What if?

Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

by Randall Munroe

303 pages

English language

Published Aug. 7, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

ISBN:: 978-0-544-27299-6
OCLC Number:: 872620028
Goodreads:: 21413662

View on OpenLibrary

View on Inventaire

(28 reviews)

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 …

14 editions

Doc Kinne reviewed What if? by Randall Munroe

Review of 'What if?' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Monroe's book answers that old question, "Is there such a thing as a stupid question?" It turns out the answer is "yes." But that doesn't lessen the enjoyment of the book!

It also is a book that graphically (!) shows that it's not always obvious what happens to something if it is taken to a physical extreme. The results are fascinating!

Monroe is writing "what if? Two: Science Boogaloo." And that's a good thing

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III reviewed What if? by Randall Munroe

Review of 'What If?' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

If the general doom of the world is getting you down, you might need a pick-me-up book. I highly suggest #WhatIf by Randall Munroe, the cartoonist behind @xkcd. If you read #TheMartian by @andyweirauthor or watched @MythBusters, you may already know some version of the glorious comedy of intelligent people having fun with math and science. Answering questions that only the strange ask, Munroe tackles how high a steak would need to fall before it was cooked, what would happen if everyone in the world went to the same spot and jumped, and if you could use guns to make a jetpack. Pick this up to laugh and stretch your imagination.