"Throughout his life," Walter Isaacson notes in his excellent biography Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, "he loved immersing himself in minutiae and trivia in a manner so obsessive that today it might be described as geeky."73 He points to Franklin's methodical research, unbounded curiosity, and constant inventiveness (note our Analyze, Imagine, and Reprogram framework again!) on topics as diverse as ballooning, education, electricity, eyeglasses, fire safety, heating technology, music, politics, and weather.