What if audiobook

Steven Novella and friends will explain the tenets of skeptical thinking and debunk some of the biggest scientific myths, fallacies, and conspiracy theories - from anti-vaccines to homeopathy, UFO sightings to N-rays. You'll learn the difference between science and pseudoscience, essential critical thinking skills, ways to discuss conspiracy theories with that crazy co-worker of yours, and how to combat sloppy reasoning, bad arguments, and superstitious thinking.

By: Steven Novella , and others. We all know that without water we couldn't survive, and that sometimes a cup of coffee or a glass of wine feels just as vital. But do we really understand how much we rely on liquids, or the destructive power they hold?

Set over the course of a flight from London to San Francisco, Liquid Rules offers listeners a fascinating tour of these formless substances, told through the language of molecules, droplets, heartbeats, and ocean waves. Medina - an award-winning scientist, New York Times best-selling author, and leading advocate for brain research - delivers 24 exciting lectures that probe the origins of consciousness, memory, emotion, attention, intelligence, and beyond.

By: John Medina , and others. Here at last is a history of England that is designed to entertain as well as inform and that will delight the armchair traveler, the tourist, or just about anyone interested in history. No people have engendered quite so much acclaim or earned so much censure as the English: extolled as the Athenians of modern times, yet hammered for their self-satisfaction and hypocrisy.

But their history has been a spectacular one. By: Lacey Baldwin Smith. His subjects include the largely forgotten female pioneer who introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain, the infamous knockout drops, the first antibiotic, which saved countless lives, the first antipsychotic, which helped empty public mental hospitals, Viagra, statins, and the new frontier of monoclonal antibodies.

This is a deep, wide-ranging, and wildly entertaining book. By: Thomas Hager. Every day we work hard to motivate ourselves, the people we live with, the people who work for and do business with us. In this way much of what we do can be defined as being motivators. From the boardroom to the living room, our role as motivators is complex, and the more we try to motivate partners and children, friends and coworkers, the clearer it becomes that the story of motivation is far more intricate and fascinating than we've assumed.

By: Dan Ariely. Based on groundbreaking research, these 24 lectures address dynamics and customs related to working, socializing, dining, marriage and family - all the areas necessary to help you function with a greater level of respect and effectiveness wherever you go. You'll also encounter practical tips and crucial context for greeting, interacting with, and even managing people from other parts of the world.

By: David Livermore , and others. The dead talk - to the right listener. They can tell us all about themselves: where they came from, how they lived, how they died, and, of course, who killed them.

Forensic scientists can unlock the mysteries of the past and help serve justice using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene, or the faintest of human traces. By: Val McDermid. How the Earth Works takes you on an astonishing journey through time and space. In 48 lectures, you will look at what went into making our planet - from the big bang, to the formation of the solar system, to the subsequent evolution of Earth.

By: Michael E. Wysession , and others. Much of the layperson's knowledge of the brain is predicated on a lack of understanding about this mysterious organ. To start building a more straightforward, accurate understanding of current breakthroughs in neuroscience, you have to start by shattering popular brain myths. By: The Great Courses , and others.

Every age and social strata has its bad eggs, rule-breakers, and nose-thumbers. As acclaimed popular historian and author of How to Be a Victorian Ruth Goodman reveals in her madcap chronicle, Elizabethan England was particularly rank with troublemakers, from snooty needlers who took aim with a cutting "thee" to lowbrow drunkards with revolting table manners.

Goodman draws on advice manuals, court cases, and sermons to offer this colorfully crude portrait of offenses most foul. By: Ruth Goodman. Wondering whether eating powdered mummies might be just the thing to cure your ills? Tempted by those vintage ads suggesting you wear radioactive underpants for virility?

Ever considered drilling a hole in your head to deal with those pesky headaches? Probably not. But for thousands of years, people have done things like this - and things that make radioactive underpants seem downright sensible!

In their hit podcast, Sawbones , Sydnee and Justin McElroy breakdown the weird and wonderful way we got to modern healthcare. And some of the terrifying detours along the way.

By: Justin McElroy , and others. We are familiar with maps that outline all 50 states. And we are also familiar with the idea that the United States is an "empire", exercising power around the world. But what about the actual territories - the islands, atolls, and archipelagos - this country has governed and inhabited? In crackling, fast-paced prose, he reveals forgotten episodes that cast American history in a new light. By: Daniel Immerwahr.

From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd comes this hilarious and informative book of answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. Millions of people visit xkcd. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have a large and passionate following. Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions.

What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent of the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there were a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last?

In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by signature xkcd comics.

They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. The book features new and never-before-answered questions, along with updated and expanded versions of the most popular answers from the xkcd website.

What If? While you might listen in order to be entertained, there are also a host of works intended to be purely educational. We chose the best science titles on this list for the fact that they are both. What I discovered was that the author is creative and funny enough to keep even a non-scientific person engage.

I would highly recommend this book for anybody ages 10 and up. What if we only had a single soul mate. What would the odds be that we actually met that person? The next assumption is that we will recognize our soul mate when we see him or her. We can then go on and calculate some preliminary odds based on how many people we tend to look at in our lifetime etc. The answer, in the end, is still just that the odds are very, very small that we will run into our soulmate unless external forces are at work.

Other examples include what would happen if the earth suddenly stopped spinning, but the atmosphere kept moving? What would happen if you had a periodic table with blocks that were actually made up of the elements? Which character in the Star Wars movies has the most power Is it the Emperor? The author does not hide the fact that he has a wicked sense of humor and that he likes it when things burn, or better explode.

Indeed, a good proportion of the answers in this book involves the death of a few or a lot of people. For a science nerd like myself, this was an excellent and funny book. The humor and the fact that you learn lots of facts that are perfect conversation starters especially if you are a scientist , makes this a thoroughly enjoyable read.

I'd been a fan of xkcd for years, but had somehow missed that Munroe had a "serious sort of answers to silly science questions" blog Read by Wil Wheaton almost sold me without knowing anything else I'm not sure I would have liked Ready Player One as much if not for Wil's rendition, and his performances of John Scalzi's books, especially Redshirts, made me a permanent super-fan. Plus I love science stuff, absurd stuff, absurd science stuff, and xkcd.

How could I possibly go wrong? The first listen, I walked around laughing out loud to the point I began annoying my housemates. Until I played them the "what if we pointed a laser at the moon The author is brilliant in his exploration of the ridiculous and hilarious in his presentation. I enjoyed this book but took off one star from the rating because, at times, it was a bit too absurd and requires considerable mental effort to pay attention to.

Narrator: Will Wheaton is great! Wonderful narration pacing, inflection, etc and fun characterization of a book that you wouldn't expect to require that. The humor is accentuated by the performance and makes for a delightful listen. By clicking "Notify Me" you consent to receiving electronic marketing communications from Audiobooks. You will be able to unsubscribe at any time.

Sign up Login. Remember Me. Forgot your password? Close Login. Forgot Password. Close Reset Password. Processing Please Don't Refresh the Page. Play Sample. Give as a Gift Send this book as a Gift! Book Rating Date: September Duration: 6 hours 38 minutes. Members Also Liked Similar Titles. Randall Munroe. Wil Wheaton. Blackstone Audio. Running Time.

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