Ik: I look at the future as a probability distribution. High tech will continue, but for an increasingly smaller percentage of the population because we're going to get poorer. So that means a lot more people will be living lower on an energetic material basis. But if you use these high technologies in a different way, like, ok, we use a hgh te component, but at the same time we gain to reduce energy used, and we ganto adapt our life style then you create actually a possibility. Ik: There are many possibilities between these two extremes. It's not about going back. It's about taking another direction. Any kind of combination is possible.
On this episode, we meet with inventor, researcher and author Kris De Decker to understand the concept of “low tech” and its relevance in a high tech society and growth-driven economy.
How does low tech differ from high tech and what does it feel like to live a low tech lifestyle? Why do we assume high tech will always be the solution, and could low tech be a feasible path for a sustainable and fulfilling future?
De Decker shares his personal experiences as a low tech advocate and researcher in a high tech urban environment and how freedom from technology provides both challenges and unexpected benefits.
About Kris De Decker:
Kris De Decker shifted from a journalism career covering high tech to exploring low tech through formal and personal research and projects, including the Human Power Plant and the Solar Powered Website.
De Decker is creator and author of Low Tech Magazine and No Tech Magazine, publications which explore low tech solutions to questions society assumes must be solved through high tech.
De Decker has contributed articles about science, technology, energy and the environment to Mother Earth News, Techniques et Culture, Design Magazine, The Oil Drum, Resilience, EOS, Molenecho's, "Knack", "De Tijd" and "De Standaard". De Decker’s books "Energie in 2030" advised the Dutch government on challenges related to science and technology and his book "Stralingswarmte: gezonde warmte met minder energie" provided a guide for how heat works.
De Decker was born in Antwerp, Belgium and lives in Barcelona, Spain. De Decker describes himself as “rather inactive” on Twitter and LinkedIn.
For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episodes