Name: Comics that ask "what if?"
Uploaded: 2014-05-08T14:57:50Z
Duration: 9 min 16 s
Description: Web cartoonist Randall Munroe answers simple what-if questions ("what if you hit a baseball moving at the speed of light?") using math, physics, logic and deadpan humor. In this charming talk, a reader's question about Google's data warehouse leads Munroe down a circuitous path to a hilariously over-detailed answer — in which, shhh, you might actually learn something.

Randall Munroe: Comics that ask "what if?"

Comics that ask "what if?"

Web cartoonist Randall Munroe answers simple what-if questions ("what if you hit a baseball moving at the speed of light?") using math, physics, logic and deadpan humor. In this charming talk, a reader's question about Google's data warehouse leads Munroe down a circuitous path to a hilariously over-detailed answer — in which, shhh, you might actually learn something.

Math and science can transform hypothetical, even absurd questions into vivid, often hilarious insights about the world. One calculation imagines a baseball thrown at 90 percent the speed of light producing a city-destroying explosion. By following playful curiosity and real data, even secretive topics like Google's data centers can be approached logically. Sometimes, the pursuit itself is rewarding, revealing both the power and the limits of logical inquiry.