Buckminster Fuller
When I think of Buckminster Fuller, I immediately think of the geodesic dome.The geodesic dome was popularized and finally patented by "Bucky". The dome itself was conceived earlier by others but it was Fuller who perceived the mathematics and geometry behind the dome and particularly his use of the icosahedron for the dome. The geometric icosahedron shapes and designs would also find its way into many of Fuller's ideas and inventions.
Buckminster Fuller was a visionary. He looked to the future. In my opinion Fuller was the grandfather of the hippy. Not the rock music kind of hippy but the idealistic hippy. Fuller was very conventional in appearance but he was very thoughtful of humanity and humanity's condition. Fuller believed that humanity wasn't utilizing our resources to their potential.
Fuller coined the phrase "spaceship earth". He believed that we, as human beings were truly space travelers on a planet traveling the universe. Fuller viewed the world much differently than the ordinary person. He seemed to think in a non linear or three dimensional way. For Fuller, reality seemed to be mischaracterized as two dimensional eg. if we think of things being up or down, he thought it more correct to think of things as out or in.
Buckminster Fuller was born in Massachusetts in 1895. He was an engineer, inventor and author. He held 28 patents and had written 30 books. At one point in his life he was basically homeless and at times would be hanging out in cafes. Fuller appeared to be a round peg in a square world. In these cafes, chatting with friends and people his great mind must have felt unappreciated or ahead of his time. I think it was a combination of both.
