Ever feel like the world has just... lost its collective mind? You aren't alone. Tim Urban, the guy behind the stick-figure-heavy blog Wait But Why, spent six years obsessing over that exact feeling. The result was Tim Urban What's Our Problem, a massive, self-published "self-help book for societies" that attempts to explain why we’re all screaming at each other.
It’s not just about politics. Honestly, it’s about our brains.
Urban’s core argument is that we’ve been looking at the world all wrong. We usually look at a horizontal line: Left vs. Right. But Urban says that’s a distractor. The real action is on the vertical axis. It’s not about what you think; it’s about how you think.
The Ladder of Thinking
Basically, Urban introduces this idea called The Ladder. It’s a four-rung framework that explains our psychological state when we process information.
At the very top, you have The Scientist. Scientists are awesome. They don’t care about being right; they care about finding the truth. If you prove a Scientist wrong, they say "thank you" because you just helped them clear a blind spot. Their ideas are like external software they’re constantly debugging.
One step down is The Sports Fan. We’ve all been here. You want your "team" to win, but you still respect the rules of the game. If the ref calls a clear foul on your player, you might grumble, but you admit it was a foul. You’re biased, but you aren’t delusional.
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Then things get messy.
The third rung is The Attorney. Now, the "Primitive Mind" is starting to take over. An Attorney doesn't care about the truth; they care about winning the case. They’ll cherry-pick evidence and ignore anything that hurts their "client" (their ideology).
Finally, at the bottom, is The Zealot. This is the scary zone. To a Zealot, ideas aren't just thoughts—they’re identity. Any challenge to the idea is seen as a personal attack or an act of evil. There is no nuance. There is only "us" and "them."
Why Tim Urban What's Our Problem Matters Right Now
The book argues that our society is currently sliding down the ladder. Fast.
We used to have "Idea Labs." These are groups of high-rung thinkers who treat ideas like experiments. They argue, they disagree, but they do it to get smarter. But lately, those have been replaced by Echo Chambers. In an Echo Chamber, the goal isn't truth; it's confirmation.
Urban uses a pretty vivid metaphor here: Golems.
When a bunch of low-rung thinkers get together, they form a giant, mindless social monster. This Golem doesn't think; it just stomps. It punishes anyone inside the group who steps out of line and tries to destroy anyone outside. It’s why social media feels like a war zone. People aren't talking to each other; Golems are throwing rocks at each other.
The Problem with "Social Justice Fundamentalism"
One of the most controversial parts of Tim Urban What's Our Problem is his deep dive into what he calls Social Justice Fundamentalism (SJF).
Now, he’s careful here. He’s not attacking the goal of social justice. He distinguishes between "Liberal Social Justice" (which uses high-rung, persuasive, and open methods) and "Social Justice Fundamentalism" (which he argues is a low-rung, tribal Golem).
He treats the "Red Golem" (far-right extremism) and the "Blue Golem" (SJF) as two sides of the same coin. Both use "low-rung" tactics like cancel culture, tribal shaming, and the policing of speech to maintain power.
Turning the Ship Around
So, how do we fix it? Urban isn't just complaining. He offers a way out, but it’s not easy. It requires what he calls Awareness and Courage.
First, you have to realize you’re a mess. We all are. Our "Primitive Mind" is always trying to drag us down the ladder because tribalism kept our ancestors alive. You have to actively catch yourself when you’re acting like an Attorney or a Zealot.
Second, you need the courage to speak up. Not in a "yelling at strangers on X" way, but in a "truth-telling" way.
Actionable Insights for Your Life
If you want to stop being part of the problem, here are the literal next steps Urban suggests:
- Audit your rungs. Next time you feel a surge of anger at a headline, ask: "Am I being a Scientist or an Attorney right now?" If you're looking for reasons why the headline is wrong before you've even read it, you're on the low rungs.
- Stop saying things you don't believe. This sounds simple, but it's hard. We often nod along with our "tribe" just to avoid conflict. Stop. Silence is better than a lie.
- Diversify your "Idea Lab." If everyone you talk to agrees with you, you aren't in a lab; you're in an oven. Seek out high-rung people who disagree with you. They are your most valuable resource.
- Distinguish between people and ideas. Just because someone has a "low-rung" idea doesn't make them a "low-rung" person forever. We all move up and down the ladder every day.
The goal isn't to reach a world where everyone agrees. That's a graveyard. The goal is a world where we can disagree without wanting to destroy each other. That only happens when we decide to start climbing back up.
Read the book. It's long—nearly 700 pages if you count the notes—but the stick figures make it go by fast. More importantly, it might just help you keep your sanity in a world that seems to have lost its own.
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To apply this today, pick one "sacred" belief you hold and go find the smartest person who disagrees with it. Read their best argument. Don't try to debunk it immediately. Just try to see the world through their eyes for ten minutes. That's how you start climbing.