Slashdot Mirror
Would Leonardo Da Vinci Get a Job Today?
McBacon writes "After Leonardo Da Vinci's resume was transcribed, Wired asked Gordon Chesterman, Director of the Careers Service at the University of Cambridge, if Da Vinci would get hired today. 'What about commercial awareness? No mention of any budgetary control, meeting financial targets or a good return on capital. Few companies can afford "blue sky" stuff at any cost these days.'"
Look at his track record: Never stays at one job too long. Doesn't have a clear career path, keeps jumping around from painting to architecture to mechanical design, seemingly on a whim. Does not play well with others; intentionally obfuscates his notes so that nobody but him can read them. The list goes on and on... this man is obviously not a team player, and would be a poor fit for our development team. -- HR
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
He was applying for a government job, as an arms manufacturer.
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
I think the article looks at da Vinci in the wrong light. He never tried to sell himself as a anything but a brilliant innovator. That gets R&D jobs. He fully understood the reality of espionage and took care in encrypting his plans just as any high-level corporation or governmental organization would require.
He may not have been a team player, but he was also centuries ahead of his time. If DARPA found someone centuries ahead of *our* time, they'd suck it up and bring the guy on.
Ah, but how does one know if a person is "centuries ahead of our time" or just crazy? It's always easy in hindsight.