How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
- Downloads：3044
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-09-14 09:53:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Randall Munroe
- ISBN：1473680344
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The world's most entertaining and useless self-help guide， from the brilliant mind behind the wildly popular webcomic xkcd and the million-selling What If？ and Thing Explainer
For any task you might want to do， there's a right way， a wrong way， and a way so monumentally bad that no one would ever try it。 How To is a guide to the third kind of approach。 It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole。
Bestselling author and cartoonist Randall Munroe explains how to predict the weather by analyzing the pixels of your Facebook photos。 He teaches you how to tell if you're a baby boomer or a millennial by measuring the radioactivity of your teeth。 He offers tips for taking a selfie with a telescope， crossing a river by boiling it， and getting to your appointments on time by destroying the moon。 And if you want to get rid of this book once you're done with it， he walks you through your options for proper disposal， including dissolving it in the ocean， converting it to a vapour， using tectonic plates to subduct it into the Earth's mantle， or launching it into the sun。
By exploring the most complicated ways to do simple tasks， Munroe doesn't just make things difficult for himself and his readers。 As he did so brilliantly in What If？， he invites us to explore the most absurd reaches of the possible。 Full of clever infographics and amusing illustrations， How To is a delightfully mind-bending way to better understand the science and technology underlying the things we do every day。
Reviews
Kieran
，
Randall Munroe is brilliant。 I loved this book， maybe even more than What If。 Funny， thought-provoking， and outside-the-box。
Ronald
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I don't know， I loved "What if？" but dang this was not nearly as good。The advice at times is not just absurd but bad and often immediately impractical without godlike powers。 This style might work in an online comic but did not sustain a full book。 The book got tiresome quickly if a number of dud advice hit back to back。The art/cartoons were glorious。 I don't know， I loved "What if？" but dang this was not nearly as good。The advice at times is not just absurd but bad and often immediately impractical without godlike powers。 This style might work in an online comic but did not sustain a full book。 The book got tiresome quickly if a number of dud advice hit back to back。The art/cartoons were glorious。 。。。more
Jennica
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Huge thank you to @riverheadbooks for this copy of HOW TO by Randall Munroe filled with “absurd scientific advice for common real-world problems。” It’s filled with funny illustrations and advice on how to do certain tasks “the right way， the wrong way， and a way so monumentally complex， excessive， and inadvisable that no one would ever try it。” This book is a great one to just pick up and read a few at a time。 The humor and wit makes for a great laughter and a conversation piece。
Edy Gies
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Logan and I listened to this one together and throughly enjoyed it。 The real-world solutious are equal parts helpful and ridiculous。 This is a must read for anyone who needs to fly a plane even though they are trapped ouside the plane， for anyone who needs to dig a pool in a short amout of time， or for anyone who wants to move without packing or leaving their house。 I love that he uses math and science to work through all sorts of problems。
Mark
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Loved this book， even though the end goals set out were ludicrous。 The concepts within are interesting and worhtwhile。 I highly recommend this for entertainment （with a geeky scientific slant） and for tidbits of science knowledge。 Certainly not for actually enacting all the recommended solutions。 hahaha。 Readers will know， others， well， read it to find out。
Risa Hartsough
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Reading this book was like being in the mind of a genius rambling on and on about obscene facts and figures。
Ayesha Ratnayake
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While the 'absurd' part of this title is true， the 'common' and 'real-world' parts are not so much。 If you like random science for random science's sake， you might like this book， but the impossibility of practically applying any of this gibberish for any purpose whatsoever meant this book was， sadly， not for me。 While the 'absurd' part of this title is true， the 'common' and 'real-world' parts are not so much。 If you like random science for random science's sake， you might like this book， but the impossibility of practically applying any of this gibberish for any purpose whatsoever meant this book was， sadly， not for me。 。。。more
Amy
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While I think "What If？" was a bit more absurd and funny， this was still full of geeky fun and a highly entertaining read。 While I think "What If？" was a bit more absurd and funny， this was still full of geeky fun and a highly entertaining read。 。。。more
Ryan P
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3。5 stars
Cleatus Lau
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good and funny
John Koestner
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Great fun read with lots of good resources
Talena
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I liked this one better。 But I also listened to it， so maybe that was a factor。 I still think the premise is awesome and I love that he uses real science for his absurd ideas。 I definitely recommend this book to science/engineering nerd types。
Mehul Dhikonia
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Delightfully confusing and enlightening。
Indah Threez Lestari
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161 - 2022
Sven
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With the stress of work I have hard time picking up and finishing a book。 This book has been a perfect solution。 Chapters have been short， amusing， and the absurd how to's really capture my imagination。 It was exactly what I needed。 It's a well written book， and if you've enjoyed Randall's past work， you should defintely check it out。 With the stress of work I have hard time picking up and finishing a book。 This book has been a perfect solution。 Chapters have been short， amusing， and the absurd how to's really capture my imagination。 It was exactly what I needed。 It's a well written book， and if you've enjoyed Randall's past work， you should defintely check it out。 。。。more
John Hartman
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DNF。 I like the xkcd comic， and was looking forward to reading this。 But it was just too contrived for my liking。 Some of the topics were presented in an interesting and humorous way， but the chapter on landing an aircraft was downright ridiculous， and pushed me over the edge。 I guess I like the author's humor in small doses， an entire book is too much。 DNF。 I like the xkcd comic， and was looking forward to reading this。 But it was just too contrived for my liking。 Some of the topics were presented in an interesting and humorous way， but the chapter on landing an aircraft was downright ridiculous， and pushed me over the edge。 I guess I like the author's humor in small doses， an entire book is too much。 。。。more
Ahmed
，
Ak Vas trapia odpovede na otázky ktore ste si nikdy nekladli。。。 tak tato kniha Vas uspokoji。
Ben Alper
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What if was way funnier and more interesting but this was still fine
Tova Hope-Liel
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Another banger of a book。 Fun， informative， and satisfyingly absurd。 Wil Wheaton does fabulously as the audio reader。 （I suggest to those a little overwhelmed by the print to listen to the audio。 It's very digestible。） Another banger of a book。 Fun， informative， and satisfyingly absurd。 Wil Wheaton does fabulously as the audio reader。 （I suggest to those a little overwhelmed by the print to listen to the audio。 It's very digestible。） 。。。more
Jo Everett
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I'd first read Munroe's 'What If。。？' book and absolutely loved it！ For someone like me who has an interest in science but was hopeless at it when in school， Muroe's books engage said reader in a more fun version of physics， chemistry and biology。 This one I didn't enjoy as much as his 'What if。。。？' book because I loved the insane yet intriguing questions answered in 'What if。。。？' and the public interaction with questions coming from public submission for Munroe to answer。 However， this was still I'd first read Munroe's 'What If。。？' book and absolutely loved it！ For someone like me who has an interest in science but was hopeless at it when in school， Muroe's books engage said reader in a more fun version of physics， chemistry and biology。 This one I didn't enjoy as much as his 'What if。。。？' book because I loved the insane yet intriguing questions answered in 'What if。。。？' and the public interaction with questions coming from public submission for Munroe to answer。 However， this was still a great book to dip into and devour。 Some of the equations and scientific logic go over my head， but it doesn't matter。 Munroe encourages his readers to take a wider view of life， to question what is set down as law， and to use their imaginations to dream big。 Fun， engaging， and I would definitely pick up another of his books if there are anymore future ones in this style （hopefully！） 。。。more
John
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I kinda want to talk to this guy at a party。 But not for too long。
Christine
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DNF。 I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway。 I like typically like quirky nonfiction books， but this one was not for me。 I couldn’t bring myself to care about what I was reading。 I’m sure there’s an audience out there for this book， but I’m not it。
Steven
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Funny， full of interesting facts and science， easy to read。 Would definitely recommend， as long as you can get on board with this kind of ridiculous humour。
Lori
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I am reading this right now with my 12-yr-old grandson and we are CRACKING Up！
Michael
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Very amusing， I really love Randall Munroe's penchant for taking ordinary scientific concepts and twisting them into zany， hilarious confections of writing。 Very amusing， I really love Randall Munroe's penchant for taking ordinary scientific concepts and twisting them into zany， hilarious confections of writing。 。。。more
Daniel
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Very entertaining book。 It has a lot of fun thought experiment， but it also goes through some of the thought processes that happen when trying to analyze some problems。 I feel like it has a lot of the same vibe as some of his other books， so I think if you liked "What if" then you will likely like this one too。 Very entertaining book。 It has a lot of fun thought experiment， but it also goes through some of the thought processes that happen when trying to analyze some problems。 I feel like it has a lot of the same vibe as some of his other books， so I think if you liked "What if" then you will likely like this one too。 。。。more
Alex
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This is a humorous book that was incredibly well-researched。 That being said， a lot of the scientific stuff in this book went over my head so I found myself skimming through the book， stopping to read the comics parts and certain lines of text that caught my eye。 I realize， though， this book was likely written for people in the different fields of science and I would probably have enjoyed it more if I were a scientist。
Jordan Neben
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This book is a delightful opportunity to to entertained while at the same time being entertained。 Randall Munroe easily proves that science can be fun。
Hylke
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4。5/5 delightful， although I enjoyed "What if" just a teensy bit more。 4。5/5 delightful， although I enjoyed "What if" just a teensy bit more。 。。。more
Nicholas Leiby
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