The Theory of Everything Else

A Voyage Into the World of the Weird

By: Dan Schreiber

Narrated by: Dan Schreiber, Jamie Morton, Ella Al-Shamahi, Craig Glenday

""A pleasure. ... Suitable for beach reading or for mainlining before a dinner party."" —Dan Piepenbring, New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)

""Absorbing. ... As thoughtfully written as it is nuts."" —Chicago Tribune

A collection of the world’s most mind-boggling, thought-provoking, and downright hilarious theories by the co-host of the hit podcast No Such Thing as a Fish, Dan Schreiber.

Why are we here? Do ghosts exist? Will we ever travel back in time? Are we being visited by extraterrestrials? Will we ever talk to animals? Are we being told the truth? Are mysterious creatures roaming the Earth? And why, when you’re in the shower, does the shower curtain always billow in towards you?

We don’t know the answers to any of these questions (that includes the shower-curtain one, which is a mystery that has eluded scientists for decades, and which they are still trying to solve). But don’t worry, no matter what questions you have, you can bet on the fact that there is someone (or something) out there, investigating it on your behalf—and Dan Schreiber collects their latest findings.

From the Silicon Valley tech billionaires currently trying to work out whether or not the universe is one giant video game simulation to the self-proclaimed community of Italian time-travelers who are trying to save the world from destruction; The Theory of Everything Else will act as a handbook for those who want to think differently.

Ok but too little distinction between batshit and false

It's an interesting concept but too much seems forced and not enough distinction is made between unlikely theories and false facts. There is a huge difference between batshit theories -- we are all in a simulation -- and simply factually incorrect claims about what happened at various historical events.

I fundamentally like Dan's fascination with batshit views. I even agree they are worth more attention and interest. But doing that doesn't mean refusing to look at the evidence and there were a number of points in the book where Dan, though not endorsing the view, fails to mention clinching evidence showing a theory to be wrong or unlikely (other times he does). And there is

Ultimately, I feel like Dan's really interesting premise just isn't compatible with a mass market book and being informative. The problem the book faces is that not only are most batshit theories wrong but if they are interesting enough and concrete enough they are frequently later proven wrong. That makes it really hard to write a book that doesn't end up just being a bunch of abstract speculation (eg Penrose saying maybe our brains are non-computable) or a real downer in which you repeatedly deflate batshit theories of the past.

Totally Amazing

I found this book SO entertaining, I cannot recommend it enough. I've got my fingers crossed for a follow-up.

A fun listen!

This is a great collection of facts that vary between generally interesting and incredibly weird, presented with a great thru-line! The addition of Dan reading it himself really helps too as it helps you understand his perspective and personal interest.

Great book

Interesting stories, and very well told. Discussion at the end was very funny! Highly recommend.

Great book!

Dan does not disappoint. This book is full of interesting tales and concepts that do not often get spoken about. Definitely recommend.