A Discussion on the 'Whole Truth' and Integrity at the 2009 Summer Workshop in Oswego

At the Synergetics Collaborative's Seventh annual Summer Workshop at John Belt's always stimulating Design Studio, we had a wide-ranging discussion on the "whole truth" and Integrity. I added some post-production commentary and thanks to the help of Victor Acevedo, there is now a video clip of it at YouTube: A Discussion on the "Whole Truth" and Integrity at Oswego 2009. I am eager for feedback to continue the discussion on-line.

Synergetics 101 video on YouTube

A clip from Joe Clinton's 2007 talk on "Synergetics 101" is available on the Synergetics Collaborative's channel on YouTube. You can access the video directly at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-mpwMPeCm8.

SynergeticsCollab Channel Now on YouTube

The Synergetics Collaborative has its own channel, SynergeticsCollab, on YouTube. You can watch our videos from our past events, watch our favorite Buckminster Fuller related videos or do any of the other YouTube functions like post your comments or subscribe to our channel.

Especially note the newly produced 7 minute video clip from Michael Burt's talk on the Polyhedral Universe at the November 2005 "Synergetics in the Arts" Symposium at the Noguchi Museum.

A big "Thank You" to Eric and Victor Acevedo who produced not only this most recent clip but also the two others from the Noguchi Museum event that are available from our YouTube channel.

Let me know of other YouTube videos that would be interesting to our Collaborative so I can add them to our "Favorites" or build a "Playlist".

Reminder: Save the dates Nov 14 & 15th for our next Symposium
"Design Science: Nature's Problem-Solving Methodology" which will be at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, RI.

Home Page for Geodesic Structures Workshop is now on-line

The Home Page for the Synergetics Collaborative's Sixth Annual Summer Workshop on Geodesic Structures: Build a Dome for Bucky's Birthday is now on-line at http://synergeticists.org/snec.announce.meeting.2008.07.html.

Geodesic Sculpture Project for Children, April 5th, Ithaca, NY

Geodesics seem to be in the air this year. The Synergetics Collaborative will feature Building a Dome for Bucky's Birthday at their sixth annual Summer Workshop in July. And then I saw an announcement for another geodesic event in Ithaca, NY. Here are the details for that event:

At 2 PM on April 5th, 2008 at the Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca, NY, local artist Josh Sperling will work with children ages 7 through 13 and their families to learn about and construct geodesic models. The models will be part of a large geodesic sculture Sperling built and will be part of the Library’s newest art exhibit.

This program is being co-sponsored by Cornell’s Center for Materials Research. It is free and open to the public, and it will be held in the Library’s Borg Warner Community Meeting Room.

For more information, please contact Adelle Leise (607) 272-4557 Ext. 276 0r 277.

Source: Tompkins County Public Library (TCPL) News.

The History [and Mystery] Of The Universe, Oct 14 - Dec 7 2008 - Portland, OR

Portland Center Stage will be presenting "R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY [and Mystery] OF THE UNIVERSE" (Written and Directed by D.W. Jacobs, from the life, work and writings of R. Buckminster Fuller) from October 14 – December 7, 2008.

An engineer, architect, mathematician, designer, poet, philosopher, motivational speaker, major utopian thinker and inventor of the geodesic dome, Buckminster Fuller was one of the most remarkable minds of the 20th century. Born in 1895, Bucky was way ahead of his time. Refusing to think in conventional ways, he was an innovator, a futurist, and one of the first true global thinkers. This tour-de-force, one-man performance explores Bucky's life and work through a blend of testimony, lecture, autobiography, poetry, comic antics and video imagery. The play spirals and spins through ideas and experiences as Bucky escorts you on an unforgettable journey.

Portland Center Stage: 128 NW Eleventh Ave, Portland, OR 97209. Phone: 503 445-3700

Source: PCS 2008/2009 season blog

(SNEC) Member Remembers Arthur C. Clarke

One of my heroes died recently, Arthur Clarke. If I haven’t read everything he ever wrote, I consumed a big chunk. 

It’s strange how life works…I didn’t know that he was good friends with Bucky. Whenever Bucky was in the vicinity on one of his 40 or more around the world speaking tours, they’d get together at Clarke’s home in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They were friends for decades. I wish I knew more about their relationship…someone will have to do some digging in Bucky’s Chronofile at Stanford and make their correspondence available.

I found out that they knew each other quite by accident. I was reading Bucky and Clarke at the same time. Both were important to me for different reasons. I spent many a happy hour on the beach reading one book after another. My two favorites are Childhood’s End, and a non-fiction book, Ascent To Orbit , which is the finest introduction to all things space related. I could even understand the math. I learned for the first time how radar came into being. He was a part of that during his stint in the RAF during World War Two. Fascinating stuff, and highly recommended.It was also something of an autobiography, and very humorous at times.

He was waiting for a call from E.T. ‘till the day he died. As I write this, my computer is crunching data for SETI at home. I hope they call soon.


Phil Haggerty
March, 2008