(Honestly, this book has more frequent flier miles than any three of you put together.) Through all of this, I carried my precious ARC around, waiting for the time when I'd be able to spare the brainpower to read it. I had prep work for the yearly Worldbuilders fundraiser. taunt people on the internet.Īnd it worked. So much of a fan that when I heard about this book, I went so far as to abuse my power as an author to get an Advance Reading Copy of the book, so that I could enjoy its deliciousness sooner. 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. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, studded with memorable cartoons and infographics. 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. How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British empire? If we hooked turbines to people exercising in gyms, how much power could we produce? How dangerous is it, really, to be in a swimming pool in a thunderstorm? If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide, how long would you survive?

' He liked these questions so much that he started up What If. '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. Every now and then, Munroe would get emails asking him to arbitrate a science debate. It now has 600,000 to a million page hits daily. 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.

Randall munroe author