“If you just look carefully, you could really figure the world out”

On Dec. 18 Bill Gates wrote: “I’ve been fascinated by the artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci for decades. He had one of the most innovative minds ever. Next year is the 500^th anniversary of his death, and I thought I would share a short video about a project I’ve worked on that is helping to mark the occasion. The project is called the Codescope. It’s an interactive kiosk with a touch screen that lets you explore the Codex Leicester, a notebook of Leonardo’s that I bought in 1994. Using the Codescope, you can learn about the history of the notebook, see every page of Leonardo’s original writing, get a translation, and even watch animated versions of his drawings.” Video The Codescope allows visitors to study details of Leonardo’s drawings, reverse his Italian mirror script, and read the manuscript in modern English or Italian. It also shows users how each section of a page is related to other information, giving an inside look into how Leonardo’s mind worked.