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Leonardo da Vinci was a hopeless procrastinator.

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Re: Leonardo da Vinci was a hopeless procrastinator.

#41

Post by abossy »

electromagnetic wrote: post #38
anthonyrubin wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because labeling Leonardo a procrastinator makes all of us procrastinators feel better about ourselves.

And not saying it makes me feel like I'm not a procrastinator! I rue the minute you commented and ruined my few moments of not feeling like a procrastinator.

Furthermore, the fact that Leonardo is a procastinator and so are we indicates that we are all merely human and somewhat equally capable, regardless of how human history has elevated the status of one being over another.

Re: Leonardo da Vinci was a hopeless procrastinator.

#42

Post by raphar »

bentoner wrote: post #31
juliend2 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what kind of startup? Is it linked to science?

I don't know yet! I'm still exploring that, while finishing up various academic projects.

You are delaying facing your fate too! Just do it man. If something is told here over and over, is that theres no perfect business idea. You pick one direction and correct your course every time your market tells you so. good luck. :)

Re: Leonardo da Vinci was a hopeless procrastinator.

#43

Post by jacquesm »

unalone wrote: post #24
ajju wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An entrepreneur who caters to something other than a "customer driven market" is a rare one. And even if an entrepreneur can create a whole new market on their own by innovating, it will soon become customer driven. I am betting on the theory that entrepreneurship itself provides much more space for creativity than most other professions and if you succeed, you'll have a lot of money and time to pursue creativity ful…

The best creations are the ones inventors are making for themselves. I was reading the interview with Steve Wozniak in Founders at Work , and what most struck me was how he talked about Apple's biggest innovations as being things either he or Steve Jobs made for themselves, because they wanted their computers to be better. The guys at 37signals made their products so that they could use them. Mark Zuckerberg made Fac…

you've nailed it just perfect with that.

If you want to be successful, make something that YOU need, then find others with the same need and market it to them.

And failing that do something that gives you joy, quite often that leads down fruitful alleys as well.

Re: Leonardo da Vinci was a hopeless procrastinator.

#44

Post by jacquesm »

bentoner wrote: post #6

My solution to procrastination: 1. Identify the activities you procrastinate (for me, writing scientific papers); 2. Rearrange your life so you don't have to do them any more. (I just left academia to do a startup.)

that's the single best solution to the procrastination problem I've seen.

Another possibility is to rearrange things in such a way that the only think you can still do are the things you are trying to get away from.

Re: Leonardo da Vinci was a hopeless procrastinator.

#45

Post by jacquesm »

electromagnetic wrote: post #17

I completely disagree that Leonardo was a procrastinator simply because he didn't do everything he dreamed of. I'm sorry, I've looked through some of the books of his designs and he has things like strip-miners and hang-gliders and such. I'm sorry, they were physically incapable of making them in his day. He understood concepts and designed things that fit them, likely knowing he'd never be able to build them in his…

That's a good one. I think the author is mistaking 'visionary' for 'procrastinator'.

THe simple fact that Leonardo Da Vinci did not have access to the technology to realize his visions (and could not even begin to guess how far away that technology was) does not make him a procrastinator.

Have a look at the stuff that he came up with that had the technology readily available. It's a good thing they didn't have patents back then or Leonardos descendants would have owned the world.

Re: Leonardo da Vinci was a hopeless procrastinator.

#46

Post by ahoyhere »

biohacker42 wrote: post #34
jonmc12 wrote: post #9

On a day to day basis Leonardo would allocate his time between customer projects and his own. He would balance client commitments with his natural energy for creativity - and according to this article, his natural energy often won that battle. It could be argued that it was the vision and taste of the Medici family in Florence that actually launched the renaissance. Their customer dollars enabled a new class of Itali…

The freedom to pursue creative fulfillment is very unusual in human history. The vast majority of the time it just takes far too much time and energy to survive. On very rare occasions, people have enough time to create art. An example I can think of is the native Americans in the pacific north west, before the arrival of Europeans. The unique combination of: Seasonal salmon runs - very good calorie rich food that's…

From what I've read, a lot of studies of "indigenous peoples" contradicts what you are saying. Especially regarding the time spent on necessities. I read an ethnographical book about how tribal peoples in the jungle 'worked' for at most half the day on their basic needs.

Granted, the jungle is also plentiful (altho hazardous.)

But the masses of people who have to walk hours for water, in Africa and parts of the Middle East, is also a modern thing. Before modernish times, that would be totally untenable. Either they would move on, or they would all die, rather than this in-between state they occupy now.

The majority of cultures since the Great Leap Forward seemed to have created quite a bit of art, music and myths, but many of them were trasient and impermanent and so left no trace. And apparently a lot of it was "practical," in terms of beautiful clothing, vessels, "magical" items and weapons.

But I don't think I'd call those things uncreative because they were also useful.

Re: Leonardo da Vinci was a hopeless procrastinator.

#47

Post by ahoyhere »

electromagnetic wrote: post #17

I completely disagree that Leonardo was a procrastinator simply because he didn't do everything he dreamed of. I'm sorry, I've looked through some of the books of his designs and he has things like strip-miners and hang-gliders and such. I'm sorry, they were physically incapable of making them in his day. He understood concepts and designed things that fit them, likely knowing he'd never be able to build them in his…

If he felt he didn't get done the things he wanted to do because he was constantly flitting around on a hundred projects, wouldn't you call that a procrastinator?

I would. I'm the same way. Most people wouldn't call me a procrastinator looking at my output, but I know how I feel.

It's hubris to claim to know how Leonardo felt, of course, unless he wrote it down himself, but I don't think the article's nearly as big a stretch as you think it is.

Re: Leonardo da Vinci was a hopeless procrastinator.

#48

Post by ahoyhere »

electromagnetic wrote: post #17

I completely disagree that Leonardo was a procrastinator simply because he didn't do everything he dreamed of. I'm sorry, I've looked through some of the books of his designs and he has things like strip-miners and hang-gliders and such. I'm sorry, they were physically incapable of making them in his day. He understood concepts and designed things that fit them, likely knowing he'd never be able to build them in his…

If he felt he didn't get done the things he wanted to do because he was constantly flitting around on a hundred projects, wouldn't you call that a procrastinator?

I would. I'm the same way. Most people wouldn't call me a procrastinator looking at my output, but I know how I feel.

It's hubris to claim to know how Leonardo felt, of course, unless he wrote it down himself, but I don't think the article's nearly as big a stretch as you think it is.

Re: Leonardo da Vinci was a hopeless procrastinator.

#49

Post by ahoyhere »

mblakele wrote: post #33
anr wrote: post #10

Catchy title. Diagnosing "procrastination" seems to be all the rage nowadays, people will almost always identify with it.

This may not apply to Leonardo da Vinci, but I'm reminded of M.A. Foster's notion that overcrowding generates bureaucracy. The idea may not be original to him, but he suggested that people erect social or procedural barriers when physical ones are no longer available. Perhaps procrastination is a similar phenomenon. The workplace is ubiquitous now, if we allow it to be. Do we procrastinate so that our minds have time…

Let's not forget that the invention of bureaucracy was hailed as a beautiful and wonderful thing, in order to prevent rich people from buying positions in govt and also getting personal favors out of other govt officials.
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