LB492

           Many characteristics we have come from our parents. Sometimes it’s something passed on thought genes and other times is something learned from our environment. We can see an example of this in Darwins life. Many of his family members were involved in the science field. Darwin didn’t want to be a physician like his father and other family members but physicians and other scientist have similar mind sets. Darwin was also able to help his brother with chemistry experiments, sparking his interest in science. On top of this science atmosphere his father also was all way pushing him to do well in school. Darwin is a smart man but easily became uninterested at school so didn’t do as well and he should have. Without his home life like this he could have been a completely different person. One of the most interesting things to me, since there was similarity in Ben Franklin, is that Darwins family had attended meetings like Junto. Erasmus...

I had never thought to compare internal and external goods to each other. Internal goods are more important yet in life it appears that people often prioritize external goods. A lot of students that I’ve meet during my time as an undergrad in Lyman Brings have expressed that they are in this science program because many science related career fields have high salaries. These people are motivated by externals goods. People like them would take more pride in getting a Nobel Prize rather than the scientific discovery they made to get them that prize. It’s not wrong to appreciate the external goods but the internal goods should matter more to you if you want to be a good scientist. Curiosity and truth should be enough reason to be a scientist, if it’s not you shouldn’t be one. This leads into a question asked in Chapter two asking if seeking honors is dishonorable. There is no black and white answer, but if your pure reason is to get honors then yes. Everyone need some...

            The first thing I found intriguing about the second half of the book is how Franklin put in an hourly schedule. Some things in this schedule that suggest characteristics that might be good for scientist his he asks himself everyday “what good shall I do...” and “what good have I done…” and he also reads during his lunch break. Him asking these questions allow him to be self-aware, will make each day matter rather than falling into a repetitive dull day, and will make it easier to set and reach goals. The fact he reads during lunch could just because it’s a hobby but it also shows that me makes the time for things he finds important whereas most people on a lunch break would try to read they would say they don’t have time.               The next thing I thought to be different about Franklin is he didn’t show much emotion when he quickly talked about the death of his son. I can’t as...