Buckminster Fuller’s Epiphany and the Importance of Thinking Truth
As a young man, R. Buckminster Fuller never quite fit in.
One of the great polymaths of the 20th century, Fuller wrote more than 30 books, was awarded 28 patents, and invented a number of architectural designs.
His most famous invention was the geodesic dome, which is featured at Epcot Center, and is also used in nanotechnology.
But, in his youth, Fuller was a misfit.
He tried to share his theories, but no one understood, and he was often ridiculed for being so different.
This frustrated the otherwise bright young man and seemed to hurt his creativity.
Being so smart, he figured out a solution.
He started acting eccentrically, wearing casual clothes when suits were the norm, and doing ridiculous things at parties.
People still shunned him, but now they shunned him because he was a joker, not because of his ideas.
His ploy had worked. Or so it seemed.
– – –
Fuller began to notice that, though people were distracted by his eccentricities, they no longer paid attention to his ideas at all.
It was worse than before.
He had lost his job and had added financial concerns with the birth of a new daughter.
He walked along Lake Michigan and contemplated suicide, thinking that his family would benefit from the life insurance payment.
And then he experienced an epiphany.
He felt suspended in the air, surrounded by white light.
And he heard a voice:
“From now on you need never await temporal attestation to your thought,” the voice said.
“You think the truth. You do not have the right to eliminate yourself. You do not belong to you. You belong to the Universe. Your significance will remain forever obscure to you, but you may assume that you are fulfilling your role if you apply yourself to converting your experiences to the highest advantage of others.”
Upon having this experience, Fuller completely changed his life.
He embarked on what he called “an experiment, to find what a single individual could contribute to changing the world and benefiting all humanity.”
– – –
William James once said, “No more fiendish punishment could be devised were such a thing physically possible, than that one should be turned loose in society and remain absolutely unnoticed by all the members thereof.”
From birth, our most intense yearnings are for attention, affection, appreciation.
But often these longings lead us down the wrong path.
Trying to please others, we forget our passion or, worse, we lie about it.
R. Buckminster Fuller realized at the last moment that this was not the way.
As Jordan Peterson put it, “Without truth, you don’t have the adventure of your life.”
“It’s not going to be easy,” he said, “but if you hide from your truth, then you hide from yourself. And then you’re not even there. And then who the hell are you?”
Peterson came to the same conclusion as Fuller: Speak the truth no matter what others think.
Only then can you be who you were meant to be.
