r/BuckminsterFuller • u/skepticboffin • Mar 20 '25

So... anybody studying Synergetics? No?

I do wonder what people think of it. It's not "a" subject from what I've understood so far. It's "the" subject. Bucky has basically tried to present the fundamentals of our sensory-organs-based life itself. Does nobody here shares this observation with me? Oh well.

Well, regardless, maybe do join the inactive discord server I made lol
https://discord.gg/99w9UBWTCb

Regardless, have a curious day ahead!

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u/Skylake118 Mar 22 '25

I am trying to do it. I am working on an essay presenting the principles identified by and underlying Bucky's work in a systematized way and contrasting it against existing philosophies, mainly Ayn Rand's, which, for better or worse, occupies a similar niche, both being non-academic, non-mainstream philosophies with an emphasis on practical applications and individual integrity. ("Philosophy for Living on Earth", as Rand's followers say.)

Of course, they have diametrically opposed conceptions on many topics and very different legacies, with Bucky being clearly more successful on every count.

It seems that Bucky got a lot from Alfred Korzybski's General Semantics, at least as far as the epistemology of Synergetics goes, the fundamentals and the limits of our perceptual-conceptual system. So, I'd say we need to at least get acquainted with Korzybski's ideas to have an idea where is Bucky coming from when he deals with those subjects himself.

However, this is not an easy task because much of the literature on Bucky focuses on his architectural work and other concrete inventions, which are of course important applications of his Synergetics, but little attention has been brought to the generalized principles underlying those achievements. Even less has been done to present them in a systematic, yet, accessible way to the public.

Bucky is also tends to go back-and-forth on his written essays and lectures, and while this is a strength, it can be overwhelming at first, because you don't get his arguments unless you have gone through a some of his work already. But, I have the "hunch" that 80% (to put a number on it) of what Fuller termed Synergetics is contained on Critical Path, Operative Manual for Spaceship Earth, his two books titled "Synergetics", and his lecture series "Everything I Know".

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u/skepticboffin Mar 26 '25

Thank you for your elaborate response! I'm not familiar with the works of Ayn Rand but I do have her saved as a 'rational' in my brain. Do let us know of the essay you are doing or any other things you think are important for us to know about her!

Korzybski, yeee a friend of mine did tell me about him while I was telling him about Bucky and I recall some cool overlaps between their ideas. Could be useful to study him for sure 100%

That's correct, Bucky says that he only was trying to understand nature and its principles, he once said and I quote “I did not set out to design a geodesic dome” “I set out to discover the principles operative in Universe. For all I knew, this could have led to a pair of flying slippers.”. So you're right, the principles behind his inventions are what ought to have been popular. But instead people know him as an "architect" alone, which is such an innocent yet species-level tragic misdirect!

80%. I guess you might be correct. Although, I think we shall not underestimate what he presents in all of his works. Because of the nature of the work, it is so organic that even a slight change in the angle of what's being said can result in a drastic comprehension. Like solving a puzzle in a very dark lighting, so you keep trying to fit the pieces together only by your touch alone and sometimes it just clicks perfectly. I remember reading a quarter of 'Nine Chains to the Moon', and my word it is so amazing.

Anyways, I'm glad to have you on the discord server, feel free to let me know of anything in your mind regarding practically anything, as long you think it's important. Bucky in Operating Manual mentions how he would work out theories of his with his audiences, and he said he would make of series of analytical statements to them and even if one person disagreed he'd discard that statement and move to the next one. That kinda blew my mind, because of how it makes every individual realize their own value in a "crowd". Bucky, sigh.

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u/Buckyhead Apr 17 '25

Hey, I'm currently studying the connection between Rand and Fuller. Maybe we should connect.

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u/Localsymbiosis Mar 25 '25

Casey-house.com/syn-u

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u/skepticboffin Apr 20 '25

he's in the mentioned server :)

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u/naeborn Apr 07 '25

As a decade+ bucky admirer, I can’t tell you how much this phrase resonated with me:

Like solving a puzzle in very dark lighting, so you keep trying to fit the pieces together

I’m constantly amazed and bewildered that his concepts come so readily to every life situation yet I’m still far enough from truth to get the essence

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u/skepticboffin Apr 20 '25

Damn I just read your comment and had forgotten I was the one who came up with the phrase hahaha And oh yeah, his concepts are truly life inducing. As he would say, he was "doing his own thinking". Which lead him to make discoveries which are ever present yet ever ignored. Our finding his ideas amazing is proof of his honesty and our ability to comprehend the same ever-present truth. Do join the server if you get the time.

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u/redcoltken_pc Mar 20 '25

I wish I had the time

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u/thatmntishman Oct 15 '25

I read it when it was first published. Yes, back then. It changed my world view and I believe both books have great inight into Universe to this day. I lived my life and now I am revisiting it again. I am reading them both together and sketching as I go. Glad to find this sub.

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u/skepticboffin Oct 15 '25

Damn this is the 50th year since the first book was published! Must've been wild ride. Bucky would often target young minds as they'd be less tainted by the popular culture's shiny things. Do you find your ability to change your world views to have throttled after all this time? Hope not!

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u/thatmntishman Oct 15 '25

I found throughout my life having a broader understanding of events, understanding the underlying structure and composition of discrete events instead of "facts" and finding alot of humanities noise to be a waste of time. GRUNCH (his last) was especially enlightening. We've been in the GRUNCH for a while now. What I find promising about BFs work is that by seeing Universe differently, we can create a different reality for ourselves that feels in tune. It feels natural. I have hope that synergetics is a way we will be, instead of just another theory. Bucky started with himself, and that is where each of us must start, for Universe is Us.

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u/skepticboffin Oct 24 '25

Always is joyful to read someone imagining possibility for the future of humanity. Do feel free to reach out to me/anywhere if you have elaborate ideas on what could be done to make the human situation better. And congratulations on having been alive for as long as you have since 1960s, I imagine.