Comments on: Why did Leonardo da Vinci use mirror writing? Mind Map

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:33:08 +0000

Hi Jorn

Thanks for your comments – some interesting insights

By: Jørn Løset

Jørn Løset — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:25:37 +0000

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.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:50:59 +0000

Hi NB

No problem, I’m certain you will enjoy the book. I did not know about glial cells – interesting

By: nbwriter

nbwriter — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:27:17 +0000

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

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:01:39 +0000

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