What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- Downloads：1345
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-04 10:53:50
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Randall Munroe
- ISBN：0544456866
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
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
Mrtfalls
，
Very enjoyable and nerdy book to read。 Would recommend :）
Kieran Hogg
，
A fun book with good humour！ I enjoyed these bite sized hypothetical physics problems。
Krista
，
I found it boring after a while。 The science is good， it's the questions that were uninteresting。 I found it boring after a while。 The science is good， it's the questions that were uninteresting。 。。。more
CW
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Interesting physics questions。 Like podcast
Tim Jamieson
，
A totally pointless bit of highly entertaining fun。
Khalida
，
" لا يستطيع البشر هضم السيليولوز الموجود في الورق و لو كان بالإمكان فعل ذلك ، لكان أكل هذا الكتاب سيزودك بحوالي 2300 سعرة حرارية （ بما في ذلك الغلاف）"هذا ما تم ذكره في آخر الكتاب。 للأسف الشديد هذا الكتاب لن يزودك بسعرات حرارية。 لكن في المقابل هو سوف يزودك بالكثير من المعلومات في الفيزياء و الفضاء و العلوم و الرياضيات 。。 سوف يجيب عن الكثير من تساؤلاتك الغريبة ، و أيضا سوف يجعلك تقضي وقتا ممتعا جدا 。في هذا الكتاب يجيب راندال مونرو （مهندس سابق في ناسا و صاحب موقع xkcd） على أسئلة افتراضية （طرحت عليه " لا يستطيع البشر هضم السيليولوز الموجود في الورق و لو كان بالإمكان فعل ذلك ، لكان أكل هذا الكتاب سيزودك بحوالي 2300 سعرة حرارية （ بما في ذلك الغلاف）"هذا ما تم ذكره في آخر الكتاب。 للأسف الشديد هذا الكتاب لن يزودك بسعرات حرارية。 لكن في المقابل هو سوف يزودك بالكثير من المعلومات في الفيزياء و الفضاء و العلوم و الرياضيات 。。 سوف يجيب عن الكثير من تساؤلاتك الغريبة ، و أيضا سوف يجعلك تقضي وقتا ممتعا جدا 。في هذا الكتاب يجيب راندال مونرو （مهندس سابق في ناسا و صاحب موقع xkcd） على أسئلة افتراضية （طرحت عليه من طرف متتبعيه） بطريقة علمية جدية بالإعتماد على الكثير من المصادر و التجارب و الآراء العلمية ، مع ذلك فالكتاب بعيد تماما عن الصورة النمطية المعقدة و المملة للكتب العلمية。 في الحقيقة الكتاب طريف جدا و يحتوي على رسومات كرتونية مضحكة عديدة قام الكاتب برسمها بنفسه。 （ و أيضا لن تجده على درجة كبيرة من التعقيد إذا أكملت المرحلة الثانوية في شعبة علمية）هل يمكنني اعطائه 6 نجوم استثناء ً ؟ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️لقد فعلت للتو 。。。more
Lara
，
3，5⭐
Matt Forest
，
"The author of this book is an Internet cartoonist， not a health or safety expert。 He likes it when things catch fire or explode， which means he does not have your best interests in mind。"That about sums it up。 This book is incredible nerdy， but it shows that even the wildest questions can be answered using math and science。 I do wish more footnotes were actually insightful instead of tongue-in-cheek （these could have been parenthetical instead）。[citation needed] "The author of this book is an Internet cartoonist， not a health or safety expert。 He likes it when things catch fire or explode， which means he does not have your best interests in mind。"That about sums it up。 This book is incredible nerdy， but it shows that even the wildest questions can be answered using math and science。 I do wish more footnotes were actually insightful instead of tongue-in-cheek （these could have been parenthetical instead）。[citation needed] 。。。more
FairyBooks
，
DNF
Lucía Ramos
，
Me ha gustado mucho el libro， es muy interesante。 Es muy interesante la manera en la que responde a unas preguntas ansurdas de una manera tan científica。 Me encanta la página web。 En resumen， un gran libro， lo recomiendo si tienes tiempo libre。
Nico Ransome
，
I am known for wearing out my welcome wherever I go， it's just a habit of mine， if you say "make yourself at home" I will be sleeping naked on something by the end of the week and that's just the opening number。 Indeed， that's probably one of the less annoying things about living with me。 I might also poke you at random times， declaring "poke！" at the same time， or make that sound you really， really hate as often as I can while still getting a reaction out of it。 Point is， don't let me live with I am known for wearing out my welcome wherever I go， it's just a habit of mine， if you say "make yourself at home" I will be sleeping naked on something by the end of the week and that's just the opening number。 Indeed， that's probably one of the less annoying things about living with me。 I might also poke you at random times， declaring "poke！" at the same time， or make that sound you really， really hate as often as I can while still getting a reaction out of it。 Point is， don't let me live with you。 In the past year， two people have made this mistake， one of them twice now！ The first one （and third one） is an elderly Mormon lady who binge watches violent and bloody crime shows but castigates coffee drinkers on a level perhaps more befitting the actual Antichrist。 On a related subject， she likes her house hot enough year round that if the Antichrist had stayed here before the Fall of Man， he might have reconsidered that whole plan。 But this fun little diatribe is but a side note in a longer story that leads us to What If？ by Randall Munroe！After Round One of Mormon Lady and the Inferno， I end up staying with a friend of a friend who had a massive TV， something like 80 inches， with 4K and everything， it was pretty damn nice！ But that pales in comparison to the air conditioning I had for the last few weeks of a Summer heatwave！ God， I miss that place already！ Friend of a friend and I （but really just her lol） built a wooden holder for the window AC that did a decent job of keeping it in place， it was an exciting time in my life and I may have been very into the whole thing！ One thing I was not into was the idea of bats getting in， because rabies is terrifying and， as a hypochondriac with health scares at least as frequently as naked bedtime relaxation in places I have no right at all to be doing that kind of thing， I felt the need to do something。 After all， I couldn't let my new friend do all the work！ Or let a bat get in！ Priorities！My brilliant plan was twofold: first， and the better idea， was to use tape to seal off what holes could be sealed off easily with tape and second， the much sillier idea， was to use my friend's books and extensive blu-ray collection to fill the gaps！ That's the story of how What If？ by Randall Munroe stared me down for some of the most naked 7 months in recent memory！ While that's a fun and loopy story of the sort you would expect from the kind of person whose （other） friend once found them naked in her bed with her boyfriend and two other friends， and maybe even the same person who later that same day made her turn off music in her own house out of an extreme personal animus for the band System of a Down， it really doesn't do anything to explain how all of these things interconnect， right？In truth， I saw an XKCD comic someone posted on yet another friend's timeline recently and thought it would be a good change from my normal reading material， which is much less entertaining than physics！ It was sheer luck that I already had the cover of What If？ burned into my mind's eye！So what about it then？ Well， it was short， fun and addictive， just like cocaine！ But unlike cocaine， I won't be ashamed of myself in the morning！ Guilt-free word cocaine！ Yeah！ 。。。more
Gavin
，
Some fun， interesting ideas， but after a while it starts to feel repetitive。 I’ll admit I kind of lost interest after the fourth or fifth world-ending physics thought experiment …
Hazen
，
I enjoyed all the crazy questions for a while then it got to the point where it felt like my kid was dreaming up thousands of questions that I had to answer。 Every once in a while there would be a question that caught my interest and it kept me reading the book。 Very well thought out and researched answers but again I could only take so much。
Erika
，
3。5 stars！ Some interesting ideas in here。 Also loved Will Wheaton narrating。
Lev
，
The way I discoverd this book wasn't as I usually find new books to read。 I wanted a non-fiction book to read and I just googled "non fiction books to read" as I was on the bus on my way home， and it was up there， and it sounded it intriguing， so I stopped at the library and picked up a copy。 It was a very entertaining book to fast-read during school breaks and didn't take much time to finish， a great book to take with you on vecation。 It was a very geeky and had a "Film theory" vibe to it。 I am The way I discoverd this book wasn't as I usually find new books to read。 I wanted a non-fiction book to read and I just googled "non fiction books to read" as I was on the bus on my way home， and it was up there， and it sounded it intriguing， so I stopped at the library and picked up a copy。 It was a very entertaining book to fast-read during school breaks and didn't take much time to finish， a great book to take with you on vecation。 It was a very geeky and had a "Film theory" vibe to it。 I am absolutly going to bring one of these hypothetical questions to my friends in the future。 An amazing conversation starter， and just great fun in general。 。。。more
Shubham Garg
，
Funniest and the smartest book I've ever read！ Worth a read for all the nerds out there who want a good laugh。 I will come back to reading it once again in the near future。 Funniest and the smartest book I've ever read！ Worth a read for all the nerds out there who want a good laugh。 I will come back to reading it once again in the near future。 。。。more
Jason
，
3。5* fun geeky read， gained some interesting though ultimately useless scientific knowledge。
Sarah
，
And this is the book where I realized I hate science writing。 Or more accurately， math writing。 Or more accurately， absurdist humor mixed with math writing and science writing。 I love Wil Wheaton and would love to hear him narrate another audiobook， but this book was not my jam at all。 The answers are not serious or scientific - most of the time， the questions were the most interesting part， and then the author changed the question as he answered them。 One of the Amazon reviews gives this exampl And this is the book where I realized I hate science writing。 Or more accurately， math writing。 Or more accurately， absurdist humor mixed with math writing and science writing。 I love Wil Wheaton and would love to hear him narrate another audiobook， but this book was not my jam at all。 The answers are not serious or scientific - most of the time， the questions were the most interesting part， and then the author changed the question as he answered them。 One of the Amazon reviews gives this example: Some simply don't have fun answers， but he takes them a step further to make them fun！ Similar to Mythbusters， where the see what would have to happen to get the desired result。 What happens if everyone on earth shined a laser pointer at the moon？ Nothing noticeable。 What about if everyone on the earth shined a megawatt laser at the moon？ something much more interesting。 Obviously that reviewer LOVED the idea， but I found it annoying。 There were a few questions I liked， most notably the one about draining the ocean and what to do if you and someone else were the only people on earth and needed to find one another， but those were the least math-oriented questions in the book。 Of course a history teacher would like a geography and strategy question。 If I didn't have a road trip I needed to fill I probably never would have finished it。 As it was， it made decent background noise， and now I know I hate math in every form， even literary。 。。。more
Michal Paszkiewicz
，
A fun collection of loosely scientific answers to rather silly questions
Blake Myers
，
0/5 - never once did the author answer what would happen if a T-Rex was dropped in the Sarlaac pit， as advertised on the cover。But seriously， this book was fun light reading， even if the questions got a little same-y。
ivelived1000lives
，
Man， am I glad I bought this one on impulse during an Audible sale！！！ A book hasn't made me laugh this much in a long time， and I absolutely loved the concept。 I cannot say in good conscience that none of the scientific or mathematical concepts went over my head （or that I was not the tiniest bit frustrated by that at times） but I grasped （most of） the basic ideas， and some of the images this book left me with （the mole planet or the consequences of a synchronized jump by the entire world popula Man， am I glad I bought this one on impulse during an Audible sale！！！ A book hasn't made me laugh this much in a long time， and I absolutely loved the concept。 I cannot say in good conscience that none of the scientific or mathematical concepts went over my head （or that I was not the tiniest bit frustrated by that at times） but I grasped （most of） the basic ideas， and some of the images this book left me with （the mole planet or the consequences of a synchronized jump by the entire world population to name but a few） are truly indelible。 Also it's been said before but I'll say it again: Wil Wheaton nailed the narration！ Short， sweet， educational， sometimes laugh-out-loud funny。 There is something in there for everybody， from the hardcore literary-minded people with ongoing PTSD from math and science high school classes （aka my tribe） to the bona fide nerds。 。。。more
Will Marshall
，
What if this book continued for an infinite number of pages？ I would continue reading it obsessively until dying probably of dehydration after a few days。
Kelli
，
I don't understand the math at all but the book is written with such humor and examples that it didn't matter！ And it had such cute drawings I don't understand the math at all but the book is written with such humor and examples that it didn't matter！ And it had such cute drawings 。。。more
Kathy
，
I did not enjoy the book as much as I thought I would。 I think part of it was that I listened to it which meant I missed out on the cartoons。 The other part was that some of the technical parts were beyond my understanding of physics and were also beyond my interest in physics。
Ana Lelis
，
I was really excited to read this book but I`m disappointed with it。 The idea is amazing， but very few of these questions interested me， and the ones that interested me he wouldn't answer， but make a joke about it。 Yes， it was kinda funny but still。 And I wish he answered more questions instead of answering a few with the longest possible answer ever。 I appreciate his dedication， but he could have answered them simply， but he'd rather make them more complicated and longer until I lost interest。 I was really excited to read this book but I`m disappointed with it。 The idea is amazing， but very few of these questions interested me， and the ones that interested me he wouldn't answer， but make a joke about it。 Yes， it was kinda funny but still。 And I wish he answered more questions instead of answering a few with the longest possible answer ever。 I appreciate his dedication， but he could have answered them simply， but he'd rather make them more complicated and longer until I lost interest。 It's not a bad book at all， it's just not as good as I thought it would be。 。。。more
Dana Webster
，
FunThis was a fun and whimsical journey into some bizarre questions。 I laughed aloud at one point。Take a few hours and enjoy！
Bill Borowski
，
As someone who asks themselves these kinds of questions frequently， I very much enjoyed this。 I will always now remember how chromosomes work because of the DND explanation。 I also didn’t expect this many Firefly references， but I’m here for it。
Patrik
，
Erittäin hauska ja kuin tehty luonnontieteistä kiinnostuneille。 Blogi on myös aivan huikea。 Tätä lukiessa fysiikan ilmiöt tarttuivat väkisin mieleen absurdien esimerkkien kautta。 Mitä jos pesäpalloa heittäisi 0。9 x valonnopeudella？noh， ilma höyrystyisi， hajoaisi atomeiksi ja lopulta stadion räjähtäisi ilman hapen palaessa。
Patrick Grüter
，
Interesting， ridiculous， entertaining。The questions are well picked and explained thoroughly。 I now have a better understanding of physics。 I also now know that I'm not the only one who thinks about absurd hypothetical stuff。 Interesting， ridiculous， entertaining。The questions are well picked and explained thoroughly。 I now have a better understanding of physics。 I also now know that I'm not the only one who thinks about absurd hypothetical stuff。 。。。more
Bhavin
，