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What If?

Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
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Jan 18, 2017TEENREVIEWCREW rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
“What If?” is a book about analyzing and estimating values to answer hypothetical questions. It is quite silly and fun as many of these questions are extremely absurd. For example one question that Randall Munroe attempted to solve in the book was “What would have happened if a baseball was thrown at the speed of light?” These types of absurd hypothetical questions were great to read about as they showed how physicists may go about trying to find what factors were likely to affect a result and also showed how in extreme cases physics behaves in bizarre ways. Overall this book was goofy and enjoyable while still slightly thought provoking. - @CookieMonster of The Hamilton Public Library's Teen Review Board Have you ever had a really dumb question, but wanted a serious answer? Fear no more, because Munroe, a former astrophysicist at NASA, is here, bringing his expertise in science, mathematics to good use: by answering questions like “what would happen if everyone on earth jumped at the same time?” and “If every person on Earth aimed a laser pointer at the Moon at the same time, would it change color?” Munroe formulates his answers with a mixture of hard science and lighthearted humor, in a way that makes even the most complex of mathematical theories easy to understand. Unfortunately, more often than not, the answers result in blowing up the Earth or wiping out humanity. Filled with smart answers to (kind of) stupid questions, What If? is odd, thoughtful and absolutely hilarious. 5/5 Stars. - @Apis of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library This is a very interesting, and educating, book. I love how this book gives you legitimate answers to questions that may seem absurd and irrelevant. This novel answers a lot of crazy questions, that one may not be willing to ask out loud. It teaches the reader cool facts that are not regularly known. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone with an absurd-seeming question they would like answered, or anyone looking to learn some cool information. I would rate this novel 3.5/5 - @potterhead of the Teen Review Board of the Hamilton Public Library