Review: How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems

How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems by Randall Munroe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The amount of energy it takes to power a heat pump capable of freezing the Kansas River at Topeka is 87 gigawatts. This little factoid stood out to me. One, because it's utterly ridiculous, but also because I think it fully encapsulates what you'll find in this book. Facts framed by the ludicrous. Trying to be smart and funny at the same time. Being successful 93.7% of the time.

Before reading this book, ask yourself one question: Am I a uber nerd? Your enjoyment of this book will largely revolve around the answer to that question. There are plenty of jokes and facts in this novel, but you'll only find it funny or useful if you have a slightly obscure taste. For shits and giggles, Earth's gravity is a downward acceleration at the speed of 9.807 m/s squared. Fun fact, but not particularly useful in day-to-day life unless your job is launching stuff into orbit. Thus your desire typically must be to know this kind of thing just for the sake of knowing it. The humor is also of a similar flair of ridiculous scenarios that are simply ridiculous just because it's funny that way.

There's a section of the book that compares the size of redwood trees to the Saturn 5 rocket. Then, pretty much organically, leads into a scenario of what would happen if you attached a couple of booster rockets to the side and tried to launch the tree into orbit. If this is your brand of humor, then this book should be at the top of your list.

Did I find it funny? Absofuckinglutely.

The writing is strong. Everything is put together nicely. Not terribly long or useful. By the end, you'll probably not learn "How To" do anything. But it's funny and interesting. A book that gets by almost entirely by charm and head of knowledge. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, even if all the facts I learned are pretty useless for an amateur critic.

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