---
{"type":"item","title":"What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions","listId":74905,"itemKey":152,"position":15,"visibleItemTotal":20,"canonicalUrl":"https://listium.com/@BestGifts/74905/gift-ideas-for-18-year-old-boys/152/what-if-serious-scientific-answers-to-absurd-hypothetical-questions","listUrl":"https://listium.com/@BestGifts/74905/gift-ideas-for-18-year-old-boys","listTitle":"Gift Ideas for 18 year old boys","creator":{"id":"BestGifts","name":"Rubel","url":"https://listium.com/@BestGifts"},"stats":{"views":476,"likes":0,"followers":0},"category":"shopping / gifts","publishedAt":"2022-09-23T05:14:35.788Z","updatedAt":"2022-09-23T05:14:35.788Z","fields":[{"id":0,"name":"Product Model Name","type":"PrimaryText"},{"id":23,"name":"Brand Name","type":"Selection","multi":false},{"id":27,"name":"Used Material","type":"Selection","multi":true},{"id":3,"name":"Image","type":"Image"},{"id":22,"name":"Item Weight","type":"Selection","multi":false},{"id":4,"name":"Price","type":"Number","format":"currency"},{"id":5,"name":"Link to Buy","type":"URL"},{"id":6,"name":"Product details","type":"Text","format":"long"},{"id":11,"name":"Amazon Star Ratings","type":"Number","format":"decimal"}]}
---

# What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

From [Gift Ideas for 18 year old boys](https://listium.com/@BestGifts/74905/gift-ideas-for-18-year-old-boys)  
By [Rubel (@BestGifts)](https://listium.com/@BestGifts)

List stats: 476 views · 0 likes · 0 followers  
Published 23 September 2022 · Updated 23 September 2022

Category: shopping / gifts

- Brand Name: Dey Street Books
- Used Material: Hardcover
- Image: ![Image](https://img.listium.com/images/width=800,height=800,fit=scale-down,format=webp/l/cjt0qv3vhd6gp9h8upgr.jpg)
- Item Weight: 2.04 pounds
- Price: $14.70
- Link to Buy: [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544272994/?](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544272994/?tag=listium03-20)
- Product details: From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe’s iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have a large and passionate following. Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions. What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 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? 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 signature xkcd comics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. The book features new and never-before-answered questions, along with updated and expanded versions of the most popular answers from the xkcd website. What If? will be required reading for xkcd fans and anyone who loves to ponder the hypothetical.
- Amazon Star Ratings: 4.70