It seems absurd to ask, but who was Benjamin Franklin, really? The American founder’s legacy is at once ubiquitous and somehow elusive. He was never president, nor a cabinet secretary—he’s not even name-checked in Hamilton. Surveying his various careers as a scientist, inventor, writer, publisher, and diplomat, one could be forgiven for not properly engaging with any of them. Call it the curse of the polymath.
~ Matthew Taub from, Ken Burns on His Obsession With Ben Franklin, and Admiration for Guy Fieri – Atlas Obscura
Elsewhere, this is 4uaaai11. — slipbox
The Curse of the Polymath sounds like a classic film. The sort with a 15–minute overture, and an actual intermission. I’ve not yet watched the whole film, but I’m definitely past the intermission.
ɕ