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January 2018: Science
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What If?: Serious Scientific Answers To Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe - 5 Stars
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Kristin
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Jan 04, 2018 12:19PM
This was a pleasant, beginner read. (I say that last bit because I myself am just getting back into reading, not as a negative towards the book.) Munroe takes crazy questions that have been submitted to his website and gives them honest, scientific answers in a way that keeps the reader fully engaged. Questions such as “Is it possible to build a jetpack using downward-firing machine guns?” and “If someone’s DNA suddenly vanished, how long would that person last?” were a couple of my favorites. His “Weird (and Worrying)” question sections were very entertaining as well. Munroe is also a cartoonist and I appreciated him illustrating his answers, especially with the questions I deemed boring. With that being said, though some questions didn’t appeal to me as much as others, his humor and depth kept me interested. He explained things so thoroughly that he answered not only the question itself but explained the ramifications of the answer as well. Sometimes he would even expand on a question once he answered it for the submitter.
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I read this a couple of years ago and thought it was very informative. I also think it's a great book to gift when you don't know what else to get someone.
Kristin wrote: "This was a pleasant, beginner read. (I say that last bit because I myself am just getting back into reading, not as a negative towards the book.) Munroe takes crazy questions that have been submitt..."Those questions you posed had me snorting my water, they are so doggone funny!
Olivermagnus wrote: "I read this a couple of years ago and thought it was very informative. I also think it's a great book to gift when you don't know what else to get someone."I thought the same about the gift idea!
Karin wrote: "Kristin wrote: "This was a pleasant, beginner read. (I say that last bit because I myself am just getting back into reading, not as a negative towards the book.) Munroe takes crazy questions that h..."Those weren’t even the silliest ones either. It was a very fun book! One from the “Weird (and Worrying)” section that stuck with me was an anonymous poster asking how many houses are burned every year in the US and how can you increase that number by a certain percentage (like 15%)? His doodle for that was simple, yet funny.
My husband read this one and really liked it. I remember him telling me about the "If the world suddenly stopped spinning, what would happen?" question. Very interesting, very amusing!
I loved this book, the mix of whimsy and serious answers. I stretched it over a very long time, reading a chapter at a time during moments of waiting.
That would have been a good idea but I got so wrapped up in it I just didn’t put it down.
I just realized that this one is included as a 'free' audible channel if you have prime. It's read by Wil Wheaton, so I guess I will listen to it and try to find a copy for the benefit of the illustrations.
I love Prime. I got it for free but didn’t notice the audible book! Illustrations were fantastic but only if you can find it free, otherwise just listen to it.
