“What’s Our Problem? A Self-Help Book For Societies”

This read wasn’t what I thought it would be

Give me good writing, give me dorky illustrations, I am happy.

Tim Urban prefaces saying that six long years went into research and writing of this book.

“What’s our problem?” is indeed a very ambitious attempt to make sense of many aspects of politics and social dynamics in today’s US — and its findings are at times applicable to other countries.

“My society is currently acting like a poopy-pantsed four-year old who dropped its ice-cream”.

The book goes into the evolutionary differentiation between our rational vs. emotional brain (Higher Mind vs. Primitive Mind).

From there, he goes into the concepts of high-rung vs. low-rung public discourse and politics.

High-rung is rational, comparing pros and cons without tribalism, respectful debating.

Low-rung is identity politics, tribalism, very emotional response and taking things personally.

The author demonstrates how, over the course of the past decades, American political system became very much low-rung.

He then takes a closer look on what is the issue with both sides of the US politics, Democrats and Republicans.

He points out precisely that: currently there is only two sides, although the spectrum of political views is much, much, much broader — and both conservatism and progressivism are important within the societies.

A big section of the book is dedicated to the shift in dynamics with the public discourse.

Also here, the concept of low-rung discourse is relevant, and Tim Urban is showing some concrete examples of how this is happening.

This book made me reflect and gain a new perspective on many things.

Really recommend this one!

I don’t post book reviews without beer recommendations. Books and beers, this is what I do.

Today’s beer got to have a quirky illustration in its package design — just like today’s book.

It will be the “Haarige Kuh” (“Hairy Cow”) by a brewery in Interlaken, Switzerland. This picture is from a cosy pub in Interlaken, it was such a lovely trip and a special time: