Buckminster Fuller's Experiment: What CAN One Person Accomplish?
Published August 31, 2005
I read Buckminster Fuller's Universe by Lloyd Steven Sieden at the recommendation of a client, and was so struck by a passage in the preface that I wanted to share it with you.
"Fuller became so adamant about the contribution he could make that in 1927 he actually created an experiment using himself as "Guinea Pig B" (for "Bucky"). The specific purpose of this experiment was to determine and document what one individual could accomplish on behalf of all humanity which could not be achieved by any organization, government or business, regardless of its size or power. That experiment remained a critical element of Fuller's daily life until his death fifty-six years later.
WOW.
Can you see the depth of the love in that experiment? What greater love is there than to say, I am going to dedicate my life to this experiment—the experiment of seeing how much goodness, love, creativity and beauty I can bring to the world in my lifetime?
I think about goals a lot. I engage in hours of conversation every week with individuals about their goals, and I think about my own as well. Maybe you are thinking about your goals, too.
So many of our goals have to do with our external life (my Hapkido instructor might refer to this as "laksana" or "sang", the visual substance of life). We want more money, more time, more organization, more happiness, to come to conclusions about our best career direction, to get our bodies in shape—you know the routine.
Often these goals have to do with a sense of lack or dissatisfaction. We need more of something, like money or status—or less of something, like cellulite, or clutter.
So, Bucky has me thinking now. What if we shifted our focus to WHO we want to be rather than WHAT we want to have/get rid of? To what we wanted to give/contribute rather than what we want to receive? What would happen in your life if your single resolution was to experiment with how much love/goodness/beauty/creativity you could bring to the world/your particular corner of it?
Notice the word experiment.
You don't have to know exactly what this is going to look like. Allow yourself to be more curious than certain, and let your single resolution simply be the guiding principle by which you assess your actions.
- Buckminster Fuller's Experiment: What CAN One Person Accomplish?
- Published: August 31, 2005
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Books
- Writer: Laura Young
- Laura Young's BC Writer page
- Laura Young's personal site
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Comments
Thanks, Orin! The Road Less Travelled is certainly a classic. Tell everyone to feel free to jump in on the conversation! I'm knee deep in this topic here and neck deep at my blog so if you'd like to keep kicking this around and invite more people to the party, there is definitely a place to play!
Peck's book is certainly worth reading, and I recommend it all the time to younger friends. His perspective is less approachable, I think, once you've got a certain amount of anno domini behind you...
Thanks for sharing this article Laura, its a bit of synchronicity here as Buckminster Fuller made an impact on me back in grade school and also at this point in my life I'm reading things such as TRLT and trying to beat a depression and am constantly on the search for more meaning. Great stuff on your home blog as well. Take care!!
Thanks, Sebastian! Glad to have you joining in on the search.
Dr. Pat, loving the "certain amount of anno domini behind you". I'll have to use that...
I've read lots about Fuller. My dad knew Bucky Fuller personally. He is the most amazing man of the 20th Century. And if more people took stock in what he says about Spaceship Earth, we would not be in the situation we have today with the energy crisis, and the middle east. Read his stuff, and be enlightened.
How did you dad get to know him? How cool is that? You must have had some very interesting discussions. Would love to hear more!
I am delighted to see that Bucky is still being read. I highly encourage anyone that appreciated Laura's findings to pick up "Utopia or Oblivion" or "Operating Instructions for Spaceship Earth". Bucky lays it all out for us. I particularly like that Bucky challenges our 'money motivations' and offers us a different choice- to be motivated by what will be best for the world around us, what will advance humanity.
He was a brilliant thinker.




Totally Awesome! I came to this perspective indirectly by reading a book called "The Road Less Traveled" by M. Scott Peck. The concept has changed my life...and I'm glad you discovered it too! I'm going to link everybody to this entry for inspiration. :)