“The new Podcast by Tim Rodenbröker
“Today’s technologies, the hardware and software we use every day, are covered by a thick layer of myths and ideologies. The marketing, PR, and design from the tech giants tell us big tales of progress and growth. But behind these myths lie some really important questions: How much technology is actually appropriate? What does ‘real technological simplicity’ mean? How can technology be in the hands of people rather than companies (as is the case with ‘Open Source’)? How can we design new, sovereign relationships with tech?
https://demystifytechnology.podigee.io/1-kris-de-decker
Creative Coding
“There is a direct and interesting connection with Creative Coding: through my own teaching, I eventually realized that students who come into contact with code kind of look through the front end and see the bare technology. Coding reveals the hidden and genuine structures of software. This encounter can even trigger fears. It is the collapse of an illusion”.
Those who go through this process can reach a threshold where the patterns of code suddenly make sense. That way, so to speak, they shake off several layers of myths and pave their way to develop a mature relationship with technology. In other words: Creative Coding is a lense to demystify technology. It is an act of digital empowerment.
Demystify Technology. These two words became a guiding principle for me in recent years. I tend to say that they answer the question of why I do what I do: to demystify technology. Now I have launched a brand new podcast where this demystification will be the main topic. With it, I want to create a new repository for conversations in the periphery of what I mainly do in my work (teaching to code).
Episode 1: Kris de Decker
“I couldn’t have imagined a more fitting guest for the first episode than Kris de Decker, a researcher, journalist, activist, and blogger from whom I have learned so much recently. Kris lives in Barcelona and has been writing about Low Tech for almost 20 years. He runs lowtechmagazine.com, a platform where he shares his learnings and insights on how a life beyond high tech could be like. Kris is maybe the most pominent voice in the Low Tech universe. He turns his own life into a laboratory and a medium, achieving an astonishing degree of integrity. Our conversation revolves around the question of what an internet free of tech giants might look like, what challenges we face as content creators and bloggers within the current infosphere, and what ways exist to counter information capitalism, at least to some extent”.
About Tim Rodenbröker
Tim Rodenbröker is a design educator dedicated to building a community-based online school. His teaching focuses on Creative Coding, an experimental approach to understanding computation and a versatile tool for designing across a wide range of media formats. His primary interest is in exploring Creative Coding as a philosophical method for shaping a new way of thinking about digital technology, overcoming anxiety, fostering curiosity and critical thinking. He also writes essays and designs visual identities. Tim has taught at a wide range of prestigious academic institutions, including Elisava (Barcelona), Glasgow School of Art, and ECAL (Geneva). As a freelance creative technologist, he has worked for clients such as The New York Times, IBM, the University of Pennsylvania, and Slate + Ash.
Together with Martin Lorenz, he runs the design studio Coding Systems, which explores the synergies between flexible visual systems and code. Tim is also part of the curatorial team of the Design in Motion Festival.