Athanasius Kircher?

Interesting side note article in the New Yorker this week about 17th century renaissance man (?). Never heard of the man but he has been compared to Leonardo da Vinci for his inventiveness and the breadth and depth of his work. Did a little research and found that he wrote books on Egyptology, geology, music theory, magnetism and even studied malaria and the plague. Fascinating study for a 17th century. He was a believer of the syncretic approach (or consisting of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought). Overall an interesting man who seems to have been a "one-man intellectual clearing house" but with the changing of times seemed to have been swallowed up by rationalism and Descartes. Funny how people of the past seemed to be rediscovered. Umberto Eco seems have written about him in his novel The Island of the Day Before.

P.S. Although since I published this article I received my MAKE magazine (Volume 9) and what should be added as an insert to the magazine? Yes a Athanasius Kircher booklet (leaflet?) detailing his construction of a magnetic clock...weird...I seem to see a Gladwell tipping point going on with the Athanasius Kircher meme...