Largest Heart
Bucky Fuller Series 2
Bucky Fuller – His life and work
Introduction
The Voice made the difference
This is the second blog in our series on Bucky Fuller. In the first one, we told the story of how Fuller heard a voice that changed his life. He went on to do great things, choosing life, instead of suicide.
This is possible for you, too! In this article, we will explore all of the great things that happened to Bucky Fuller when he chose to adhere to the Voice that told him that the best was yet to come.
An inventor from a young age
Bucky was 12 years old when he invented a push-pull system for propelling a rowboat. From this young age already, he was very interested in design and knowledgeable about different materials that he could use.
Education
Although he attended Harvard College, he was expelled twice. The academic world just did not suit him.
His work centered around Synergy
A definition of Synergy
Synergy is the state where two (or more) things work together to produce an effect where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Richard Buckminster Fuller was the person who was responsible for making this a common term.
After he heard the voice on the bridge in Michigan in 1927, he set out to explore how one can do more with less.
Fuller felt that this principle is part of all interactive systems. He thought that one should use fewer resources, but make life easier in the process. He went on to demonstrate his ideas in tangible prototypes.
‘One of the greatest minds of our times’
So what did Bucky Fuller invent or think about?
- He revolutionized construction and improved housing. One of his earliest inventions was the 4D House (later renamed the Dymaxion House). It was a house that was inexpensive, could be mass-produced and airlifted to its location.
- Dymaxion Deployment Units (DDU's) based on circular grain bins, never became popular in the civilian market but were used during WWII to shelter army personnel in remote locations.
- The Dymaxion Car had three wheels and could make incredibly sharp turns.
- The Geodesic Dome. The dome is lightweight, and don't have intrusive supporting systems, and it gives more space than any other structure. Today, there are more than 300,000 geodesic domes in operation around the world, providing shelter and safe structures. Epcot Center, next to Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida is the most famous one today.
- In 1927, Fuller already made of a sketch of what he thought to be a ‘one town world.' He pioneered the idea of a ‘global village.' The Dymaxion Map took the idea further and depicted the entire planet as a flat map without distorting the shapes of the continents.
- Bucky Fuller published his own magazine, taught at universities and lived in his very own geodesic dome. He wrote books and discussed his ideas with thousands of audiences. He wrote poems to explain his more complex concepts. He, who was expelled from Harvard, received 47 honorary doctorates in his lifetime.
- In 1983, just before his death, he received the ‘Presidential Medal of Freedom’ honoring and acknowledging his contributions as a designer, geometrician, and educator in America.
Dead at 32?
Bucky Fuller died on the 1st of July at the age of 88. He lived 56 years longer than he planned for on that fateful day on the Michigan Bridge.
If one looks at what he went on to do, it was definitely not part of God's plan to let him jump on that day. Bucky Fuller had so much more to give the world.
Inspired
Here at Largest Heart, we were inspired by Bucky Fuller's story. He had not yet accomplished that much at the age of 32, but he influenced people in hundreds of ways in the 56 years after that.
Conclusion
Suicide is not an option.
We hope you can see this now. Please talk to someone if you feel overwhelmed. Largest Heart supports a host of non-profits that are able and willing to help. Please contact us or go to our resource page if you need any references or help.
Resources
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/synergy.html
https://www.bfi.org/about-fuller
https://www.britannica.com/biography/R-Buckminster-Fuller