What If?- Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
In the New York Times best-selling book from the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, Randall Munroe gives hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions. What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there was a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last? What if everyone only had one soulmate? What would happen if the moon went away?In pursuit of answers, Munroe ran computer simulations, pored over stacks of declassified military research memos, solved differential equations, and consulted with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by signature xkcd comics. (They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. )Far more than a book for geeks, What If? explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much smarter for having read.
- Suggested age range- Adult
- Format- Hardcover
- Product dimensions- 7.3" W x 9.1" H x 1.4" D
- Genre- Science
- Publisher- HarperCollins Publishers, Publication date- 09-02-2014
- Page count- 320
- ISBN- 9780544272996
Web ID: 1767582
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Interesting and Humorous
I'm doing a friend's challenge to read the oldest book on your Goodreads TBR every month to try to clear out some of those books that are hanging around. After removing a couple I wasn't still interested in, this was up next, and it was an interesting read. The comics were so fun, as expected, and the actual answers were so fascinating, even if they can't ever really happen. I especially enjoyed the Weird and Worrisome questions. This made me laugh a few times, which I can't say is my normal non-fiction experience.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
What if you didn't buy several copies of this????
You would be missing out one one of the niftiest, most hilarious and thought-provoking little non-fiction (ahem) reference books of the last couple of decades, Randall Munroe's "What If", as well as denying your friends and family the perfect gift for Christmas, birthdays, Father's Day, Magha Puja, Holi, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, National Bastille Day, National Dairy Month(June) - the list goes on and on. And you really should have a stack of these handy for that smart, quirky, inquisitive person you know, as well as any times when you need a gift on short notice!! I have gifted five or six so far, but keep my own, as it is endlessly good when opened at random to questions (and serious answers to) like "If every human somehow simply disappeared from the face of the Earth, how long would it be before the last artificial light source would go out?"(pg. 61), or "How many Lego bricks would it take to build a bridge capable of carrying traffic from London to New York? Have that many lego bricks been manufactured?" (pg. 222). The Lego answer takes about 6 pages and covers everything from the distance (350 million to connect the two cities in a straight, 2-brick line), supporting cars, extreme forces, sea floor, and the cost. *Spoiler* For less than the cost of the bridge, we could buy all the property in london and ship it to New York, and reassemble on an artificially created island in the harbor.... Buy this book. Buy many.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
This is a great book!
Both our boys (10 yr and 12 yrs old) loved (they still do read over and over) the book. Definitely recommend.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com