Graphic Lecture by Kris De Decker from Low-tech Magazine

The lecture “High-tech problems, obsolete technologies, and low-tech solutions” by Kris De Decker underscores the potential of past and often forgotten technologies and how they can inform sustainable energy practices. Technology has become the idol of our society, but technological progress is often aimed at solving problems caused by earlier technical inventions. Interesting possibilities arise when we combine old technology with new knowledge and new materials, or when we apply old concepts and traditional knowledge to modern technology. We discuss obsolete technologies and give examples of how they can inspire objects and ways of living that are both modern and sustainable.

Kris De Decker is the author of Low-tech Magazine, an online publication that refuses to assume that every problem has a high-tech solution. Since 2018, Low-tech Magazine runs on a self-hosted, solar-powered server, and since 2019 it is also available in print. De Decker also wrote for the Demand Centre at Lancaster University (UK), which researches energy demand in relation to social practices, and is the co-founder of the Human Power Plant, an art project that investigates the possibilities of human power production in a modern society. He was born in Belgium and lives in Spain.

Nowadays his writing is between journalism, academic writing, and the essay. His passion is research, and he believes in quality rather than quantity: Low-tech Magazine doesn’t publish often, but many articles remain popular for many years. Around 2016 he also started to work with designers and other collaborators to make objects that reflect the approach of the magazine: finding inspiration in the past and trying to steer technological development into a different direction.