Context

This line was written by Leonardo da Vinci in notes he made throughout his life. The notes were collected into The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. The date of this quote is unknown, but sometime during his lifetime of 1452-1519.

Okay, let's quickly get over the obvious interpretation: Nature doesn't make mistakes—it gets its inventions right, with nothing lacking and nothing unneeded. But hold on to your Swiss cheese 'cause we're poking a hole in this quote. Sorry Leonardo.

The thing is, nature invented curiously flawed humans. We are lacking in emotional perfection (have you seen the list of psychological disorders?), and we have superfluous things like wisdom teeth. So maybe Leonardo should have finished his sentence with "…except in humans."

But even with hurricanes, earthquakes, and shark bites, nature is our best teacher. Although the dinosaurs might disagree, emulating her is still a great idea. It worked pretty well for Leonardo.

Where you've heard it

You've heard this on nature walks. As your guide points out earth's many splendors, you're making sure you don't step on any snakes, poison ivy, or fire ants.

Since Leo obviously loved nature so much, he got the inspiration for his military tank design from a turtle's shell.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

When someone says this to you at a dinner party, just sniff and say, "Poppycock. Human subtlety invented music."