Pen & Paper

We know more about the geniuses from centuries ago than we know about the talented geniuses of our time. How can that be since we live in the information age? The problem now-a-days is that everyone’s thoughts, dreams and research  are written not in their own handwriting on paper but typed on some computer that will eventually be thrown away for an upgrade. Home journals are a thing of the past. Thoughts and feelings are recorded in just a few sentences and then forgotten; however, a handwritten journal on paper can last centuries if taken care of and preserved without the aid of a power source to retrieve the information. We know more about geniuses like Ben Franklyn, Albert Einstein and Leonardo Da Vinci than we know about Steve Jobs.

Walter Isaacson is a dedicated writer who has written biographies on all of these men. In his latest book about Da Vinci, Walter makes you notice what a great artist Da Vinci was. He was also a genius in many fields like engineering, anatomy, water works and sculpture. How do we know this? His preserved personal handwritten journals depict his thirst for knowledge and is fascinating. People often ask, what is better, to watch a movie or read a book to get to know a story? In a movie you could be concentrating on anything in a scene but in a book the author will describe say the tree in detail and make the audience feel or see what he sees, therefore books are better!

Da Vinci’s drawing of the Vitruvian Man in 1490 shows how you can put a circle in a square and draws himself in the center showing how the human body is in perfect proportion. His art was a work of perfect engineering and math.  We still have about 7,200 pages of Da Vinci’s notes thankfully to pen and paper. Throughout the centuries much more of his thoughts are gone because they were not preserved properly. It is estimated that what we have is only about a quarter of what he wrote. Steve Jobs thoughts are lost forever in broken computers, videotapes and   tape recordings tossed in the trash. After 500 years, pen and paper still works best.

Leonardo wrote about his friends and how he was loved by all because he was so interesting. He wrote about how he boiled nuts in oil to make the first blond hair dye. Michelangelo was more of a recluse but Leonardo was a friendly man. In many ways he didn’t fit into society. He was an illegitimate child, left handed, a vegetarian, dressed in purple and pink tunics and was a flamboyant gay man. He lived in Florence, Italy where they were very tolerant of diversity. Many members of the ruling de Medici family were gay men. This ruling class welcomed talent in all fields and helped the Renaissance Era to be so productive.

Like all biographies we all get to know about what made some individuals stand out among the rest of us. We all have the same reasonable time alive but some create more memorable things with their time. It is never too late to give credit where credit is due. I just hope that this chapter in civilization will be able to leave a foot print not in cyber space but in real ground for future generations to remember us by. Read  Walter Isaacson’s books about fascinating people from the past.