The reason why I picked Benjamin Franklin to read about is because he is both a Founding Father of the United States and one of the greatest scientists of American history. He was a very influential delegate in the numerous early conventions our country had, with many wise ideas to share with other delegates. Without him, our country would most likely still be under British control because we would not have had France as our ally during the American Revolution. The reason why we would not have France as an ally is because Benjamin Franklin had a great influence in France, so without him, it could be possible that France would have declined our Treaty of Alliance. Benjamin was also a great scientist and engineer. He invented the Franklin stove, bifocals, glass harmonica, lightning rod, and the odometer. Knowing most of these things before I started this project, I concluded that Benjamin Franklin would be the best choice to base this book report biography on.
Reading Benjamin Franklin's autobiography has inspired me to implement his behavior, attitude, and 13 virtues into my life. When conducting a critical analysis on his autobiography for this project, I noticed that whenever he encountered an issue or problem, whether it be in his early life or adulthood, he strived to find the solution to it, no matter how difficult it would be. However, he did know his limits in how far he could go to solve the issue, unlike many people today that are going far beyond unreasonable solutions, including myself. Now realizing my fault, I have been consistently trying to keep myself from indulging myself into it again. Benjamin Franklin also had a very unselfish and generous attitude. This is shown in one of his famous quotes; "As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously." This behavior is also found in many engineers and scientists, in which I would like to become one myself, when they let others build open their work and research. Ever since I noticed this, I have also been trying to do things just for the benefit of society, science, others, etc. As you can see, Benjamin Franklin is currently having a continuously bigger influence in my life the more I research about him.
Something common between me and Benjamin Franklin is that we both take an interest in scientific matters and try to help other people with the knowledge we have. This is evident in his behavior when he invented things that helped others. An example of this would be the bifocals that he created for people who did not want to constantly switch between reading glasses and distance glasses. Yes, it did help himself too, but he decided not to patent the idea so other people could freely use his invention. This is also evident in my behavior when I create little gadgets using my programming and hardware construction skills to help out my family. Yes, the gadgets may only make a very slight difference in my family's life, but at least I try.
Somethings that are different between me and Benjamin Franklin is that he was able to develop an excellent personality by the end of his lifetime, while I highly doubt that I will be able to. However, I would like to try my best to develop a personality that is at least similar to his. Since I have started this goal at such a young age, it may be possible that I could achieve it. For example, I have already tried to implement his unselfishness and generous attitude by helping out my family with little gadgets that can automate everyday tasks. By the time I am fully grown, I may be the one that finally invents personal robots that can do virtually anything that its owner wants it to. I may also considered not patenting the idea if I am the one that happens to invent it in order to emulate Benjamin's attitude even further.