People know of da Vinci because of his execution, not the random tech thought experiment sketches. He painted perhaps the most famous painting of all time, the

People know of da Vinci because of his execution, not the random tech thought experiment sketches. He painted perhaps the most famous painting of all time, the Mona Lisa, and the most famous mural of all time, The Last Supper. Many of his sketches were of human anatomy (e.g. Vitruvian Man), which he did mainly to help him paint more realistically. Less well known today were his work in geometry, architecture, civil engineering, optics, etc. He wrote numerous books on a wide variety of topics. Most were meant to be helpful "how to" guides for people of the day. IMO, da Vinci would not be as well known today if he had not executed magnificently. Lots of people come up with random ideas. Few actually do anything with them.