Synergetics can be defined as the exploratory strategy of starting with the whole. It was in the 1940s that Buckminster Fuller developed a series of spherical models which embodied the synergetic theory within geometry. This study of Fuller's sacred geometry describes with vigour and in detail how his spherical figures relate both to Nature and to the tenets of synergetics.

The author assesses the legacy of Fuller, a scientist-artist-engineer extraordinaire whose visions were inspired by the American Dream, and portrays with enthusiasm and sympathy the creative and individual science of a man whose character was as multifaceted as the domes he created.

Discover the theory behind the idea that the straight lines and boxes of science and maths are inadequate for representing Nature's spherical and cyclical patterns of growth. The ways in which Fuller's synergetics can be seen in the ancient iconographies of the past are also revealed with fresh insight. In addition, Eastham looks to the future artistic applications of Fuller's 'wholes', with the aim of inspiring the reader to think outside of the box themselves.

We sought for years to bring out a brief alternative geometry textbook. ... It's not easy to produce a round thing in a square world ..." From the Introduction

Acknowledgments
Introduction: An Imaginary Symposium

I. Archaeology of a Vision
  Yankee Ingenuity
  American Dreamers
  The Original Vision
  The Way Things Are
  Geoscope
  Synergy & Entropy

II. Refractions
  Dwelling Machine
  Ambivalent Centennial

III. Reflections
  Anima Mundi
  Mandala
    Deep South
    Due East
    True North
    Way Out West
  Connections – Real & Unreal
  A Lower Deep

Appendix A: Unfolding WHOLES: A Synergetics Primer
Appendix B: The Root DHR and Its Branches
Appendix C: Palimpsest

Notes
Index

• Introduction (PDF, 64 KB)
• Extract from Chapter 1: Archaeology of a Vision (PDF, 176 KB)