He avoided the metaphysics of the ancients and shunned the unanchored speculations of academics. Not one to be guided by loose medical theorizing, he turned to data based on observations and careful experiments.

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Franklin was a rare bird. His broad contributions are especially remarkable in that he had no medical training and, in fact, only two years of classroom education. What is even more amazing is that he came from the colonies, where life was still a struggle -- not from a major European cultural center.

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