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3.75k reviews for:
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
Randall Munroe
4.14 AVERAGE
3.75k reviews for:
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
Randall Munroe
4.14 AVERAGE
funny
informative
fast-paced
Didnt knew that there would be questions in this book that i wouud also be interested in like Huh, that is a really valid question to have—truly a 'what if' statement. This gives scientific answers to even goofy and silly questions that people probably thought of in the shower which is a pretty good idea for a book, like a 'answering your shower thoughtss'. This is also applausible for its comedic and funny themes often inserted between pages or just minor quick jokes in the space of all these scientific jargon.
rereading with audio is excellent. the book is great too.
Loved this book! Combines several of my favorite things: science, humor, and silly drawings into one fun read. The premise of the book is to take a stupid question (submitted by readers of xkcd) and answer it with real science. A couple of my favorite questions "Is it possible to build a jet pack with downward facing machine guns?" (yes) and "How many LEGO's would it take to build a bridge able to support a car from London to New York" (a lot!).
The articles are short and easy to understand so don't be put off by some of the advance science used to explain the answers. Some of that is there just to prove that Randall Munroe really did do the leg work to answer the question.
The articles are short and easy to understand so don't be put off by some of the advance science used to explain the answers. Some of that is there just to prove that Randall Munroe really did do the leg work to answer the question.
It's easy: I'm a fan of the comic, I've actually read most of the book online and I am passionate about this kind of weird scientific facts.
I loved the tone and humour and it made laugh out loud in public way too many times.
I'm looking forward to the sequel!
I loved the tone and humour and it made laugh out loud in public way too many times.
I'm looking forward to the sequel!
I loved 'What if' by Randall Munroe, who is also the creator of the webcomic and website xkcd.com As the cover blurb says, the book answers absurd hypothetical questions with serious science. One of my favorite entries is "If you call a random phone number and say ""God bless you,"" what are the chances that the person who answers just sneezed?" He also figured out there is a chance that two people will call each other simultaneously to say ""God bless you"" if five people start calling random numbers all day after reading about this sneeze call experiment. Munroe also throws in the chance that the person you called just murdered someone for fun. He is that kind of silly....
Stick drawings illustrate his answers to fans' questions left for him at his request. Munroe finds answers with such rigor and tenacity he was banned from Wolfram|Alpha from too many requests!
Munroe is a former NASA roboticist, but he also has an artist's eye and a wickedly funny sense of humor. The best bits, though, are questions which people ask him that he calls "Weird (and Worrying) Questions" left in the 'What If' inbox, like "What is the probability that if I am stabbed by a knife in my torso that it won't hit anything vital and I'll live" or "Assuming a relatively uniform resonant frequency in a passenger jet, how many cats, meowing at what resonant frequency of said jet, would be required to ""bring it down""?
There are GR reviews which are wonderful and much better than anything I could say, so I am going to link their reviews:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1438420236?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1085596190?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
I recommend buying this book or checking it out from a library as a hardcover. I tried the library ebook version on my Kindle and my iPad, and the drawings would not settle down on the Kindle and refused to load on my iPad!
By the way, this is a dip-in read, meaning gentle reader, you probably will read some of the questions and laugh at the drawings, then do something else. I think it is a fantastic bathroom book! Not that I know at all what that means since I am always lady-like.
Spoiler
1 in 40,000Spoiler
1 in 10,000,000,000,000Spoiler
1 in 1000,000,000Stick drawings illustrate his answers to fans' questions left for him at his request. Munroe finds answers with such rigor and tenacity he was banned from Wolfram|Alpha from too many requests!
Munroe is a former NASA roboticist, but he also has an artist's eye and a wickedly funny sense of humor. The best bits, though, are questions which people ask him that he calls "Weird (and Worrying) Questions" left in the 'What If' inbox, like "What is the probability that if I am stabbed by a knife in my torso that it won't hit anything vital and I'll live" or "Assuming a relatively uniform resonant frequency in a passenger jet, how many cats, meowing at what resonant frequency of said jet, would be required to ""bring it down""?
There are GR reviews which are wonderful and much better than anything I could say, so I am going to link their reviews:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1438420236?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1085596190?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
I recommend buying this book or checking it out from a library as a hardcover. I tried the library ebook version on my Kindle and my iPad, and the drawings would not settle down on the Kindle and refused to load on my iPad!
By the way, this is a dip-in read, meaning gentle reader, you probably will read some of the questions and laugh at the drawings, then do something else. I think it is a fantastic bathroom book! Not that I know at all what that means since I am always lady-like.
funny
informative
medium-paced
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Highly entertaining read.
- Thoroughly enjoyed the authors sense of humor.
- This would make an excellent gift for teens that already have an interest in math &/or science!
- Definitely recommend taking your time with this one as some of the math might bamboozle your brain
- Thoroughly enjoyed the authors sense of humor.
- This would make an excellent gift for teens that already have an interest in math &/or science!
- Definitely recommend taking your time with this one as some of the math might bamboozle your brain
these are great crazy physics questions. and thoughful, funny answers. teenagers would appreciate this.