Author	Edmondson, Amy C. author
Title	A Fuller Explanation [electronic resource] : The Synergetic Geometry of R. Buckminster Fuller / by Amy C. Edmondson
Imprint	Boston, MA : Birkhรคuser Boston, 1986
Connect to	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7485-5
Descript	XXVI, 302 p. 219 illus. online resource

In a broad sense Design Science is the grammar of a language of images rather than of words. Modern communication techniques enable us to transmit and reconstitute images without the need of knowing a specific verbal sequential language such as the Morse code or Hungarian. International traffic signs use international image symbols which are not specific to any particular verbal language. An image language differs from a verbal one in that the latter uses a linear string of symbols, whereas the former is multidimensional. Architectural renderings commonly show projections onto three mutually perpendicular planes, or consist of cross sections at differยญ ent altitudes representing a stack of floor plans. Such renderings make it difficult to imagine buildings containing ramps and other features which disguise the separation between floors; consequently, they limit the creativity of the architect. Analogously, we tend to analyze natural structures as if nature had used similar stacked renderings, rather than, for instance, a system of packed spheres, with the result that we fail to perceive the system of organization determining the form of such structures

1. Return to Modelability -- From Geometry to Geodesics: A Personal Perspective -- 2. The Irrationality of Pi -- โ{128}{156}Nature Isnโ{128}{153}t Using Piโ{128}{157} -- Finite Accounting System -- Which Way Is โ{128}{156}Upโ{128}{157}? -- Visual Literacy -- Peaceful Coexistence -- 3. Systems and Synergy -- Conceptual and Real Systems -- Limits of Resolution as Part of the Whole-Systems Approach -- 4. Tools of the Trade -- Platoโ{128}{153}s Discovery -- Eulerโ{128}{153}s Law -- Duality -- Truncation and Stellation -- โ{128}{156}Intertransformabilityโ{128}{157} -- Symmetry -- 5. Structure and โ{128}{156}Pattern Integrityโ{128}{157} -- Pattern Integrity -- Structure -- 6. Angular Topology -- Frequency and Size -- Topology and Vectors -- Dimension -- Angular Topology -- 7. Vector Equilibrium -- โ{128}{156}Natureโ{128}{153}s Own Geometryโ{128}{157} -- Spatial Considerations -- Planar Equilibrium -- Cuboctahedron as Vector Equilibrium -- VE: Results -- 8. Tales Told by the Spheres: Closest Packing -- Equilibrium: Equalization of Distances -- Symmetry versus Specificity of Form -- Organization of Identical Units -- New Level of Focus -- 9. Isotropic Vector Matrix -- A Quick Comparison: โ{128}{156}Synergetics Accountingโ{128}{157} -- Cells: โ{128}{156}Inherent Complementarityโ{128}{157} -- 10. Multiplication by Division: In Search of Cosmic Hierarchy -- Volume -- Multiplication by Division -- Cosmic Hierarchy (of Nuclear Event Patternings) -- 11. Jitterbug -- Folding a Polyhedron -- Icosahedron -- Fives -- Four Dimensions -- Complex of Jitterbugs -- Other Dynamic Models -- 12. โ{128}{156}All-Spaceโ{128}{157} Filling: New Types of Packing Crates -- Plane Tessellations -- Filling Space -- 13. The Heart of the Matter: A- and B-Quanta Modules -- A-Quanta Modules -- B-Quanta Modules -- Energy Characteristics -- 14. Cosmic Railroad Tracks: Great Circles -- Why Are We Talking About Spheres? -- New Classification System -- Operational Mathematics -- Energy Paths -- Inventory: Seven Unique Cosmic Axes of Symmetry -- 15. From Geodesic to Tensegrity: The Invisible Made Visible -- Theory Behind Geodesic Structures: Summary -- Geodesic Design in Nature -- Geodesic Domes: Design Variables -- 16. โ{128}{156}Design Scienceโ{128}{157} -- โ{128}{156}Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Scienceโ{128}{157} -- โ{128}{156}Comprehensive... โ{128}{157} -- โ{128}{156}... Anticipatory... โ{128}{157} -- Dymaxion Map -- Suspended Storage Systems -- More with Less -- Appendices -- A. Trigonometric Calculations -- B. Volume Calculations for Three Prime Structural Systems -- C. Sources of Additional Information -- D. Special Properties of the Tetrahedron -- E. Glossary -- Notes