perhaps even feared water. His water theory can be considered the bedrock of hydrology in the history of the study of water.

He was probably the first hydrological experimentalist to design and build his own instruments to test his hypotheses.

Da Vinci developed hypotheses while describing and classifying hydrological processes. For example, he understood that because of the hydrological cycle, water would pass through the major river systems numerous times.

His description of water is "the vehicle of nature" ("vetturale di natura"), believing water to be to the world what blood is to our bodies.



Leonardo described water as "the vehicle of nature" ("vetturale di natura"), believing water to be to the world what blood is to our bodies.

Leonardo understood that water circulated according to fixed rules. The fact that it falls as rain or rises up from springs under the ground.

Accordingly, he understood that water is indispensable to humans, animals and plants, yet it can also be the instrument of their destruction. Its power is irresistible.

Leonardo's study of the motion of water suggests it was a way in which to understand his own fear of moving water.

He supposed the principle of erosion: "Water gnaws at mountains and fills valleys. If it could, it would reduce the earth to a perfect sphere" (Codex Atlanticus, 185v).

Leonardo studied water perhaps to be able to control it. He lived through terrible floods and storms, he witnessed destruction by water first hand.

This is just the tip of the iceberg regarding da Vinci, his water theory and his thoughts on the subject of water. More to come in future blogs...

hydrology--the cycle of life

We are all familiar with the circle of life, as Simba the lion learns in the film The Lion King

However without the cycle of life, or the way in which water moves throughout the Earth, there would be no life at all.

Hydrology is the study of the way in which water moves throughout the Earth through different pathways and at different rates. The first example of this is evaporation of water from the ocean, which forms clouds. As the clouds drift over the land it produces rain. The rainwater flows into lakes, rivers, or aquifers. The water in lakes, rivers, and aquifers then either evaporates back to the atmosphere or eventually flows back to the ocean, completing a cycle.

As Leonardo da Vinci discovered in the early 1500s, "Water is the life force of all nature." In effect, water as it moves through its cycle is life itself. If we harm the water, we are harming ourselves.

However we do not always know or understand the ways in which we are harming the water. When a dam is built it is said to better use the water in an area, use the water to perform tasks, such as generate electricity or to be used for an area a long way away. To ask water to perform these tasks is not necessarily wrong, but if it means the water will be harmed too greatly by this use (and sometimes there may be no way of knowing until later) then we need to learn from this.

This gentle spirit of caring for water and its cycle will mean that life can continue for all creatures here on earth. To care about water means to care about ourselves in a beautiful and necessary way.

The Father of Public Power--David E. Lillenthal

From http://www.tva.gov/heritage/illenthal/index.htm


The Father of Public Power
Boyish in appearance but hardheaded and knowledgeable, David Lilienthal built the TVA power system according to one guiding principle: affordable power for everyone in the TVA region.

When people met TVA’s three original Directors, he was the one who looked out of place. Two of the triumvirate were white-haired academics. The third, and the last to join, was not yet 34 — more than 20 years younger than either of his colleagues.

He looked even younger than that. During his first days at TVA in 1933, David Lilienthal was sometimes mistaken for an office boy. His youthful appearance belied his extensive experience and accomplishments.



The Tennessee Valley owes its network of municipal and cooperative power distributors to the vision of David Lilienthal, one of TVA’s three original directors.
Born in the back of a small-town grocery store in Morton, Ill., the son of a struggling Jewish family, Lilienthal grew up in Indiana with dreams of being a writer. He attended DePauw University, graduated when he was only 20, and went on to Harvard Law School. As a young lawyer he handled cases for the city of Chicago and, still in his twenties, developed a reputation for having a comprehensive understanding of public utility problems.

Through his litigation work for the city, Lilienthal came to believe there were some services so essential to modern day-to-day living that they must be made available and affordable for everyone.



From http://www.tva.gov/heritage/illenthal/index.htm

from the gallery

 

This photo was taken from the gallery of photos inside the Hoover Dam Visitors Center. It represents the heart of the dam, those who worked to build it. When we think about what it takes to accomplish something great, it is never by the hands of one person, yet one person contributes so much. Synergy, in fact, in which the sum of the parts are greater than the whole.

Waiting for Work

The folks down at Ragtown were waiting. It was spring, 1931, the heat starting to get to them. They made roofs with rags. They soaked their clothes to stay cool. They weren't praying for a miracle, they'd lived through so much, this was the miracle, to survive. They'd expected life to be so good, it had been good for a long time. But now, they waited.
They waited to hear the news about the job. It was all about the job. And Frank T. Crowe, the engineer representing the six companies that had landed the job to build the dam was driving into Ragtown, mid day.
Jeers and cheers went out into the warm air. "What are you going to do, when are you going to do it? We want a job, Mr. Crowe, we'll do anything!"
But Crowe didn't say a word. He was there to inspect the river, see it from this level, at the base of this red bull, the enormity of the project. He didn't answer anyone for there was nothing he could say...yet. It would all come soon enough.
Patience worn as a blanket used for a roof, anger filled the lungs of those witnessing Crowe's short visit.
It made no difference.
Crowe would do what he needed to do, when he needed to do it. Much like the people staggered throughout the camp there in Ragtown, just from a different viewpoint, different circumstances, but he too was waiting to make his move.
The Hoover Dam was built on this kind of time, in which waiting and needing were so intertwined.

The Norman Y. Mineta: A Boy from San Jose

Here is a documentary produced by friend, Samantha Cheng, which unfolds the story of Norman Y. Mineta, born in 1931, who through his life has sought the path that gives the greater good.

Recognizing again, the resilience of American people, those who not just live upon the land, but with and for its people.