What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- Downloads：1139
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-16 13:57:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Randall Munroe
- ISBN：1848549563
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Randall Munroe left NASA in 2005 to start up his hugely popular site XKCD 'a web comic of romance， sarcasm， math and language' which offers a witty take on the world of science and geeks。 It now has 600，000 to a million page hits daily。 Every now and then， Munroe would get emails asking him to arbitrate a science debate。 'My friend and I were arguing about what would happen if a bullet got struck by lightning， and we agreed that you should resolve it 。 。 。 ' He liked these questions so much that he started up What If。
If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide， how long would you survive？
How dangerous is it， really， to be in a swimming pool in a thunderstorm？
If we hooked turbines to people exercising in gyms， how much power could we produce？
What if everyone only had one soulmate？
When （if ever） did the sun go down on the British empire？
How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live？
What would happen if the moon went away？
In pursuit of answers， Munroe runs computer simulations， pores over stacks of declassified military research memos， solves differential equations， and consults with nuclear reactor operators。 His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity， studded with memorable cartoons and infographics。 They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind， or at least a really big explosion。 Far more than a book for geeks， WHAT IF: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much the smarter for having read。
If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide， how long would you survive？
How dangerous is it， really， to be in a swimming pool in a thunderstorm？
If we hooked turbines to people exercising in gyms， how much power could we produce？
What if everyone only had one soulmate？
When （if ever） did the sun go down on the British empire？
How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live？
What would happen if the moon went away？
In pursuit of answers， Munroe runs computer simulations， pores over stacks of declassified military research memos， solves differential equations， and consults with nuclear reactor operators。 His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity， studded with memorable cartoons and infographics。 They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind， or at least a really big explosion。 Far more than a book for geeks， WHAT IF: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much the smarter for having read。
Reviews
Kai Brantley
，
You don’t need to be a scientist to find this book hilarious。 Munroe writes in an excited， sarcastic， and accessible way that kept me engaged from start to finish。 This collection of short essays answering truly absurd questions， is perfect for a busy schedule。 You can defiantly read one essay and then come back a few days later or sit and binge the whole thing。 Either way you’re pretty much guaranteed to laugh more than had you not read the book。
Damien
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This book is ok。 It has 40 chapters or questions that has been submitted to the author's website and he discusses them。 Some questions are thought provoking and interesting and some are less than exciting。 He does tend to take things to incredible extremes with his responses。 Many of his final answers are situations that could never happen or be of any use to anyone。 I find myself skipping to the next chapter alot in this book。 The author does a good job of explaining the science behind much of This book is ok。 It has 40 chapters or questions that has been submitted to the author's website and he discusses them。 Some questions are thought provoking and interesting and some are less than exciting。 He does tend to take things to incredible extremes with his responses。 Many of his final answers are situations that could never happen or be of any use to anyone。 I find myself skipping to the next chapter alot in this book。 The author does a good job of explaining the science behind much of what he is discussing but at times get pretty far off into weeds。 。。。more
Laura Egendorf
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Interesting but oddly stressful。 Learning about all the ways you could die or the world could end under weird circumstances is not the most peaceful bedtime reading。
Nancie Lafferty
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This was such a fun， geeky listen！ I am always asking these questions and wishing I had someone to give me witty， sarcastic and knowledgeable answers。
Luiz
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Bom demais！ É， ao mesmo tempo， non-sense e muito competente em ensinar/revisitar conceitos físicos， químicos e até históricos （"Quando o Sol vai ser por no Império Britânico"）。Estava na lista， mas a cópia estava guardada embaixo de uma pilha na estante。 Meu filho puxou ela fim de semana passado e， ao invés de devolver， resolvi ir lendo de noite。 Ajudou a ir dormir feliz。 Bom demais！ É， ao mesmo tempo， non-sense e muito competente em ensinar/revisitar conceitos físicos， químicos e até históricos （"Quando o Sol vai ser por no Império Britânico"）。Estava na lista， mas a cópia estava guardada embaixo de uma pilha na estante。 Meu filho puxou ela fim de semana passado e， ao invés de devolver， resolvi ir lendo de noite。 Ajudou a ir dormir feliz。 。。。more
Eren Can
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Let me start off by saying this book is hilarious and the jokes are funny regardless of your understanding of physics and science in general。That being said， I found some of the subjects hard to wrap my head around， mainly because my understanding of physics isn’t all that great and English isn’t my native language。 At times I had to google some of the concepts just to understand the subject being discussed。I think that if physics is your area of expertise （or at the very least something you kno Let me start off by saying this book is hilarious and the jokes are funny regardless of your understanding of physics and science in general。That being said， I found some of the subjects hard to wrap my head around， mainly because my understanding of physics isn’t all that great and English isn’t my native language。 At times I had to google some of the concepts just to understand the subject being discussed。I think that if physics is your area of expertise （or at the very least something you know more of than the average Joe） this book would probably be a five star experience。 Personally I would have appreciated a bit more background information on the basics of physics for example （however， I do understand that this would be boring to a person who knows more about physics， so I completely understand and respect the decision not to include this）。But still， absolutely hilarious book that’s worth a read for the jokes alone。 。。。more
Roblux Craft
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Love is in the air！ thank you so much for making me smile while reading your book。 such a nice story。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Dakota
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Munroe once again brings his unique blend of scientific/mathematical genius and comedic brilliance。 This book is worth every penny。
Rachel
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Rating: 4。5
Alex Hoskinson
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Learn and laugh。 I really enjoyed the lightheartedness of this book， and never knew what might come next。
Margret Stadig
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Science is weird。 And if you like weird science facts this book is for you。 I do so thoroughly enjoyed。 Yes， there were some question/answers that still went over my head。 But there were also answers that made me roll on the floor laughing。 And yes I learned something along the way。 Exactly what I expected from the author of Xkcd。 Not disappointed。
Catherine
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I lost brain cells。
Bilguudei
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Always wanted to become this sciency-nerd。 This book has made me a few steps closer to that。 Also the sense of humor of the author is at a next level。
Donald
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Interesting read and entertaining。 4/5
Monica
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Giggle-worthy。 Even chortle-worthy on several occasions。
Dave Howard
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I liked XKCD and enjoyed his What If blog， so I figured I'd enjoy this book。 It took me awhile to get through it， as I realized that it's better in small doses。 This is basically a weird humor sub-genre that I've started thinking of as math humor。 Do you need to understand all the math for it to be fun？ No。 I liked XKCD and enjoyed his What If blog， so I figured I'd enjoy this book。 It took me awhile to get through it， as I realized that it's better in small doses。 This is basically a weird humor sub-genre that I've started thinking of as math humor。 Do you need to understand all the math for it to be fun？ No。 。。。more
Elizabeth Mellen
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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 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。 。。。more
Hailey Underwood
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Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is a non-fiction book by Randall Munroe in which the author answers hypothetical science questions sent to him by readers of his webcomic， xkcd。
Maisie Hobbs
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I am a nerd。 This book was incredible and ridiculous， right up my alley。
Miranda
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The planet of moles。。。。
Melissa
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Very informative and I liked that wil wheaton did the audio。 I feel both smarter and dumb all at the same time。
Shirley K
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This is an amazing book！ With answers to the most ridiculous scientific questions like What if a rainstorm dropped all it's water in a single drop/ From what height would you need to drop a steak for it to be cooked until it reaches the ground， I thoroughly enjoyed the detailed and accurate answers to these absurd questions。 Has a comedic element in almost every chapter which keeps the reader engrossed！ Would definitely recommend。 This is an amazing book！ With answers to the most ridiculous scientific questions like What if a rainstorm dropped all it's water in a single drop/ From what height would you need to drop a steak for it to be cooked until it reaches the ground， I thoroughly enjoyed the detailed and accurate answers to these absurd questions。 Has a comedic element in almost every chapter which keeps the reader engrossed！ Would definitely recommend。 。。。more
Rory Lilley
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Good fun， enjoyed
Rohit Khetan
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Interesting， can be dived into anytime。 A little repetitive。
Stelios Andreolas
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Amazing and hilarious book。 The questions are extremely smart and the author has a fantastic humor。 I had a very great time reading this， so I give it a solid 5/5。
Suphan Fayong
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It's one of a few books that I read and can't put it down。 Anyone who has at least some love in science will surely enjoy this book。 It's one of a few books that I read and can't put it down。 Anyone who has at least some love in science will surely enjoy this book。 。。。more
Kate Parr
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This was so much fun to read！ I didn't always （hardly ever） understand the physics， but it was delivered in such a great， readable way it didn't matter。 And the cartoons！ There were bits which made me think， and bits that just made me cackle out loud。 I loved the final chapter too， such a sweet， peaceful end to all the chaotic explosions （yes， a penny falling off a dog can be measured on the richter scale！）。 This was so much fun to read！ I didn't always （hardly ever） understand the physics， but it was delivered in such a great， readable way it didn't matter。 And the cartoons！ There were bits which made me think， and bits that just made me cackle out loud。 I loved the final chapter too， such a sweet， peaceful end to all the chaotic explosions （yes， a penny falling off a dog can be measured on the richter scale！）。 。。。more
Jus Jaisinghani
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It's great fun to read book， I get the naiveness that goes into asking those questions and the seriousness with which it answered is awesome like there are almost all books nonfiction that require a lot of self-reflection and processing and thinking。 This is a go to for when you wanna just read something and laugh。I enjoyed the book， a lot。I recommend it to anyone who loves nerdy comics and or anyone who wants to dive into the realm of science with this perspective of curiosity and childish fun It's great fun to read book， I get the naiveness that goes into asking those questions and the seriousness with which it answered is awesome like there are almost all books nonfiction that require a lot of self-reflection and processing and thinking。 This is a go to for when you wanna just read something and laugh。I enjoyed the book， a lot。I recommend it to anyone who loves nerdy comics and or anyone who wants to dive into the realm of science with this perspective of curiosity and childish fun seeking mindset。 。。。more
Gaurav Pal
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would've been great， if I understood 10% of the science this guy talked about。 But enjoyed my stupidity nevertheless。 would've been great， if I understood 10% of the science this guy talked about。 But enjoyed my stupidity nevertheless。 。。。more
Chanelle Gruca
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