Buckminster Fuller

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Turtle

I see by the ol' timepiece that it's time again to bump up Bucky for the newer crowd. Any Bucky bashers out there in the audience? Ardent supporters?

Let's pick a bit and have a go.

1000.00 OMNITOPOLOGY

I boldened the bit that sounds peculiarly like something our beloved Dr. Dick might say. Ready...set...go!

Perhaps if you translated this into English, more people would discuss it.

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Perhaps if you translated this into English, more people would discuss it.

Originally Posted by Bucky

1001.22 Within the total cosmic complexity the directions taken by each and all of the moving bodies are always the paths of least resistance. Because the paths are those of least resistance, all events of all transforming and traveling entities require the least energy to accomplish their complex action programmed passages__ergo, their accomplished curvilinear courses are always the most economical lines of travel. These most economical routes of travel are known as geodesic lines. Geodesics are not only nature's most economical lines of interrelationship travel, but ipso facto they are also nature's shortest- time-of-travel lines. ...

1000.00 OMNITOPOLOGY

Oh sure! Make the turtle do it.

Rough translation: Whether you know it or not, the Universe is behaving efficiently and on time.

Certainly one difficulty in starting with this section is that it follows all the explanatory material for the terms & concepts used. As you can see, I have little success in getting anyone to read Synergetics from the git-go. What I find equally puzzling is the paucity of response to some of these specifics I have given that bear hard & fast on many of the topics here that folks like to debate, such as what is time etcetera.

Anyway, here is as good a starting place for Synergetics as there is: R. Buckminster Fuller's SYNERGETICS

[Pyrotex]

Hello?
Hi there. You may not know this, but I am a Bucky fan.
Yes. In fact, I have personally attended one of his lectures back in around 1975 or so.
I even asked him a question (which I have since forgotten) and he answered it.
How cool is that.
I managed to read through "Spaceship Earth" but it was a rough ride.
Synergistics is just too too too intimidating right now.
Maybe later.
But don't let that stop you from saying great things about Bucky!!!

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Pyrotex

Hello?
Hi there. You may not know this, but I am a Bucky fan.
Yes. In fact, I have personally attended one of his lectures back in around 1975 or so.
I even asked him a question (which I have since forgotten) and he answered it.
How cool is that.
I managed to read through "Spaceship Earth" but it was a rough ride.
Synergistics is just too too too intimidating right now.
Maybe later.
But don't let that stop you from saying great things about Bucky!!!

Hello? I am starting to wonder if anyone will ever have time to play with Bucky 'n me. One minor correction, the too too too intimidator is not named Synergistics, but rather Synergetics; subtitled Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking. No less intimidating or rough a ride I suppose.

Shall I try another call-out? Shall I use sugar or vinegar this time? Both? Neither? Just what the heck is 'geometry of thinking' anyway, and if I knew would I not be having this problem of getting others to think about it too? Alrighty thens; don't click here if you know the answer.

[Moontanman]

Turtle, I read it, it's been a long time since a felt that stupid. I had the feeling of trying to understand some sort of alien religion based on a geometry of another universe. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you but attempting to fight a nuclear war armed with a wooden spear isn't my usual idea of a fair fight. It really left me feeling totally inadequate

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Moontanman

Turtle, I read it, it's been a long time since a felt that stupid. I had the feeling of trying to understand some sort of alien religion based on a geometry of another universe. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you but attempting to fight a nuclear war armed with a wooden spear isn't my usual idea of a fair fight. It really left me feeling totally inadequate

I know what you mean.

But really, it's not the concepts that are hard to get, but rather the translating that must take place. I'm going to give it a go one of these days when I'm sitting around with nothing to do.

[Moontanman]

Originally Posted by freeztar

I know what you mean.

But really, it's not the concepts that are hard to get, but rather the translating that must take place. I'm going to give it a go one of these days when I'm sitting around with nothing to do.

Yeah, I think it's familiarity coupled with the seemingly obtuse that gets to me. Bucky boy must have had a mind far more twisted than mine if he could apply those concepts in the way put forward in those pages. I'll not give up but I may have to take it in very small bites to get the basics down. maybe Bucky was expanding his mind artificially when he wrote it
Turtle, do you feel you have a good understanding of this?

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Moontanman

Yeah, I think it's familiarity coupled with the seemingly obtuse that gets to me. Bucky boy must have had a mind far more twisted than mine if he could apply those concepts in the way put forward in those pages. I'll not give up but I may have to take it in very small bites to get the basics down. maybe Bucky was expanding his mind artificially when he wrote it
Turtle, do you feel you have a good understanding of this?

Good understanding? Heavens no! Twisted mind is an understatement, but that's only a goad for me to untangle it.
In simple terms, no, he wasn't high on drugs.

Without reference to any particular section of Synergetics, there is one principle of Fuller's that I do understand geometrically if not (yet) intuitively. To whit, the division of space tetrahedrally rather than cubically. This is the very basis of Fuller's geometry and while the simple geometric conversion from one system to another is rather straightforward, carrying it out in a translational manner for systems already described in cubic space is quite the horse of a different color not in my equine vocabulary.

I have used some of Fuller's ideas in this regard to develop a (new?) kind of graph, and it is just this kind of first understanding the principles and then applying them to current problems that I think is the value in pursuing Synergetics. Fuller knew he didn't know it all, and his tombstone makes this clear with its 'Call me Trimtab' epitaph. Bucky is happy to gently steer us over tortuous ground to a different point of view, and leave us to voice our own impressions from there.

PS This is about as close to a Beginning you can get in Synergetics; I recommend starting here: >> 100.00 SYNERGY

[Pyrotex]

Tell you what, Turtle, my armor-backed friend,
I will read Synergetics for 1 (one) hour a week, and report my reactions (if any) here.
Pyro the Proboscoid

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Pyrotex

Tell you what, Turtle, my armor-backed friend,
I will read Synergetics for 1 (one) hour a week, and report my reactions (if any) here.
Pyro the Proboscoid

I am overjoyed at your Proboscoidatudinality! If you post which section you plan to read in, I'll read along too so we're on the same page.

Here's the online version I've been using again: >> R. Buckminster Fuller's SYNERGETICS

Maybe if I get obsessed enough I'll skip across the great Columbia River to Portland and pick up a hard copy at the world-renowned Powell's Books.

I am really jazzed!! Muchas gracias Nester!