Play Audiobook Sample
What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(0.00) - 0 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of What If? and How To answers more of the weirdest questions you never thought to ask
The millions of people around the world who read and loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, built a billion-story building, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on a geyser as it erupted? Okay, if you insist.
Before you go on a cosmic road trip, feed the residents of New York City to a T. rex, or fill every church with bananas, be sure to consult this practical guide for impractical ideas. Unfazed by absurdity, Munroe consults the latest research on everything from swing-set physics to airliner catapult–design to answer his readers’ questions, clearly and concisely. As he consistently demonstrates, you can learn a lot from examining how the world might work in very specific extreme circumstances.
Download and start listening now!
"“Delightful. . . Randall Munroe has made a career out of sharing his joy in science and engineering. . . . This book and its predecessor inspire us to believe that, even in a vast and mysterious universe, there’s a lot we can figure out with nothing but a sharp pencil, come basic scientific knowledge and a vivid imagination."
— The Wall Street Journal
Quotes
-
“Entertaining…combines Munroe’s true research and truly funny prose.”
— Washington Post -
“A delight for science geeks with a penchant for oddball thought experiments.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
The questions throughout What If? 2 are equal parts brilliant, gross, and wonderfully absurd and the answers are thorough, deeply researched, and great fun. . . . Science isn’t easy, but in Munroe’s capable hands, it surely can be fun.
— TIME -
Picking this book up now and then enlivens life by letting you briefly consider the effects of, say, putting an indestructible 20-meter-wide glass tube all the way down to the deepest part of the ocean. Plus, Munroe’s illustrations turn stick figures and flowcharts into the stuff of existential hilarity.
— NPR -
Entertaining. . . . combines Munroe’s true research and truly funny prose with his signature stick-figure illustrations.
— The Washington Post -
Perfect if you enjoy it when stuffy figures of authority crack a smile. Or if you like it when black holes form. That happens a lot.
— Newsweek -
"One of my favorite books of the year.
— Tim Harford, Financial Times -
It's an absolute delight! It's the coolest way to learn how the world actually works.
— Hank Green (on the Dear Hank & John podcast) -
A delight for science geeks with a penchant for oddball thought experiments.
— KirkusPraise for Randall Munroe and What If? -
Randall Munroe is a national treasure.
— Phil Plait -
Extreme astrophysics and indecipherable chemistry have rarely been this clearly explained or this consistently hilarious.
— Entertainment Weekly “10 Best Nonfiction Books of the Year” -
Consistently fascinating and entertaining...Munroe leavens the hard science with whimsical touches... An illuminating handbook of methods of reasoning.
— Wall Street Journal -
It’s fun to watch as Munroe tackles each question and examines every possible complication with nerdy and methodical aplomb.... The delightfully demented What If? is the most fun you can have with math and science, short of becoming your own evil genius.
— Boston Globe
Awards
-
A New York Times bestseller
What If? 2 Listener Reviews
Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
About Randall Munroe
Randall Munroe is the author of the popular webcomic xkcd and the science question-and-answer blog What If? Randall was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, and grew up outside Richmond. After graduating with a degree in physics from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, he got a job building robots at NASA’s Langley Research Center. In 2006 he left NASA to draw comics on the Internet full time, supporting himself through the sale of xkcd t-shirts, prints, posters, and books. He likes candlelight dinners and long walks on the beach—very long walks. Lots of people say they like long walks on the beach, but then they get out on the beach, and after just an hour or two, they say they’re getting tired. Bring a tent. He lives in Massachusetts.
About Wil Wheaton
Wil Wheaton is an award–winning actor, voice artist, author, and audiobook narrator. Among his movie credits are Stand by Me and Toy Soldiers. His many television credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Big Bang Theory, and Generator Rex. As a narrator of more than a dozen audiobooks, he has twice won the prestigious Audie Award, twice been a finalist for the Audie, and earned an Earphones Award from AudioFile magazine.