Buckminster Fuller

Buckminster Fuller - "Everything I Know" - Video Links at http://hines.blogspot.com/2011/12/buckminster-fuller-everything-i-know.html

An amazing man with a genius mind ...!

A comprehensivist, not a specialist...!

A man endorsed by Einstein as understanding his principles...!

I highly recommend viewing the 3 long videos (in total, are over 8 hours) "Everything I Know" to fully understand the principles of the universe / nature / politics / economics ...!

It is amazing how appropiate and accurate it is today...!

Best educational and most inspiring lecturer I have ever seen and heard in my lifetime (65 years)...!

If he was alive today, I think he would be one of Paul's biggest supporters and would strongly support polyculture farming replacement of modern farming practices.

His explanation and understanding of nature (animals and plants) is amazing. His engineering and biologic understanding and explanation of a tree will impress anyone.

He understood that nature is always most efficient in performing tasks and that we should always try to use nature to guide our problem solving.

Regards to all,
Monte Hines

"Synergy Can Save the World" & a Video David McConville - President of the Buckminster Fuller Institute

Occupy Dome-ocracy: "Synergy Can Save the World"

http://hines.blogspot.com/2012/01/synergy-can-save-world-video-david.html

Amazing conversation...! Permaculture / polyculture related...

Regards to all,
Monte Hines

Thank you so much, Monte, for highlighting Bucky. As I'm 65 also, he was/is my 'sepp' I love your posts... btw, didn't you post great stuff about prnews, or somesuch, in a 'can permaculture feed the world' thread? I can't find it to revisit the info... know where it is?

Darn! That had been a major burning question for me for some time, so I was thrilled to see it posted, and the fascinating responses, especially Toby's! I wouldn't have dared dream of being so lucky as to get his take on the issue.

Maybe it could be moved to 'Drivel' and the hottest postings deleted? Probably too late, but.... Paul IS a magician (albeit, overworked ;)

Occupy and permaculture - Thread & Post remains at https://permies.com/t/12147/permaculture/Occupy-permaculture but is locked.

Nancy, your early posts referring to "Bucky", which Paul discussed in one of his podcasts, is what put me on to learning about "Bucky". I THANK YOU... Enormously!!!

Once I started researching him, I could not get enough.

There is so much to learn from him that is so current today. I have watched 8+ hours of his 42 hour series, "Everything I Know". I have watched another 8 hours of miscellaneous "Bucky video" It is the best hours of learning I have spent in my life. I plan on watching the 42 entire series.

There is so much depth to his thoughts. The way he ties everything together (science, nature, politics, economics, ...) make so much sense to me. It has provided me closure on many issues. He should be required learning in school, but there is probably a reason why he is not... he unlocks the secrets of why a ruling class is able to control the masses...

I do believe we see that is changing now, with the masses fed up with the "integrity" of the present political and economic systems.

I would highly recommend to others consuming all they can of "Buckys" thoughts. His beliefs on nature, support permaculture, polyculture, Holtzer methods of problem solving. I don't think anyone will be disappointed in spending time learning from "Bucky"...

Link: more free knowledge from Bucky: http://hines.blogspot.com/2011/12/buckminster-fuller-everything-i-know.html

With regards to all,
Working together with Synergy we can change the world... 1+2 =4 ...
Monte Hines

PS
The engineer Buckminster Fuller is often cited for his use of trim tabs as a metaphor for leadership and personal empowerment. In the February 1972 issue of Playboy, Fuller said: Something hit me very hard once, thinking about what one little man could do. Think of the Queen Mary—the whole ship goes by and then comes the rudder. And there's a tiny thing at the edge of the rudder called a trim tab.

It's a miniature rudder. Just moving the little trim tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. Takes almost no effort at all. So I said that the little individual can be a trim tab. Society thinks it's going right by you, that it's left you altogether. But if you're doing dynamic things mentally, the fact is that you can just put your foot out like that and the whole big ship of state is going to go. So I said, call me Trim Tab.
—Buckminster Fuller

Yes, indeed....Bucky is a gold mine, and understanding 'synergy', we can't honestly be pessimistic ;) (Although I still have to check out Bartlett, per Toby.)

You're welcome, btw, and I'm just glad to not be the only one here who is aware of his vision. He died around '83, and prior to that stated (as I'm sure you know) that humankind has all the technology needed for everyone to live a comfortable life, sustainably. We just have to design it, and do an end run around the 'Grunch of Giants'.

PS - Years ago I saw a wonderful one-man play about Bucky, here in Seattle, and on just checking, I see it is playing again in Mass - "R.Buckminster Fuller - The History (and Mystery) of the Universe" !

Here's a review -
"The two-hour, one-man show, currently being staged by the American Repertory Theater, is one of the liveliest, most engaging, thought-provoking productions you may ever see. Turns out Bucky was not only an inventor, visionary, scientist and environmentalist long before it was fashionable, but he was also delightfully eccentric."

The wiki article on him is terrific. He is endlessly inspirational.

L. Steven Sieden wrote me and said...
Bucky Fuller remains as Marshall MacLuhan said - "the 20th Century Leonardo da Vinci," and I am proud to be doing what I can to bring his legacy back into the public spotlight with my new book "A Fuller View, Buckminster Fuller's Vision of Hope and Abundance for All" (Divine Arts, April 2012). http://www.BucminsterFullerNow.com

http://www.buckminsterfullernow.com/a-fuller-view---buckminster-fullers-vision-of-hope-and-abundance-for-all.html
A Fuller View, Buckminster Fuller's Vision of Hope and Abundance for All - Pre-Order
Autographed, First Edition Copy
Official Publication Date - April 1, 2012
This newest Buckminster Fuller book by L. Steven Sieden includes essays written by 42 Guest Commentators as well as easy to understand insights into Fuller's life, wisdom and solutions to our most challenging global and personal issues and problems.
• Mr. Sieden will inscribe the book to you personally or anyone you like if you send us the inscription you would like.
• Price includes Shipping & Handling and Sales Tax where applicable.
• Scheduled shipping date approximately March 20, 2012.

I am looking forward to getting book in March, 2012.

The play "R.Buckminster Fuller - The History (and Mystery) of the Universe" ! - very inspiring
Play Video Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1U5Q0mQ2kjU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQnnjfJsgOo&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h4EoJQPnnLM

Bucky's personal "integrity" and his thoughts on "integrity" gives me insight into what I think has has gone wrong today with our capitalist and political systems. At this time they are lacking "integrity". I have a post which expresses that at:
https://permies.com/t/12169/meaningless-drivel/Only-Integrity-Going-Count

It appears that some Occupy participants (http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/03/4159467/occupy-dome-ocracy-synergy-can.html) are inspired by Bucky also.

Keep on keepin' on!
Monte Hines

PS
We are not alone in our admiration of Bucky
Guest Commentators Included in A Fuller View:
Gary Zukav
Werner Erhard
Hunter Lovins
John Robbins
Lynne Twist
Marilyn Schlitz
Barbara Marx Hubbard
Hazel Henderson
Roshi Joan Halifax
Ocean Robbins
David McConville
Bill Kauth
Jack Elias
Dr. Cherie Clark
Lisa Matheson
David Spangler
Dr. Rick Ingrasci
Stephan Schwartz
Justine Willis Toms
Bobbi DePorter
Ann Medlock
Stephen Garrett
James Roswell (Ross) Quinn
Michelle Levey
Dr. Joel Levey
Kevin Todeschi
DC Cordova
Jim Reger
David Irvine
Michela Miller
Dr. David Gruder
LD Thompson
Zoe Weil
Peter Meisen
Robert White
Velcrow Ripper
Satyen Raja
Jamal Rahman
TJ McKay
Anna Beshlian
Greg Voisen
Thomas Myers
Randolph L. Craft
Michael Wiese

Thanks a bunch, Monte, for the leads, and I'll be getting the book, also :) I'm surprised how often folks my age have no knowledge of Bucky. High time for a revival, and Pc is certainly the place to start ;) A recent BFI Challenge winner was Alllan Savory (Buckminster Fuller Institute)

The youngsters are in for a treat, and your enthusiasm warms the cockles :)

I think the idea of tensegrity structures vs. compression structures is fascinating and has implications for permaculture designs--both in the soil and in social and other dimensinos--and has parallels already in play:

https://apps.childrenshospital.org/clinical/research/ingber/PDF/2000/JApplPhysiol-Ingber.pdf

Here's a rather technical article on cell structure and response to forces applied on the exterior. They don't go linearly.

Short version: a tensegrity structure has stability from stiff spacers and elastic rubber-band-like things (in form, not substance necessarily). This was actually invented by Kevin Snelson, it seems, a stdent of Bucky's, but Bucky coined the term tensegrity for it. It comes from the art world, but has been revolutionizing thought in biology, engineering, atomic physics, body mechanics/health, and who knows where else. I think it describes the structures of social relations too, don't know if any one's looking at "social tensegrity" but it makes more sense than a compression structure. I have a feeling Buckminster must have looked at things that way. I'm interested to watch the videos now.

I just wanted to pull out this concrete concept, and a search of permies only turned up one hit on a tensegrity bridge. The concept goes back to weaving, but weaving doesn't really have differentiated spacers with tensors. It also goes back to how nature builds things, form the atom up to a dinosaur or flighted animal. An alternative to the right-angle model of building.

Permaculture principles that parallel tensegrity:
"the problem is the solution" (use countervailing forces rather than resisting them)
"every element serves multiple functions" -- in that one spacer changing length, or one tensor, affects all the rest of the system, it is serving many functions rather than simply the one of "holding up all the blocks above me" (as in a compression structure)
"every function served by multiple elements"-- you can cut a lot of strings on a tenesgritive structure, or break a lot of spacers, and most of it will still stay together. I mean b "tensegritive structure" a kind of random assembly of spacers and struts, not one that is geometrically pretty like an icosohedron. Nature does use icosohedra, but I think it also builds in a lot of redundancy within the form, am I making that up? at any rate I saw images of skin fascia (superficial fascia today) and it is just a mess, tons of redundant fibers in all different forms, directions, geometric shapes, etc, and it is remarkably flexible and fluid! a thing of beauty.

I intuitively feel that Mollison and others and Fuller were sensing the same basic kind of pattern in the world.At any rate, both were looking outside the box of linear thinking, of compression structure thinking, of "work harder" thinking. And seeing nature as the model to learn from.

Thoughts??

examples of compression-structure thinking:
nature preseves/conservation
self-denial
war
war on ___ (poverty, drugs, terrorism)
pesticide application
artificial fertilizer applciation
breeding for docility and size only


tensegritive thinking:
integrating wildlife and domesticated/food-yielding animals and plants; food forests
responsible hedonis
theatre of cruelty, theatre of the oppressed, art-making in general
"you don't have a snail problem, you have a lack of ducks problem"
soil-building, returning biomass to the soil
breeding for nutrition, balance, health (of the animal/plant and of yourself eating it)

Buckminster Fuller from what I read looked for the way to have the highest output for the least input in his dynamic cars, houses, and game-model of the world. the idea of making the smallest intervention for the greatest benefit goes along with this.

Wow, I'm loving this... more, please! And this sounds like the blessing of the permie principle of Diversity...

" ... just a mess, tons of redundant fibers in all different forms, directions, geometric shapes, etc, and it is remarkably flexible and fluid! a thing of beauty. ..."

If you google "strolling under the skin" I think it's up on youtube for free. NOTE--You probably want to skip the visuals in the first five minutes if you are sensitive to images of human dissection...after that it goes to greater magnifications and is more comfortable to watch for us non-surgeons.

nancy sutton wrote:Wow, I'm loving this... more, please! And this sounds like the blessing of the permie principle of Diversity...

" ... just a mess, tons of redundant fibers in all different forms, directions, geometric shapes, etc, and it is remarkably flexible and fluid! a thing of beauty. ..."

What I love about Bucky and about this sort of thinking, is that it creates non-linear thought patterns, and in the end, it expands the mind into places that were previously not only not visited but were unknown. So much of our thought in this culture is linear, and at most two dimensional, not even three. We base our ideas in single direct vectors of cause and effect, which is utter nonsense in terms of the natural world. Everything effects everything else, and the fundamental interconnectedness of all things-of our oneness as synergistic parts of this planet and universe-are ever present. This way of viewing is always multifaceted and multidimensional, despite our anthropocentric zone 1 egoic chronic 'independence' that is so strongly held as the dominant view that should be modeled in our culture.

When I think of a fungi in relation to a plant, feeding each other, I try not to think of A gives B this and B gives A this. It is seldom that simple. I think of it more in terms of a very complex series of messages that would absolutely baffle most humans if they ever had a full grasp of it.

Instead of a single vector linear transaction I think it looks More Like This !!

Thanks for reviving this thread!