20.1.10

Thoughts on Buckminster Fuller

Upon reading articles and watching a documentary on Buckminster Fuller it is apparent how influential his thoughts have been and just how much of a free thinker and bold mind he was. He was a true Jack-of-all-trades type character. He was truly an astoundingly radical thinker and did not limit himself to conventional thought or any single field. It is wonderful that he was able to recognize and overcome common flaws through his non-disciplinary, holistic approach to solving projects. Besides the Geodesic Dome, he thought of other minimalist and environmentally friendly solutions to basic problems that most people fail to solve. His Dymaxion car and transportable, efficient homes were a good deal before their time. His ideas where expressed long before the public minds were ready to accept solutions because they had not yet even perceived the problems that bothered Fuller so. I find his points about flaws with conventional thought and education very interesting, I agree that many of our problems stem from these basic issues, but I did not see how deep they can be prior to studying Fuller's ideas. I think that he is set apart even from other original thinkers because he attempted to show ways to correct the thoughts of others on a basic level and he designed tools like more accurate world map projections to allow others to gain a more accurate view of the Earth. Though some of his stories, word-building, and concepts like "spaceship earth," were perhaps humorous, they also demonstrate how far beyond his contemporaries his thoughts were. I agree that some basic teaching techniques and concepts really hold back education and society. Conditioning ourselves to think of concepts like infinity really does distract us from how much does not belong in that category. Fake jobs, jobs that shouldn't even exist, that are liked by no one and accomplish nothing are all too real. This is another frustration that I have long shared with Mr. Fuller. I find that these concepts fit in with what I am attempting with my project because part of my goals are to disassemble some of the ways most individuals are misinformed about and do not think about in regards to cultures that are not their own. I absolutely believe this is because of that sort of contagious, group mentality, consistent and predictable thought that Fuller rebelled against. This aspect of Buckminster Fuller reminds me of an Australian movie I saw recently called The Rage in Placid Lake. This movie uses stereotypical roles to show how absurd people can be and the situations they can unwittingly produce. The protagonist is a unique and original thinker who is persecuted to the point of a horrible accident at which point he gets back at everyone by becoming more normal and ordinary than the rest of them can do. Eventually they all grow to hate him that way too, so that he can safely be himself once more. So many think what is comfortable or convenient rather than thinking for themselves or pursuing their own hunches and intuitions to investigate how things truly are, rather than how we are told things are. These concepts we are taught are diluted, simplified and corrupted to be fed to the masses who wish not to think or have individual thought. Fuller saw these problems and created solutions for people who did not even realize they had these issues and are still not looking for resolution for most of them. I believe this is why his concepts were not accepted and employed even though they were similar or superior to what has become commonplace like automobiles or homes that are only now starting to be made efficient on a small scale compared to Fuller's models. The problem is that he had no real way to implement or get enough people to buy into things to make them spread and prosper. This is one of the problems that I have been dealing with in my own thoughts on my project. If people get one thing from my video, I want it to be that they should consider or learn more about other cultures and perspectives and to realize that there are places in the world that have different priorities and still function as well, if not better than the USA with their own ideas. I see that the Italian people are relaxed have little stress compared to the US, but the country would not function or be possible to exist in this way if they didn't all adhere to or understand a different outlook on the concept of time as they do. If you have too many Americans thinking time is an all important, money producing deity, then this beautiful Italian way of life is destroyed as our heinous and pervasive American ideals already threaten to do. This is directly related to Fuller's, "think about what you want to and what needs to be done," approach to careers. I agree that everyone should do what they want to do and destroy the rest of the fake jobs, but this does not happen because too many fear, too many are used to accepting a lifestyle that tells them they have to be unhappy to get what they want. If we all disregarded these concepts and decided altogether simultaneously to do what we want for a living, I think it would actually work, but that would take such convincing and simultaneous action that even the internet is not yet up for the task. Buckminster Fuller proved that one individual can realize this sort of ideal for their own life, but for the rest of people to get this message it will take a lot more.
IHRTLUHC
Jordan Severson

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