Brad Mathews, Author

Thoughts on society and culture

  • Science vs Religion–the Knockout Round

    The internet battle rages on. In one corner we have science, the all-encompassing study built on observations and evidence. Challenging science, we have religion, a long-standing dogmatic domain relying on faith in a higher power. These two heavyweights are not just sparring for themselves, but for the fate of the entire universe, at least if…

  • Trust Among Strangers: Article by Susan Day

    Strangers or Friends – Who Do We Trust More? Are strangers strange, and why do I know more about my social media ‘friends’ than I do about my neighbors. To be honest, I have only met one of my neighbors and I can’t remember her name. On the other hand, I have thousands of followers…

  • They’re All Going to Laugh at Us, and Maybe That’s the Point

    Do you remember those old PSA advertisements aimed at scaring youth from drugs? I remember one from the not-so-distant past where the narrator holds up an egg (these days he would have to auction off his house to do that) and says, “This is your brain.” In the next shot, we see a delicious egg…

  • Roaling on the River of Chocolate

    “Don’t gobblefunk around with words,” Roald Dahl once warned. This is advice some seem to have ignored. As usual, the debate has quickly boiled down to a few inaccurate or incoherent points made by “both sides,” accompanying the cries of “but what about…?” I will preface the rest of this article by saying I don’t…

  • So Called, Here’s the Message

    I happen to be on a somewhat first name basis with General Tso. Hear me out. In Chinese culture, a person’s first name (given name) is last and his or her surname first. Most people outside of immediate family call a person by his or her surname. I call the General somewhat often, but he…

  • Let’s Get Typical

    Many years ago, when I was in elementary school, I remember reading a list of ten rules a writer should never break, and every sentence broke the rule it described. Cubist painter Pablo Picasso once instructed to “Know the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” One of these rules…

  • Congratulations on Waking Up! Now Go Back to Sleep

      Today I would like to share a personal story, and it is one I find myself thinking about more and more in these trying times. I used to wander aimlessly, sometimes subtly certain that I was on the right path, even as it slithered deeper into the shadowy woods where every tree looks the…

  • Wake Up and Smell the Illusion

    Wake Up and Smell the Illusion

    Waking up is a sometimes unpleasant experience as our internal clock, or whatever it is, signals to our bodies that it is time to arise. Oftentimes, amidst a particularly vivid dream, a ‘trigger’ jolts the mind awake, leaving the brain suspended in the shadow of a nightmare that clouds the reality surrounding us.  This semiconscious…

  • CEOs, Hedge Funds, and Football Players, Oh My!

    If we can thank the COVID-19 pandemic for anything, it is that it has successfully laid bare the economic inequality that has always existed in America. Capitalism, it seems, has been converted from an economic system into a weapon used to punish anyone it deems ‘not worthy.’ We tout its virtues at every turn, yet…

  • The Responsibility of Freedom

    Due to the unprecedented national events of the last month, this blog has gone notably silent. Before I get to the meat of what I really want to say, let me explain the reason for my absence. First, it has been difficult to find the right words in a time when American citizens are so…

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