One of my favorite Curated Quotes – R. Buckminster Fuller
“Whether it is to be Utopia or Oblivion will be a touch-and-go relay race right up to the final moment…. Humanity is in a final exam as to whether or not it qualifies for continuance in the Universe”
R. Buckminster Fuller (1885-1983) American architect, Systems theorist, designer, inventor and futurist
This is it. This is the whole enchilada. The highest level [600,000 foot level] at which to see where humanity is right now and understand both the horror and exquisite possibilities that could be ahead for the species.
Take the climate collapse. If we can do what is necessary in the next few decades, moving to a regenerative relationship with Spaceship Earth in this century, we could set up another 100,000 years of human civilization. If we don’t take those corrective steps, civilization may not exist in 2100 and possible human extinction by 2200. It's up to us.
I have always held the position that given the true infinity of the cosmos, there statistically had to be another place with intelligent life, somewhere. Well, two authors I like and admire, James Lovelock and Max Tegmark, both stated firmly that they don’t believe that. [They are both visionaries in the field of Technological Intelligence and Digital Utopia]. That Earth may be the only place with intelligent life in the cosmos.
So, what we do, how we course correct now in this most important historical transition may determine the future of intelligent life in the cosmos.
In 19668 and 1969 Fuller published the two books that affected on my path to become a futurist. In 1968 “Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth” was published. The premise was a simple but profound one: we live on Spaceship Earth but we don’t have an operating manual for it.
54 years later, we still don’t! It is perhaps the most important thing we do as we experience climate collapse.
The second and equally important thesis of the book is that we must use systems thinking to create the operating manual. Wholistic/holistic thinking of systems. The most complex and perfect systems we have experienced are in what we call Nature. It makes sense that we face reality with the highest form of systems thinking possible.
The second book, published a year later, was”Utopia or Oblivion: the Prospects for Humanity” from which the quote was taken. We are at that fork in the road. We can continue on our current trajectory and it will be Oblivion. If we alter this mindless trajectory and change, we do have a chance at Utopia.
We are nowhere near ready for this final exam. The 2020s decade is the time to alter the path we are on. We do not have the luxury any longer to wait. We must find the right path, the new path, the path of the new emerging 21st century reality. What can our future be?
That is what this Evolutionshift newsletter is all about.
Here are my two copies of the original paperbacks.
Yours truly, and many others, write books about the future. Many truly insightful and transformative books have been published in the last decade. [Over time, I will provide some recommendations, as that is one of the most frequent questions I am asked: What book would you recommend?]
That being said, if we read these two books, they set up the highest reality for humanity to follow in 2024. We must understand that humanity has yet to create an Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth and that we are all at the species fork in the road.
If you want to read Fuller and have yet to do so, be forewarned that his writing is dense and provides insights in every paragraph. He is a slow read, as on practically every page, one has to stop and digest the profundity just read before going on to the next page. It's heavy-going but brilliant!
To the tagline of this Newsletter, read these two books by Fuller and the Truth is Simple and the Future is Clear [at least on what must be done]. Evolutionshift Newsletter is about moving to humanity’s next evolutionary stage. The ideas within these two books are a foundational part of that vision.
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Pardon the music.