Organization: Maya Relief Foundation, Ottawa
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Newsgroups: bit.listserv.geodesic
Date:         Sun, 13 Sep 1992 12:38:41 -0400
              <GEODESIC@UBVM.BITNET>
Comments:     Unregistered Shareware User
From:         Gary Lawrence Murphy <garym@MAYA.ISIS.ORG>
Subject: RE: Fuller's History of Industrialization

In <92Sep13.144941edt.9737@mail.uunet.ca> GEODESIC@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu writes:
>
> Thank-You G[C[C[C Murphy...
>
> You said what I wished to, but could not find all the words for...

Thank you; happy to be of service.

That said, you go on ..
>
>  Which is too say, any Idea, nomatter how good, can be counted on to be
>  rolly screwed up or abuesed those who are inclined to.

I think it was the editor of Synergetics who commented on someone
asking Fuller about his positive disposition; the story goes he said it
was the only way one could walk into so many over-built, over-mortgaged
buildings and not go mad. :-)

The truth is, even with foreign construction workers untrained in the
methods of dome construction (which were more akin to plumbing skills),
the Turkish domes were assembled in record time.  When the Navy had
domes to build in Saudi, Fuller suggested they ship all the required
tools with the kit.  The Navy said he was crazy, as overseas servicemen
would make off with the kits.  Fuller smiled; they would be in such a
hurry to disappear with their booty, the domes would go up in record
time.  He got his way, and once again, was right on target.  That is
what is known as a Comprehensive Design ;-)

>  I think the dome as a nifty shelter for humanity suffers from some of the
>  same symptomes as those not-so-niftly exicueted social programs...

If you look into present construction habits, all the same errors are
there, except traditional homes are expected to cost the sky, so no one
questions the Lords of Construction.  A 'properly' designed geodesic
was to be constructed in the factory, a far better environment for
quality control, and air-delivered.  Fuller's companies air-delivered
over 600 domes.

>  Meaning that if condictions are right, and you did't overlook somthing,
>  and nobody threw a wrench in the works for ya, you can prabably make it
>  work, probably...

So for this reason you are going to pull the covers over your head and
let others do the work?  Be my guest!

>  Ether way, when it does't work, THEY will still say "I told you so,
>  never get me up in one of those..."

In science, we say nothing is ever a failure: it can always be used as
a bad example.  Truth is, we seldom learn anything by success.  When my
giant tensegrity dome for the Stellarc stage cracked a strut down it's
full 12' length, the promoter was upset, Stellarc was worried, I was
delighted.  When the second try exploded (a carpenter sat on a strut
for lunch and BOOM --- he won't do that again :-) ), I was ecstatic! By
the third try, I had learned how to supervise carpenters, a key design
feature I had missed.  The show was a smashing success.

This has been a little off-topic from the industrialization issue, but
not to me --- the approach to finding solutions is the same: the key
is not in legislation or public opinion polls.  As with everything
else in life, the key is in the DOING.

Now ... what needs to be done?

--
Gary Lawrence Murphy -- garym@maya.isis.org -- (613) 230-6255
       --------------------------------------------
   "The present moment is a powerful goddess." - Goethe