4/4: Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist Hardcover – November 12, 2024 by Richard Munson (Author)
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 19 December 2024
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
by Richard Munson (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/Ingenious-Biography-Benjamin-Franklin-Scientist/dp/0393882233
Benjamin Franklin was one of the preeminent scientists of his time. Driven by curiosity, he conducted cutting-edge research on electricity, heat, ocean currents, weather patterns, chemical bonds, and plants. But today, Franklin is remembered more for his political prowess and diplomatic achievements than his scientific creativity.
In this incisive and rich account of Benjamin Franklin’s life and career, Richard Munson recovers this vital part of Franklin’s story, reveals his modern relevance, and offers a compelling portrait of a shrewd experimenter, clever innovator, and visionary physicist whose fame opened doors to negotiate French support and funding for American independence.
Munson’s riveting narrative explores how science underpins Franklin’s entire story―from tradesman to inventor to nation-founder―and argues that Franklin’s political life cannot be understood without giving proper credit to his scientific accomplishments.
8 pages of illustrations
1790
Transcript
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| 1:05.3 | ingenious, a biography of Benjamin Franklin, scientist, emphasis in Richard's book on the experimental Franklin. |
| 1:13.3 | But there was the political Franklin we know well from Revolutionary Times. |
| 1:17.9 | He was older than our founders. |
| 1:19.7 | He was a founder, founder. |
| 1:22.1 | All of the names we know so well look up to Franklin as this antique wandering around and a somewhat stout man in his seniority. |
| 1:36.7 | Seventy would have been old in the 18th century. 80 would have been unbelievable, something comparable to 150 today. |
| 1:43.8 | And we'll get there. But I go to one particular |
| 1:47.2 | moment when it was clear to me that Franklin wanted to find a way to keep the colonies |
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