26 Books like What If?

How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog

by Chad Orzel • 2009

Quantum physics is baffling. The best way to understand it: talk it over with a dog.

3.91

3k+

⚛️ Quantum Mechanics 📚 Popular Physics 🧠 Copenhagen Interpretation 🤯 Quantum Weirdness 📖 Narrative Science

How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog Summary

How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog 94%

Quantum physics is baffling. The best way to understand it: talk it over with a dog.

by Chad Orzel 2009

3.91

3k+ ratings

⚛️ Quantum Mechanics 📚 Popular Physics 🧠 Copenhagen Interpretation 🤯 Quantum Weirdness 📖 Narrative Science

The Physics of Superheroes

by James Kakalios • 2006

Superman's leap, Gwen Stacy's fall: real physics hides inside comic book panels.

3.92

3k+

🧪 Pop Science 🎬 Pop-Culture Science 📚 Comic Book Science 📖 Physics Education ⚛️ Conceptual Physics

The Physics of Superheroes 94%

Superman's leap, Gwen Stacy's fall: real physics hides inside comic book panels.

by James Kakalios 2006

3.92

3k+ ratings

🧪 Pop Science 🎬 Pop-Culture Science 📚 Comic Book Science 📖 Physics Education ⚛️ Conceptual Physics

Humble Pi

by Matt Parker • 2019

Math errors have sunk ships and crashed economies. A mathematician-comedian explains why.

4.10

23k+

Humble Pi 93%

Math errors have sunk ships and crashed economies. A mathematician-comedian explains why.

by Matt Parker 2019

4.10

23k+ ratings

How to Dunk a Doughnut

by Len Fisher • 2002

A physicist unpacks the hidden forces inside a doughnut dunk, a boiled egg, and a boomerang.

3.34

277

🧪 Everyday Science 🍞 Food Science 🔬 Applied Physics 🤔 Scientific Curiosity 🧠 Critical Thinking

How to Dunk a Doughnut 92%

A physicist unpacks the hidden forces inside a doughnut dunk, a boiled egg, and a boomerang.

by Len Fisher 2002

3.34

277 ratings

🧪 Everyday Science 🍞 Food Science 🔬 Applied Physics 🤔 Scientific Curiosity 🧠 Critical Thinking

Penguin Celebrations - The Science of Everyday Life

by Jay Ingram • 1989

What walking, blinking, and bees reveal about physics, evolution, and your own brain.

3.76

230

Penguin Celebrations - The Science of Everyday Life Summary

Penguin Celebrations - The Science of Everyday Life 92%

What walking, blinking, and bees reveal about physics, evolution, and your own brain.

by Jay Ingram 1989

3.76

230 ratings

Soonish

by Kelly Weinersmith • 2017

Ten technologies that could reshape everything, and why each one might backfire spectacularly.

3.94

6k+

🚀 Emerging Technologies 🔮 Future Studies 😂 Science Humor 🛰️ Space Exploration ⚠️ Technological Risks

Soonish 92%

Ten technologies that could reshape everything, and why each one might backfire spectacularly.

by Kelly Weinersmith 2017

3.94

6k+ ratings

🚀 Emerging Technologies 🔮 Future Studies 😂 Science Humor 🛰️ Space Exploration ⚠️ Technological Risks

Mathematics and Humor

by John Allen Paulos • 1980

The mind reads a joke like a mathematician reads an equation: hunting for structure.

3.40

159

🧮 Mathematical Humor 📖 Philosophy Of Humor 🧠 Humor Psychology 🗣️ Linguistic Play 🎭 Incongruity Theory

Mathematics and Humor 92%

The mind reads a joke like a mathematician reads an equation: hunting for structure.

by John Allen Paulos 1980

3.40

159 ratings

🧮 Mathematical Humor 📖 Philosophy Of Humor 🧠 Humor Psychology 🗣️ Linguistic Play 🎭 Incongruity Theory

Guesstimation

by Lawrence Weinstein • 2008

How to answer impossible questions with a napkin, a pen, and a few simple guesses.

3.75

432

📝 Back-Of-The-Envelope Math ⚛️ Everyday Physics 🔢 Quantitative Reasoning 🧩 Problem-Solving Heuristics 🤔 Physical Intuition

Guesstimation 92%

How to answer impossible questions with a napkin, a pen, and a few simple guesses.

by Lawrence Weinstein 2008

3.75

432 ratings

📝 Back-Of-The-Envelope Math ⚛️ Everyday Physics 🔢 Quantitative Reasoning 🧩 Problem-Solving Heuristics 🤔 Physical Intuition

Physics of the Impossible

by Michio Kaku • 2008

Sci-fi's wildest tech, sorted by a physicist: what's coming this century, and what breaks reality.

4.09

42k+

⚛️ Theoretical Physics 🔮 Speculative Science 📖 Popular Physics 🔬 Quantum Physics 🤖 Future Technologies

Physics of the Impossible 92%

Sci-fi's wildest tech, sorted by a physicist: what's coming this century, and what breaks reality.

by Michio Kaku 2008

4.09

42k+ ratings

⚛️ Theoretical Physics 🔮 Speculative Science 📖 Popular Physics 🔬 Quantum Physics 🤖 Future Technologies

Antimatter

by Frank Close • 2009

Half the universe should be antimatter. That it vanished is physics' most persistent mystery.

4.04

1k+

🧲 Particle Physics 📜 History Of Science 💥 Matter And Energy 🌌 Cosmic Mysteries 🧪 Science Myths

Antimatter 91%

Half the universe should be antimatter. That it vanished is physics' most persistent mystery.

by Frank Close 2009

4.04

1k+ ratings

🧲 Particle Physics 📜 History Of Science 💥 Matter And Energy 🌌 Cosmic Mysteries 🧪 Science Myths

The Science of Star Wars

by Mark Brake • 2016

The real science of hyperspace, alien biology, and the Force: more surprising than Star Wars.

3.44

413

📘 Pop Science 🎬 Physics Of Sci-Fi 🚀 Space Science 🦠 Astrobiology 🪐 Exoplanet Science

The Science of Star Wars 91%

The real science of hyperspace, alien biology, and the Force: more surprising than Star Wars.

by Mark Brake 2016

3.44

413 ratings

📘 Pop Science 🎬 Physics Of Sci-Fi 🚀 Space Science 🦠 Astrobiology 🪐 Exoplanet Science

The Right Chemistry

by Joe Schwarcz • 2012

Why soap cleans, what killed Napoleon, and 106 other chemical mysteries of daily life.

3.84

🔬 Everyday Science 🍎 Food Chemistry 📚 Scientific Literacy 🕵️ Pseudoscience Debunking 📜 History Of Science

The Right Chemistry 91%

Why soap cleans, what killed Napoleon, and 106 other chemical mysteries of daily life.

by Joe Schwarcz 2012

3.84

79 ratings

🔬 Everyday Science 🍎 Food Chemistry 📚 Scientific Literacy 🕵️ Pseudoscience Debunking 📜 History Of Science

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

by Carlo Rovelli • 2014

Space bends. Time is an illusion. Seven short lessons on the universe as it actually is.

3.98

68k+

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics 91%

Space bends. Time is an illusion. Seven short lessons on the universe as it actually is.

by Carlo Rovelli 2014

3.98

68k+ ratings

How to Invent Everything

by Ryan North • 2018

Stranded in the past with nothing but your wits, and the flowchart says you're before 50,000 BCE.

4.14

6k+

🏛️ Civilization Building 🛠️ History Of Technology ⏳ Time Travel Conceit ⚙️ How Things Work 🧠 Rational Thinking

How to Invent Everything 91%

Stranded in the past with nothing but your wits, and the flowchart says you're before 50,000 BCE.

by Ryan North 2018

4.14

6k+ ratings

🏛️ Civilization Building 🛠️ History Of Technology ⏳ Time Travel Conceit ⚙️ How Things Work 🧠 Rational Thinking

How to Survive History

by Cody Cassidy • 2023

T. rex: 13 mph, you win. Pompeii: run north. The science of outliving history's deadliest days.

4.05

3k+

🧨 Historical Disasters 🧪 Survival Science ⚠️ Worst-Case Scenarios ⚛️ Applied Physics 🔬 Popular Science

How to Survive History 91%

T. rex: 13 mph, you win. Pompeii: run north. The science of outliving history's deadliest days.

by Cody Cassidy 2023

4.05

3k+ ratings

🧨 Historical Disasters 🧪 Survival Science ⚠️ Worst-Case Scenarios ⚛️ Applied Physics 🔬 Popular Science

Brief Answers to the Big Questions

by Stephen W. Hawking • 2018

Time travel might work, but the feedback loop of climate disaster probably kills us first.

4.26

89k+

🌌 Cosmology 🕳️ Black Holes ⚛️ Quantum Physics 🤖 Ai Ethics 🚀 Space Colonization

Brief Answers to the Big Questions Summary

Brief Answers to the Big Questions 91%

Time travel might work, but the feedback loop of climate disaster probably kills us first.

by Stephen W. Hawking 2018

4.26

89k+ ratings

🌌 Cosmology 🕳️ Black Holes ⚛️ Quantum Physics 🤖 Ai Ethics 🚀 Space Colonization

The Elephant in the Universe

by Govert Schilling • 2022

Eighty-four percent of matter is invisible. A century-long hunt has yet to catch it.

4.07

265

🌌 Cosmology ⚛️ Particle Physics 📜 History Of Science ❓ Scientific Mysteries 🔬 Experimental Physics

The Elephant in the Universe 91%

Eighty-four percent of matter is invisible. A century-long hunt has yet to catch it.

by Govert Schilling 2022

4.07

265 ratings

🌌 Cosmology ⚛️ Particle Physics 📜 History Of Science ❓ Scientific Mysteries 🔬 Experimental Physics

I Think, Therefore I Laugh

by John Allen Paulos • 1985

A mathematician's tour of logic's strangest corners, where every lesson arrives disguised as a joke.

3.48

245

🗣️ Philosophy Of Language 🔄 Logical Paradoxes 🔬 Philosophy Of Science 📝 Analytic Philosophy 📚 Popular Philosophy

I Think, Therefore I Laugh 91%

A mathematician's tour of logic's strangest corners, where every lesson arrives disguised as a joke.

by John Allen Paulos 1985

3.48

245 ratings

🗣️ Philosophy Of Language 🔄 Logical Paradoxes 🔬 Philosophy Of Science 📝 Analytic Philosophy 📚 Popular Philosophy

Bad Astronomy

by Philip Plait • 2002

From seasons to tides to falling stars: what you've gotten wrong about the night sky.

4.04

6k+

Bad Astronomy 91%

From seasons to tides to falling stars: what you've gotten wrong about the night sky.

by Philip Plait 2002

4.04

6k+ ratings

The God Particle

by Leon M. Lederman • 1993

All the universe's fundamental pieces are known but one: the particle responsible for mass.

4.15

4k+

⚛️ Particle Physics 📜 History Of Physics 🌊 Quantum Mechanics 📖 Popular Science 🔍 Scientific Discovery

The God Particle 91%

All the universe's fundamental pieces are known but one: the particle responsible for mass.

by Leon M. Lederman 1993

4.15

4k+ ratings

⚛️ Particle Physics 📜 History Of Physics 🌊 Quantum Mechanics 📖 Popular Science 🔍 Scientific Discovery

A Short History of Nearly Everything

by Bill Bryson • 2004

How the universe built itself from nothing, and the eccentric scientists who figured it out.

4.22

431k+

A Short History of Nearly Everything Summary

A Short History of Nearly Everything 91%

How the universe built itself from nothing, and the eccentric scientists who figured it out.

by Bill Bryson 2004

4.22

431k+ ratings

How to Predict Everything

by William Poundstone • 2019

The math that gives humanity 760 more years also explains why aliens never call.

3.19

☢️ Existential Risk 🧠 Bayesian Epistemology 🔭 Anthropic Reasoning 💻 Simulation Hypothesis 👽 Fermi Paradox

How to Predict Everything 91%

The math that gives humanity 760 more years also explains why aliens never call.

by William Poundstone 2019

3.19

68 ratings

☢️ Existential Risk 🧠 Bayesian Epistemology 🔭 Anthropic Reasoning 💻 Simulation Hypothesis 👽 Fermi Paradox

The Quantum Universe

by Brian Cox • 2011

A theory that defies common sense underlies transistors, lasers, and every atom in your body.

3.76

5k+

⚛️ Quantum Mechanics 📖 Popular Physics 💥 Particle Physics 〰️ Quantum Field Theory 🔬 Atomic Physics

The Quantum Universe 91%

A theory that defies common sense underlies transistors, lasers, and every atom in your body.

by Brian Cox 2011

3.76

5k+ ratings

⚛️ Quantum Mechanics 📖 Popular Physics 💥 Particle Physics 〰️ Quantum Field Theory 🔬 Atomic Physics

In a Flight of Starlings

by Giorgio Parisi • 2021

Starlings, spin glasses, and science's messy path: why simple rules create complex systems.

3.41

2k+

🧩 Complex Systems 🐦 Emergence 🦅 Collective Behavior 📝 Scientific Memoir ⚛️ Physics Essays

In a Flight of Starlings 91%

Starlings, spin glasses, and science's messy path: why simple rules create complex systems.

by Giorgio Parisi 2021

3.41

2k+ ratings

🧩 Complex Systems 🐦 Emergence 🦅 Collective Behavior 📝 Scientific Memoir ⚛️ Physics Essays

Hyperspace

by Michio Kaku • 1994

One idea unifies physics: add dimensions and the laws simplify. Why the cosmos may need ten.

4.15

24k+

🌀 Higher Dimensions 🧵 String Theory 🌌 Multiverse Theories 🔭 Speculative Cosmology 📜 History Of Physics

Hyperspace 91%

One idea unifies physics: add dimensions and the laws simplify. Why the cosmos may need ten.

by Michio Kaku 1994

4.15

24k+ ratings

🌀 Higher Dimensions 🧵 String Theory 🌌 Multiverse Theories 🔭 Speculative Cosmology 📜 History Of Physics

The God Equation

by Michio Kaku • 2021

Three forces unified. Gravity alone resists. The ten-dimensional theory that might finally crack it.

4.11

9k+

🧮 Theoretical Physics 📜 History Of Physics 🎻 String Theory ⚛️ Quantum Gravity 🔗 Unified Theories

The God Equation 91%

Three forces unified. Gravity alone resists. The ten-dimensional theory that might finally crack it.

by Michio Kaku 2021

4.11

9k+ ratings

🧮 Theoretical Physics 📜 History Of Physics 🎻 String Theory ⚛️ Quantum Gravity 🔗 Unified Theories

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