What's Our Problem? - by Tim Urban

Book Synopsis

From the creator of the wildly popular blog Wait But Why, a fun and fascinating deep dive into what the hell is going on in our strange, unprecedented modern times.

Between 2013 and 2016, Tim Urban became one of the world's most popular bloggers, writing dozens of viral, long-form articles about everything from AI to colonizing Mars to procrastination. Then, he turned his attention to a new topic: the society around him. Why was everything such a mess? Why was everyone acting like such a baby? When did things get so tribal? Why do humans do this stuff?

This massive topic sent Tim tumbling down his deepest rabbit hole yet, through mountains of history, evolutionary psychology, political theory, neuroscience, and modern-day political movements, as he tried to figure out the answer to a simple question: What's our problem?

Six years later, he emerged from the hole holding this book. What's Our Problem? is a deep and expansive analysis of our modern times, in the classic style of Wait But Why, packed with original concepts, sticky metaphors, and 300 drawings. The book provides an entirely new framework and language for thinking and talking about today's complex world. Instead of focusing on the usual left-center-right horizontal political axis, which is all about what we think, the book introduces a vertical axis that explores how we think, as individuals and as groups. Readers will find themselves on a delightful and fascinating journey that will ultimately change the way they see the world around them.

Anyway he wanted to say a lot more about all of this but there was a word limit on this book description so just go read the book.

(Note: There are over 100 pages of endnotes for this book, so to keep costs for the paperback as low as possible, we've put those pages online. Endnotes are printed in full in the hardcover edition.)

Review Quotes

"It's an instant classic." -Lex Fridman

"This book is truly remarkable. You must read it." -Tobi Lutke, Shopify

"Best book of 2023. Funny, informative, and authentic." -Joe Gebbia, Airbnb

"Worth reading." -Elon Musk

"Tim's book is perhaps the best explanation for why we feel so lost and unable to solve our problems-and is vital to understanding the path forward. Indispensable, brilliant, and enlightening." -Andrew Yang

"This book is for the exhausted majority in the US tired of extreme polarization on both sides. Tim makes a moving case for turning the temperature down and returning to the point of idea labs from echo chambers. It's the kind of book that incubates great discussions with friends." -Mark Rober

"Tim Urban is the best explainer I know. In this book, he tries to answer the question on all of our minds: when did everyone and everything go crazy-and why? If you-a person desperately trying to maintain sanity in a world gone mad-are curious about the answer to that question and ideas for how to get back to normal, read this book. And then buy it for everyone you know." -Bari Weiss