Table Of ContentS $25.95
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / ART
H
The life and art of history’s most L
A
infl uential mind—the fi nal work I
Leonard Shlain was a best-
N
selling author, inventor,
of famed author and surgeon Best-selling author Leonard Shlain explores the
and surgeon. Admired
potential for humankind through the life, art,
among artists, scientists,
Leonard Shlain
and mind of the fi rst true Renaissance Man,
philosophers, anthropologists,
Leonardo da Vinci. Th e author hypothesizes
and educators, he authored three best-selling
that da Vinci’s staggering range of achievements
books: Art & Physics; Th e Alphabet Versus Th e
“Shlain’s ability to synthesize not only information but also genuine wisdom in such a wide range of fi elds demonstrates
L
Goddess; and Sex, Time, and Power. He delivered
across multiple and disparate disciplines was extraordinary.”—AL GORE a harbinger of the future of our species. Da
E
stunning visual presentations based upon his
Vinci’s innovations as an artist, scientist, and
books in venues around the world, including “By exploring Leonardo da Vinci’s brain through the lens of contemporary O
inventor are recast through a modern lens, with
neuroscience, Leonard Shlain not only celebrates da Vinci’s legendary creativity,
Harvard, the New York Museum of Modern
he shows how we can integrate and strengthen both sides of our minds and tap N Shlain applying contemporary neuroscience to
Art, CERN, Los Alamos, the Florence Academy
into the amazing possibilities within ourselves.”—ARIANNA HUFFINGTON illuminate da Vinci’s creative process. No other
of Art, and the European Council of Ministers. A
person in human history has excelled in so many
His fans include Al Gore, Norman Lear, “A genius explains a genius.”—ALBERT BROOKS
R
areas of innovation: Shlain reveals the how and
and singer-songwriter Björk. Shlain died in
“Th is book is a gift from the heavens where Leonard Shlain is today and another D the why.
May 2009 at the age of 71 from brain cancer
bright example of his force and spirit shining through the prism of the mind of
shortly after the completion of this book. Visit O Shlain theorizes that Leonardo’s extraordinary
Leonardo da Vinci.” —NORMAN LEAR
LeonardShlain.com and LeonardosBrain.com. mind came from a uniquely developed and
’
“With clear and engaging prose, Shlain takes us on a splendid tour of Leonardo da
S integrated right and left brain, which off ers a
Vinci’s extraordinary life of creativity, artistry, beauty, and inventiveness, a journey
model for how we too can evolve. Using past
that will reward both left and right brain readers.”—DONALD JOHANSON, discoverer B Understanding
and current research, Leonardo’s Brain presents
of the 3.2-million-year-old fossil known as Lucy and founding director of the Institute of
LEONARDO’S
Human Origins R da Vinci as the focal point for a fresh exploration
Da Vinci’s
of human creativity. With his lucid style and
A
“Leonard Shlain, a brilliant and respected surgeon, was unique in his ability to
remarkable ability to discern connections among
Cover design by Diana Nuhn connect the dots across multiple disciplines, including history, art, neuroscience, and I
Cover photographs licensed by Shutterstock.com psychology. His insights in Leonardo’s Brain will help all of us appreciate just how N BRAINCreaUtNiDvEeR GSTAeNnDiIuNsG a wide range of fi elds, Shlain brings the reader
Author photograph by Tim Porter DA VINCI’S into the world of history’s greatest mind.
remarkable the brain is.”—DR. CHARLES WILSON, neurosurgeon and member at the
National Academy of Sciences CREATIVE GENIUS
$25.95
Lyons Press
An imprint of Rowman & Littlefi eld LEONARD SHLAIN
LyonsPress.com Leonard Shlain
Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
800-462-6420 LYONS
PRESS
S $25.95
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / ART
H
The life and art of history’s most L
A
infl uential mind—the fi nal work I
Leonard Shlain was a best-
N
selling author, inventor,
of famed author and surgeon Best-selling author Leonard Shlain explores the
and surgeon. Admired
potential for humankind through the life, art,
among artists, scientists,
Leonard Shlain
and mind of the fi rst true Renaissance Man,
philosophers, anthropologists,
Leonardo da Vinci. Th e author hypothesizes
and educators, he authored three best-selling
that da Vinci’s staggering range of achievements
books: Art & Physics; Th e Alphabet Versus Th e
“Shlain’s ability to synthesize not only information but also genuine wisdom in such a wide range of fi elds demonstrates
L
Goddess; and Sex, Time, and Power. He delivered
across multiple and disparate disciplines was extraordinary.”—AL GORE a harbinger of the future of our species. Da
E
stunning visual presentations based upon his
Vinci’s innovations as an artist, scientist, and
books in venues around the world, including “By exploring Leonardo da Vinci’s brain through the lens of contemporary O
inventor are recast through a modern lens, with
neuroscience, Leonard Shlain not only celebrates da Vinci’s legendary creativity,
Harvard, the New York Museum of Modern
he shows how we can integrate and strengthen both sides of our minds and tap N Shlain applying contemporary neuroscience to
Art, CERN, Los Alamos, the Florence Academy
into the amazing possibilities within ourselves.”—ARIANNA HUFFINGTON illuminate da Vinci’s creative process. No other
of Art, and the European Council of Ministers. A
person in human history has excelled in so many
His fans include Al Gore, Norman Lear, “A genius explains a genius.”—ALBERT BROOKS
R
areas of innovation: Shlain reveals the how and
and singer-songwriter Björk. Shlain died in
“Th is book is a gift from the heavens where Leonard Shlain is today and another D the why.
May 2009 at the age of 71 from brain cancer
bright example of his force and spirit shining through the prism of the mind of
shortly after the completion of this book. Visit O Shlain theorizes that Leonardo’s extraordinary
Leonardo da Vinci.” —NORMAN LEAR
LeonardShlain.com and LeonardosBrain.com. mind came from a uniquely developed and
’
“With clear and engaging prose, Shlain takes us on a splendid tour of Leonardo da
S integrated right and left brain, which off ers a
Vinci’s extraordinary life of creativity, artistry, beauty, and inventiveness, a journey
model for how we too can evolve. Using past
that will reward both left and right brain readers.”—DONALD JOHANSON, discoverer B Understanding
and current research, Leonardo’s Brain presents
of the 3.2-million-year-old fossil known as Lucy and founding director of the Institute of
LEONARDO’S
Human Origins R da Vinci as the focal point for a fresh exploration
Da Vinci’s
of human creativity. With his lucid style and
A
“Leonard Shlain, a brilliant and respected surgeon, was unique in his ability to
remarkable ability to discern connections among
Cover design by Diana Nuhn connect the dots across multiple disciplines, including history, art, neuroscience, and I
Cover photographs licensed by Shutterstock.com psychology. His insights in Leonardo’s Brain will help all of us appreciate just how N BRAINCreaUtNiDvEeR GSTAeNnDiIuNsG a wide range of fi elds, Shlain brings the reader
Author photograph by Tim Porter DA VINCI’S into the world of history’s greatest mind.
remarkable the brain is.”—DR. CHARLES WILSON, neurosurgeon and member at the
National Academy of Sciences CREATIVE GENIUS
$25.95
Lyons Press
An imprint of Rowman & Littlefi eld LEONARD SHLAIN
LyonsPress.com Leonard Shlain
Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
800-462-6420 LYONS
PRESS
Leonardo’s Brain
Understanding da Vinci’s Creative Genius
Leonard Shlain
LeonardosBrain_3pp_CS55.indd 1 8/1/14 10:16 AM
To my incredible wife, Ina Gyemant
Lyons Press is an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield
Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
Copyright © 2014 by Leonard Shlain
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information stor-
age and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
ISBN 978-1-4930-0335-8 (hardcover)
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/
NISO Z39.48-1992.
LeonardosBrain_3pp_CS55.indd 2 8/1/14 10:16 AM
Contents
Note to Reader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Author’s Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
Chapter 1: Art/Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 2: Medicis/Popes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 3: Milan/Vatican . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chapter 4: Mind/Brain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Chapter 5: Leonardo/Renaissance Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Chapter 6: Renaissance Art/Modern Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Chapter 7: Duchamp/Leonardo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chapter 8: Leonardo the Trickster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Chapter 9: Creativity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Chapter 10: Fear, Lust, and Beauty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Chapter 11: Leonardo/Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Chapter 12: Leonardo/Inventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Chapter 13: Emotions/Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Chapter 14: Space and Time/Space-Time . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
Chapter 15: Leonardo/Remote Viewing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Chapter 16: Leonardo’s Brain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Chapter 17: Leonardo/Asynchrony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
Chapter 18: Evolution/Extinction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226
LeonardosBrain_3pp_CS55.indd 3 7/10/14 2:47 PM
LeonardosBrain_3pp_CS55.indd 4 7/10/14 2:47 PM
Note to Reader
On September 6, 2008, our father entered emergency surgery and was
diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer and given nine months to live. The
prospect of losing our father, a simultaneously larger-than-life and loving
and fully present figure, took our breath away. Up until that fateful day, he
had been diligently finishing this book that he had worked on for seven
years, Leonardo’s Brain.
Our days were spent eating meals together, searching for silver brain-
cancer bullets, shuttling between radiation and daily blood transfusions,
and writing this book. So whether we were reading or talking about his
book, or the tumor we were trying to shrink in his head, we were always
talking about Leonardo’s Brain in one form or another.
These days were especially high-definition. He reached out to people
he hadn’t seen in years, and they would pick him up at home, take him
out for a fabulous lunch with a glass of wine, and reconnect. After this,
he would sit in the blood transfusion chair at the hospital and then go
home and get back to writing. He was trying to download all his ideas
and knowledge before it was too late.
He finished the book on Monday, May 3, 2009. It was akin to
watching a long-distance runner cross the finish line. On Thursday, May
6, we spent the evening selecting quotes from a large list of favorites he
kept in a document, placing two or three atop every chapter, like putting
dewdrops on the leaves of a Japanese tea ceremony orchid.
On Friday, May 7, Ina, his wife and our stepmother, called all three
children and his two best friends to his bedside. She said he had something
he wanted to tell all of us. We gathered around him, but this time he
couldn’t speak. Still, we could see the thoughts dancing in his eyes. He
looked frustrated at not being able to find words, but then he started to
look amazed. He kept saying “Wow.” Then he started to slip away.
He died Monday, May 11, 2009, at 5:40 a.m.
v
LeonardosBrain_3pp_CS55.indd 5 7/10/14 2:47 PM
Note to Reader
Leonardo’s Brain is not only one of his grandest intellectual journeys,
akin to his books Art & Physics, The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, and Sex,
Time, and Power, but it also kept him alive.
He loved more than anything else to share. As his children, we are
honored to share this book with you.
Kimberly (Shlain) Brooks, Jordan Shlain, and Tiffany Shlain
vi
LeonardosBrain_3pp_CS55.indd 6 7/10/14 2:47 PM
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
In the months before September 6, 2008, I noticed that I was having
trouble buttoning my sleeves with my right hand more than my left,
even though I am right-handed. When I came down for breakfast that
morning, I could barely speak. My alarmed wife, Ina, called my son,
Jordan, a doctor, who scheduled an emergency MRI. I emerged to find
my friend Brian Anderson, a neurosurgeon, at my bedside. He told me in
a serious voice that I would need emergency brain surgery in two hours.
The brain tumor was large and malignant. Even though I knew that
the tremendous difficulty I was having speaking and moving my right
side was as a result of brain swelling secondary to the surgery, at the time
I was not so sure I would recover. Thankfully, I did.
The reason I am telling you of this development, dear reader, is to let
you know that I am determined to finish this book. Tiffany Shlain, my
youngest daughter, who lives near me, has assured me that she will be
there for any help I need. Most of it is written, and the last few chapters
are in my head. I had planned to make this book as accurate as possible,
and to meticulously go over every fact and date to ensure that there are no
errors. Alas, there is not enough time left for me to guarantee that, so I ask
for your tolerance if the book slips on a detail, or if an endnote is missing.
I have poured myself into this book by reading and synthesizing an
enormous amount of background information about Leonardo and the
evolutionary development of the brain. In this book I aim to present
original theories that weave together the different aspects of Leonardo’s
life (and brain) that have not yet been considered by previous scholars
from the fields of psychology, art history, and science. In doing so, I hope
to stimulate new thinking about Leonardo and humankind alike.
Leonard Shlain
Mill Valley, California
April 2009
vii
LeonardosBrain_3pp_CS55.indd 7 7/10/14 2:47 PM
Great art can communicate before it is understood.
—T. S. Eliot
It seems to me that in the question of truth and beauty one finds what
is really the deepest root of the relationship between science and art.
—David Bohm, quantum physicist
The artist is the antennae of the race.
—Ezra Pound
LeonardosBrain_3pp_CS55.indd 8 7/10/14 2:47 PM
