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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
Incredibly interesting and entertaining. Regardless of the accuracy of the topics, the arguments made are fascinating and inherently thought provoking.
Humour also plays a large role in making this book one of the most enjoyable I've read.
Humour also plays a large role in making this book one of the most enjoyable I've read.
It's 3.5 stars for me. I am a huge fan of XKCD comics and I give that comic series 10 stars any given day! I love that he has a book like this which borders on nerdy and imaginative. Most of the stuff I read in this book gave me a lot to think about.
Audiobook: highly recommended. I imagine I'm missing some sweet cartoons, but Will Wheaton's narration more than makes up for it. The rare book that makes me marvel at what I don't know without actually making me feel dumb. Lots of fun!
Wacky and deeply nerdy, some chapters were more interesting than others but the writing style supplies plenty of chuckles, as it never takes itself too seriously despite the heavy scientific terms that get thrown around
Oh, Randall Munroe. You brainy dude you. As a casual fan of the XKCD comic and also a geeky gal myself, I picked this up and, unsurprisingly, enjoyed it.
However, a caveat: I listen to a lot of audiobooks whilst doing other things. This book was no different, yet I would perhaps not recommend unless lacking in distractions as if you miss even a few seconds of this bad boy, you may wind up like me: suddenly realizing you have no idea why Wil Wheaton is talking about a nuclear bullet at the center of the planet. It took me a long time to finish as a result (I think I technically started it last year) but in the end I did overcome!
Despite my audiobook difficulties, the humor and braininess of Randall Munroe makes for a nice, geeky book cocktail, especially if you were a fan of his XKCD works. Throw in some Wil Wheaton narration stardust, and you've got yourself a pretty solid foundation for a book. So if you've ever wondered things like... "How close would you have to be to a supernova to get a lethal dose of neutrino radiation?" or perhaps "Is it possible to build a jetpack using downward firing machine guns?" then this is the book for YOU.
More than that, if you've always wanted a really Brothers Grimm ending to the "what would happen if everyone on the planet jumped at the same time?" Yep. Give 'er a whirl.
Would listen again!
However, a caveat: I listen to a lot of audiobooks whilst doing other things. This book was no different, yet I would perhaps not recommend unless lacking in distractions as if you miss even a few seconds of this bad boy, you may wind up like me: suddenly realizing you have no idea why Wil Wheaton is talking about a nuclear bullet at the center of the planet. It took me a long time to finish as a result (I think I technically started it last year) but in the end I did overcome!
Despite my audiobook difficulties, the humor and braininess of Randall Munroe makes for a nice, geeky book cocktail, especially if you were a fan of his XKCD works. Throw in some Wil Wheaton narration stardust, and you've got yourself a pretty solid foundation for a book. So if you've ever wondered things like... "How close would you have to be to a supernova to get a lethal dose of neutrino radiation?" or perhaps "Is it possible to build a jetpack using downward firing machine guns?" then this is the book for YOU.
More than that, if you've always wanted a really Brothers Grimm ending to the "what would happen if everyone on the planet jumped at the same time?" Yep. Give 'er a whirl.
Would listen again!
I can't be sure if I've forgotten a bunch of entries, or if this book contained a lot of new ones that weren't on the blog, but there was a ton of stuff I didn't recognize, and the "Weird and Worrying Questions from the What-If Inbox" segments that were thrown in intermittently were amazing.
A couple of them were a bit gruesome (hint: Skip "mole of moles" if you're easily (or maybe even moderately) upset by gross things involving animals and their constituent parts).
If you love science, and even if you're not particularly knowledgeable about a lot of science, this is a great book for you. It's all about being inquisitive and screwing around with what can and can't be. And the implications of some of them are truly mind-blowing. Others are gut-bustingly hilarious. Very rarely is an entry neither.
A couple of them were a bit gruesome (hint: Skip "mole of moles" if you're easily (or maybe even moderately) upset by gross things involving animals and their constituent parts).
If you love science, and even if you're not particularly knowledgeable about a lot of science, this is a great book for you. It's all about being inquisitive and screwing around with what can and can't be. And the implications of some of them are truly mind-blowing. Others are gut-bustingly hilarious. Very rarely is an entry neither.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This is the first nonfiction book I've read cover to cover in...an embarrassingly long amount of time. It also took me a similarly embarrassingly long amount of time to finish this one, despite being only 300 pages. My eyes did glaze over at several points, but overall it was funny, informative, and exciting to learn the answers to questions I hadn't even considered asking before (with stick figure comics and many, many references.)