There’s a major pattern of energy in universe wherein the…

There’s a major pattern of energy in universe wherein the very large events, earthquakes, and so forth, occur in any one area of universe very much less frequently than do the small energy events. Around the Earth insects occur more often than do earthquakes. In the patterning of total evolutionary events, there comes a time, once in a while, amongst the myriad of low energy events, when a large energy event transpires and is so disturbing that with their general adaptability lost, the ultra-specialized creatures perish.

Sourced, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth (1963)

Other Buckminster Fuller Quotes

People have feet. Trees have roots. - View Quote Details on People have feet. Trees have roots.
Up to the twentieth century, “reality” was everything humans could touch, smell, see, and hear. Since the initial publication of the chart of the electromagnetic spectrum… humans have learned that what they can touch, smell, see, and hear is less than one-millionth of reality. Ninety-nine percent of all that is going to affect our tomorrows is being developed by humans using instruments and working in ranges of reality that are nonhumanly sensible. - View Quote Details on Up to the twentieth century, “reality” was everything humans could…
It seems to demonstrate that periods of industrial activity in technical syntheses of principles, data, free energy and energy as “matter,” find highest employment by the fear-amassed credits of warfare. Therefore the assumption approaches fact that war promotes the major technical advances of civilization… What has not been clear is that the potential of this emergency-born technology has always accrued to human’s prewar individual initiatives taken in a humble but irrepressible progression of assumptions, measurements, deductions, and codifications of pure science. (1947) - View Quote Details on It seems to demonstrate that periods of industrial activity in…
You either make sense or you make money. - View Quote Details on You either make sense or you make money.
Synergy is the only word in our language that means behavior of whole systems unpredicted by the separately observed behaviors of any of the system’s separate parts or any subassembly of the system’s parts. There is nothing in the chemistry of a toenail that predicts the existence of a human being. - View Quote Details on Synergy is the only word in our language that means…
There are over 2 million cars standing in front of red lights with their engines going. Then we have over 2 million times approximately 100 horsepower being generated as they are idling there, so that we have something like 200 million horses jumping up and down and going nowhere. Now, we have to count that in our economy when we begin to get down to what is the efficiency of the economy. - View Quote Details on There are over 2 million cars standing in front of…
It is one of our most exciting discoveries that local discovery leads to a complex of further discoveries. Corollary to this we find that we no sooner get a problem solved than we are overwhelmed with a multiplicity of additional problems in a most beautiful payoff of heretofore unknown, previously unrecognized, and as-yet unsolved problems. - View Quote Details on It is one of our most exciting discoveries that local…
It is not for me to change you. The question is, how can I be of service to you without diminishing your degrees of freedom? - View Quote Details on It is not for me to change you. The question…
There is an inherently minimum set of essential concepts and current information, cognizance of which could lead to our operating our planet Earth to the lasting satisfaction and health of all humanity. - View Quote Details on There is an inherently minimum set of essential concepts and…
Thinking is a momentary dismissal of irrelevancies. - View Quote Details on Thinking is a momentary dismissal of irrelevancies.