Leonardo da Vinci was a genius.

We know this well.

One of the most brilliant minds in history, if you will.

I've always found it curious how, like many other Italian genius minds, he was forced to move outside our country's borders to express himself and be recognized as such. It seems to be a pattern in our Italian culture/history.

Anyway, among the many things I find fascinating about his work is the comparison he made between the human body and planet Earth.

The veins in our body are like rivers flowing, and their branches are like tree branches, the breath of the lungs like the rising and falling tides, and so on.

He then begins to study the angles, proportions, measurements, and arrives at a conclusion that is the basis of all his thinking, which is that

the human being is not only part of the cosmos but a miniature representation of it.

The famous analogy of microcosm and macrocosm, in which characteristics, patterns, and laws observed at a smaller level are often reflected in the larger one, suggesting a unity or interconnection in nature.

If we are, therefore, not only an element present in the environment but a miniature representation of the infinite universe, it means that human beings have immense potential.

The pursuit of "squaring the circle" is an ancient problem that has fascinated mathematicians, philosophers, and mystics, symbolizing a kind of impossible endeavor. Born with the Greeks, this problem aimed to construct a square with the same area as a given circle, using only compass and ruler. But beyond its geometric constraints, the challenge took on a mystical aura, as philosophers and thinkers began to consider it as a metaphor for the union of opposites or the reconciliation of the finite with the infinite. For ancient cultures, achieving this geometric harmony seemed to have spiritual significance, capable of unveiling the secrets of the cosmos and the unity of existence itself.

In the Middle Ages, "squaring the circle" transformed into a symbol of humanity's deepest aspirations towards wisdom and transcendence, often appearing in alchemical and mystical traditions. Alchemists believed that solving the enigma would unify opposing forces — matter and spirit, male and female, known and unknown — representing the alchemist's path to enlightenment and self-perfection. The search for a solution ended in 1882 when mathematician Ferdinand von Lindemann proved that it was mathematically impossible, as the transcendental nature of π made the problem unsolvable with classical tools. Yet, the mystical fascination with "squaring the circle" persists even today, representing the human desire to transcend one's limits, harmonize contradictions, and seek union between the material and spiritual worlds.

Leonardo became obsessed with this geometric problem:

can the physical and material world reunite with the divine?

Mathematically it's unsolvable, but Leonardo succeeded on a symbolic level, with the following drawing:

Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man did not solve the problem of "squaring the circle" in a mathematical sense, but offered a profound symbolic answer, representing the harmony between man and the cosmos. This drawing was inspired by the ideas of the Roman architect Vitruvius, who believed that the human body, with its proportions and symmetries, was a microcosm of the universe itself.

In the Vitruvian Man, Leonardo draws a human figure in two superimposed positions, enclosed in both a circle and a square, symbols of the divine and the earth respectively. The circle, a shape without beginning or end, represents the sky and perfection, while the square is the symbol of the material world, solid and concrete. By placing the human figure at the center of both shapes, Leonardo conveys the idea of man as a bridge between the earthly and the divine, between the finite and the infinite.

Thus, Leonardo did not solve the problem geometrically, but captured its symbolic essence: the human being as a meeting point between opposites, embodying the search for harmony between the macrocosm (the universe) and the microcosm (the individual). This philosophical "solution" encapsulates the mystical essence of "squaring the circle," evoking the balance between body, spirit, and cosmos, a harmony that mathematicians and mystics had long sought.

In essence, the purpose of this article is to help you recognize your own creative potential. If you are the human expression of the infinite universe, then you can expand without limits and create anything you truly desire.

So, what are you going to create?

A hug.

M