Many things with a disproportionate influence on our daily lives-including the philosophies that guide us, religions that we follow and social structures that we adhere to-are the result of some blind random baggage, rather than anything created with a specific intent. This book investigates the disproportional effect of historically unconnected events-of colossal ones like the fall of empires, spread of pandemics, or nomadic migrations, as well as trivial ones like a personal vision, a changed narrative, or a petty squabble-and connects them to our modern lives-on how deeply they affect us in the most unthinkable ways.