BF.
Sorry not to get back to you sooner. I'm having a bit of trouble trying to keep up with the thrust of your posts. At first you said that Geodes/tics were very similar to more modern CFRP, which, in laymans' terms is close enough. You then thought that I might be falling for 'Fullerine Dogma'.
Where was dogma in Fuller? Of course a composite allows far more elegant solutions than geodetics ever can. But, how can (and more's the pity) a football get made out of 2d fabrics without linking planar surfaces in clever ways.
Just need to clear my mind a bit before launching in to the Maths.
ps. What kind of things do you design? I'm currently busy in automotive dynamics, but have had fun with boats and 'planes too. Did a few houses too!