Books & popular writing

SLOW-TECH:
Manifesto For An Overwound World

Published by Atlantic Books (2009), SLOW-TECH explains how the ‘inessential’ and ‘unproductive’ protect us from the consequences of our obsession with efficiency.

The modern world has put its faith in high-tech processes that has left it weakened and ill-equipped to withstand catastrophe. Collateral damage has been immense, made worse by pressures from a swelling population.

SLOW-TECH argues for a world with greater robustness - something that is possible in surprisingly simple ways. Unexpected and counter-intuitive yet convincing and timely, SLOW-TECH offers an alternative vision for life in the twenty-first century – a rounded vision of balance and robustness that would be healthier for the planet – and healthier for us.

Principles of SLOW-TECH

• The efficiency delusion: a quick fix and the quest for ever-greater performance isn’t always the best solution.
• Low-tech remedies – including the simple expedient of adding time – still have a place, even in the rushed, modern world.
• Don’t get rid of the ‘inessential’. Having something in reserve, and other means of avoiding catastrophic failures, empowers both the present and the future.
• Indispensable whiz: robustness helps ensure smooth-running in nature, in what we do and in things we create, reducing the need for human intervention.
• Environmental damage is not ‘free’, and should be compensated for: a weakened natural environment can be risky for business as well as species.

SLOW-TECH solutions for an overwound world

Health

By helping cut down the spread of MRSA and other infections in hospitals (which have, quite literally, been killing us), hand washing by medical staff and visitors is a far from inefficient use of time. Equally, by keeping some hospital beds unused in reserve, patients contracting highly contagious disease may be kept apart from others preventing the rapid spread of disease. But there is insufficient slack in the system.

Warfare

The modern military fares better with overlapping capabilities, or deliberate spare capacity. ‘Overkill’ might seem like inefficiency of operations, but invariably it pays off. With 130 miles of passageways, the Cu Chi tunnel complex was the epitome of robustness during the Vietnam War. Low-tech maybe, but it allowed the Vietcong to become invisible. The lowest tunnels were immune even to American B-52 bombs.

Fishing

Instilling robustness back into fish stocks, using simple principles adopted centuries ago, brings untold riches and helps restore environmental health. ‘No-take’ reserves in St Lucia, where fishing is not allowed, have doubled the catch in a matter of years in nearby areas where fishermen can fish.

Farming

Lazy Dog hand tools for farmers and growers turned out to be far more than a slow-tech reaction to weed control through spraying. UK water companies have to remove pesticides from our drinking water, at a cost of around £120 million per year.

At home

Seen in this light, even the ‘old-fashioned’ Aga cooker, is far from just an inefficient, high cost, cast-iron dinosaur that warms the planet as well as the kitchen; that would be a lopsided, incomplete portrayal of an Aga’s true performance.

On the road

Similarly, vintage Bentleys, weighing 2.5 tons, were massively over-engineered and had ingenious backup systems. Yet, Bentleys still won the Le Mans 24-hours race five times by 1930, often beating leaner and lighter rivals. Today, engine failures are a major problem in Formula One races. Like Agas, Bentleys are, unquestionably, ace gas-guzzlers. But if prolonged existence – reducing the need to scrap or recycle – and absence of electronic chips (which carry environmental costs) are considered, claims that these relics are little more than polluting monsters may be slightly wide of the mark.

In business

Blindly following the 80/20 maxim (that around 80 per cent of results flow from only 20 per cent of the causes or effort i.e. few products are responsible for most of sales value and profits) commonplace in business, can have devastating effect. In the case of fisheries, by far the greatest fish harvests come from coastal areas. The 80/20 principle tells that coasts are where fishing action should be. But relentless fishing in these shallow, productive waters has ruined stocks. Exploitation here has removed too much stock; not only that, though, for these rich coastal waters often coincide with major breeding grounds. So hammering cod and other fish stocks around coasts has affected reproduction, leaving insufficient fish available for capture (and reproduction) in future years. In other words, following the 80/20 principle too blindly easily ‘kills the turtle that lays the golden egg’.

In a world that seems perpetually on the brink of financial, geopolitical and environmental meltdown, SLOW-TECH offers solutions to all sorts of problems, including simple greed and human error. More than just an insurance policy or a buffer against the unexpected, SLOW-TECH promises performance that lasts, the quest of every efficiency-seeker.

Andrew Price is a professorial fellow at the University of Warwick. In addition, he is an advisor and consultant to governments, UN agencies, other international organizations and industry on marine and environmental issues. Professor Price is a Fellow of the Linnean Society, and a former holder of the British Consultant of the Year Award for his research on the Gulf War.

What inspired the writing of SLOW-TECH

SLOW-TECH is Andrew’s first popular book. It has been inspired by the family’s racing Bentley, nature, ecology and travel, including many years of sailing.

Voyages have ranged from sailing the Indian Ocean to China in a replica of a 9th century Arab sailing ship (‘Sindbad Voyage’, National Geographic, July 1982) to a double-Atlantic crossing and cruise to Greece in something more modern. His latest yacht was a replica of a Falmouth oyster dredger, somewhat smaller than the boat and dreams of his childhood: the family’s 17 ton gaff pilot cutter.

Unusual experiences writing SLOW-TECH

Andrew will not confess to everything. But here are some experiences linked, directly or indirectly, to the writing of SLOW-TECH:

• Struck by lightening while becalmed for 55 days between Sri Lanka and Sumatra, en route to China in a replica of a stitched, 9th century Arab sailing ship.
• SLOW-TECH is about robustness but, ironically, the researching and writing of it was so demanding that eventually it compromised Andrew’s own robustness and health; over-stretch may have been a major contributing factor to him getting Shingles.
• Despite two Atlantic crossings and sailing the Indian Ocean under sail, using a sextant for navigation (no GPS then), Andrew’s sense of direction is as hopeless as it gets. He has to admit coming out of the Underground in London and using a GPS, at least once, to locate the offices of Atlantic Books, his publishers.

Research for SLOW-TECH probably began (subconsciously) in the 1960s, in the family’s traditional pilot cutter and on later sailing vessels. This and the many hours sat in the back of his father’s 1930 Speed Six 61/2 litre racing Bentley set the seeds for Andrew’s quest into wondering why some things just keep on going, while others fail catastrophically under pressure.

In the case of his family’s traditional yacht and car, robustness came about through massive over-engineering plus more subtle approaches to ensure proper functioning. The book has also been inspired by nature, ecology and other travel, through work as a marine biologist and international environmental consultant. Ideas developed more seriously in 2003/4.

Most writing took place during 2006 and 2007, in the office, at home, on aeroplanes, in cafes and even on the roadside on more than one journey from Warwick University to home; parts of the book were written in Eritrea, Sri Lanka and Bermuda.

What SLOW-TECH offers modernity

SLOW-TECH provides a new approach to understanding performance that goes beyond efficiency at all costs. It shows how the ‘inessential’ and ‘unproductive’ ― important features of robustness ― add power to the present and protect us against future disasters.

Much of the book focuses on the (longstanding) supremacy of ‘efficiency of industry and development’ over the ‘robustness of ecosystems’.

SLOW-TECH argues that unfettered development, obsession with profit and disregard for the future, are actually bad for business and society as well as the environment. Shedding what seems expendable also carries risks in more direct ways, in business, healthcare, engineering and even military operations.

The book illustrates the power of robustness through unusual and lively case histories, travel and personal anecdotes. These include tales of a 1930 racing Bentley (‘Team Car No. 3’ Phyllis) and traditional sailing vessels to explain the findings of latest research. You could call it building on it time-tested solutions and wisdom.

How to order SLOW-TECH

SLOW-TECH is available from local and national bookstores, or via Amazon.