> In 1994, who paid over $30 million for a collection of Leonardo da Vinci'swritings known as the Codex Leicester?And the answer is: Bill Gates. Photo courtesy: public domainWritten in the early 16th century, the "CodexLeicester" includes Da Vinci's observations, sketches, and theories on water,air, and astronomy. At the time of purchase, it was considered the mostexpensive book ever sold.The "Codex Leicester" is a collection that offers a rare glimpse into Da Vinci'smind and working theories. While unorganized, the collection contains ideas thatwere unheard of in its time, and not formalized for centuries to come. Forexample, in a note to himself he writes: "Make eyeglasses to see the moonlarger." The first recorded use of a telescope wasn't until the followingcentury. The majority of the collection contains Da Vinci's musings on water – the way itmoves, ebbs, and carves paths in its wake. Careful, painstaking observations arecountered by simple yet intentional sketches that come together to speak to DaVinci's process as an artist: according to gallery director Eike Schmidt,"Leonardo couldn’t have painted as he did without his scientific observation ofnature." The significance of the collection also comes in its subversion of widely-held,Christian understanding of the Earth's age and time of creation. Hisobservations of fossils and geological stratification suggests a timelinepredating the Bible's by several million years. While such ideas would have beenseen as heretic if seen by the public at the time of its creation, Da Vinci keptthe collection quietly to himself. To learn more about the specific content of the Codex, check out this site[https://hammercodex.com/].