The project of the dome began as many human endeavors begin: someone wanted to do something to show that they were the best. In typical human fashion, the fathers of Florence, Italy had decided that Florence would be the best and most advanced city around. They wanted to beat out their rivals in Milan to be the best that Europe had to offer. How would they do this? By building a cathedral with a stunning dome; something that had never been done before. But, they soon ran into a problem: they had no idea how to do so. Without even thinking about the how, the why outshone and they started the project not knowing how to finish. The solution was to have a contest. Whoever could figure out how to make a dome 180 feet off the ground on an existing
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But that belief came from the fact that no one knew how to accomplish such a great task. No one had the tools to do it. But Brunelleschi saw this as an opportunity. Throughout the entirety of the project, he found obstacle after obstacle, not knowing how to get the job done. But he had a special ability to find a solution. As he encountered these problems, he found the solution. He was able to design several different inventions, most of which weren’t rivaled until the industrial revolution, a few hundred years later. If It hadn’t been for his abilities to see a problem (the dome, how to build the dome, how to lift materials, etc), solve it (create ideas for equipment to lift and hold materials), and then his pure ability to execute those plans, the dome would have been impossible to build.
Those qualities are the essence of what a scientific “thinker” should be. It’s not so much about just asking questions and wanting to know, but it’s about knowing how to do it and executing it to get results. That is what Brunelleschi was able to do, and that is what allowed him to make his mark on
But that belief came from the fact that no one knew how to accomplish such a great task. No one had the tools to do it. But Brunelleschi saw this as an opportunity. Throughout the entirety of the project, he found obstacle after obstacle, not knowing how to get the job done. But he had a special ability to find a solution. As he encountered these problems, he found the solution. He was able to design several different inventions, most of which weren’t rivaled until the industrial revolution, a few hundred years later. If It hadn’t been for his abilities to see a problem (the dome, how to build the dome, how to lift materials, etc), solve it (create ideas for equipment to lift and hold materials), and then his pure ability to execute those plans, the dome would have been impossible to build.
Those qualities are the essence of what a scientific “thinker” should be. It’s not so much about just asking questions and wanting to know, but it’s about knowing how to do it and executing it to get results. That is what Brunelleschi was able to do, and that is what allowed him to make his mark on