Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Listen and read as much as you want
  • Over 400 000+ titles
  • Bestsellers in 10+ Indian languages
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • Easy to cancel anytime
Subscribe now
Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

What If? 10th Anniversary Edition: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

7 Ratings

4.9

Duration
7H 28min
Language
English
Format
Category

Non-Fiction

A special tenth anniversary edition of the million-copy bestseller What If? from the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd—revised and annotated with answers to important questions you never thought to ask.

Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions: What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at ninety 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? What if everyone only had one soulmate? What would happen if the moon went away?

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 his signature xkcd comics. (They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion.)

In celebration of ten years of unusual insight, Randall Munroe has revised his classic blockbuster to ask what if? times ten. The result is ten times the adventure of scientific inquiry. This special anniversary edition is far more than a book for geeks, What If? explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent listener will enjoy and feel much smarter for having listened to.

© 2024 Blackstone Publishing (Audiobook): 9798874865467

Release date

Audiobook: 26 November 2024

Others also enjoyed ...

  1. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry Neil deGrasse Tyson
  2. The World According to Physics Jim Al-Khalili
  3. What We Cannot Know: Explorations at the Edge of Knowledge Marcus du Sautoy
  4. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman Richard P. Feynman
  5. How High We Go in the Dark Sequoia Nagamatsu
  6. Nothing to See Here Kevin Wilson
  7. “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character Richard P. Feynman
  8. Bad Feminist: Essays Roxane Gay
  9. The Universe in Your Hand: A Journey Through Space, Time and Beyond Christophe Galfard
  10. A Brief History of Black Holes: And why nearly everything you know about them is wrong Dr Becky Smethurst
  11. Human Universe Professor Brian Cox
  12. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Yuval Noah Harari
  13. Pandora’s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong Paul A. Offit
  14. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow Yuval Noah Harari
  15. Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
  16. Norse Mythology Neil Gaiman
  17. The Song of Achilles: A Novel Madeline Miller
  18. Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life Peter Godfrey-Smith
  19. The Origins of Everything in 100 Pages (More or Less) David Bercovici
  20. The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization Peter Zeihan
  21. This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor Adam Kay
  22. A (Very) Short History of Life On Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters Henry Gee
  23. James: Winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Percival Everett
  24. How to Kill Your Family Bella Mackie
  25. The Dutch House: A Novel Ann Patchett
  26. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Mark Manson
  27. The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Novel Milan Kundera
  28. Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World David Epstein
  29. Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World Chris Riddell
  30. The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee
  31. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The 42nd Anniversary Edition of Douglas Adams's International Bestseller Douglas Adams
  32. The Mountain is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery Brianna Wiest
  33. Life on Earth David Attenborough
  34. Foundation Isaac Asimov
  35. The Fellowship of the Ring J. R. R. Tolkien
  36. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Douglas Adams
  37. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup John Carreyrou
  38. Noise Daniel Kahneman
  39. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty Patrick Radden Keefe
  40. Sentient: What Animals Reveal About Our Senses Jackie Higgins
  41. The Knowledge Illusion: The myth of individual thought and the power of collective wisdom Philip Fernbach
  42. Remarkably Bright Creatures Shelby Van Pelt
  43. Good Habits, Bad Habits: How to Make Positive Changes That Stick Wendy Wood