Very true! You learn your native language in a natural way - no need to think about grammar! Wish it were like that for music (for all of us)!
That is me as well… still working on that though…
Maybe the best way to summarize this thread is:
if you have an innate interest to know more about theory, or feel that it could improve the way you understand and play music, by all means dive in and study as much as you can
for most other cases, trust your ears and don’t worry about theory; maybe apart from a few key concepts as laid out by @micklerd and @howard earlier in this thread
dip your toes into theory pond occasionally to see whether some things now make (much) more sense and to see whether this opens up new insights for you
I do a lot of research work with universities (or I should say “have done”) and their slowness and unwillingness to change and adapt with the times is why my research $$$ now go to private companies doing for hire research. I just last year left a consortium of 3 very well known US schools for the same reason above, except change year to decade. Industry moves too fast for universities now, and the program heads know and acknowledge it but the entire system (including grant system) is pitted against changing. It was actually a heated topic at a conference I went to last month.
Anything anyone gets good at, career or hobby, is really learned this way best. Sure, lessons, etc, but to me that’s natural as well as you are seeking out the help of others Vs formal academia.
These kids coming out of Berklee et al that take the music world by storm had it in there before they got there, but we’re given 4 years to focus in on it with some structure. But even these kids will tell you (in hindsight) later on in life that they became their best musician self later on in life as they evolved.
I did.
Bone dry.
Not really what I am looking for.
Somewhere between this and Drunk History would be great, dialed in closer to somewhere between Alton Brown and Ken Burns, lol.
I spent some time looking for this today, but most books are focused on the music’s eveloution and not the theory (which I know are tied but I am more interested in the theory development as tied to music and civilization.
Most that address theory in the forefront are more about 20th century only vs. all the way back.
Examples (rhetorical, not looking for answers here)
Who came up with A-G and why, why not A-L?
Why, and more importantly how did A=440 move around over time?
How did they coordinate this? Hell, changing an exit number is a big deal today!
What things did jazz change/bring to the table that required new nomenclature, notation, etc?
Where did tab come from and what’s its story?
Who decided the terms dominant, suspended, etc and why?
How did this all get agreed to?
Not sure about books but for online, Adam Neely is your best bet for an entertaining start. Plus, bass player. Nahre Sol might have some interesting stuff too. She’s actually a very entertaining youtuber for historical subjects as well:
Don’t expect that anyone is going to spoon feed you exactly what you want. If you want to learn things, you have to go do the work. If you’re not willing to do that, then you don’t want to know badly enough.
Or better, look at this as an opportunity to research it and write that entertaining, spoon-feeding book you want. Make bank and never need to build another soda factory.
I’m with @John_E though, I enjoy being spoon-fed as much as the next guy, y’all shouldn’t knock it, it’s great when it can happen
It’s just that you also shouldn’t let it block you when it can’t.
I was going to suggest the same thing but now I’m thinking that audible is the way to go…you can just lie there in bed and listen like your mom is telling you a very scary bedtime story.
button enough. 
