Randall Munroe: Fictional Science, not Science Fiction
The cover art for the most recent of Munroe's books, How To
Randall Munroe is a man of many talents. He's a writer, illustrator, cartoonist, and former roboticist and physicist with NASA. While all of those things deserve articles of their own, I'm here to talk to you about his three books: What If?, Thing Explainer, and How To.
But first a bit about him from his "about" page:
I'm just this guy, you know? I'm a CNU graduate with a degree in physics. Before starting xkcd, I worked on robots at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. As of June 2007 I live in Massachusetts. In my spare time I climb things, open strange doors, and go to goth clubs dressed as a frat guy so I can stand around and look terribly uncomfortable. At frat parties I do the same thing, but the other way around.
An example of Munroe's style of illustrating/writing Source: https://xkcd.com/736/
What's unique about Munroe's work, is that it's the inverse of Science Fiction: Fictional Science. Instead of creating the world first and science second when writing (that is, the background/story first, and then facts such as science and/or magic second), he makes sure that science comes first, and then whatever ridiculous world is being covered second.
For example, his book What If? explores what might happen if you were to drain the oceans and deposit the water on Mars, or if it is possible to launch every human into space, or even what would happen if the planet stopped spinning. These could all easily be the plots of Science Fiction books, but Munroe puts science and facts first to determine the (usually destructive, or hilarious, and sometimes both) outcome of the scenario, and whether it's even possible.
There's an odd hilarity in Munroe's works. Seeing these incredible scenarios unraveled by science is enjoyable, and often amusing. That, combined with Munroe's cold, witty humor, creates for excellent reads.
You can find his webcomic, xkcd, here, and buy one or all of his books here on amazon.
I love Randall Munroe! He hooks you in with an absurd and interesting premise, then brings you in more with math and science, before adding great writing that sets up each joke masterfully. This is a nice analysis on what makes Munroe's style unique compared to other authors.
ReplyDeleteRandell Munroe's style of Fictional Science looks very interesting and one I would have to check out. His whole personality is one that i would enjoy hanging around with. His "What If?" book will hopefully be bought and read soon.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great way to describe how great Randall Munroe's writing is. I have already read both What If? and How to multiple times, going back to my favorite absurd questions about science. I also bought Thing Explainer, which I'm going to read soon.
ReplyDeleteI like the premise of answering absurd scientific questions, and I will hopefully read one of these soon. Also, I think it would actually be a good idea to drain the oceans and deposit the water on mars in order to prevent the dolphins from raising the sea levels, but that may not be feasible.
ReplyDeleteYES! Thank you William. Randall Munroe is hilarious and intelligent and manages to make those one cohesive thing, in exploring the ridiculous questions he gets from people. I am glad that you reminded me of his other books, because I have only had the pleasure of reading "What If?" (many times), and really want to read some more of his books.
ReplyDeleteI like the premise of the books that you have given. I'll have to try them soon!
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