https://barrymorisse.comEssays and ideas by Barry Morisse. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/the-triumph-of-creativity-over-practicalityhttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/the-triumph-of-creativity-over-practicalityTue, 13 May 2025 10:30:42 GMTIn a world increasingly driven by practicality and efficiency, are we sacrificing beauty and creativity in our cities - and in our lives? Inspired by a presentation on the Keyes Art Mile project in Johannesburg, this piece reflects on the loss of artistic vision in modern architecture and challenges us to seek beauty in the everyday. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/32https://barrymorisse.com/blog/32Sun, 13 Oct 2024 07:43:27 GMTSome pithy life advice from my 32-year-old self. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/sonic-landscapes-and-visual-voyageshttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/sonic-landscapes-and-visual-voyagesSun, 03 Mar 2024 06:21:21 GMTMelding two art forms together can deliver an entirely new level of immersion. ‘Pictures Reframed’ by Robin Rhode and Qden Blaauw does exactly that. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/2023https://barrymorisse.com/blog/2023Thu, 04 Jan 2024 05:42:00 GMTMy annual review for 2023. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/2022https://barrymorisse.com/blog/2022Mon, 02 Jan 2023 10:09:51 GMTMy annual review for 2022. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/2021https://barrymorisse.com/blog/2021Fri, 31 Dec 2021 07:37:19 GMTMy annual review of 2021 and the lessons I learned along the way. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/a-ghost-to-becomehttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/a-ghost-to-becomeSun, 02 May 2021 09:58:55 GMTA short story. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/starling-momentshttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/starling-momentsSun, 07 Mar 2021 19:54:12 GMTThose fleeting moments when everything seems to align only come from dogged determination, an appetite for wonder, and the willingness to show up time and time again. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/imposter-syndromehttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/imposter-syndromeWed, 23 Dec 2020 08:14:16 GMTIf we can recognise that imposter syndrome is an indication that this really matters to us and will feed our soul - then we can try to harness that to ignore the voice in our head and just do the work. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/28lessonshttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/28lessonsTue, 13 Oct 2020 11:31:54 GMT28 lessons learned from 28 years on this floating rock. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/ai-narrativeshttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/ai-narrativesMon, 21 Sep 2020 05:13:00 GMTAs we craft the narratives and stories required to explain artificial intelligence, we must do so truthfully - avoiding the temptation to fear-monger and exaggerate in order to win clicks. The way we communicate will determine the societal impact of the technology. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/mental-immune-systemhttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/mental-immune-systemMon, 27 Jul 2020 07:34:22 GMTThought experiments are the tool of choice for thinking. If we don’t understand how they can manipulate us, then we are at the mercy of bad ideas that are artfully constructed and disseminated. We need to strengthen our mental immune system. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/oldbookshttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/oldbooksThu, 09 Jul 2020 23:47:03 GMTYou know those old, weathered books you keep on your bookshelf so that you look sophisticated during those Zoom calls? Here’s why you should read them. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/instagram-seductionhttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/instagram-seductionThu, 11 Jun 2020 17:38:51 GMTIt seems obvious to me (but significantly under-discussed) that the media we consume dictates so much of how we experience the world and is not merely a mirror on reality - but an immutable self-fulfilling prophecy machine. If we don’t understand how we are being seduced, we have no way of avoiding the associated harms. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/little-soulshttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/little-soulsMon, 01 Jun 2020 10:13:21 GMTSome thoughts on the implications of the Stoic wisdom found in Epictetus’ Discourses. Why is it so hard for us to put this into action? Why is our happiness still reliant on external circumstances? https://barrymorisse.com/blog/seeking-truth-honestlyhttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/seeking-truth-honestlyThu, 09 Apr 2020 08:42:40 GMTTyler Cowen ran a fascinating experiment with his 2019 Stanford talk on his latest book. I want to see more of these steel-man experiments from public intellectuals and, to be honest, all of us in our daily lives. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/einsteinhttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/einsteinTue, 31 Mar 2020 10:40:26 GMT3 lessons I learned from Einstein after reading Walter Isaacson’s biography detailing his life story. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/nostalgiahttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/nostalgiaThu, 26 Mar 2020 12:04:35 GMTThe rear-view mirror is useful to glance at once in a while, but we actually need to keep our eyes on the road. There is beauty and wonder to be found when we look forward with anticipation. There are abundant opportunities for casual magic in the every-day slog of adult life. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/longtermismhttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/longtermismMon, 09 Mar 2020 06:53:05 GMTThe Corona Virus has shone a light on how we manage immediate risk - but why don't we apply the same scrutiny, rigour and effort to long-term risk? Especially when we may have a moral obligation to do so. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/the-school-of-lifehttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/the-school-of-lifeThu, 20 Feb 2020 07:49:54 GMTMy review of ‘The School of Life: An Emotional Education’ by Alain de Botton and his team. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/22-minuteshttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/22-minutesFri, 03 Jan 2020 09:57:43 GMTA musing on the scenes outside a boarding gate. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/a-sparkhttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/a-sparkThu, 02 Jan 2020 06:28:24 GMTA poem. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/last-milehttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/last-mileWed, 01 Jan 2020 10:35:29 GMTMy theme for 2020: The Year of the Last Mile. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/2019-requiemhttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/2019-requiemTue, 31 Dec 2019 09:29:58 GMTMy review of 2019. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/scale-space-and-timehttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/scale-space-and-timeMon, 30 Dec 2019 08:15:59 GMTAbraham Lincoln only accomplished what he did with a pragmatic understanding of scale, space and time. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/remember-my-namehttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/remember-my-nameSun, 29 Dec 2019 10:04:45 GMTOur obsession with having our name outlive us is getting in the way of fulfillment. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/do-the-next-right-thinghttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/do-the-next-right-thingSat, 28 Dec 2019 19:46:37 GMTThe Philosophy of Frozen II - Do The Next Right Thing. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/the-organized-mindhttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/the-organized-mindFri, 27 Dec 2019 11:22:27 GMTMy review and notes on Daniel Levitin’s book ‘The Organized Mind’: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/useful-to-the-worldhttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/useful-to-the-worldMon, 02 Dec 2019 06:37:55 GMTMaybe the best career advice we could take onboard would be to be useful to the world. https://barrymorisse.com/blog/call-for-ai-commercialisationhttps://barrymorisse.com/blog/call-for-ai-commercialisationMon, 02 Dec 2019 06:29:45 GMTI call for more savvy commercialisation of machine learning and less publicity-chasing sensationalisation.