Chapter 9 Section VIII

"Leonardo da Vinci." Wu Leting tried to pronounce the name. Dinon looked at her. "What's wrong?" "Do you object to me reading these chapters about him?" Wu Leting asked while holding the thick "General History of the World". Dinon shrugged. "Why should I object? I don't have a grudge against everyone in history." Wu Leting smiled. "But it looks like you don't like certain people. Like the other day, you just heard the name Columbus and told me to turn the page." "Okay, I admit it. But Columbus can't be compared with Da Vinci. Although Columbus also made contributions to the world, he was snobbish and cruel. And Da Vinci is a real genius, he..."

Having said that, Dinon stopped. Wu Leting asked: "What's the matter, Old Man Di?" Di Nong pondered for a long time, then slowly said: "He is my friend. He used to be." Wu Leting rolled her eyes. "What kind of friend do you mean?" "It's a friend under general understanding. The kind of friend who eats, chats and takes walks together." silence. "...Old Di, if I understand correctly—you mean you have seen Da Vinci himself?" Wu Leting asked with difficulty. "I know what you're thinking." Dinon smiled. "Just think I'm crazy. It's okay, everyone here thinks so anyway. I don't blame you."

It was strange that Di Nong's words did not embarrass Wu Leting.She shrugged her shoulders and said, "You know, it's just... unbelievable." "It's all right, you don't have to believe it's true," Dinon said understandingly. "So maybe I should skip this part?" "why?" "You and Leonardo da Vinci are friends, so you don't need to learn everything about him from the book." Wu Leting was surprised by this statement - am I involuntarily mocking him? But Dinon doesn't seem to think so.He thought for a while and asked, "Is this "Global History" the latest edition you bought?"

"yes." "Read it to me, then—an introduction to Leonardo da Vinci. I wonder if the world knows anything new about him." "Okay." Wu Leting cleared her throat and began to read. "Leonardo da Vinci, one of the three masters of the Italian Renaissance. He is both an artist and a scientist. He is almost self-taught in all fields of knowledge. He is the only all-rounder in human history..." "Okay, thank you." Di Nong gently interrupted Wu Leting's reading. "You don't need to read any further." "Why?" Wu Leting asked curiously.

"Through this short description, I can guess the content behind it—it seems that the new version is no different from the previous one—at least the part about Da Vinci." Wu Leting said: "I don't understand. How can you be so sure? I almost read two sentences, and you can guess the content behind it?" "Yes, based on one of the sentences you just read." "Which sentence?" "'Knowledge in various fields is almost self-taught'." Dinon shook his head slowly and smiled. "Do you believe there is such a thing as 'teach yourself without a teacher' in this world?"

Wu Leting pursed her lips in thought, but did not speak. "Well, just to be clear. I know there are people in this world who could be called 'geniuses.' But that usually means someone who excels in a certain way. But Da Vinci - he was good at painting, Sculpture, music, proficiency in mathematics, medicine, physics, astronomy, geology, military affairs, and even water conservancy. Would it be too much of a stretch to say that he is 'self-taught' in all of these?" "You mean, this kind of 'all-rounder' is a bit too much, isn't it? It is impossible for such a person to exist in the world."

Dinon smiled and nodded: "You are very smart. That's what you mean." "So, the records about him in the book are exaggerated? Da Vinci is not so powerful?" "No, the descriptions in the book are accurate and concise. I even feel that some aspects have not been mentioned-in fact, Da Vinci is good at far more than these." Wu Leting frowned, and said puzzledly: "But, you said that this kind of omnipotence is impossible..." "What I'm saying is—this kind of self-taught all-rounder is impossible," Dinon corrected. "But you admit that Da Vinci was a genius."

"That's right. Because he has a learning ability and comprehension ability beyond ordinary people, and possesses extraordinary wisdom. But this does not mean that he can master so many subjects without a teacher." "Then who taught him these things?" "This is a very interesting question. According to the common understanding, no one in the world at that time could have learned more than Leonardo da Vinci in these fields. So, who can teach him so much?" Wu Leting fell into deep thought. Dinon said: "Think about it, Da Vinci was a person who lived in the Middle Ages in Europe. At that time, people's scientific outlook and understanding of the whole world and the universe were still in the beginning of ignorance. However, Da Vinci Finch put forward many extremely advanced ideas and theories.”

Wu Leting listened carefully. "For example, he proposed that the earth is not the center of the solar system, let alone the center of the universe, but just a planet revolving around the sun, and the sun itself does not move - this theory was put forward earlier than Copernicus' heliocentric theory. But there were no astronomical telescopes at the time. How did da Vinci know this? "The strange thing is far more than this. Before Magellan sailed around the world, Da Vinci calculated that the diameter of the earth was more than 7,000 miles. How did he calculate it? "In addition, Da Vinci also proposed the idea of ​​using solar energy as energy; he designed the earliest cars, cameras, cranes, excavators and underwater breathing devices, and even made a robot!" Dinon pointed "General History of the World" in the hands of Wu Leting. "See if any of this is mentioned in your book."

Wu Leting browsed quickly. "That's right, da Vinci's inventions are mentioned in the book. It's a pity that he didn't actually make these things, he just drew the design drawings, and the drawings were not published. Otherwise—'these The achievements are enough to advance the progress of our world scientific civilization by 100 years'." "Because he only has one person. He doesn't have so much time and energy to make so many inventions and creations in the same way." "Why didn't he publish the blueprints?" "He was terrified. He was terrified that he had mastered so many advanced technologies. You can try to imagine a person who has surpassed all human beings in the world. The sense of loneliness and fear of being 'too cold'. Da Vinci's life No friends, not even wives and children."

Wu Leting tried hard to understand this feeling, but it seemed difficult. "Of course, this is one of the reasons. Another reason is that someone asked him not to make these research results public." "Who is this guy?" "Guess what?" Di Nong stared at Wu Leting meaningfully. "A mysterious, hidden expert. This person is Da Vinci's teacher!" Wu Leting gave full play to her imagination. Dinon lowered his head and smiled slightly. "Actually, it can't be called a teacher, but just a friend of his. This person has a close relationship with Da Vinci. Da Vinci himself is also fascinated by this person." "Who the hell is he?" Wu Leting asked again.She was just too curious. Dinon smiled but did not answer. Suddenly, Wu Leting thought of what Di Nong said before.She blurted out: "This person can't be you?"