A man who urged the world to “think global, act local,” R. Buckminster Fuller, Jr. (1895–1983) was a philosopher, inventor, and visionary with over 2,000 patents and more than 22 books to his name. Called “the American Leonardo Da Vinci,” he invited us—through works such as Critical Path—to imagine a more responsible and beautifully interconnected world.

“Ideas are easy to come by; reduction to practice is an arduous but inspirationally rewarding matter,” he explained. “Our power is in our ability to decide.”

He served as a commander of crash boats during World War I and developed two inventions—a seaplane rescue mast and a jet stilt for vertical take-off aircraft. An architect, inventor, engineer, writer, mathematician, and educator, “Bucky” to his friends celebrated the light and strength of geodesic domes as models for energy-efficient housing.

“I just invent,” he explained. “Then wait until man comes around to needing what I’ve invented.”

His trademark was the term “Dymaxion” (a combination of “dynamic,” “maximum,” and “ion”) to explain how to get the most output from minimal input of energy and materials.

“I’m not a genius. I’m just a tremendous bundle of experience,” he said.

Born in Milton, Massachusetts, the creative thinker coined the terms “synergy” and “Spaceship Earth,” both reminders of our shared responsibility to one another. He once observed, “Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable.”

More Bucky quotations