Synergetics

Rating:
Summary: A Work of Genius
Review: ...Synergetics is the clearest, most comprehensive attempt to explain the universe, and universal phenomena, that I have ever read. It is one man's attempt to link the language of science to the common layman.
Fuller defines synergy as follows "behavior of whole systems unpredicted by the behavior of their parts taken separately." (Synergetics, p. 3)
Fuller suggests that breaking down a subject and studying its parts separately, as is done in science today, can never lead to a comprehensive understanding of the whole. He writes "nature has only one department and one language." (Synergetics II, p 234). Fuller on PI: "To how many places does nature carry out PI when she makes each successive bubble in the white-cresting surf of each successive wave before nature finds out that PI can never be resolved?... And at what moment in the making of each separate bubble in Universe does nature decide to terminate her eternally frustrated calculating and instead turn out a fake sphere? I answered myself that I don't think nature is using PI or any of the irrational fraction constants of physics." (Synergetics II, p. 233).
Fuller explains the universe through geometry. Geometry is the study of structure, and the relationship between objects (and points of perception) within space. The topics covered range from numerology to architecture to the nature and structure of the universe itself. Fuller explains scientific concepts in terms that anyone can understand. His insights are often astonishing.
Fuiller understands the universe throught the geometric form called the tetrahedron. The tetrahedron, according to Fuller, is the basis for all structure in existence, and he has built a system of thought, and a geometry, consistent throughout, from the ground up, explaining everything from atomic structure to galaxies. Fuller uses the tetrahedron as the basis to construct his tenegrity structures, the geodesic dome, and the octet truss, among others, which are used in industrial and residential applications. Fuller was a genius, but not an esoteric one. All of his theories have practical applications.
This is not an easy book to read, as Fuller's language is dry and precise. But the book is filled with diagrams and charts that flesh out the text. This is a massive work, a work of a true genius.
Anyone who is interested in "how things work" should not fail to read this book . There is no math (other than arithmetic) necessary to understand everything in the book. Only an inquiring mind that is open to new ideas.

Rating:
Summary: A Work of Genius
Review: ...Synergetics is the clearest, most comprehensive attempt to explain the universe, and universal phenomena, that I have ever read. It is one man's attempt to link the language of science to the common layman.
Fuller defines synergy as follows "behavior of whole systems unpredicted by the behavior of their parts taken separately." (Synergetics, p. 3)
Fuller suggests that breaking down a subject and studying its parts separately, as is done in science today, can never lead to a comprehensive understanding of the whole. He writes "nature has only one department and one language." (Synergetics II, p 234). Fuller on PI: "To how many places does nature carry out PI when she makes each successive bubble in the white-cresting surf of each successive wave before nature finds out that PI can never be resolved?... And at what moment in the making of each separate bubble in Universe does nature decide to terminate her eternally frustrated calculating and instead turn out a fake sphere? I answered myself that I don't think nature is using PI or any of the irrational fraction constants of physics." (Synergetics II, p. 233).
Fuller explains the universe through geometry. Geometry is the study of structure, and the relationship between objects (and points of perception) within space. The topics covered range from numerology to architecture to the nature and structure of the universe itself. Fuller explains scientific concepts in terms that anyone can understand. His insights are often astonishing.
Fuiller understands the universe throught the geometric form called the tetrahedron. The tetrahedron, according to Fuller, is the basis for all structure in existence, and he has built a system of thought, and a geometry, consistent throughout, from the ground up, explaining everything from atomic structure to galaxies. Fuller uses the tetrahedron as the basis to construct his tenegrity structures, the geodesic dome, and the octet truss, among others, which are used in industrial and residential applications. Fuller was a genius, but not an esoteric one. All of his theories have practical applications.
This is not an easy book to read, as Fuller's language is dry and precise. But the book is filled with diagrams and charts that flesh out the text. This is a massive work, a work of a true genius.
Anyone who is interested in "how things work" should not fail to read this book . There is no math (other than arithmetic) necessary to understand everything in the book. Only an inquiring mind that is open to new ideas.

Rating:
Summary: An A + that he wouldn't have given to himself
Review: I am, by trade, a contemporary philosopher, with strong interests in the works of the Ancient Greeks, esp. Pythagoras, and of course, the great architect, Plato. Generally speaking, I would not persue the kind of book: huge, statements and claims made without supporting arguments, huge gaps in logical presentation, and leaps into areas such as numerology. Bucky reminds me of a cross between Pythagoras (incl. his mysticism) and DaVinci. I am in the early stages of the work, so all I will say at this time is grab a copy and start the journey.