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Scott Adams
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God's Debris: A Thought Experiment Paperback – September 7, 2004

by Scott Adams (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 1,975 ratings
Explore the mysteries and magic of the cosmos with the acclaimed creator of Dilbert. 

God's Debris is the first non-Dilbert, non-humor book by best-selling author Scott Adams. Adams describes God's Debris as a thought experiment wrapped in a story. It's designed to make your brain spin around inside your skull.

 Imagine that you meet a very old man who—you eventually realize—knows literally everything. Imagine that he explains for you the great mysteries of life: quantum physics, evolution, God, gravity, light psychic phenomenon, and probability—in a way so simple, so novel, and so compelling that it all fits together and makes perfect sense. What does it feel like to suddenly understand everything?

 You may not find the final answer to the big question, but God's Debris might provide the most compelling vision of reality you will ever read. The thought experiment is this: Try to figure out what's wrong with the old man's explanation of reality. Share the book with your smart friends, then discuss it later while enjoying a beverage.

 It has no violence or sex, but the ideas are powerful and not appropriate for readers under fourteen.
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  1. Book 1 of 2
    The Avatar
  2. Print length
    144 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Andrews McMeel Publishing
  5. Publication date
    September 7, 2004
  6. Dimensions
    5 x 0.5 x 7 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0740747878
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0740747878
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The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

What started as a doodle has turned Scott Adams into a superstar of the cartoon world. Dilbert debuted on the comics page in 1989, while Adams was in the tech department at Pacific Bell. Adams continued to work at Pacific Bell until he was voluntarily downsized in 1995. He has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1979.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Andrews McMeel Publishing
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 7, 2004
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0740747878
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0740747878
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.5 x 7 inches
  • Book 1 of 2 ‏ : ‎ The Avatar
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 1,975 ratings

About the author

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Scott Adams

Scott Adams

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Scott Adams is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip that is published daily in thousands of newspapers and websites all over the world. Adams also authored several non-Dilbert books as well. He is co-founder of Whenhub.

Dilbert comics: Dilbert.com

WhenHub: WhenHub.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,975 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book thought-provoking, offering new perspectives and mind-challenging questions, while appreciating its readable style with fantastic dialogue. Moreover, the story is wrapped around an engaging narrative, and one customer notes it's a nice short book. However, the logic receives criticism for being poor, and customers disagree on its accuracy, with some noting it needs more data to support its claims.

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162 customers mention "Thought provoking"147 positive15 negative

Customers find the book wonderfully thought-provoking, offering new perspectives and ideas, with one customer noting it provides a multitude of questions worth pondering.

"...Thus, while there are many ideas worth pondering, all gathered up into the pages of Mr. Adams' book, I will enjoy talking to others about those ideas..." Read more

"...It attempts to wake awaken the consciousness by illustrating the weirdness surrounding scientific declarations proposed as truth and that is a..." Read more

"...the subject of God is addressed, it is not a religious book, nor a critique of religion. It is an eye opening critique of how we think...." Read more

"...The Avatar does pose a number of philosophical riddles that have been standard fodder for student bull-sessions for generations...." Read more

149 customers mention "Readability"149 positive0 negative

Customers find the book very interesting and entertaining, describing it as a nice short read, with one customer noting it's perfect for a discussion group.

"...Most enjoyable, Mr. Adams. You are a man of many parts. I'd like to read the sequel, but it will have to wait until I can afford it...." Read more

"...Stuff like Reframe your brain, but Geezus... such a good read. I did not know he had a sequel to it. Whatever the case, get this book." Read more

"...This book is a great point at which to jump off the God Wagon that we've all been so conditioned to accept as the only ride in town...." Read more

"...I found that challange to be very entertaining, even if I have no way to verify whether I met the challange or not...." Read more

30 customers mention "Readable"30 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable with fantastic dialogue, and one customer notes that the author writes with a sense of humor.

"...I found it well-written and enjoyable albeit very elementary compared to much of what I find myself reading nowadays." Read more

"...extrapolated to ultimate simplicity...." Read more

"...In this book Adams has, in his usual twisted logic and humor, turned 'accepted ideas about God' on their head, to make you think and take a new..." Read more

"...I mention the other book because of how broad his writing style is...." Read more

11 customers mention "Imagination"11 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's imaginative content, describing it as nicely peculiar and unconventional, with one customer noting it's a good way to stretch one's imagination.

"...Well written, imaginative and just downright fun. If you aren't afraid of exposing your mind to new ideas, I highly recommend you read this book." Read more

"It has a lot of ideas in it. It'll probably annoy some religious people...." Read more

"...Absolutely love the casual discussion of heady ideas in a unique and thoughtful way." Read more

"Scott Adams' first non-Dilbert book. It's unconventional and will make you think about why the universe works the way it does...." Read more

11 customers mention "Story quality"11 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story of the book, which is wrapped around an engaging narrative with a stunning conclusion.

"...Part of its charm, really, is that despite being purely fictional, there is a hint of the odd sort of reality of quantum physics that no one truly..." Read more

"...I greatly enjoyed the ending. Nice way to wrap it up." Read more

"...You'll love the ending!" Read more

"Keeps you thinking and has a kick-ass ending!" Read more

9 customers mention "Ease of reading"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book straightforward and engaging, with one mentioning it was very hard to put down.

"...Very hard to put down once you start." Read more

"...Easy and enjoyable to read." Read more

"In a straightforward and simply constructed dialog, Adams delivers on what he promised in the introduction...." Read more

"So much fun! Could not put it down, read it on a four hour flight when I should have been sleeping. Thanks for the thought provoking read." Read more

16 customers mention "Logic"0 positive16 negative

Customers find the book's logic poor, describing it as dumb and not worth the time or money spent.

"...I thoroughly enjoyed God's Debris, even though I can spot several flaws in the logic...." Read more

"...Also I you did not already know this is not a humor book. It has nothing to do with Dilbert." Read more

"...It's quite blasphemous...." Read more

"Ehh... I was not very impressed by this book...." Read more

6 customers mention "Accuracy"0 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed views on the book's accuracy, with several noting it needs more data to support its claims, while one customer points out that the specifics are impossible to verify.

"Of course it's contrived, but no more than say, Schroedinger's cat is contrived. That's the way of thought experiments. Besides, it's fiction...." Read more

"...; and "thought-provoking" when in fact the claims are simply wrong, and well-known to be wrong...." Read more

"...And while the specifics are impossible to verify the idea is interesting and gives a point to jump off from for conversation over a Saturday..." Read more

"Book was fun, well written and to the point. Its not really fiction, its not really philosophy. It's somewhere in between...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Ned
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Feast To Be Enjoyed More Than Once
    Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Go ahead and read it in one sitting. The book is less than 150 pages - you can munch right through it in a few hours.

    What this appears to be is a compendium of all the ideas in physics which compose our current cosmology. The latter has always and forever been driven by the former, right back to Aristotle.

    In the first metabolizing of his ideas, the notion of what God's debris *is* will no doubt be the idea that most stays with you. That's a good thing, and a subject worth some investment.

    In subsequent readings, pick another theme - any subject he covers, say string theory - and follow that thread. Maybe even do some ancillary reading in that area. Then find another subject - perhaps probability - and follow that path for awhile.

    This book could be subtitled "God's Debris: A Short Course on How to Become a Metaphysician".

    Most enjoyable, Mr. Adams. You are a man of many parts. I'd like to read the sequel, but it will have to wait until I can afford it. Meanwhile, you've given me lots to play with.

    My question to fellow reviewers: do you agree with Mr Adams that we can all be divided neatly into one of two categories? He says there are "idea people" and "people people" (a paraphrase). The former get their energy from 'alone time' where they can think about ideas and recharge, while the second group draws energy from encounters with others, encounters where they talk about people rather than ideas. Drawing on my own experience it would appear that this is another way of saying there are introverts and extroverts. But - also in my experience - few of us are purely one or the other. Thus, while there are many ideas worth pondering, all gathered up into the pages of Mr. Adams' book, I will enjoy talking to others about those ideas. And both endeavors provide lots of sizzle.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • focusedlife
    5.0 out of 5 stars Will Make Your Mind Melt - So Good
    Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    I've read the book twice, once in 2017 then again just the last 2 days... F*... it's so good. It puts into story form what I think Scott now offers in his other works in more teaching form. Stuff like Reframe your brain, but Geezus... such a good read. I did not know he had a sequel to it. Whatever the case, get this book.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • RCBLAKE
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read for the newly curious
    Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Curiosity about what THIS is all about did not strike me until I reached my 40's and at that time it was just a general, fleeting discomfort with what I thought I knew to be true. It wasn't until we lost our oldest daughter to suicide in 2012 that I began my journey in earnest and out of necessity to remain sane for the rest of our adult children. I made it my occupation to learn as much as I could about the nature of reality, life and death.
    In the intervening two years, I've read countless books of this nature so the 'shocking' premise of God's Debris was not shocking in the least for me. However, I do believe it has great merit for those people who're just beginning their own journey of discovery. This book is a great point at which to jump off the God Wagon that we've all been so conditioned to accept as the only ride in town. It attempts to wake awaken the consciousness by illustrating the weirdness surrounding scientific declarations proposed as truth and that is a great thing.
    I don't feel that this is a great fit for anyone who is very well-read on these topics and has been exposed to an abundance of progressive lines of thought regarding the nature of God. I found it well-written and enjoyable albeit very elementary compared to much of what I find myself reading nowadays.
    18 people found this helpful
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  • Charles Gulledge
    5.0 out of 5 stars Of course it's contrived...
    Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2002
    Verified Purchase
    Of course it's contrived, but no more than say, Schroedinger's cat is contrived. That's the way of thought experiments. Besides, it's fiction. Adams says so right there in the introduction. It was never intended to answer any questions about the nature of the universe any more than Star Wars was intended to be a history of the universe a long time ago.
    I thoroughly enjoyed God's Debris, even though I can spot several flaws in the logic. Part of its charm, really, is that despite being purely fictional, there is a hint of the odd sort of reality of quantum physics that no one truly understands ("If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics." -- Richard Feynman), extrapolated to ultimate simplicity. But don't confuse that with any sort of attempt to propose the Theory of Everything. This isn't it, nor does it pretend to be.
    Adams's challange to the reader is to try to spot the errors. I found that challange to be very entertaining, even if I have no way to verify whether I met the challange or not. Add to that a light-hearted background story, and you get what I considered to be a very good read. My only true disappointment with God's Debris was that it was over too soon.
    14 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • O'Brien Room 101
    5.0 out of 5 stars Something
    Reviewed in Australia on November 17, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I'm not sure what this is. But it sure is something.
    Comforting and disturbing, this book certainly contains information. Thanks Scott.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awareness.
    Reviewed in India on June 18, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This book will blow your mind over a hundred times and give you answers that'll give you more questions but will still, satisfy you to an extent. It won't make you intelligent, it will make you aware.
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  • sol42
    5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book to lend out
    Reviewed in Canada on May 6, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I absolutely love this book, and always have fun discussing it with others who have read it. My last copy got lost after lending it out, and this one probably will, too. Will buy again.
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  • Diogo LP
    1.0 out of 5 stars I expected much more because...
    Reviewed in Spain on August 30, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I really liked the Scott Adams autobiography "How to fail at almost everything and still win big" and I had great hopes for this one. But quite frankly it is just like a collection of random thoughts posed as very wise or insightfull but that are not that much. In my humble opinion there are much better books out there to read.
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  • Comrade Leader
    5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This book was very amusing and thought provoking. Speaking as a very liberal minded atheist I found very little in it to consider offensive or innappropriate. However I can readily understand how a more insecure person of opposed views could find this book to be very unpleasant. It is however written to be thought provoking rather than as a critique of any particular philosophy so try not to let it get to you. Indeed the entire human race could find themselves offended at the mass accuasation of ignorance that is central to the books theme, but they would be missing the point. In summary, if you enjoy arguement and philosophical reflection then you will enjoy this book. However if you have strong opinions that are inherently impossible to rationally defend then you will not in all likelihood appreciate this book. If you couldn't care either way then the story itself is well written and amusing.
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