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Indeholder afsnittene "Preface to the UK Edition", "Disclaimer", "Introduction", "Global Windstorm", "Relativistic Baseball", "Spent Fuel Pool", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #1", "New York-Style Time Machine", "Soul Mates", "Laser Pointer", "Periodical Wall of the
Umanerligt underholdende bog med skøre spørgsmål og kloge svar. Forfatteren er vokset op med miles, feet og pounds og kan derfor påskønne SI-systemet i fuldt omfang.
For hvert svar kan man finde på et nyt spørgsmål. Hvorfor roterer Venus' atmosfære, når planeten står stille? Hvorfor må man ikke sælge vand fra et reaktorkølebassin som energidrik? Hvorfor var der ikke regnorme i New England for 10000 år siden? Var de store flokke af vandreduer et tegn på et økosystem i krise? Hvorfor hedder det en ås på dansk og en esker på engelsk?
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Elements", "Everybody Jump", "A Mole of Moles", "Hair Dryer", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #2", "The Last Human Light", "Machine-Gun Jetpack", "Rising Steadily", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #3", "Orbital Submarine", "Short-Answer Section", "Lightning", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #4", "Human Computer", "Little Planet", "Steak Drop", "Hockey Puck", "Common Cold", "Glass Half Empty", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #5", "Alien Astronomers", "No More DNA", "Interplanetary Cessna", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #6", "Yoda", "Flyover States", "Falling with Helium", "Everybody Out", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #7", "Self-Fertilization", "High Throw", "Lethal Neutrinos", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #8", "Speed Bump", "Lost Immortals", "Orbital Speed", "FedEx Bandwidth", "Free Fall", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #9", "Sparta", "Drain the Oceans", "Drain the Oceans : Part II", "Twitter", "Lego Bridge", "Longest Sunset", "Random Sneeze Call", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #10", "Expanding Earth", "Weightless Arrow", "Sunless Earth", "Updating a Printed Wikipedia", "Facebook of the Dead", "Sunset on the British Empire", "Stirring Tea", "All the Lightning", "Loneliest Human", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #11", "Raindrop", "SAT Guessing", "Neutron Bullet", "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What if? inbox, #12", "Richter 15", "Acknowledgments", "References".Umanerligt underholdende bog med skøre spørgsmål og kloge svar. Forfatteren er vokset op med miles, feet og pounds og kan derfor påskønne SI-systemet i fuldt omfang.
For hvert svar kan man finde på et nyt spørgsmål. Hvorfor roterer Venus' atmosfære, når planeten står stille? Hvorfor må man ikke sælge vand fra et reaktorkølebassin som energidrik? Hvorfor var der ikke regnorme i New England for 10000 år siden? Var de store flokke af vandreduer et tegn på et økosystem i krise? Hvorfor hedder det en ås på dansk og en esker på engelsk?
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Publication
London : John Murray, 2015.
Description
"Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have a large and passionate following. Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions. What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there was a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last? 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, complemented by signature xkcd comics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. The book features new and never-before-answered questions, along with updated and expanded versions of the most popular answers from the xkcd website. What If? will be required reading for xkcd fans and anyone who loves to ponder the hypothetical. "--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member bragan
Randall Munroe is best known for the webcomic xkcd, which may be one of the best things on the internet. But he also has a blog called What If?, where, as the title of this book says, he provides "serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions." The book version collects many questions
OK, a few of the questions are a bit more, uh, normal-sounding than that (like, "How high can a human throw something?"), but most of them are wonderfully bizarre or even downright insane. (And that's not even counting the "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What If? Inbox" sections, which mostly feature questions he doesn't even attempt to answer, and which are disturbingly hilarious.) No matter how odd the question may be, though, the answers are carefully thought out and based in real math and science. They're also very, very funny, and illustrated with Munroe's distinctive stick-figure drawings. (Seeing those pictures on the printed page was a weird experience for me, though. I kept wanting to tap them to bring up the hovertext.) Munroe's also a bit like the Mythbusters, in that if the answer he gets isn't terribly interesting, he'll usually keep poking at it and adding new wrinkles until it results in something nifty and absurd. A surprising number of these scenarios end in global cataclysm, but it's all good, clean, nerdy fun.
Rating: 4.5/5, although I admit that's probably me rating the website as much as it is the book. Still, it's a fun and very well-put-together book. Be sure to look inside the dust jacket for an illustration of what would happen if Earth's oceans were allowed to drain out through an inter-dimensional plughole!
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and answers that have previously appeared on the blog, along with some brand new ones. A few examples: "What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent of the speed of light?", "Is it possible to build a jet pack out of downward-firing machine guns?", and "What if a rainstorm dropped all its water in a single giant drop?"OK, a few of the questions are a bit more, uh, normal-sounding than that (like, "How high can a human throw something?"), but most of them are wonderfully bizarre or even downright insane. (And that's not even counting the "Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What If? Inbox" sections, which mostly feature questions he doesn't even attempt to answer, and which are disturbingly hilarious.) No matter how odd the question may be, though, the answers are carefully thought out and based in real math and science. They're also very, very funny, and illustrated with Munroe's distinctive stick-figure drawings. (Seeing those pictures on the printed page was a weird experience for me, though. I kept wanting to tap them to bring up the hovertext.) Munroe's also a bit like the Mythbusters, in that if the answer he gets isn't terribly interesting, he'll usually keep poking at it and adding new wrinkles until it results in something nifty and absurd. A surprising number of these scenarios end in global cataclysm, but it's all good, clean, nerdy fun.
Rating: 4.5/5, although I admit that's probably me rating the website as much as it is the book. Still, it's a fun and very well-put-together book. Be sure to look inside the dust jacket for an illustration of what would happen if Earth's oceans were allowed to drain out through an inter-dimensional plughole!
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LibraryThing member imyril
'What If?' applies almost serious science to daft questions, although author Randall Munroe rightly reserves the right to adapt question and answer for scientific and comedic effect. Also, better stick (wo)man diagrams.
The book includes a selection of questions previously published online plus
This is as much about humour as about science, with the selection of theories and mathematics applied part of the geeky joy. However, you don't need much (any?) science or maths to follow along and be amused - that's the joy of stick figures. Randall has done the hard work in terms of research and calculation, and translates it gleefully and accessibly (who knew the US Government had an official line on the sensibility of firing a nuke at a hurricane?)
Highlights for me were his digs at Wikipedia - [citation needed] is applied to some of the most outrageously obvious statements ('space is big'), whereas citations relating to his childhood exploits are sufficient for others ('ships made of Lego can't float'). I was particularly fond of his realisation that if he wanted a technical breakdown of temperatures for cooked meat he should stop looking at scientific papers and just pick up his cookbook :)
The book includes a selection of questions previously published online plus
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several new ones, and is a delight from start to finish. It examines the often unexpected consequences of questions such as 'what would happen if everyone on Earth jumped at the same time', sometimes adding dimensions such as 'in the same place' (answer: not much to the Earth, but we'd inadvertently cause the apocalypse by crashing our infrastructure when we tried to go home) or 'what would happen if we drained the seas through a hole at the bottom of the Challenger Deep?' (answer: uh, water levels would drop and we'd do some damage to our climate. But if we put the other end of this magic water-draining portal on MARS we could terraform! Briefly).This is as much about humour as about science, with the selection of theories and mathematics applied part of the geeky joy. However, you don't need much (any?) science or maths to follow along and be amused - that's the joy of stick figures. Randall has done the hard work in terms of research and calculation, and translates it gleefully and accessibly (who knew the US Government had an official line on the sensibility of firing a nuke at a hurricane?)
Highlights for me were his digs at Wikipedia - [citation needed] is applied to some of the most outrageously obvious statements ('space is big'), whereas citations relating to his childhood exploits are sufficient for others ('ships made of Lego can't float'). I was particularly fond of his realisation that if he wanted a technical breakdown of temperatures for cooked meat he should stop looking at scientific papers and just pick up his cookbook :)
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LibraryThing member jmkemp
This is just fab. It made me laugh out loud several times. Also science, lots of lovely science with nice twists. Well I say nice, but really evil twists. That's what makes it funny and interesting.
Randall Munroe is best known for the xkcd comics (and if you haven't read them then you really
Some of the questions that get answered include
what if you flew an airplane on all the planets in the solar system?
what if you put a wormhole at the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean to drain the water?
what if you dropped a steak from orbit, would it cook?
There are dozens of these questions, and I laughed at the consequences of almost all of them. There were an amazing number of innocent sounding 'what if?' questions that lead to catastrophe. As well as all of those there are bits in the middle where some of the dodgier 'what if?' questions get listed, mainly of the 'asking for a friend' variety. Many of these get illustrated with xkcd style cartoons. This just adds to the enjoyment of it all.
Seriously, you need to read this book, especially if you aren't a scientist. It's entertaining and a little educational, but all fun. Definitely my best book for quite a while.
Randall Munroe is best known for the xkcd comics (and if you haven't read them then you really
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must). 'What if?' comes from an offshoot of the popularity of xkcd and typifies the sort of scary thoughts we have. People have been sending Randall their what if? questions and Randall has been off to do some research to answer them. The answers all follow impeccable scientific logic, yet they are written with some hilarious assumptions (on the right side of plausible, think of chemistry played for explosions, fires and spectacular effects rather than safety). Some of the questions that get answered include
what if you flew an airplane on all the planets in the solar system?
what if you put a wormhole at the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean to drain the water?
what if you dropped a steak from orbit, would it cook?
There are dozens of these questions, and I laughed at the consequences of almost all of them. There were an amazing number of innocent sounding 'what if?' questions that lead to catastrophe. As well as all of those there are bits in the middle where some of the dodgier 'what if?' questions get listed, mainly of the 'asking for a friend' variety. Many of these get illustrated with xkcd style cartoons. This just adds to the enjoyment of it all.
Seriously, you need to read this book, especially if you aren't a scientist. It's entertaining and a little educational, but all fun. Definitely my best book for quite a while.
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LibraryThing member adzebill
The footnotes and asides are even better than the absurd science: the footnotes; the mordant humour; the casually-dropped facts, like the unit of volume the “acre-foot” (1 foot × 1 chain × 1 furlong), which you learn about in the third paragraph. For a laugh, check out the one-star reviews on
“Who in their right mind wants to know whether a submarine could survive in space?”
“I am concerned about those who like this guy.”
“The author us smart but clearly a nerd and really not corking.”
“no pictures to make the book more interesting”
“I would not recommend this book to anyone unless they were in prison and it would be used for punishment.”
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Amazon:“Who in their right mind wants to know whether a submarine could survive in space?”
“I am concerned about those who like this guy.”
“The author us smart but clearly a nerd and really not corking.”
“no pictures to make the book more interesting”
“I would not recommend this book to anyone unless they were in prison and it would be used for punishment.”
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LibraryThing member rivkat
xkcd guy geeks out over questions like, what if a glass really was half empty (that is, half vacuum) and half full of water? The answers are explained charmingly and usually there is a fireball somewhere around. Recommended! (Though you can read most of it for free by following his What If? blog.)
LibraryThing member markbarnes
This is an enjoyable, and seemingly well-researched book, that does exactly what it says on the tin. You learn a little that's useful, and a lot of fascinating trivia. The humour is well-directed, and each chapter is exactly the right length. Recommended to armchair scientists everywhere.
LibraryThing member simchaboston
Ask a silly question -- especially a silly, hypothetical, science-based question -- and if you're lucky, the answer will be as informative and funny as the ones in this book. The title is a bit misleading, as Munroe's responses aren't just serious (though he does consult experts and use
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explanations that sometimes are a little beyond me technically). Instead he draws upon a lot of geeky snark, both in his text and his accompanying stick drawings (I just love his depiction of Yoda powering a SmartCar), and takes particular glee in imagining the details of various catastrophes. Recommended for anyone with a sense of humor who doesn't mind learning a bit in the process. Show Less
LibraryThing member fnielsen
My XKCD fandom was apparently so obvious that I got this book as a present without it being on my explicit wishlist. Interesting and readable it is and I am impressed by the breadth of Randall Munroe's physic knowledge. The book is not particular funny as XKCD, does not delve into a narrative and
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focuses on physics and scientific issues, rather than the human issues of XKCD comics. Show Less
LibraryThing member Othemts
This book contains the sentence: "Aroldis Chapman could probably throw a golf ball about sixteen giraffes high." That alone makes it worth reading. The creator of the webcomic xkcd, Randall Munroe uses math and science to investigate cornball questions from his readers. If you've ever wondered what
Favorite Passages:
Our plastic will become shredded and buried, and perhaps some microbes will learn to digest it, but in all likelihood, a million years from now, an out-of-place layer of processed hydrocarbons—transformed fragments of our shampoo bottles and shopping bags—will serve as a chemical monument to civilization.
If humans escape the solar system and outlive the Sun, our descendants may someday live on one of these planets. Atoms from Times Square, cycled through the heart of the Sun, will form our new bodies. One day, either we will all be dead, or we will all be New Yorkers.
So we shouldn’t worry too much about when computers will catch up with us in complexity. After all, we’ve caught up to ants, and they don’t seem too concerned. Sure, we seem like we’ve taken over the planet, but if I had to bet on which one of us would still be around in a million years—primates, computers, or ants—I know who I’d pick.
if an astronaut on the ISS listens to “I’m Gonna Be,” in the time between the first beat of the song and the final lines . . . . . . they will have traveled just about exactly 1000 miles.
Rule of thumb: One person per square meter is a light crowd, four people per square meter is a mosh pit.
Al Worden, the Apollo 15 command module pilot, even enjoyed the experience. There’s a thing about being alone and there’s a thing about being lonely, and they’re two different things. I was alone but I was not lonely. My background was as a fighter pilot in the air force, then as a test pilot—and that was mostly in fighter airplanes—so I was very used to being by myself. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn’t have to talk to Dave and Jim any more . . . On the backside of the Moon, I didn’t even have to talk to Houston and that was the best part of the flight. Introverts understand; the loneliest human in history was just happy to have a few minutes of peace and quiet.
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would happen if a baseball were pitched at the speed of light, what would happen if every person in the world jumped at the same place at the same time (say, Rhode Island), or what place on earth would allow for the longest free fall, this book is for you. In addition to Munroe's humorous, but mathematically explicit, explanations there are plenty of whimsical illustrations. There are also a series of questions too weird and worrying for even Munroe to answer.Favorite Passages:
Our plastic will become shredded and buried, and perhaps some microbes will learn to digest it, but in all likelihood, a million years from now, an out-of-place layer of processed hydrocarbons—transformed fragments of our shampoo bottles and shopping bags—will serve as a chemical monument to civilization.
If humans escape the solar system and outlive the Sun, our descendants may someday live on one of these planets. Atoms from Times Square, cycled through the heart of the Sun, will form our new bodies. One day, either we will all be dead, or we will all be New Yorkers.
So we shouldn’t worry too much about when computers will catch up with us in complexity. After all, we’ve caught up to ants, and they don’t seem too concerned. Sure, we seem like we’ve taken over the planet, but if I had to bet on which one of us would still be around in a million years—primates, computers, or ants—I know who I’d pick.
if an astronaut on the ISS listens to “I’m Gonna Be,” in the time between the first beat of the song and the final lines . . . . . . they will have traveled just about exactly 1000 miles.
Rule of thumb: One person per square meter is a light crowd, four people per square meter is a mosh pit.
Al Worden, the Apollo 15 command module pilot, even enjoyed the experience. There’s a thing about being alone and there’s a thing about being lonely, and they’re two different things. I was alone but I was not lonely. My background was as a fighter pilot in the air force, then as a test pilot—and that was mostly in fighter airplanes—so I was very used to being by myself. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn’t have to talk to Dave and Jim any more . . . On the backside of the Moon, I didn’t even have to talk to Houston and that was the best part of the flight. Introverts understand; the loneliest human in history was just happy to have a few minutes of peace and quiet.
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LibraryThing member AgneJakubauskaite
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
“What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions” by Randall Munroe, the creator of a popular webcomic xkcd.com, is a collection of ludicrous Q&As, some of which have been selected from his blog what-if.xkcd.com while others have never been published
THUMBS UP:
1) One of a kind.
Since I’ve never heard about Munroe or his famous webcomic xkcd, I was flabbergasted when I first came upon this book; I’ve never seen anything like this before! It’s not the bizarre questions that impressed me though, nor the surprising answers; it’s the author’s means of obtaining and presenting these answers. Seriously, how do you calculate the Force power of Yoda? Well, Munroe not only accomplishes THAT, he often goes way beyond the original question, taking the situations to extremes. And if he occasionally decides that the question or the answer is not interesting enough, he steers the reader in different direction where the real fun happens.
2) Smart, creative, funny.
I was amazed by the author’s knowledge, researching skills, mathematical abilities, geeky sense of humor and, most of all, by his enviable ability to think outside the box. Just WOW.
3) Fun trivia.
“What If” contains a lot of random information, most of which is not very practical but extremely entertaining.
COULD BE BETTER:
1) Not a light read.
Although “What If” is funny and entertaining, it is also highly scientific. To fully grasp the information in this book requires concentration and brain power (but often even that is not enough), thus it is best to read no more than few chapters at a time.
2) Requires scientific background.
To fully understand the answers and appreciate all the jokes in “What If” requires some kind of scientific background and/or willingness to look up a lot of things. Although I consider myself somewhat proficient in biology and chemistry with a high-school knowledge in physics, I had trouble understanding some explanations and looked up quite a few things.
3) For fans of physics.
The majority of Q&As involves physics, and since I am neither an expert in it nor a fan, I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I hoped I would. In addition, although Munroe attempts to explain things in somewhat less complicated terms, he doesn’t explain absolutely everything and often assumes at least a basic knowledge of physics.
VERDICT:
If you are a fan of Munroe’s webcomic xkcd.com, you will definitely enjoy this book. If you never heard about the webcomic though, your reaction depends on your level of geekiness and love for physics. Check out Munroe’s blog what-if.xkcd.com to see what I mean!
“What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions” by Randall Munroe, the creator of a popular webcomic xkcd.com, is a collection of ludicrous Q&As, some of which have been selected from his blog what-if.xkcd.com while others have never been published
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before. Armed with advanced mathematics, superb scientific knowledge, impressive researching skills, wild imagination, nerdy humor and stick-figure illustrations, Munroe fearlessly tackles his fans’ strangest questions such as “If every person on Earth aimed a laser pointer at the Moon at the same time, would it change color?” or “What if a rainstorm dropped all of its water in a single giant drop?”THUMBS UP:
1) One of a kind.
Since I’ve never heard about Munroe or his famous webcomic xkcd, I was flabbergasted when I first came upon this book; I’ve never seen anything like this before! It’s not the bizarre questions that impressed me though, nor the surprising answers; it’s the author’s means of obtaining and presenting these answers. Seriously, how do you calculate the Force power of Yoda? Well, Munroe not only accomplishes THAT, he often goes way beyond the original question, taking the situations to extremes. And if he occasionally decides that the question or the answer is not interesting enough, he steers the reader in different direction where the real fun happens.
2) Smart, creative, funny.
I was amazed by the author’s knowledge, researching skills, mathematical abilities, geeky sense of humor and, most of all, by his enviable ability to think outside the box. Just WOW.
3) Fun trivia.
“What If” contains a lot of random information, most of which is not very practical but extremely entertaining.
COULD BE BETTER:
1) Not a light read.
Although “What If” is funny and entertaining, it is also highly scientific. To fully grasp the information in this book requires concentration and brain power (but often even that is not enough), thus it is best to read no more than few chapters at a time.
2) Requires scientific background.
To fully understand the answers and appreciate all the jokes in “What If” requires some kind of scientific background and/or willingness to look up a lot of things. Although I consider myself somewhat proficient in biology and chemistry with a high-school knowledge in physics, I had trouble understanding some explanations and looked up quite a few things.
3) For fans of physics.
The majority of Q&As involves physics, and since I am neither an expert in it nor a fan, I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I hoped I would. In addition, although Munroe attempts to explain things in somewhat less complicated terms, he doesn’t explain absolutely everything and often assumes at least a basic knowledge of physics.
VERDICT:
If you are a fan of Munroe’s webcomic xkcd.com, you will definitely enjoy this book. If you never heard about the webcomic though, your reaction depends on your level of geekiness and love for physics. Check out Munroe’s blog what-if.xkcd.com to see what I mean!
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LibraryThing member castiron
I've enjoyed the What If site ever since it started, and I'm delighted to have some of the material in print format. The U.S. hardcover is beautifully designed; one of my kids discovered a nice surprise on the back cover stamping.
If you just want interesting thoughts about science and
If you just want interesting thoughts about science and
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experimentation and problem-solving, you can get that from reading What If online for free; as far as I can tell, the questions and answers are the same material that's on the site (other than the "weird and worrying questions from the inbox"). But if you still like paper or want to give Munroe a royalty payment, it's well worth buying this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
Oh XKCD What If? You answer questions that I have not thought of, but totally need to know the answer to. Done in a way that is (usually) easy to understand - Done in a way that pokes fun at the question without going overboard - and is fun to read. It takes a talented author to do that, and Mr.
There really isn't much more I can say about this book - except it is awesome.
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Munroe totally nails it.There really isn't much more I can say about this book - except it is awesome.
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LibraryThing member rmckeown
I have never done this, but I am going to quote verbatim the author’s biography on the dust jacket of this weird, wild, wonderfully funny book, What If? “Randall Munroe, a former NASA roboticist, is the creator of the webcomic xkcd and the author of xkcd: volume 0. The International
The subtitle, oddly enough placed above the main title, is “Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions.” I laughed on almost every page, while remembering some of the absurd questions I asked as a youngster. Sadly, my most absurd question is not here: “What would happen to a ball dropped into a hole which went clear through the planet?” It was at a Boy Scout Summer Camp, and the recipient of this question, rolled his eyes and said, “Wait, stop, we are way off target here, we are talking about eclipses of the moon!” I often cut off my students who begin with, “This might be a dumb question…” by telling them “there are no dumb questions, only dumb answers.” I guess now I will have to add No dumb questions, only some pretty funny absurd ones.”
Here are some examples of Munroe’s wit and humor. “What would happen if the Earth and all terrestrial objects suddenly stopped spinning, but the atmosphere retained its velocity?” Answer: nearly everyone would die. Then things would get interesting. At the equator, the Earth’s surface is moving … a little over a thousand miles an hour,” resulting in “a sudden thousand-mile-per-hour wind. […] everyone and everything between 42 degrees north and 42 degrees south …about 85 percent of the world’s population – would suddenly experience supersonic winds. The highest winds would only last for a few minutes near the surface; friction from the ground would slow them down. However, those few minutes would be long enough to reduce virtually all human structures to ruins” (1).
Some of my favorite questions include, “If an asteroid was very small but supermassive, could you really live on it like the Little Prince [from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novel, The Little Prince?” (102). I wondered about this the first time I read this wonderful ostensibly children’s story. Here’s another, “What if I jumped out of an airplane with a couple of tanks of helium and one huge balloon? Then, while falling, I release the helium and fill the balloon. How long of a fall would I need in order to slow me enough that I could land safely?” (150). Some people obviously have way too much time on their hands! And finally, “If two immortal people were placed on opposite sides of an Earthlike Planet, how long would it take them to find each other?” He did say absurd questions! Spoiler alert: 3,000 years. Other questions involve draining the oceans (204), and guessing on every SAT multiple Choice question (278).
For lots of fun and laughter – and some serious questions – pick up a copy of Randall Munroe’s book, What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. 5 stars.
--Jim, 10/12/14
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Astronomical Union recently named an asteroid after him; asteroid 4942 Munroe is big enough to cause a mass extinction if it ever hits a planet like Earth. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.”The subtitle, oddly enough placed above the main title, is “Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions.” I laughed on almost every page, while remembering some of the absurd questions I asked as a youngster. Sadly, my most absurd question is not here: “What would happen to a ball dropped into a hole which went clear through the planet?” It was at a Boy Scout Summer Camp, and the recipient of this question, rolled his eyes and said, “Wait, stop, we are way off target here, we are talking about eclipses of the moon!” I often cut off my students who begin with, “This might be a dumb question…” by telling them “there are no dumb questions, only dumb answers.” I guess now I will have to add No dumb questions, only some pretty funny absurd ones.”
Here are some examples of Munroe’s wit and humor. “What would happen if the Earth and all terrestrial objects suddenly stopped spinning, but the atmosphere retained its velocity?” Answer: nearly everyone would die. Then things would get interesting. At the equator, the Earth’s surface is moving … a little over a thousand miles an hour,” resulting in “a sudden thousand-mile-per-hour wind. […] everyone and everything between 42 degrees north and 42 degrees south …about 85 percent of the world’s population – would suddenly experience supersonic winds. The highest winds would only last for a few minutes near the surface; friction from the ground would slow them down. However, those few minutes would be long enough to reduce virtually all human structures to ruins” (1).
Some of my favorite questions include, “If an asteroid was very small but supermassive, could you really live on it like the Little Prince [from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novel, The Little Prince?” (102). I wondered about this the first time I read this wonderful ostensibly children’s story. Here’s another, “What if I jumped out of an airplane with a couple of tanks of helium and one huge balloon? Then, while falling, I release the helium and fill the balloon. How long of a fall would I need in order to slow me enough that I could land safely?” (150). Some people obviously have way too much time on their hands! And finally, “If two immortal people were placed on opposite sides of an Earthlike Planet, how long would it take them to find each other?” He did say absurd questions! Spoiler alert: 3,000 years. Other questions involve draining the oceans (204), and guessing on every SAT multiple Choice question (278).
For lots of fun and laughter – and some serious questions – pick up a copy of Randall Munroe’s book, What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. 5 stars.
--Jim, 10/12/14
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LibraryThing member fpagan
A book apparently based on the proposition that ideational and stick-figure horseplay are a good way to introduce science to readers who would not otherwise be interested in it. I think some people will love it, while others will be put off by such aspects as the admitted absurdity of the 57
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initial questions and the smartassery of many of the footnotes. The author's knowledgeability is not in question, and every reader will learn something worth knowing. Show Less
LibraryThing member 4hounds
Enjoyable read. I liked his writing style and was completely blown away by his ability to research this stuff! And very intimidated by his math skills :)
LibraryThing member queenoftheshelf
Popular web cartoonist Randall Munroe tackles seemingly ridiculous questions with semi-serious scientific answers, interspersed with gentle humor and his signature cartoon characters. Simultaneously hilarious and fascinating, Munroe manages to introduce a broad variety of topics in a very engaging,
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though-provoking, and easily digestible format that leaves you longing for more. Anyone Grade 7 and above will marvel at the creativity, although they might need a science teacher to help talk them through the concepts. Show Less
LibraryThing member silentq
I've been a long time fan of xkcd and subscribed to the What If? blog feed when it started up. This book collects some of the best posts from the blog and adds 50% new material. I still giggled madly over ones that I'd read before and was fascinated by the mix of facts and wry humour in the new
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ones. I love that it's got a list of references in the back. :-) I'm still amazed by how evocative line drawings can be. The wierd and worrying questions from the inbox interludes are awesome too, though some of them had me itching for pen and paper because I could see how you could answer them (they were too easy for the blog). I like how some questions get answers that take a 90 degree turn from where you expect them to go. Show Less
LibraryThing member bhutton
Perfect use of the medium in translating this from the web to a physical book.
LibraryThing member albertgoldfain
Wonderfully absurd and illuminating. Shows how fragile our current equilibrium actually is, with many of the scenarios ending up in catastrophe. Well beyond the scope of Mythbusters and with all of the wit the author packs into xkcd.
LibraryThing member hblanchard
Munroe takes absurd questions and researches and treats them with dead seriousness. The result is pure gold. Despite the absurd questions, this book demonstrates much about thinking an reasoning, while actually having the goal - and succeeding - in being quite funny. If you are a fan of Munroe's
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comic, xkcd, then you will automatically love this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member R3dH00d
An amusing book that, ultimately, explores the axiom "There are no stupid questions." In fact, there are plenty of stupid questions, but [[Randall Munroe]] treats most of them with enough respect to explain what makes tune so stupid. Along the way, he also provides you with several cocktail
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parties' worth of useless but interesting factoids. The humor of his answers is furthered by his "trademarked" stick figure drawings. Show Less
LibraryThing member jms001
For the budding physicist…or for the child that asks absurd questions about the world.
Randall Munroe has selected a number of funny yet quite entertaining questions from his site xkcd to answer in this wonderfully entertaining book. As a science teacher myself, I jumped at the funny yet
I really loved Munroe's wit and humor as he attempts to answer some of life's toughest questions. It's written in a way that's extremely accessible to those of us who think scientific principles just don't mesh with their brain. It's got pictures for those visual learners out there. And for those of you that finish and want more to read, you can still visit his site.
Definitely recommend for any science lovers out there. Or question lovers.
Randall Munroe has selected a number of funny yet quite entertaining questions from his site xkcd to answer in this wonderfully entertaining book. As a science teacher myself, I jumped at the funny yet
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interesting explanations that Munroe has given us. I now know what would happen to the Earth if it suddenly stopped spinning. I know what would happen if I were to throw a baseball at the speed of light. And I know what would happen if the world's oceans were to drain onto Mars. It really is truly fascinating.I really loved Munroe's wit and humor as he attempts to answer some of life's toughest questions. It's written in a way that's extremely accessible to those of us who think scientific principles just don't mesh with their brain. It's got pictures for those visual learners out there. And for those of you that finish and want more to read, you can still visit his site.
Definitely recommend for any science lovers out there. Or question lovers.
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LibraryThing member zhoud2005
Ultimate book for geeks.
LibraryThing member shabacus
This book is proof that the spirit of scientific inquiry can be applied to any topic, and what's more, done with a sense of humor. The world is a wide and wonderful place, and Munroe's ability to get at the core of a question--and present facts and data around it--only enhances the wonder.
LibraryThing member debnance
Look closely at the adjectives in the title:
Absurd. Yes, truly absurd. The questions posed in this book are truly absurd.
Here’s one: How quickly would the oceans drain if a portal was made at the deepest spot in the ocean?
Another: How many Lego blocks would it take to build a bridge able to
Oh, just one more: From what height would you need to drop a steak for it to be cooked when it hit the ground?
Serious. Yes, these are seriously scientific answers.
Scientific jargon. Mathematical formulas. And clever cartoons.
You need to read this book. Trust me. It’s fantastic.
Absurd. Yes, truly absurd. The questions posed in this book are truly absurd.
Here’s one: How quickly would the oceans drain if a portal was made at the deepest spot in the ocean?
Another: How many Lego blocks would it take to build a bridge able to
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carry traffic from London to New York?Oh, just one more: From what height would you need to drop a steak for it to be cooked when it hit the ground?
Serious. Yes, these are seriously scientific answers.
Scientific jargon. Mathematical formulas. And clever cartoons.
You need to read this book. Trust me. It’s fantastic.
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Subjects
Awards
Green Mountain Book Award (Nominee — 2017)
AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books (Commended — 2016)
The A.V. Club best books (2014)
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (Selection — Nonfiction — 2016)
Time Magazine's Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2014)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Non-Fiction — 2014)
Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults (Nonfiction)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — Nonfiction — 2014)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2014-09-02
Physical description
xii, 304 p.; 19.6 cm
ISBN
9781848549562
Local notes
Omslag: Randall Munroe
Omslaget viser en Tyrannosaurus Rex der bliver sænket ned fra en kran
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Side 3: Then the 92nd little pig built a house out of depleted uranium. And the wolf was like, "Dude!"
Side 39: Derek Lowe (kendt fra "In The Pipeline" bloggen).
Side 39: However, if you did this experiment from a safe distance, you might survive.
Side 40: There's no material safety sheet for astatine. If there were, it would just be the word "NO" scrawled over and over again in charred blood."
Side 41: The radiation level would be incredibly high. Given that it takes a few hundred milliseconds to blink, you would literally get a lethal dose of radiation in the blink of an eye.
Side 61: Reference til "The World without Us".
Side 80: Apricity
Side 86: Joe Biden
Side 102: kort version af Den Lille Prins. A wealthy child demanding that a plane crash survivor draw him pictures, then critiquing his drawing style. -- Mallory Ortberg
Side 131: If you lost your DNA, you would instantly be about a third of a pound lighter. I do not recommend this strategy. There are easier ways to lose a third of a pound, including: - Taking off your shirt - Peeing - Cutting your hair (if you have very long hair) - Donating blood, but putting a kink in the IV once they drain 150 ml and refusing to let them take any more - Holding a 3-foot-diameter balloon full of helium - Removing your fingers."
Side 140: While Venus's surface is awful, its upper atmosphere is surprisingly Earthlike. At 55 kilometers, a human could survive with an oxygene mask and a protective wetsuit; the air is room temperature and the pressure is similar to that on Earth mountains. You would need the wetsuit, though, to protect you from the sulfuric acid.
Side 140: The acid's no fun, but it turns out the area right above the clouds is an great environment for an airplane, as long as it has no exposed metal to be corroded away by the sulfuric acid. And is capable of flight in constant category-5-hurricane-level winds, which is another thing I forgot to mention earlier.
Side 141: I have never seen the Icarus story as a lesson about the limitations of humans. I see it as a lesson about the limitations of wax as an adhesive.
Side 175: ln(x)^e Gad vide hvad den afledede er?
Side 190: Dr Spector, the Hobart and William Smith Colleges physicist who asked me this question, told me his rule of thumb for estimating supernova-related numbers: however big you think supernovae are, they're bigger than that.
Side 293: Unicode snowman = & #x 2603;
Omslaget viser en Tyrannosaurus Rex der bliver sænket ned fra en kran
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Side 3: Then the 92nd little pig built a house out of depleted uranium. And the wolf was like, "Dude!"
Side 39: Derek Lowe (kendt fra "In The Pipeline" bloggen).
Side 39: However, if you did this experiment from a safe distance, you might survive.
Side 40: There's no material safety sheet for astatine. If there were, it would just be the word "NO" scrawled over and over again in charred blood."
Side 41: The radiation level would be incredibly high. Given that it takes a few hundred milliseconds to blink, you would literally get a lethal dose of radiation in the blink of an eye.
Side 61: Reference til "The World without Us".
Side 80: Apricity
Side 86: Joe Biden
Side 102: kort version af Den Lille Prins. A wealthy child demanding that a plane crash survivor draw him pictures, then critiquing his drawing style. -- Mallory Ortberg
Side 131: If you lost your DNA, you would instantly be about a third of a pound lighter. I do not recommend this strategy. There are easier ways to lose a third of a pound, including: - Taking off your shirt - Peeing - Cutting your hair (if you have very long hair) - Donating blood, but putting a kink in the IV once they drain 150 ml and refusing to let them take any more - Holding a 3-foot-diameter balloon full of helium - Removing your fingers."
Side 140: While Venus's surface is awful, its upper atmosphere is surprisingly Earthlike. At 55 kilometers, a human could survive with an oxygene mask and a protective wetsuit; the air is room temperature and the pressure is similar to that on Earth mountains. You would need the wetsuit, though, to protect you from the sulfuric acid.
Side 140: The acid's no fun, but it turns out the area right above the clouds is an great environment for an airplane, as long as it has no exposed metal to be corroded away by the sulfuric acid. And is capable of flight in constant category-5-hurricane-level winds, which is another thing I forgot to mention earlier.
Side 141: I have never seen the Icarus story as a lesson about the limitations of humans. I see it as a lesson about the limitations of wax as an adhesive.
Side 175: ln(x)^e Gad vide hvad den afledede er?
Side 190: Dr Spector, the Hobart and William Smith Colleges physicist who asked me this question, told me his rule of thumb for estimating supernova-related numbers: however big you think supernovae are, they're bigger than that.
Side 293: Unicode snowman = & #x 2603;
Other editions
Similar in this library
Series
Pages
xii; 304
DDC/MDS
| 500 |