Ben Franklin: Paying Attention at Age Seven

Now seems the opportune time to look at one of our most celebrated statesmen. What follows are two earliest memories from the amazing Benjamin Franklin. Make your selection of his worldview from the list below the memories, and please vote in the poll to the right of the post. Thank you for participating!

(1.) When I was a child of seven years old, my friends on a holiday filled my little pocket with half-pence. I went directly to a shop where they sold toys for children, and being charmed with the sound of a whistle that I met by the way, in the hands of another boy, I voluntarily offered and gave all my money for it. When I came home, whistling all over the house, much pleased with my whistle, but disturbing all the family, my brothers, sisters, and cousins, understanding the bargain I had made, told me I had given four times as much for it as it was worth, put me in mind of what good things I might have bought with the rest of the money, and laughed at me so much for my folly that I cried with vexation; and the reflection gave me more chagrin than the whistle gave me pleasure.

As I came into the world, and observed the actions of men, I thought I met many who gave too much for the whistle. (taken from H.W. Brands' biography of Benjamin Franklin)

(2.) Kites, as Franklin would later famously show, could also be useful. Sending one aloft, he stripped, waded into a pond, floated on his back, and let it pull him. “Having then engaged another boy to carry my clothes around the pond,” he recalled, “I began to cross the pond with my kite, which carried me quite over without the least fatigue and with the greatest of pleasure imaginable.” (taken from Walter Isaacson's biography of Benjamin Franklin)

What is Franklin's worldview? (correct answer in red)

1. I consort with nature. (29% of voters selected #1)
2. I ride the wind. (0%)
3. I whistle at opportunity. (23% of voters selected #3)
4. I harness pleasure. (47% of voters selected #4)