buckminster fuller He was, in many ways, a man of the 21st century. That in itself is a feat considering he was born in the 19th century and died in the 20th century. In fact, it may actually count as his defining achievement. Despite all the inventions presented as innovations that never really caught on, such as the Dymaxion house, the car, and the geodesic dome, countless pages of bizarre theoretical writings, and even more countless lectures, here in the actual 21st century, we may have a hard time identifying the civilizational impact he so fervently desired. But we are all his intellectual children insofar as he embodies the belief that technology can rationally reshape the world, born of the combination of industrial power and existential dread that colored the postwar American zeitgeist.
in video aboveJoe Scott introduces us to Fuller and his world in about 10 minutes. After his oft-mentioned turn to Damascene, the once dissolute Fuller “spent most of his life solving the world’s problems,” Scott said. “In particular, it was about finding ways to conserve resources and feed everyone on the planet, so-called ‘doing more with less.’
The title he bestowed upon himself, “Comprehensive Proactive Design Scientist,” perfectly captures both his global, even global, ambitions and his obsessive flair for self-promotion. If the designs he devised to achieve utopia did not take root in society (even the geodesic dome became something like “the hula hoop of 20th century architecture”), James Glick writes:in that they were “ubiquitous and a little silly”), the problem had, in part, to do with the tendency of his grand visions to outshine the functional technology of the time.
Even in his sensibilities, “Bucky” Fuller can seem like a familiar type in our time, even to those who have never heard of him. “There is no doubt in Fuller’s mind that the entire development of modern science and technology has been brought about by the willingness of a small number of people to ride the winds of tradition, trust their own intelligence, and take advantage of their natural mobility.” I wrote new yorkerCalvin Tompkins profile in 1966. No wonder he sued. Whole Earth Catalog The counterculture of this decade eventually evolved into what we now call Silicon Valley. There are no ridiculously ambitious intentions expressed to reinvent the way humans live and work. Few figures are likely to be forever obsolete, but Buckminster Fuller continues to fascinate and, in some ways, lives on today as the patron saint of techno-optimism.
Related content:
A 3-minute introduction to Buckminster Fuller, one of the 20th century’s most productive design visionaries.
Buckminster Fuller Tells the World ‘Everything I Know’ in a 42-Hour Lecture Series (1975)
Buckminster Fuller, Isaac Asimov, and other futurists predicted the 21st century in 1967: What they got right and what they got wrong.
Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion Sleep Plan: He slept two hours a day for two years and felt “active” and “alert.”
The Life and Times of Buckminster Fuller’s Geodesic Dome: Documentary
In our new online archive, Whole Earth Catalog and other Whole Earth publications, 1970-2002.
Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages ​​and cultures. he is the author of the newsletter books about cities books as well Home page (I won’t summarize Korea) and korean newtro. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter. @Colinbemust.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
