The Lesson of Curiosity by Landon

The Lesson of Curiosity by Landon - October 2021 Scholarship Essay

What does it mean to be a genius? Does it mean that one is naturally born with heightened intelligence, or that one is lucky? Leonardo da Vinci is one of history’s greatest geniuses, and if I learned anything from him, it is that to be a genius, one must be curious. The lesson of curiosity is perhaps one of the greatest lessons to learn, and Leonardo da Vinci is one of the best teachers of this lesson. It is because of his insatiable curiosity that Leonardo built machines that were ahead of his time, created stunning pieces of art, and made scientific discoveries centuries beyond his time.
Leonardo da Vinci was far beyond his time in building machines, so far ahead that it wasn’t until centuries later some of his ideas became reality. Submarines, airplanes, and tanks are but a few of the machines Leonardo designed. Leonardo made these machines by asking questions, why can’t man explore the seas under the water, why can’t man fly, can a man use large machines to have mobile cannons. These are all simple questions but because Leonardo always asked these questions, he could think of ideas to solve these questions. It is by solving these questions he was ahead of his time, and why he is now considered a genius.
If there is one thing anyone knows about Leonardo da Vinci, it is his artwork. Stunning pieces such as the “Last Supper” and the “Mona Lisa” are but a few of Leonardo’s pieces. The lighting, the shadows, the bodies everything seems almost perfect. Leonardo could make these pieces because of his endless curiosity. He studied the human body, architecture, and botany all to make these pieces seem almost alive. Leonardo wasn’t happy with just knowing the basics of everything. He wanted to know every little detail, and that was seen in all his works from the slight smile on the Mona Lisa’s face to the guests at the “Last Supper”.
Leonardo’s works in the fields of acoustics, anatomy, and even robotics are key examples of his endless curiosity. Leonardo is one of the first people to create accurate drawings of the human body, to discover that sound moves in waves, and to create autonomous machines. These discoveries occurred in a time where people didn’t even have control over electricity. Leonardo only created these advances in several scientific fields, as he was highly curious. He wondered how sound worked, how the human body worked, and if machines could work without a person operating them. Leonardo’s inquisitive nature led him to push the bounds of human knowledge and it is only through questioning can anyone push the bounds of human knowledge.
Leonardo was certainly a man beyond his time. He created advanced machines, made stunning pieces of art, and he made scientific discoveries centuries beyond his time. Leonardo’s machines show that by asking what one can do, one can create works capable of taking humanity into the skies and under the seas. The pieces of art Leonardo created inspire people today, and it shows that by studying every little thing, one has a deeper knowledge of this world that helps to express its innate beauty. The scientific discoveries made by Leonardo were products of him asking questions constantly. It is through his curiosity that Leonardo could learn some of the core truths of this world. We often consider Leonardo a genius among geniuses, but it was through his curiosity that he was a genius. Why can’t anyone be a genius then?