what if? (Mini book Review)

This blog has been dormant for a while, mostly because the members were busy with many things, but let me break the ice once again. In the intervening two months, I have read a couple of non-fiction books, mostly based on science, and today I want to speak about one particular book that I enjoyed reading a lot. The book is called 'what if?' with the tag line 'Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions' by Randall Munroe, the creator of the highly successful webcomic xkcd.

Is String Theory Correct?

The following is a very old blog post that was posted in an old blog. The post was written on 2nd of January, 2012. I am posting it unedited.

Book Review: Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman

Can an extraordinary scientist be at the same time a really funny man? Can he be a trickster of the highest degree? Well, after reading Richard P. Feynman’s series of biographical anecdotes titled “Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman”, I am sure everyone will agree to it. Feynman was one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the 20^th century who got the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965. Apart from being an excellent physicist, Feynman was at the same time an extraordinary teacher and a passionate human being. Feynman had a charm and wit that made the world seem so real, so easy. His rugged looks and an extraordinary sense of self-confidence made him a natural with anybody to talk to. This book is a collection of written our taped conversations that Feynman had with his long-time friend Ralph Leighton. The style of the book is not at all autobiographical, but we do see a trait of an autobiography in it.