Inner Strength Illusion vs. Reality
by
David B. South, Jr.
reprinted from The Monolithic Dome Roundup Spring 2001
When I was 14, my family went to Universal Studios where my favorite show "Knight Rider" was filmed. The star of Knight Rider was an indestructible, talking car named KITT. I actually got to sit in a mock-up of that famous black Trans-Am. It even talked to me.
I was under no illusions about how this show was made. I knew that no car could break through concrete walls like a tank. But I was still surprised when I spied from my seat on the tram a pile of discarded, empty shells of former black Trans-Ams.
I was equally amazed at the other tricks used in moviemaking. Especially the buildings. Mere facades that looked like concrete and brick on one side and flimsy patched together walls from the other.
Illusions are not limited only to the movie industry.
Brick homes, for example, used to be built using multiple layers of brick. Each placed painstakingly by hand in a pattern three or four layers deep. Today, nobody builds a brick home that way.
Instead, brick is merely placed on the outside of a wood building. Although it appears to be a solid brick wall, it is actually a brick veneer wall, a simple decoration to make the home look better and look strong. But it is not any stronger than the next home that uses vinyl siding or stucco.
The Monolithic Dome is an illusion too, in exactly the opposite manner.
Instead of appearing as something traditionally accepted as strong and sturdy, it appears as something smooth and flexible. To an uneducated eye, it may even appear quite fragile.
But underneath, the dome is incredibly different, solid concrete reinforced with steel and insulated with the best insulation ever made. The double-curved surface and spray-in-place construction adds much more strength and durability.
The shape of the dome even conceals its true size. From the outside, a Monolithic Dome never looks as big as it does from the inside.
Like a book being judged by its contents rather than its cover, the Monolithic Dome understates its potential.
When I think about the Hollywood ideal of life "an expensive car and big house" I remember the facades from my trip to Universal Studios, and I am reminded that in real life appearing strong is not the same as being strong.
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