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What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
Randall Munroe
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Description for What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
Paperback. Science's most intriguing questions answered by the web's favourite writer, the genius behind xkcd.com. Munroe's hilarious and compelling answers explain everything from the odds of meeting your one true soulmate to how many humans a rampaging T-Rex would need to eat a day. Num Pages: 320 pages. BIC Classification: PDZ. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 131 x 197 x 27. Weight in Grams: 302.
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'Nerd royalty' BEN GOLDACRE
'Totally brilliant' TIM HARFORD
'Required reading across the world' NEW YORK TIMES
From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask.
Millions visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. Fans ask him a lot of strange questions: How fast can you hit a speed bump, driving, and live? When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British Empire? When will Facebook contain more profiles of dead people than living? How many humans ... Read morewould a T Rex rampaging through New York need to eat a day?
In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations and consults nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by comics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion.
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Product Details
Publisher
John Murray Press
Place of Publication
, United Kingdom
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 5 to 9 working days
About Randall Munroe
Randall Munroe is the creator of the webcomic xkcd and bestselling author of What If?, Thing Explainer and xkcd: Volume 0. Randall was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, and grew up outside Richmond, Virginia. After studying physics at Christopher Newport University, he got a job building robots at NASA Langley Research Center. In 2006 he left NASA to draw comics on ... Read morethe internet full time, and has since been nominated for a Hugo Award three times. The International Astronomical Union recently named an asteroid after him: asteroid 4942 Munroe is big enough to cause mass extinction if it ever hits a planet like Earth. Show Less
Reviews for What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
Smart answers to silly questions: Randall Munroe reveals all
GUARDIAN
A masterclass and a great deal of fun... Like all the best lessons, you only realise how much you've learnt once you've finished it
THE ECONOMIST
I love XKCD's What If
'Dear Abby for mad scientists'
NEIL GAIMAN
With this book, you're ... Read morea kid with a chemistry set all over again. . . required reading for all grown-ups and a fun reminder that science is really, really cool.
REGISTER
Essential
NATURE
Expert research and accessible wit... a favourite among both geeks and laymen
TIME
Brilliant
ROLLING STONE
Delightfully free-wheeling and whimsical... despite all the hard facts and gigantic numbers, you really don't have to be a rocket scientist to enjoy What If?
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Brilliant, funny and fascinating
GRAEME LE SAUX, DAILY EXPRESS
The best bathroom book you'll ever buy... Eminently approachable and full of beautiful expositions on the impossible that illuminate the furthest reaches, almost to the limits, of the modern sciences. The physics is real; and so is the emotional content
NEWSWEEK
It will satisfy the curious and arouse curiosity in anyone who's not - and it's got great jokes
IRISH TIMES
Totally brilliant
TIM HARFORD
XKCD is nerd royalty, the alpha dork, there's no geek more widely cited and loved
BEN GOLDACRE
What If? is brilliant, scientifically rigorous and utterly absurd... It. Is. A. Triumph
BOINGBOING
Fantastic... What If? has solved my gift dilemmas for a large group of people . . . . Here's a "What If?" question from me: What if everyone on the planet simultaneously bought a copy of this book, stopped what they were doing and read it cover to cover, would modern civilization and our global economy collapse? It's an experiment worth trying
HUFFINGTON POST
Wonderful and incredibly fun
AMERICAN SCIENTIST
Thoughtful, scientific, and highly entertaining
PARADE
If you're the kind of person whose brain whizzes with questions, What If? may calm the noise. Randall Munroe's done all the hard work for you
SHORTLIST
Dangerously absorbing . . . I could not think of a better book
VARSITY
The reader is left constantly subject to outbursts of laughter, lingering doubts concerning the sanity of the human race, and an ever-growing fascination with the way our world and the universe works . . . Though science geeks will be the first to acknowledge Munroe's greatness, even people suffering from a chronic hatred towards anything concerned with math will find the humour and absurdity of What If? hard to resist
THE STUDENT
With this book and with XKCD, you're a kid with a chemistry set all over again. [Randall Munroe's] enthusiasm for all things scientific is infectious . . . required reading for grown-ups, it's just fun to remember that science is really, really cool
REGISTER
With this book and with XKCD, you're a kid with a chemistry set all over again. [Randall Munroe's] enthusiasm for all things scientific is infectious . . . required reading for grown-ups, it's just fun to remember that science is really, really cool
REGISTER
Smart answers to silly questions: Randall Munroe reveals all
GUARDIAN
Smart answers to silly questions: Randall Munroe reveals all
GUARDIAN
What If? maintains a delightfully free-wheeling tone throughout, especially when complicated calculations lead to whimsical results. Despite all the hard facts and gigantic numbers, it never feels like a textbook-and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to enjoy it
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
What If? maintains a delightfully free-wheeling tone throughout, especially when complicated calculations lead to whimsical results. Despite all the hard facts and gigantic numbers, it never feels like a textbook-and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to enjoy it
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
The best bathroom book you'll ever buy...Munroe takes inane, useless and often quite pointless questions asked by real humans (mostly sent to him through his website), and turns them into beautiful expositions on the impossible that illuminate the furthest reaches, almost to the limits, of the modern sciences .The first chapter, "Q. What would happen if the Earth and all terrestrial objects suddenly stopped spinning, but the atmosphere retained its velocity?" ends with the anthropomorphized moon worrying over the state of the Earth, and, with the gravity generated by its own rotation around the Earth, saving our dying planet. The physics are real; so is the emotional content. . . The answers are all illustrated with xkcd's trademark stick figures.. . . . and these are eminently approachable
NEWSWEEK
The best bathroom book you'll ever buy...Munroe takes inane, useless and often quite pointless questions asked by real humans (mostly sent to him through his website), and turns them into beautiful expositions on the impossible that illuminate the furthest reaches, almost to the limits, of the modern sciences .The first chapter, "Q. What would happen if the Earth and all terrestrial objects suddenly stopped spinning, but the atmosphere retained its velocity?" ends with the anthropomorphized moon worrying over the state of the Earth, and, with the gravity generated by its own rotation around the Earth, saving our dying planet. The physics are real; so is the emotional content. . . The answers are all illustrated with xkcd's trademark stick figures.. . . . and these are eminently approachable
NEWSWEEK
Brilliant
ROLLING STONE
Brilliant
ROLLING STONE
What If? includes old favorites, new inquiries and the mix of expert research and accessible wit that has made Munroe a favorite among both geeks and laymen
TIME
What If? includes old favorites, new inquiries and the mix of expert research and accessible wit that has made Munroe a favorite among both geeks and laymen
TIME
Munroe's brilliant What-If? column-which features scientifically rigorous, utterly absurd answers to ridiculous hypotheticals-has been on the bestseller lists since it was announced in March. Today, it hits shelves and: It. Is. A. Triumph
BOINGBOING
Munroe's brilliant What-If? column-which features scientifically rigorous, utterly absurd answers to ridiculous hypotheticals-has been on the bestseller lists since it was announced in March. Today, it hits shelves and: It. Is. A. Triumph
BOINGBOING
[What If?] has solved my annual birthday-present and holiday-gift dilemmas for a large group of people . . . What makes Munroe's work so fantastic is a combination of two elements: his commitment to trying to answer even the weirdest question with solid science, and his undeniable sense of humour. So, here's a "What If?" from me: If everyone on the planet simultaneously bought a copy of this book, stopped what they were doing and read it cover to cover, would modern civilization and our global economy collapse? It's worth trying the experiment.
HUFFINGTON POST
[What If?] has solved my annual birthday-present and holiday-gift dilemmas for a large group of people . . . What makes Munroe's work so fantastic is a combination of two elements: his commitment to trying to answer even the weirdest question with solid science, and his undeniable sense of humour. So, here's a "What If?" from me: If everyone on the planet simultaneously bought a copy of this book, stopped what they were doing and read it cover to cover, would modern civilization and our global economy collapse? It's worth trying the experiment.
HUFFINGTON POST
For the record, I'm loving XKCD's What If
'Dear Abby for mad scientists'
NEIL GAIMAN
For the record, I'm loving XKCD's What If
'Dear Abby for mad scientists'
NEIL GAIMAN
Munroe has hit on a wonderful form of science and engineering communication that can do so much-extolling the value of analytical thinking, examining data, and doing back-of-the-envelope calculations-while entertaining readers at the same time . . . an incredibly fun book with quirky, hand-drawn pictures
AMERICAN SCIENTIST
Munroe has hit on a wonderful form of science and engineering communication that can do so much-extolling the value of analytical thinking, examining data, and doing back-of-the-envelope calculations-while entertaining readers at the same time . . . an incredibly fun book with quirky, hand-drawn pictures
AMERICAN SCIENTIST
Thoughtful, scientific, and highly entertaining
PARADE
Thoughtful, scientific, and highly entertaining
PARADE
If you're the kind of person whose brain whizzes with questions, Munroe's book may calm the noise. He's done all the hard work for you
SHORTLIST
If you're the kind of person whose brain whizzes with questions, Munroe's book may calm the noise. He's done all the hard work for you
SHORTLIST
XKCD is nerd royalty, the alpha dork, there's no geek more widely cited and loved
BEN GOLDACRE, author of BAD SCIENCE
XKCD is nerd royalty, the alpha dork, there's no geek more widely cited and loved
BEN GOLDACRE, author of BAD SCIENCE
It's totally brilliant and everyone who matters already knows that!
TIM HARFORD, THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST
It's totally brilliant and everyone who matters already knows that!
TIM HARFORD, THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST
Education should aim to teach people to reason confidently about problems that they have never come across before. This book is a great deal of fun, and a masterclass in such reasoning. Like all the best lessons, you only realise you've learnt something once you've finished it
The Economist
Education should aim to teach people to reason confidently about problems that they have never come across before. This book is a great deal of fun, and a masterclass in such reasoning. Like all the best lessons, you only realise you've learnt something once you've finished it
The Economist
Dangerously absorbing . . . if you have ever been gripped by an insatiable, preposterous intellectual curiosity (regardless of actual scientific knowledge), I could not think of a better book to keep you from doing that essay for an extra hour or two
Varsity
Dangerously absorbing . . . if you have ever been gripped by an insatiable, preposterous intellectual curiosity (regardless of actual scientific knowledge), I could not think of a better book to keep you from doing that essay for an extra hour or two
Varsity
The reader is left constantly subject to outbursts of laughter, lingering doubts concerning the sanity of the human race, and an ever-growing fascination with the way our world and the universe works . . . Though science geeks will be the first to acknowledge Munroe's greatness, even people suffering from a chronic hatred towards anything concerned with math will find the humour and absurdity of What If? hard to resist
The Student
The reader is left constantly subject to outbursts of laughter, lingering doubts concerning the sanity of the human race, and an ever-growing fascination with the way our world and the universe works . . . Though science geeks will be the first to acknowledge Munroe's greatness, even people suffering from a chronic hatred towards anything concerned with math will find the humour and absurdity of What If? hard to resist
The Student
Funny and fascinating: brilliant for dinner with mates
Graeme le Saux
Funny and fascinating: brilliant for dinner with mates
Graeme le Saux
It will satisfy the curious and arouse curiosity in anyone who's not - and it's got great jokes
Irish Times
It will satisfy the curious and arouse curiosity in anyone who's not - and it's got great jokes
Irish Times
An essential holiday companion
Nature
An essential holiday companion
Nature
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