Why did Leonardo da Vinci use mirror writing? Mind Map
Here are my thoughts.
Did he use it to hide his writing and ideas?
Very unlikely – it is hardly difficult to mirror it back!
Because he wrote left-handed?
Again, unlikely – the advantage is minimal.
I believe he did it to slow his thinking and tap his inner creativity.
To encourage inner silence and stillness.
To increase levels of awareness and higher, finer concentration.
To ground himself in the present moment, harness new, fresh thinking and ideas.
Using mirror writing slows you down and the pauses create a calmer, clearer, meditative state that increases the quality of your thinking, and unlocks rigid reasoning.
Perhaps he read it back to himself in front of a mirror in order to see himself whilst reading – not out of vanity; in order to test what he had written from a different perspective and further contemplate his writing.
Try writing the words in the image below in mirror and you will see that it takes concentration not to write some of the letters normally.
Contrast that with the speed of writing the same words forwards and you will notice that you do it so quickly that not much thought is given to what you are doing.
Personally, I think it fosters deeper, truer, contemplation – perhaps da Vinci considered concepts then mirrored to develop 360 degrees thinking, radial thinking like mind mapping.
I have also flipped the Mind Map so that you can read it normally:
To read more about creativity and ideas you may wish to purchase my E-Book “Idea Creation”
See also “The Qualities of Leonardo da Vinci Mind Map”
If you have any thoughts on why da Vinci used mirror writing you can add a comment below
Update 26.01.09:
Something else has struck me regarding Leonardo and this time specifically about the Mona Lisa. There is a theory that the Mona Lisa is possibly, or at least contains elements of, a self-portrait.
Looking at the name “Mona Lisa” – I wonder if it could perhaps be a simple anagram of Mon Alias – which in French is “My Alias”? Perhaps the Mona Lisa represents the feminine side/quality of Leonardo. Something more to consider!
Paul
Update 19.04.09:
How clever is your brain? Try reading this amazing Scrambled text example
I think this is a wonderful page, with some great insights. Thanks!
I personally think that Leonardo might have mirror written because it is so interesting to Mirror Read. Mirror Reading slows us down to “unlock rigid reasoning”, and opens concentration and fresh thinking, in ways similar to mirror writing.
There’s fascinating research on Mirror Reading using fMRI technology. Mirror Read practice leads to grey matter growth in the right hemisphere – in areas not associated with regular reading. Right brain skills include mental rotation and spatial transformation. These abilities, along with being a creative visionary, show that Leonardo was ahead of his time.
Check out the Mirror Read website for more info, and children’s books written in mirror text.
Shelagh
Mirror read
Thanks for your comments Shelagh
Leonardo certainly was way ahead of his time
Actually, my 5 year old daughter who is lefthanded, starts to write mirrored text from time to time, without she is even knowing she does that. Maybe he didn’t have a father that told him we write from left to right??
A possibility Andy, thanks for your comments
Yes! Many children, lefties, and righties too, spontaneously mirror write, without realizing the difference.
This morning I had a Mirror Reading at a library: A six-year old girl, just starting to sound out words, was able to mirror read without a mirror, more easily than regular text.
Also, she was a way faster mirror reader than her father!
Her brain has not yet firmly “lateralized” language in the left hemisphere.
Vive la flexibilite des enfants!
Let’s encourage this mental flexibility in our children.
Leonardo probably used mirror writing for a very simple reason. He was left-handed. It is much easier for many left-handed people to move, read, and write from right to left than from left to right. Think about it. They can pull the pen rather than having to push it. They can see what they’ve written as they write it (their hand does not cover it up). And, most importantly, if they are using a dip pen, their hand does not drag in the ink. Can you imagine trying to write left-handed with a dip pen from left to right? What a mess!!!
My son is left-handed. When he was three years old, he started mirror writing. It was unquestionably easier for him. “It is BETTER this way, mommy” he insisted. Learning to write the standard direction has been a struggle for him.
Thanks for your comments Singleton, interesting idea about the dip pen – that could be a reason
Singleton agrees with what I’ve been thinking for years. Leonardo wanted to get notes down quickly. He was not only using a dip pen, but the pen was probably a quill of some sort. To push a quill pen across parchment or vellum quickly and accurately would have been problematic. Leonardo may have had the ability to naturally read and write mirror, as studies show that more left handers can do this than right handers.
Thanks for your comments Wayne – it sounds likely
Ahh… Mind maps! [smile]
Enjoyed your mind maps no end, Paul. I remember using them as an “aide de memoire” while struggling through a Computing Degree. (Happy days…) Weren’t they invented by a Cambridge Professor? Anyway… Leonardo…
Researching the Codex Leicester has proved a fascinating journey. I’m quite sure Mr L would have approved of Mind Maps, since the interconnections between ourselves and Nature are extant in his wonderful notebooks. I’m also pretty sure he never wrote these for public consumption, therefore we can deduce that the Mirror Writing is a personal quirk.
I adore the idea that mirror writing would stimulate Leonardo’s astonishing creativity… That’s a beautiful idea. However, since he was a man of huge energy, it seems practical to surmise the mirrored script suited his left handiness. Although, may I ask: How can we be sure he was a left-hander?
Kind Regards, NB
Hi NB
I agree Leonardo would have found Mind Maps an excellent thinking tool
That is a good question, I like that – How can we be sure he was a left-hander?
Mind Maps were invented by Tony Buzan, more details about Tony can be found here:
http://www.thinkbuzan.com/ar/company/about/tony-buzan
Thanks for your comments and insights
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the heads-up on Tony Buzan. It appears he’s lectured at Cambridge, graduating from University Of Columbia in ’64. Since he also edited for MENSA, I guess he easily qualifies as an Egghead Supremo. [smile]
Currently, my researches into Leonardo are at a preliminary stage, although I suppose evidence will emerge that he was a “left-hander”. Subconsciously, perhaps, the act (as you discovered) of writing mirrored did develop his creative abilities. One could even view his notebooks as early kinds of “mind maps” in themselves.
I did read somewhere we only use 10% of our brains. This has always led me to wonder what the other 90% is up to?
Kind Regards, NB
Hi NB
You are welcome.
You may wish to check out the book “How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci” by Michael Gelb (ISBN 9780007169656) if you haven’t done so already – it’s a fascinating read about da Vinci and his thinking styles
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your sterling recommendation. I’ll check it out. I have researched brain chemistry for over a year, also reading up on another well-known genius: Mr Einstein. As a mind-mapper, you may be interested to know Einstein had a surplus of “glial cells” (from the Greek glaie meaning “glue”). These cells support and protect neurons that, as I’m sure you know, facilitate synaptic activity.
I won’t bore you with details here of how synaptic activity can be enhanced, but the subject certainly has many unexpected benefits for our untapped minds.
Kind Regards, NB
Hi NB
No problem, I’m certain you will enjoy the book. I did not know about glial cells – interesting
My 15 year old son recently discovered that he was able to mirror his handwriting with little effort. After a couple evenings of practise in idle hours he can mirror-write nearly as fast as usual writing. When reading it in a mirror it looks identical to or even a bit better than his normal letters. He is left-handed, a trait that in his case was very visible already from 8 months of age. When he realised that he could mirror-write, he immediately commented that it was easy because he did’t have to pull his hand across the letters, hiding what he just had written below his palm.
What he said made me instantly think of Da Vinci, who obviously had to struggle with wet ink that he probably would smear over the fresh letters if he should write something in a hurry if he was a leftie. I’m convinced that he deliberately chose to mirror-write his personal notes mainly because it was faster for him.
Hi Jorn
Thanks for your comments – some interesting insights