How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci : Seven Steps to Genius Every Day

Rating:
Summary: It's not THAT good; it's not THAT bad.
Review: If you don't expect Mr Gelb's book to work miracles, you can get a pretty good mileage from it. Expect too much (perhaps based on the title) and you'll be disappointed.

Some wonder why Mr Gelb (knowing as much as he claims about Leonardo da Vinci) has never created a world famous piece of art. The answer might be: because he doesn't aspire to do so, and prefers to use his talents as a motivational speaker instead.

Some people may call Mr Gelb arrogant or pretentious because of the way he expresses himself; others may feel this is merely a different way of doing things --leaving the trodden path, as it were (and as I'd expect LdV to have done).

Other people may have problems with the advice to learn to discriminate between different foodstuffs (for example by eating three kinds of smoked salmon and caviar) because the ingredients can't be found at reasonable expense, in a place like Wichita. To those people I would like to say: the whole book was intended to open your mind and stimulate your creativity. If you can't find salmon, use something else; tickle yourself with three different feathers --or do whatever else it takes to learn to use your senses.

Personally, I liked three of the seven main chapters enough to feel good about the purchase of the book. Based on Mr Gelb's suggestions, I bought three large notebooks, the first of which I started recording my creative impulses in. I listened more closely than I had done thusfar to some Classical CD's that I already owned, and based on this I discovered that I like Antonin Dvorak's compositions. That made me buy a couple of other CD's with his works, just so I can learn to appreciate and discriminate more. And yesterday I went to an art supply store to see how much it would cost me to buy the supplies I'd like to have so I can start painting, sculpting... generally: create things with my hands. In other words: the book worked for me.

If you expect to raise your IQ by 50 points by reading this book, you'll be disappointed. If you want to get the rust and the dust out of your life, then this book might just be the incentive you need.

Rating:
Summary: Michael Gelb falls short to interpret Vinci's intelligence
Review: Okay, Michael Gelb had an epiphany one day, during a seminar, in Italy. No one has studied Vinci's intelligence in the context of the contemporary world, he thought that day. So, he reads Vinci's history and comes out with a bunch of principles, which he calls "How to think like Vinci."

What if other leading thinkers are given the opportunity to interpret or analyze Vinci's intelligence? I bet they would also come up with interesting principles.

This is not a bad read. I skipped a lot of pages as Gelb clutters the chapters with boring assessment tools. His chapter on how to draw like Vinci is a little over-stretching. I agree with the concept of being able to draw to enhance your imagination, but Gelb fails to convince me that he can interpret Vinci's drawing patterns and style.

We still ridicule at Einstein's intelligence. Trying to understand Vinci's intelligence is not something Gelb has accomplished with this book.

Rating:
Summary: No one can think like Leonardo but Leonardo
Review: I believe the premise of this book is faulty and shows a major defect in understanding the subject of creativity. The whole point about Leonardo's or for that matter any true genius' genius is that it is unique, one- of - a kind. There was only one Leonardo and there will not be another. This by the way is true of every human being, but in case of the geniuses more so.
However it is possible to consider the rules Gelb gives for enhancing one's own creativity based on his observation of the work of Leonardo. They are: 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."
I think that all of this is fine, and that each of us might try to improve their own skills . But I doubt that doing so will make one real poet of someone who is not a real poet, or one real artist of someone who is not an artist.
A creator is a name is a signature is a uniqueness is a one- of a kind thing.
All the more so in the case of Leonardo. And in the case of each of us whether we happen to be very minor creators ( most of us) or major creators indeed( the very few chosen ones)

Rating:
Summary: Look at the world through different eyes
Review: Look at the world through different eyes - your own.

This book is endlessly fascinating. I received it as a gift 3-4 years ago and it sat on my bookshelf for about a year.

At first I thought it was a book about Leonardo DaVinci, but after a day of reading I found that it is really a book about yourself. Loeonardo was of course a genius for all time and this book attempts to explain how DaVinci became DaVince ands how we can train our minds in the same way.

By utilizing a series of practical exercises you can change the way you perceive the world around you. You need to recognize and put into practice the seven principles for success.

* 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."

I think principles dovetail nicely with any field of study or human endeavor. I use these principles in the martial arts and the study of Qi Gong. I also practice them in my professional life as an engineer.

This book can give you a whole new perspective on life if you are willing to take the time to explore, feel, taste, listen and observe.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: An intriguing approach to mental prowess
Review: Genius is made, not born: despite this fact many would believe great thinkers sprung from birth with ideas intact. That's why Michael Gelb's How To Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci is so important: it provides a rebuttal that developing the mind isn't dependent upon genes alone, and it shows how to uncover hidden abilities to unlock latent creative potential for learning and creativity. Chapters describe sensory awareness and how it may be increased, present a range of exercises and applications to learn the rules of mind mapping and how to use them effectively, and generally 'teach thinking' to invigorate latent processes. An intriguing approach to mental prowess.


Rating:
Summary: Arrongant, smug, and non-original
Review: Having attended one of Mr. Gelb's two-day seminars through my employer, I was given a copy of this book and its companion workbook as a bonus. I read the book. Then I gave it to my significant other, who had a similar response.

Mr. Gelb is egotistical, arrogant, smug, and self-important in person and in writing.

The one truly useful exercise in this book, and the greatest exercise from the two-day course, is the Mind Mapping technique. This technique is NOT one of Gelb's developments, but rather that of Tony Buzan ("The Mind Mapping Book" is highly recommended!). In class, he didn't credit Mr. Buzan at all. Unacceptable.

He's of the new-age self help gurus who have nothing new to offer, so they package what others have done with a shiny title and some razzle-dazzle.

If you want to learn to be more creative, and a better thinker, stick to Tony Buzan, Stephen Covey and Roger von Oech (Mr. Gelb also presented many of Mr. von Oech's ideas in class, but did not give credit where credit was due)