
 Buckminster Fuller - Everything I Know (42 hours of video) - ColinWright
http://archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Abuckminsterfuller&sort=-publicdate
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sp332
The department store Marshall Field's hired a wordsmith to listen to Fuller
talk for two days. After playing around with syllables, he came up with
"dymaxion" as a good brand name that fit the way Fuller talked. Fuller liked
it so much he used it for a lot of projects: Dymaxion house, Dymaxion car,
Dymaxion World Map, and Dymaxion Chronofile. The Chronofile made Buckminster
Fuller the most-documented person in history
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_Chronofile](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_Chronofile)

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phaus
>After playing around with syllables, he came up with "dymaxion" as a good
brand name that fit the way Fuller talked.

I wonder if the word smith facetiously chose this word because it sounds
really stupid. After all, the way that Fuller makes up his own words makes him
sound like a raving idiot. Don't get me wrong, he was undoubtedly a really
smart guy, but his personality and mannerisms detract from that.

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LeeHunter
Looking through the lens of 2013 it might sound stupid. In the cultural
context of the mid-20th century it was perfectly appropriate. Fifty years from
now the word "iPhone" will probably sound like the dumbest name ever.

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norswap
In all honesty, it already does. Take the object and put an "i" in front. Such
modern.

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sp332
iMacsion

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calroc
Bucky figured out most of the problems we would be facing about now, and many
of the solutions. He pointed out that, if we used our technology to
efficiently supply our needs, we would be able to work for about two years and
then retire having paid for our the rest of our lives during those two years.
This would be possible starting sometime in the '70s. The important thing to
remember about Bucky is that he was an engineer. A real one, not a software
"engineer" (like me), and he calculated what he talked about. He was not a
philosopher.

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Casseres
If you're relatively successful, this isn't too far off from reality. If for
example you make $75k after taxes, your living expenses is $25k, and you
invest the rest with a 8% return, you can retire after 10 years and have a
safe withdraw rate of 3.5% (equaling 25k) in perpetuity.

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marquis
I grew up hearing this man's name now and then, but it wasn't part of my
culture. Is there a good explanation about why his ideas and engineering
achievements are celebrated, in a particular context with his contributions to
our lives today? I know about the geodesic domes obviously. His Wikipedia page
is just facts that don't really help me understand his popularity.

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penrod
I share some of your puzzlement. Fuller's reputation seems to far exceed his
actual accomplishments: Most of his inventions were never put into practical
use, and some such as the Dymaxion car were actively lethal.

It appears Fuller was very good at self-promotion, sounding inspirational, and
occasionally appropriating others' ideas and attaching his own catchy name to
them (see 'tensegrity'.)

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ErsatzVerkehr
He was a bit crazy in some ways - I tried to read his books, but they are full
of too many self-invented words to be readily made sense of.

He was a visionary who saw much earlier than most that our planet has finite
resources that should be used wisely, and that, through appropriate
engineering, we have the ability to provide a good quality of life for
everyone on earth if we so choose.

There's a superb theatrical "biography" of Bucky Fuller called "The History
(and Mystery) of the Universe" \-- definitely go see it if you have the
opportunity. It's inspiring, informative, and entertaining.

It's playing early next year in San Jose CA (Jan 30 to Feb 23), and Cambridge
MA (Jan 14 to Feb 5), and probably other places too.

CA:
[http://ticketing.sjrep.com/single/psDetail.aspx?psn=3026](http://ticketing.sjrep.com/single/psDetail.aspx?psn=3026)

MA:
[http://americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/r-buckminste...](http://americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/r-buckminster-
fuller-history-and-mystery-universe)

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phaus
>He was a visionary who saw much earlier than most that our planet has finite
resources that should be used wisely, and that, through appropriate
engineering, we have the ability to provide a good quality of life for
everyone on earth if we so choose.

This seems like something that should be self-evident to pretty much every
high-school educated adult on the planet.

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phaus
Is it not obvious that resources are finite?

Is it not also obvious that given some agreed upon voluntary form of
population control, there would be enough for everyone if the entire planet
made adopting a global minimum standard of living a priority?

I guess its easier to down-vote than it is to actually dispute ideas.

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TOGoS
It may be obvious to someone who bothers to think about it. I get the feeling
most people never give it a thought, which is why we're in the predicament
that we are.

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recuter
Why the hell isn't there some nifty interactive annotated and cross referenced
transcript of this? Grrr.

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avdempsey
Fuller made such a file, look up the Dymaxion Chronofile. Or, check out
Stanford's online collection:
[http://collections.stanford.edu/bucky/bin/page?forward=home](http://collections.stanford.edu/bucky/bin/page?forward=home)

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bachback
cool, but boy those formats suck. reminds me of what youtube really achieved.
video that works
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6yaSLipeWg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6yaSLipeWg)

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hhorsley
I wish everyone did this

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ape4
Only smart people.

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sp332
Well you won't know which people have good ideas until they tell you their
ideas :)

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josh-wrale
Fodder for Psychohistorians.

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bencollier49
Brilliant man, but this rambles a bit.

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bencollier49
Tell you what though, it gets better!

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sTevo-In-VA
I linked it.

