World Game

"Bits break up finite wholes into finite parts." —Buckminster Fuller, 1975

“We are in for the greatest revolution in history. If it's to pull the top down and it's bloody, all lose. If it is a design-science revolution to elevate the bottom and all others as well to unprecedented new heights, all will live to dare spontaneously to speak and live and love the truth, strange though it often may seem.”

“From a future educational responsibility viewpoint, nothing is more challenging than the question of how we get the 99 percent to understand technology.”

"Our present accounting system is at the roots of the energy problems of today."

“People find it very comfortable to see the world, to experience reality, in square modules [dollars], and they find it disturbing—indeed threatening—for anyone to question squareness [dollars]. They do not like to hear that rectangularity [dollars] may not be innate; they do not want anyone to invalidate their scorecard of orthonormality [dollars].”

"If I had not in 1927 committed 'egocide,’ I would probably have yielded long ago to convention." —Buckminster Fuller

"What we do today is exchange goods for our TIME. People work so many hours of their TIME, for so much capital exchange value of temporal units. They do this on an ever increasing good Faith [trust] basis." —Buckminster Fuller

You cannot stop the truth. "A truth [Bitcoin] once revealed cannot be repealed, and becomes so obvious, and its boundaries so abstract, that it is much more trespassed upon, by the world in general, than material possessions." —Buckminster Fuller

"If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool [Bitcoin], the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking." —Buckminster Fuller

Buckminster Fuller understood the halving schedule: "In four halvings, you have eliminated 94 percent of irrelevant Universe. In seven halvings, you have removed 99.2 percent of irrelevant Universe." —Buckminster Fuller

"Bits break up finite wholes into finite parts." —Buckminster Fuller

The Bitcoin network is truth, mechanically interpreted. "Truths must be mechanically interpreted wherever applicable." —Buckminster Fuller

Some of you have found truth. “Integrity of human beings is to spontaneously or courageously enact in order accordance with the truth once you find it. Not what the crowd is doing, not what the politics is doing.” —Buckminster Fuller

“In these critical times let us no longer make the mistake of identifying as fools those with whom we disagree.” —Buckminster Fuller

“You have to decide whether you want to make money or make sense (sats).” —Buckminster Fuller

Buckminster Fuller didn't just foresee the evolution of the Bitcoin network; he understood economists would not see it coming and suggested it would spread "bit-by-bit." First, why would specialists like economists miss it? "Economists traditionally try to maximize what you have, but the idea that you could go from wire to wireless or from visible structuring to invisible alloy structuring did not occur to them at all. It was outside their point of view—beyond their range of vision." We also tend to dismiss things we cannot see: "99% of all evolutionary trends are invisible." Therefore, it was not part of their mental models: "No economic accounting books list metaphysical assets." Then, Fuller suggests Bitcoin literacy will be emergent, one person at a time, rather than top down: "'Bit-by-bit,' its ramifications in those groups will reach the group surfaces, whence contacts are made with other groups. Suddenly as the picture puzzle races to completeness of countenance, these group representatives, discovering, as man continually must, 'that it is a small world after all', will find, even though it be in the guise of jest, that 4D [Bitcoin] is a subject of common progressive, harmonic, and creative interest to them all." The Gradual Spread of New Ideas "Bit-by-bit": Fuller explains that new concepts take time to penetrate different groups in society. Initially, only a few individuals or specialized groups may understand or discuss an idea, but over time, its influence spreads as more people encounter it. Cross-Group Interaction Leads to Awareness: As these smaller groups reach a point where they interact with other groups, knowledge and interest in the idea expand. These "group surfaces" represent the point at which ideas cross into mainstream conversations. The Puzzle Metaphor: Sudden Realization: Fuller compares the spread of ideas to a puzzle coming together—at first, individual pieces may seem disconnected, but as more pieces fall into place, the bigger picture emerges. When enough people and groups have engaged with the idea, its importance and interconnectedness become impossible to ignore. The "Small World" Effect: The phrase "it is a small world after all" suggests that, despite perceived differences, people across various fields and backgrounds will eventually recognize their shared interest in the concept. Even if introduced as a joke or casual discussion ("in the guise of jest"), the idea of Bitcoin Network will resonate universally once its benefits become evident. The Bitcoin Network as a Unifying and Progressive Concept: Fuller envisions the Bitcoin Network as a harmonizing, creative force that benefits different groups in various ways. Once people from various disciplines realize the common ground they share, they will collectively advance the idea. Memeing it into Reality: Even casual conversations or jokes can serve as entry points for serious discussions about revolutionary concepts like the Bitcoin Network. The phrase "guise of jest" means that an idea—such as Bitcoin—might initially be discussed or introduced in a lighthearted, humorous, or seemingly unserious way, but underneath that presentation lies a profound and serious truth. Fuller suggests that people might first encounter Bitcoin as a joke, a casual remark, or something unconventional that seems amusing, but as they engage with it, they will recognize its more profound significance. This reflects how groundbreaking ideas often begin as radical, even laughable concepts, before they gain serious acceptance once their full implications become clear. In Summary: New ideas spread gradually but eventually reach a tipping point where they become universally acknowledged. Cross-group interactions accelerate awareness, making once-isolated concepts mainstream and widely discussed. Like a puzzle coming together, people will eventually see the bigger picture and recognize the idea’s value. Fuller understood that truth and efficiency ultimately prevail once people connect the dots across different domains.

Buckminster Fuller understood housing prices were propped up: "Realistically exploring, we find that only two percent of the U.S. population own their own homes outright, which therefore places the essential custody of this 'home’ inventoried accessory and arterial system tonnage within the control of corporation trusts or government. Though holding ultimate title foreclosure powers, the government to date has laboriously supported rather than challenged the corporate and trust prerogative over this tonnage, in order to avoid the political disturbances threatened by realistic inspection of the deflated functional value to which this junk tonnage is collateral throughout the vast ‘‘securities’’ structure of the country."

Buckminster Fuller's grandson has excellent advise for approaching his body of work: "For those of you reading Bucky for the first time, I offer a few specific tips for your journey through his universe. You may find, with the pulsation from the macro to the micro, from the comprehensive to the incisive, that your mind is stretched and turned in a way that is, at first, disorienting. Think of it instead as a re-orientation—a real orientation that can at first be dizzying. Give yourself a lot of time. His books are thinking tools, catalysts for “shape-shifting,” for leaping far beyond the “box” of normal habitual thought processes. Perhaps a dose-a-day will be your pace, to thoroughly examine and digest the ideas as they come—paying attention to the changes in your own awareness …daily, weekly, even monthly. Be encouraged: like learning a new language or a new computer program, I trust the current brain researchers would confirm that reading Bucky is just the kind of endeavor that can help us build brain cells and their interconnections." Sound familiar? Yes, Bucky's work will take you through everything from the physics to philosophy of the proverbial Bitcoin rabbit hole.

Buckminster Fuller warned us exactly 50 years ago. “Nothing to stop the US Treasury from issuing 2050 notes, but for how far into the future can [they] keep selling USA promissory notes?” He often said he was thinking 50 years ahead, and that puts us at, well, 2025. Here we are.

I saw that a technology which produced total economic success for humanity could eliminate the fundamental causes of war. —Buckminster Fuller