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Humans in Universe
Book by Fuller, Richard Buckminster
235 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
About the author
R. Buckminster Fuller
142 books794 followersRichard Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller was an American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, and inventor.
Fuller published more than 30 books, coining or popularizing terms such as "Spaceship Earth", ephemeralization, and synergetic. He also developed numerous inventions, mainly architectural designs, and popularized the widely known geodesic dome. Carbon molecules known as fullerenes were later named by scientists for their structural and mathematical resemblance to geodesic spheres.
Buckminster Fuller was the second president of Mensa from 1974 to 1983.
Fuller published more than 30 books, coining or popularizing terms such as "Spaceship Earth", ephemeralization, and synergetic. He also developed numerous inventions, mainly architectural designs, and popularized the widely known geodesic dome. Carbon molecules known as fullerenes were later named by scientists for their structural and mathematical resemblance to geodesic spheres.
Buckminster Fuller was the second president of Mensa from 1974 to 1983.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 20, 2015
This one was written in 1981 and compiled in 1984, so later in Fuller's life as compared to the other books of his that I read. Hence, it had the benefit of Fuller's reflecting on his life and his prior predictions.
A few quotes/takeaways which I highlighted:
* Muscle development accomplished through a day-by-day lifting of progressively heavier weights. (Applies to intellectual routines as well) My new strategy required that on successive days I ask myself a progressively larger and more inclusive question which must be answered only in terms of experience. Hearsaids, beliefs, axioms, superstitions, guesses, opinions were and are all excluded as answer resources for playing my particular intellectual development game.
* Combine the physical and metaphysical components of universe (include thoughts because they come through experiences)
* Einstein was fortunate in that he probably never lost his childhood. I temporarily had mine taken away from me. All children are born geniuses and get de-geniused very rapidly by the fear and love of their parents that they won't fit into the system, that the power system will hurt them.
* Einstein's concept of a religiously inspired person was of one who has faith in God and has achieved freedom from the shackles of personal desires and fears. One of the highest goals of religion, to him, was to liberate mankind from the bondage of individual egocentric preoccupations. He believed that science could contribute to such cosmic spiritualization of human life. In his 1941 essay on science and religion, he said that the path to genuine religiousness does not lie through the fear of life and death, and it cannot be reached through blind faith but through rational knowledge, thereby acquiring that profound reverence which is the essence of true religiousness.
* At 87 years of age, I have consumed 300 tons of food, air and water which became my flesh, hair et al. to be entirely rubbed out and cut off - to join other systems. I am convinced that neither you nor I are the food we eat. I took off 70 pounds and said, "Who was that?" I am convinced that neither humans nor God are physical. Our bodies consist entirely of atoms. Atoms are entirely inanimate. Whatever life may be, it is weightless, metaphysical.
* Humans have had to make trillions of mistakes to acquire the little we have yet learned.
A few quotes/takeaways which I highlighted:
* Muscle development accomplished through a day-by-day lifting of progressively heavier weights. (Applies to intellectual routines as well) My new strategy required that on successive days I ask myself a progressively larger and more inclusive question which must be answered only in terms of experience. Hearsaids, beliefs, axioms, superstitions, guesses, opinions were and are all excluded as answer resources for playing my particular intellectual development game.
* Combine the physical and metaphysical components of universe (include thoughts because they come through experiences)
* Einstein was fortunate in that he probably never lost his childhood. I temporarily had mine taken away from me. All children are born geniuses and get de-geniused very rapidly by the fear and love of their parents that they won't fit into the system, that the power system will hurt them.
* Einstein's concept of a religiously inspired person was of one who has faith in God and has achieved freedom from the shackles of personal desires and fears. One of the highest goals of religion, to him, was to liberate mankind from the bondage of individual egocentric preoccupations. He believed that science could contribute to such cosmic spiritualization of human life. In his 1941 essay on science and religion, he said that the path to genuine religiousness does not lie through the fear of life and death, and it cannot be reached through blind faith but through rational knowledge, thereby acquiring that profound reverence which is the essence of true religiousness.
* At 87 years of age, I have consumed 300 tons of food, air and water which became my flesh, hair et al. to be entirely rubbed out and cut off - to join other systems. I am convinced that neither you nor I are the food we eat. I took off 70 pounds and said, "Who was that?" I am convinced that neither humans nor God are physical. Our bodies consist entirely of atoms. Atoms are entirely inanimate. Whatever life may be, it is weightless, metaphysical.
* Humans have had to make trillions of mistakes to acquire the little we have yet learned.
July 9, 2012
Anything Bucky Fuller has written is worth reading, or if it's been awhile, re-reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews