Great Minds - IFC - Championship Round

Great Minds

Our minds become magnetized with the dominating thoughts we hold in our minds and these magnets attract to us the forces, the people, the circumstances of life which harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts. -Napoleon Hill

Our brain is a powerful place. The thoughts and emotions we allow to run through our minds. The creativity we allow to flow through our thoughts. Through our mind we can change a bad situation to good and a good situation to a bad one. Having a great mind can take us far but being a deep thinker can take us even farther. Let's look into the great mind of some deep thinkers...

Albert Einstein

1879–1955

One of the greatest minds of the 1900s and influential thinkers of all time. Einstein had delayed speech, he didn't say a word until four years old. Due to this delayed speech in this young boy later revealing a brilliant man, there is now a term for this. It is called The Einstein Syndrome. A term referring to the speech delay—e.g., no conversations before age four—that occurs in some exceptionally bright people...

At just five years old, his mind opened up and began to wonder. His father showed him a pocket compass and the brilliant mind of Einstein was then intrigued as to how exactly the needle pointed in a certain direction and not anywhere else. That was when it all started. Growing up, he didn't do so well with academics but Einstein eventually went on to win a Nobel prize. He became what we call a genius. Einstein changed the way we view space and time. His work in theoretical physics was key to the development of the atom bomb and nuclear energy.

Two things are infinite. The universe and human stupidity ...and i'm not so sure about the universe. -Albert Einstein

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Leonardo da Vinci

1452-1519

Best known for some of his artwork, including the Mona Lisa, Leonardo was an incredible thinker with a great mind. Painting wasn't the only thing on his mind. He also enjoyed inventing items, music, literature, writing, geology, science, mathematics, sculpting, history, architecture, astronomy and geology...just to name a few. Although da Vinci never really actually invented much, his sketches from long ago were inspiration for many of the inventions we have today. He was a brilliant man with knowledge for technology that was far beyond his time.

Here are five inventions sketched by Leonardo da Vinci;

1- The Parachute

Evidence leans towards the idea of parachutes being invented even before Leonardo's time but in 2000 a British skydiver named Adrian Nicholas, built a parachute according to da Vinci's sketches and Nicholas successfully jumped.

2- Machine Gun

A 33-barrelled organ, very different from modern machine guns but had the same concept nonetheless. Da Vinci's design was to have individual guns connected in three rows. Ideally, the first row would be fired while the second row was being loaded and the third would be in cool down. Around the 19th century the machine gun was introduced to the battlefield. It has been said that da Vinci's design influenced that rapid fire gun we know of today.

3- Tank

This tank was designed with to be driven by men inside and it was meant to be equipped with a series of guns or cannons. In the design, the tank appears to be operational. Looking deeper it was seen that there was a major flaw. The tank shows it to be operated by a system of gears. If built as shown, the tank would not have been able to move due to his design causing the front wheels to move in the opposite direction from the rear. With a mind as great as Leonardo's, it wasn't likely that this was an error on his part. It seemed to be more purposely designed that way. Many historians think that this is because da Vinci didn't want this war machine to be fully built and some believe that he just didn't want the wrong people getting their hands on this design.

4- Robotic Knight

This is one of the more interesting ones, in my opinion. This robot or automaton was designed to be operated without human intervention. Internally, this robot was driven by gears which would cause the robot knight to sit, stand, move its arms, neck and mouth. In 1957, the sketches resurfaced and many were interested in learning more. Through further study, information suggest that this design was brought to life and Leonardo da Vinci displayed his robotic knight at a celebration which was hosted by Ludovico Sforza at the court of Milan. In 2002, roboticist Mark Rosheim built a robotic knight by using several different sketches from da Vinci. This robot was able to walk and wave. Rosheim also built robots for NASA, many of which were built with the inspiration from da Vinci's designs.

5- Flying Machine

Designed with the anatomy of birds and bats in mind, this is a really interesting concept that da Vinci came up with. Aviation seemed to be one of his biggest interest. The wingspan of this flying machine was 33 feet. The idea was for the pilot to lie face down in the center and move the wings by using a crank. There was also a head piece to help with steering and a hand crank of increased energy output. The biggest problem that da Vinci ran into was that there was no engine to keep the flying machine in the air. It took another 400 years before brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully flew the first powered aircraft.

I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death. -Leonardo da Vinci

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Isaac Newton

1642-1726

Known as a key figure in science revolution, Newton also had one of the greatest minds of all time. Here are a few facts about Isaac Newton;

• English scientist that explained the Laws of Motion
• Became known in his scientific community because of his refractive telescope
• Apparently, an apple falling to the ground is what intrigued Newtons mind on the theory of gravity
• At 27, he became a professor in Mathematics at his University
• The university had to close because of the Great Plague, that is when Newton really put on his thinking cap
• He discovered the Law of Universal Gravitation
• Newton helped aid in the creation of Calculus
• Queen Anne made Newton a Knight in 1705
• Newton had one of the more expensive teeth around town, after his passing one tooth was sold for over $3000 and made into a ring!

I can calculate the motion on heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people. -Isaac Newton

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Beautiful Girl With A Beautiful Mind

I never realized how amazing the brain and mind really was until I had a child. I mean previous to that I had learned about people with great minds such as Einstein, da Vinci and Newton but watching this young little child of mine learn something new each and every day. Not just something either, watching her learn about the entire world around her, starting with the littlest details. It truly is amazing when your able to see a child's mind work. You watch them as little babies, look around the room and you can just see it in their eyes. You can see their mind trying to figure out what is going on around them. Then they get a little bigger and their mind really starts to expand.

My daughter is 4 and starts Pre-K this week! She started at an Early Learning Facility about 3 months ago and her mind has expanded so much. Her vocabulary has grown, her imagination has begun to take itself to a whole new level, it is just incredible. Watching her learn new things melts my heart every single day. She never ceases to amaze me and always makes me proud. Savanna is a very special little girl with a beautiful mind that I greatly admire.

That was just a few weeks ago. I have been practicing with writing her name and I was so proud to see that she was able to write her name at school without having to trace the lines! It's a work in progress of course but to watch her journey with writing is so great.

Kids really do say the craziest things sometimes too, things you wouldn't really expect. The other day before work I was eating a yogurt on the couch. I of course dropped it and the yogurt spilled on the couch and the floor. Savanna looks at me and says, "see, that's why we don't eat on the couch and we only eat at the table". I mean, she had a really valid point. That is something that I tell her like all the time.

This one here, I am not really sure what it is. However, she drew it at her school and I was again blown away with just how much her mind growing. To see her be able to draw something that has a face and a figure to it, so amazing. I just love this drawing of hers! If you notice though, their arms are coming out of their head. She has drawn her people like that since the very first time she drew a person which was about a year ago.

Savanna had a really tough first few weeks of being around kids. She was being bullied and I felt so bad because I stayed home with her up until June when she started so she hadn't been around kids before. I absolutely did not want that to be the way she felt that kids should be. It completely ruined her view on school and children. She would cry and cry, she would tell me that she hated school. My little four year old was so hurt. The first week or so she would just say that she didn't want to go to school. I thought maybe she was still adjusting but eventually she would come home and say, "Haley is mean to me. She tells me to get away from her. She doesn't like me." It was just something new everyday.

We immediately went to the school the very first moment she told us. They handled it well and after a few days she told me that the little girl wasn't being mean to her anymore. It was very hard to sit down with her and try to explain what a bully was. She was so eager to play with other kids, it hurt and confused her to have one so mean to her. I explained that she should always feel comfortable coming to us and should always tell us when something is wrong so that we can help.

Just the other day in the car she said, "mommy, this little boy ran away from me today and didn't want to play with me". I explained to her that it's okay, sometimes people just want to play alone or run around and do other things. She was quiet for a moment and said, "I know, I just felt like I should tell you about it". I was so shocked that she remembered from a few months ago what I had told her. I mean, she can't remember to pick up after herself so it really did surprise me that this stuck. I felt so great that she already feels comfortable enough to come to me when something is bothering her.

This moment here really made me laugh. After school one day, she was quiet for a few minutes so I went to check on her. I freaked out a little at first because I couldn't find her anywhere. After a moment I realized that she had flipped her tent upside down and turned it into a bed. She grabbed her pillow, her blanket and curled up like a baby.

The innocence of a child's mind is incredible as well. My husband recently had a very good friend suddenly pass away. He was visibly upset so when Savanna asked what was wrong, we tried our best to explain it to her. The funeral was in Md so Devon had to leave a few days later to head there. The morning of the funeral we called him before I dropped her off to child care. She told him the sweetest thing on the phone that morning. She said, "Daddy, it's okay. I have superpowers and I can wake your friend up for you so that you can see him again."

Recently, Devon has been building us a new rabbit hutch. Savanna being the daddys girl she is, loves to help when she can. It is a little hard for her to help, so she found her own way to get involved. She gathered several small pieces of wood and now goes outside to build her own cage whenever she gets the chance. It is really neat to watch her mind design like a legit little cage. She ended up building a really good cage but at the time my phone wasn't on me so I missed the opportunity to take a picture of that one but each time she builds a cage, it is awesome.

She typically includes a kitchen in each hutch. We sit down and pretend to cook healthy food for the animals in the "kitchen", then we take it to their pretend bowls and they eat. She also always includes a bed. Her favorite part is probably the pieces of wood that are slanted because she turns them into a slide for the animals. We all need a little fresh air, so naturally the animals also need a playground outside. I think it is amazing that she gathered these randomly shaped pieces of wood and she is able to design something such as a rabbit hutch.

Savanna is such a sweet, caring and compassionate little girl. Watching her grow up has been incredible and I am so blessed to be her mom. She brightens my day and knows how to turn any bad day into a good one.

Young or old and everything in between, we can each have a great mind in our own unique way.

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This is my very last entry into the @ifc championship. I have had an amazing experience with IFC, from the very beginning to the very end. I had joined late and I made a comment stating that I wasn't out to win, that wasn't even in my mind. I just wanted to meet new users, learn some new information and bring out some of my own creativity. This contest has done just that. I am beyond honored that I made it into the finals. Thank you to @apolymask for this awesome contest. Thank you to @charisma777 for your obvious hard work and motivation within the @ifc. Of course everyone who has been involved in IFC in even the smallest way, is appreciated. Lastly, I want to congratulate @youhavewings for also making it into the finals. She is an incredible writer and an amazing person. Being in the finals with her has brought to me a new friend that I am thankful for.