From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to askMillions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe’s iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have an enormous, dedicated following, as do his deeply researched answers to his fans’ … fans’ strangest questions.The queries he receives range from merely odd to downright diabolical:* What if I took a swim in a spent-nuclear-fuel pool?* Could you build a jetpack using downward-firing machine guns?* What if a Richter 15 earthquake hit New York City?* Are fire tornadoes possible?His responses are masterpieces of clarity and wit, gleefully and accurately explaining everything from the relativistic effects of a baseball pitched at near the speed of light to the many horrible ways you could die while building a periodic table out of all the actual elements.The book features new and never-before-answered questions, along with the most popular answers from the xkcd website. What If? is an informative feast for xkcd fans and anyone who loves to ponder the hypothetical.
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I started listening to this audiobook over the weekend, and it’s pretty cool! Each chapter listens like a podcast, so you don’t have to worry too much about the overall narrative of the book. Perfect for walking to work.
I have to start off by saying, I didn’t understand about 40% of this book. Physics has never been my strong suit so some of this stuff went over my head and some of it was boring (probably because I didn’t understand it!). For the most part it was interesting though, and Munroe is funny! I have never visited his website before, but I think I will have to check it out.
Randall Munroe makes science hilarious in What If? The book is filled with incredibly interesting facts and Munroe makes them very funny with applying them to the questions he answers. I laughed out loud several times and several other times, I disturbed my wife while we were reading in bed to say, “Hey, did you know… Isn’t that crazy?!” I was always a “What If?” asking child growing up and haven’t lost that curiosity and this book totally satisfies that.
Science geeks unite! Well infrmed and hysterically funny, this book covers some of those “what if” questions that can keep you awake at night. Like, what would happen if all the lightning in a single day struck the same spot at the same time? Or which state is actually flown over the most?
Did you enjoy MythBusters? Well, this is the book version. The author gathers ridiculous questions on his website, then answers them with rigorous science. Several of the answers involve shockwaves. One involves the moon leaving orbit.
I won’t spoil the rest, but let’s just say that I was dying laughing the entire time I read it. And my family always wanted to know the absurd question and literal outcome.
If you are a fan of the smart, science humor of xkcd, you’ll love Randall Munroe’s “What if? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions”. While many of the answers in this book end in disaster for the hypothetical people in the questions, you’ll find yourself seriously entertained while learning more about the science of the world around us.
What if? Is an appropriate title and question to review this title. The premise is simple a former physicist who worked at NASA and an mathematician now cartoonist; answers bizarre yet compelling scientific questions from his inbox. None of these questions are conceivably probable and yet the fact that this author takes them as seriously as possible? Makes for an intriguing mix of laughter and bewilderment simply for the fact that who thinks such things? Apparently, there’s a lot of what ifs on the tips of many a curious tongue.
Review #11 of my 52 week book challenge: What If?
I know I’m a bit late to the party here, but am so glad I showed up. What If? was the perfect break from all the heavy books I’d been reading. The author leave no stone unturned in answering some of the most ridiculous questions imaginable. If you’re a fan of cocktail trivia, or a science geek looking for a deep dive, pick this gem up.
The “What If?” book pairs crazy questions with ridiculous scientific answers, and really drives home the scientific hilarity with accurate but insane doodles. I have already recommended it to many others.
I got a lot of great laughs out of “What If”. I even read parts to my husband and friends who just shook their head and laughed as well. Even if you aren’t a math person (I’m not), the humor in this book alone makes it a great, quick read.
Shock, Surprise, Laughter and Awe!
The most interesting and entertaining learning I’ve ever done. Randal Munroe illustrates the beauty of science in this book by showing how it all still applies even in ridiculous situation leading to hilarious results. Who were the people who asked the questions? What were they on???
He did an amazing job answering serious scientific answers to absurd questions. Want to know if you can use a balloon to paraglide? What if I took a swim in a spent-nuclear-fuel pool? OMG!
A fun, weird book to learn something or two.
If you like science (any field, it doesn’t matter), you will find something to like about this book. It covers a wide range of topics and answers questions with the same hilarity and wit you find in every xkcd comic.
Excellent read