{"product_id":"julia-watson-by-julian-watson-9783836578189","title":"Julia Watson","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThree hundred years ago, intellectuals of the European Enlightenment constructed a \u003cb\u003emythology of technology\u003c\/b\u003e. Influenced by a confluence of humanism, colonialism, and racism, this mythology \u003cb\u003eignored local wisdom and indigenous innovation\u003c\/b\u003e, deeming it primitive. Today, we have slowly come to realise that \u003cb\u003ethe legacy of this mythology is haunting us\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDesigners understand the \u003cb\u003eurgency of reducing humanity's negative environmental impact\u003c\/b\u003e, yet perpetuate the same mythology of technology that relies on exploiting nature. Responding to climate change by building hard infrastructures and favouring high-tech homogenous design, we are \u003cb\u003eignoring millennia-old knowledge of how to live in symbiosis with nature\u003c\/b\u003e. Without implementing soft systems that use biodiversity as a building block, designs remain inherently unsustainable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLo-TEK\u003c\/em\u003e, derived from Traditional Ecological Knowledge, is a cumulative body of multigenerational knowledge, practices, and beliefs, countering the idea that indigenous innovation is primitive and exists isolated from technology. It is sophisticated and designed to sustainably work with complex ecosystems.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith a foreword by anthropologist \u003cb\u003eWade Davis\u003c\/b\u003e and four chapters spanning Mountains, Forests, Deserts, and Wetlands, \u003cem\u003eJulia Watson\u003c\/em\u003e explores \u003cb\u003ethousands of years of human wisdom and ingenuity from 18 countries including Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, Kenya, Iran, Iraq, India, and Indonesia\u003c\/b\u003e. We rediscover an ancient mythology in a contemporary context, radicalising the spirit of human nature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cb\u003etactile reading experience\u003c\/b\u003e of \u003cem\u003eLo-TEK\u003c\/em\u003e reflects the ingenuity of carefully selected projects with \u003cb\u003esophisticated design details\u003c\/b\u003e: \u003cb\u003ecopper\u003c\/b\u003e highlights the value of ancient knowledge, a \u003cb\u003ecardboard hardcover\u003c\/b\u003e echoes rawness, and the \u003cb\u003eSwiss binding showcases an open spine\u003c\/b\u003e and reveals the construction of the book, just as the book discloses hidden technological knowledge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47596716884204,"sku":"9783836578189","price":120.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9783836578189-julia-watson.jpg?v=1777938021","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/julia-watson-by-julian-watson-9783836578189","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}