Leonardo, Michael White

Leonardo: The First Scientist by Michael White is a biography of Leonardo da Vinci that makes the argument that he is not only an artist and architect, but also a scientist.  The claim that he was the first scientist is loose.

Started:  2/15/2012
Completed: 3/18/2012
Recommendation: A good read, even a good first introduction
Recommended by:  Nobody, I just needed a book to listen to during the commute.
Review:


I have a special interest in Leonardo largely because of his interest in flight.  I loved his study of birds and it wasn't until I started studying how patterns of flight for flocks of birds for computer science that I learned he had even contributed to the study of birds.  I have long been fascinated by his inventions.  This book gave me good background on his life and it was interesting to examine how a pacifist vegetarian became the creator of war engines.

The argument that Leonardo was the first scientist is really not made.  He is not truly compared to others before him who might have been considered scientists except in the most general way.  In fact, comments on his predecessors really did not address the possibility  that they may be considered scientists at all. The author focuses on the argument that Leonardo should be considered a scientist.  The broad argument goes that despite the "scientific method" being devised long after Leonardo's death, Leonardo showed enough of what we consider the "scientific method" that his practices fit the description though they predate the actual definition.  Leonardo's scientific work was also never really published (certainly not in his lifetime), so some considerable time is spent explaining why it was not and how this is largely not Leonardo's fault.  It seems likely to me that the argument of his being a scientist in some way also hinges on the publication of his work.

From a practical point of view, the argument over whether he was or was not technically a "scientist" is overshadowed by his amazing work.  The author does a good job of helping us understand Leonardo and his work culturally and in terms of its potential scientific value.