How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems from Randall Munroe of xkcd

How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems is by Randall Munroe, the creator of the webcomic xkcd. It is presented as a self-help guide and is described as deliberately entertaining and useless.

Key details

• Author: Randall Munroe
• From the creator of the webcomic xkcd
• Described as a self-help guide with impractical advice
• Also references the million-selling What If? and Thing Explainer

Synopsis

The book is framed around the idea that, for any task, there is a right way, a wrong way, and an approach so spectacularly bad that nobody would attempt it. How To focuses on that third option, offering advice that is intentionally highly impractical.

Examples mentioned include guidance for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole, with the emphasis on absurd, scientific-sounding solutions rather than conventional instruction.