Buckminster Fuller is described in Wikipedia as a: “designer, inventor, engineer, mathematician, architect, cartographer, philosopher, poet, cosmogonist and visionary.†He wrote over 30 books and qualifies as a true renaissance thinker. Among his many inventions is the “geodesic dome,†which inspired scientists who discovered “Carbon 60†(hollow carbon molecules) to name them “Buckminsterfullerenes,†or “buckyballs,†for short.
Two titles that could be added to Fuller are prophet and theologian. Fuller died 33 years ago, but his concept of “Design Science Revolution†has proven to be a prophetic foreshadowing of the “Intelligent Design†movement which is currently gaining acceptance in wider and wider circles.
As for theologian:
When I first heard about Fuller, I assumed that he was most likely another post-renaissance (“New Ageâ€) practitioner of scientism who threw God out along with the pre-renaissance baptismal water. However, after reading his quote, “I seem to be a verb,†I became more curious and wanted to know more about him.
What I found was that Fuller retained the open-minded spirit of the true renaissance thinkers (Galileo-Kepler et al)) who attempted to integrate the physical, mental and spiritual essences of humanity. As a “free-thinker,†Fuller was not concerned with whether his fellow scientists (or anyone) agreed or disagreed with his views. This could not have been more evident than by his view on religion. He was clear to point out that, although his religion was vitally important, it was an extremely personal issue and not something that people should be “wearing on their shirtsleeves.â€
Fuller must have appreciated the mystery of synchronicities and therefore would not have been surprised that by such an event, someone on Facebook shared this extraordinary link to “brainpickings†website and the shocking proclamation from Fuller:
“The synergetic integral of the totality of all principles is God, whose sum-total behavior in pure principle is beyond our comprehension and is utterly mysterious to us, because as humans — in pure principle — we do not and never will know all the principles.â€Â Buckminster Fuller