Leonardo da Vinci is widely regarded as one of the most brilliant geniuses in history. His expertise spanned several areas including painting, sculpture, architecture, engineering, anatomy, and literature
Most of his paintings featured water, from his first painting of the bucolic Arno River to his final deluge drawings. (That included the Mona Lisa, which scholars believe portrays the Trebbia River in the background—a detail almost as mysterious as subject Lisa Gherardini’s famously cryptic smile.)
Leonardo was fascinated by water, observing that, unlike air, it cannot be compressed or that flowing water constantly undergoes perfect geometric transformations.
He recognized the relationship between flow speed and pressure in the water, principles that underlie airplane wings and venturi injectors.
He also taught infrastructure matters when it comes to water, how to harness the power of water, and the importance of water study. This Friday, as irrigation season comes to a start, Jim Lauria joins us to celebrate Leonardo da Vinci’s contributions to water.
During this session, you will learn:
- How to be a better advocate for water conservation
- How the plague contributed to water designs for the modern world
- The importance of water for National Defense
- How Leonardo’s studies shaped today’s views of the hydrological cycle
