Essays by Larry Barnett
Common wisdom is that women live longer than men, but at a recent holiday party, I found myself in the company of two other widowers. Like most men, we conversed stoically about the loss of our wives in straightforward fashion; there were no tears shed as we spoke about feeling lonely and sad, although … Read the rest
I watched the news today, “oh boy,” about AI for weapons-equipped drones. The General in charge of that program spoke about being prepared to fight China, which has greatly improved its military capabilities. So here we are, thick in the middle of the digital age but once again turning our attention … Read the rest
The student of history quickly learns that new technologies do more than support the operation of culture, they transform and replace it. From the wheel to the plow, from the printing press to the iMac computer, society and everyday lives take on the characteristics of adopted technologies. Older … Read the rest
Why there is something instead of nothing continues to be a subject of debate. Although visible matter, the matter we can see and detect with our instruments comprises only 5% of the observable universe, it occupies nearly all of our attention.
It appears that most of the universe is comprised of dark… Read the rest
Some elements are compatible, others incompatible. If in prolonged close contact with each other, when compatible there is stability; when incompatible, an electro-chemical, alchemical process caused by electron transfer between the two elements alters their structure and produces transformation.… Read the rest
It’s a bit oxymoronic, “growing thinner.” We think of growth when something gets bigger, not smaller, but that’s what’s happening to me. I’m growing thinner.
At 77 years old, I now weigh what I did as a Junior in High School, and then I considered myself plump, if not downright fat. I was a chunky kid; when… Read the rest
Here’s an odd contemplation: it was not my wife of fifty years who died last May, it was me. Perhaps a ghost of my consciousness has continued to spin out an experience of my reality, my Samsara, even though my body is now long gone. Is it possible to prove that’s not true?
From “cat in a box both alive and dead”… Read the rest
If the world feels crazy to you, you’re right. It is. A form of collective madness has taken hold. It’s worrisome, confusing, for some fatal, and, sadly, it’s mostly the way it’s always been.
We live in the imaginary world of The-Mind-of-Separation, and it drives us mad. Most of our madness is ordinary:… Read the rest
Do you identify with any particular animal? If you were not a human being, what animal would you like to be?
I’m a Bear, a Little Bear to be precise. I sleep like a log, am assertive, like to be in charge, and get right down to business. I’m sensitive and affectionate, but not terribly romantic. When it comes… Read the rest
Life is artful; it has to be. At once both particular and universal, manifesting as individual lives while simultaneously functioning in a species-wide manner, life navigates through living and non-living environments; through its collective experience, life finds ways to endure.
Artfulness… Read the rest
The idea of Samsara generates considerable confusion, an ironic condition since the essence of Samsara is confusion. Although we humans are a clever lot, there’s far more that we do not know or understand than there is that we do. We are profoundly ignorant. In order to fill in the gaps, to create a comprehensible… Read the rest
When I was a small boy I cried a lot. By all reports, I was an affable, joyful little guy, sensitive and always smiling, but as the years passed, I came under the shadow of my older brother who took out all his resentments on me. In a word, he was mean, and I was the object of his anger. Wally Cleaver he was not, … Read the rest
Capitalism is a hot topic at the moment, its successes and failures, its potential and limitations, and its impacts on culture and the environment. Any examination of capitalism requires its definition, however. While it has many facets, for the purposes of this discussion, I am going to use a simple… Read the rest
“Why don’t you and your daughter Zoe come over for dinner,” said the voice at the other end of the telephone, continuing, “I live just down the block.” “Sure,” I replied, “see you at 5:30.” So began my 50-year relationship with Norma Jean Marsh Campbell.
Like me, Norma had been married once already, and… Read the rest
Teleology is the philosophical exploration of purpose, and for many of us, finding purpose is elusive. Is purpose inherent or found, and can it be both?
The business of being human often feels like a test, but if we are being tested, by whom and for what? Some people complain that life is tougher than it … Read the rest
The hot book of 1972 was Alex Comfort’s “The Joy of Sex.” In 2025, “The Joy of Hate” might top the charts.
In the words of James Baldwin, I’m horrified at America’s “moral apathy,” the degree to which unthinkably vile behaviors are now normalized. Baldwin, of course, was speaking from the perspective … Read the rest
Today I unpacked the last remaining box of my late wife Norma’s books. The two-car garage at the condo was completely filled when we moved in just over four months ago, and now it’s almost empty. Between what’s been thrown away, donated, and brought inside, my life is now firmly established in my new home,… Read the rest
I first sat on my wicker sofa in diapers as a toddler, 75 years ago. It was located on our screened-in porch on the western side of our house in the suburbs of New York. Given summer’s mosquitos, a screened-in porch was not not a luxury, but a necessity.
The sofa spent many years in my mother’s apartment in … Read the rest
Kaiser Hospital recently announced it is laying off nurses at two of its clinics in the North Bay. Those of us who have regular encounters with healthcare providers know that nurses provide the human touch to a profession that’s increasingly impersonal. Although technology like Zoom provides new… Read the rest
The progression of technology has been relentless and has hastened the acceleration of its own progress. Whether or not artificial machine intelligence (AI) becomes technology’s ultimate expression, humanity already faces an unprecedented challenge. The intersection of politics and technology… Read the rest