Bucky

I really wanted my first post to be this powerfully true quote I heard awhile back. The quote, its creator and where it was said or written. Nothing more. Oh, it would have been beautiful! Its sentiment even ties into this whole self-learning idea that Library 2.0 is about. But, that's not what you're getting today. Sort of.

Let me explain. I learned a lot throughout college. (I know, I know... "that's the point," you say.) But my greatest lesson was that I learned more about learning than I learned about the subjects I studied. After that hit me, I came across a quote that summed up my revelation wonderfully and decided that it would go under my senior photo in the college yearbook. So, I think I Googled some Internet quote Web sites to find the quote's attributer (cringing librarians, please remember: I was young and ignorant). Then, I submitted it for publication:

"The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know."
-R. Buckminster Fuller

But, don't quote him on that! Today, I'm not sure if Fuller should be credited for that exact sentence, if he should be given credit for a line that conveys the same notion or if the quote belongs to someone else altogether. My doubt came after a more recent Google search where hits produced various similar, but slightly different quotes by Fuller (cringing librarians, please remember: according to the above quote, I am now older and even more ignorant. Though, you may be pleased to know that my purpose in this last Internet search was to find a site that listed the quote, creator and source so I could get my hands on the last and check the quote's accuracy myself).

In my quest for the quote, the idea behind it proved itself. For instance, as I was trying to learn more about the quote, I learned its wording is possibly wrong. I learned that I need some nonGoogle help to pin down the right quote, attribution and source (any takers?). I learned I knew nothing about Fuller, but am now intrigued and would like to read his works. (The man was an inventor, engineer, poet and philosopher, to name a few. What a fascinating combination! Fun fact: Those very scientific molecules with the not-so-scientific name, buckyballs, are called such because they resemble the geodesic dome building that Fuller made famous. Buckyballs. That word just makes me laugh. It did in science class and it still does now).

Cheers, Bucky! And, thank God for learning!