Where are the Renaissance Men of Today?

Think of the great leaders of the Renaissance. Galileo, Copernicus, and Leonardo Da Vinci. Michelangelo and Raphael. Don't forget Donatello, Machiavelli, and the rest. They all possessed great gifts. Galileo was a physicist, astronomer, and philosopher. Michelangelo, known so well for his paintings and sculptures, was also a poet and engineer. Machiavelli was a politician, writer, and philosopher. These men of the Renaissance had a diversity of gifts. In fact, they had more than merely a diversity; they had mastery of each of the gifts in that diversity.


So great was their impact that the term "renaissance man" was born of it. They had many talents and their knowledge extended to a variety of areas. Perhaps the greatest of these renaissance men was Leonardo da Vinci. His many areas of expertise and interest included being a sculptor, musician, inventor, writer, geologist, map maker, and engineer. Something in that period of time produced those with such diversity and quality of talent that the world was changed forever. My simple question is: where are those men (and women) today? What about the world has changed? Why in the relatively small period of around a century were there so many blessed with incredible talents and differing abilities? Perhaps it was intervention from the almighty - seeking to spring the world from darkness and into a climate suitable for restoration. Maybe it was the fact that so many areas of human thought had been neglected for so long that when a capable individual rose it was relatively easier for them to gain mastery of a variety of fields. We may never know the answer in full but the question remains: Where are the renaissance men of today?