STEAM - Putting the A into STEM: Which philosophy do you prefer?
'Leonardo Da Vinci' is both a name and a label often attached by educators to lend credibility to courses promoting STEAM.
The reason for this, is that 'Leonardo' the person, is characterised as being a 'polymath' - someone who knows a lot about many different things. Which, in the context of formal education, is somewhat ironic as Leonardo was a self-educated person ('uomo sanza lettere'), and since he lacked formal education, contemporary scholars mostly ignored his scientific ideas and endeavours.
Leonardo had what we today call a 'photographic memory'. His approach to science was strictly 'observational': he tried to understand a phenomenon by describing and depicting it in utmost detail rather than attempting to experiment, discover underlying laws or develop theoretical explanations.
His methods were descriptive rather than explanatory or predictive.
A recent and exhaustive analysis of 'Leonardo as a scientist' by Fritjof Capra argues that Leonardo was a fundamentally different kind of scientist from Galileo, Newton and other scientists who followed him.
Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualised flying machines, armoured fighting vehicles, concentrated solar power, and an adding machine. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or even feasible during his lifetime.
Despite the continuing recognition of his creative and artistic genius. Leonardo did not publish his findings and they had no direct influence on later science.
For those above reasons, it is not correct to think of Leonardo as being 'a scientist' in the sense that we understand and use that term today.
Amongst modern-day promoters of STEAM education, the label 'Leonardo Da Vinci' continues to be most widely used as a call to action to engage teachers in 'craft' activities. [1)]
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