Comics that ask "what if?"

Comics that ask "what if?" | Randall Munroe

Рет қаралды 1,045,751

10 жыл бұрын

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.
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Пікірлер: 573

@TQuast 10 жыл бұрын

Randall Munroe: Cartoonist. Also, you know, ex-Nasa roboticist

@LordFokas 5 жыл бұрын

Who learned more about orbital mechanics playing KSP than hanging out at NASA.

@timothymclean 5 жыл бұрын

@@LordFokas To be fair, most people learn more about orbital mechanics playing KSP than anywhere else.

@federicoislab 4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, that ex made me think he was old.

@leif1075 4 жыл бұрын

@@timothymclean What is KSP?

@timothymclean 4 жыл бұрын

@@leif1075 Kerbal Space Program. It's a game that Randall Munroe has made a few comics about, including one where he attributes most of his understanding of orbital mechanics to the game.

@Fungamerplays 7 жыл бұрын

This guy is an internet legend

@saulbradford2777 7 жыл бұрын

Fungamerplays yeah

@ChandravijayAgrawal 6 жыл бұрын

yes

@jimmythewig3354 5 жыл бұрын

I agree. Though I didn't realise who it was until the image of the cartoon came up...

@PreferredCustomer 5 жыл бұрын

I love this haughty dipshit.

@conansmith5164 4 жыл бұрын

He really is

@stenoch 5 жыл бұрын

"If people had wheels and could fly, how would we differentiate them from airlines?" When it stops flying, and is sitting on the ground on its wheels, go up to it and ask it, "Are you a person or an airplane?" If it answers, either way, odds are it's a person. If it ignores your question and starts vomiting luggage, it's probably an airplane. Hope that helps.

@roguishpaladin 4 жыл бұрын

There's enough text-to-voice apps that would allow you to have an airplane state that it is human, though, and a plane is not guaranteed to have luggage upon it. Nope, it'd have to be something more directly related to the definition of a plane.

@vibaj16 Жыл бұрын

@@roguishpaladin but have you ever seen a person vomit luggage?

@himmelsdemon Жыл бұрын

Ah, the modified Harkness test.

@torn2867 Жыл бұрын

Urgent

@rayfish4941 Жыл бұрын

@@roguishpaladin Or more related to the definition of a human, which is Mr. Munroe's point I think.

@harrisonfackrell 5 жыл бұрын

Having never seen Munroe's face before, I feel a little bit jarred being forced to think of him as anything other than Cueball from XKCD.

@John_the_Paul 4 жыл бұрын

I imagined him as black hat

@LunarLaker 14 күн бұрын

"oh no, he's hot"

@siddyrock 9 жыл бұрын

“Cartoonist”? Educator, rocket scientist, inspiration, take your pick, but xkcd is hardly a cartoon - it’s a work of art! I’ve never since seen stick figures with more emotion or personality than his :p

@seanwhitehall4652 4 жыл бұрын

Cartoons are art...

@Aquila009 4 жыл бұрын

Not as educational... but if you like emotional stick figures, look up Alan Becker on youtube.

@Slutuppnu 9 жыл бұрын

The king of nerds. Only Munroe would have the idea to compare Google's data with the last glacial maximum.

@Macatho 8 жыл бұрын

+Slutuppnu Indeed, like that gives people more information :)

@jakew2897 8 жыл бұрын

But what other physical object on Earth even compares to the punch cards? Unless he were to compare it to some other hypothetical mass, its pretty much the only thing :p

@Macatho 8 жыл бұрын

jake W Without googling it, tell me how much information a punch card contains? No? I rest my case.

@jakew2897 8 жыл бұрын

Maximilian Wicén Presumably not very much considering the gargantuan size of Randall's punch card pile. I'm not sure if I'm understanding the point you're trying to make though

@Dakotaidk 7 жыл бұрын

Maximilian Wicén it's in the video 80 characters, 10 bytes

@SH4GN457Y 7 жыл бұрын

Did Randall just get nerd-sniped by Google?

@jordananderson2728 5 жыл бұрын

Ayup. They Randall'ed Randall.

@entropy7999 5 жыл бұрын

did you just reference Randall to Randall about Randall?

@jordananderson2728 5 жыл бұрын

@@entropy7999 it would appear so, yes. Now, back to my infinite resistors....

@felixvelariusbos 4 жыл бұрын

@@tf2excession My favorite "What-If" is still "What if you had a mole (unit of measurement) of moles (small furry critters)"?

@EricRovelo 4 жыл бұрын

@@jordananderson2728 I totally forgot about that!

@projectkilimanjaro223 9 жыл бұрын

You gotta admit, Google's got style

@actsrv9 8 жыл бұрын

Google's got multiple copies of everyone's style, in RAM, on disk and on tape :D

@sebc7758 6 жыл бұрын

hear hear

@jobansand 5 жыл бұрын

Put you at 666 likes. So proud

@rudrasingh6354 5 жыл бұрын

Harry Potter Reference?

@CasualGraph 9 жыл бұрын

My theory: one of the Google staff, an xkcd fan of course, saw the what if article and recognized the accuracy of the estimate. He then showed it around to his coworkers, fascinated, and it was then that they crafted their response. Indeed, their "no comment" says volumes, namely that he was close enough to the answer that they felt a need to dissuade him from such ponderings.

@rudrasingh6354 5 жыл бұрын

@@nickelchlorine2753 What have you put in my brain

@taitano12 5 жыл бұрын

@@rudrasingh6354 Truth... He put truth in your brain. Google is run by data addicted technowizards with the money to live a life of perpetual D&D LARPING, complete with thrones, lizards genetically modified into dragons and secretive meetings in arcane temples in remote forests and forgotten wildernesses.

@roguishpaladin 4 жыл бұрын

@@taitano12 You know, you'd think that, but the best LARPing in the nation so far as I can tell is up in the New England area, not in the Bay Area. If they're LARPing, they're not building out games here.

@ChipNRat Жыл бұрын

@@roguishpaladin The "Board game capitol" of the world isn't in new england, nor in the bay area, but often in the relatively unexplored areas. For a long time, it was in Salt Lake City because of the weird contradictory ideas, combined with a lack of funding to hash them out.

@anandsharma7430 Жыл бұрын

You're right. "No comment" seems to lean more towards "we can neither confirm nor deny" than just denying any information. "Neither confirm nor deny" is usually understood to be "you got it right"

@dimitristavropoulos5458 6 жыл бұрын

I thought Randall was black and white, with a very slim body, slim hands and legs and no face. The more you know

@bzqp2 4 жыл бұрын

Slenderman basically

@SoulOfTheReaver 4 жыл бұрын

No no, you're thinking of CGPGrey

@hasanmuhammad6651 3 жыл бұрын

@@SoulOfTheReaver you'd need glasses too

@kookwater456 2 жыл бұрын

Growing up, I saw a lot of xkcd comics printed on my university’s Mathematic department’s notice boards. Since then I have always liked xkcd. But hearing Randall Munroe going through his creative-thought process and depth research, I appreciate it so much more. This is beyond comics. This is philosophy.

@MartinsOkoi 8 жыл бұрын

This is Randall Monroe?? He's so smart. I read his book, What If, last year and enjoyed every bit of it. Big ups

@smalls1485 6 жыл бұрын

Have you read his comics, they're really good.

@entropy7999 5 жыл бұрын

I got some news for you @martins divine okoi in September his new book is being released called 'how to' and I believe it is a form of sequal that was teased in one chapter of what if? and I really hope it is. same style, more things. looks fun.

@nettart4924 4 жыл бұрын

Martins Divine Okoi same

@vibaj16 Жыл бұрын

@@entropy7999 have you heard that What If 2 exists now?

@entropy7999 Жыл бұрын

@@vibaj16 Already read it! Was a very fun read, though I did enjoy the first one a tad more.

@michaelzheng5250 4 жыл бұрын

Just bought his new book “How to”, just like “What if” I have so far been enjoying it

@hibak8196 4 жыл бұрын

I'm reading How to as well, and it was my first introduction to him believe it or not. I'm loving it so much!

@piguyalamode164 4 жыл бұрын

Don't forget Thing Explainer

@kieransaul2711 8 жыл бұрын

Google is both scary and awesome at the same time.

@caseyhamm8822 7 жыл бұрын

Why can't I imagine this guy being THE GUY behind xkcd?

@jayjem8295 7 жыл бұрын

SAME

@ithuvanian 7 жыл бұрын

He doesn't look geeky enough.

@caseyhamm8822 7 жыл бұрын

ithuvanian I think that might be it...

@igrewold 7 жыл бұрын

Because you are thinking funny people can not be intelligent. When it is actually the other way around.

@jayjem8295 7 жыл бұрын

igrewold no, I just don't picture him like that, I thought of him as younger

@rageagainstmyhairline5574 4 жыл бұрын

You can tell he was nervous but he did a good job. Excellent payoff.

@brachypelmasmith 5 жыл бұрын

kids, i remember when what-if was a weekly series. ANd then a monthly. ANd then a yearly

@costley51 4 жыл бұрын

:'(

@ludicrous_gibbs 4 жыл бұрын

oh you shush. he's ONE guy! he's been busy with his books, and touring. buy them! plenty of content contained within to provide the fix you're craving. sadly, i can't figure out how to get the mouse-over text to work, though. some of his stuff is going to need some advanced e-ink development before it fully translates well to print format.

@definesigint2823 5 жыл бұрын

0:30 - "...some calculations..." (Randall pauses so we can read the comic, then: Rising compulsion to mouse over for title text, barely resisted)

@appa609 5 жыл бұрын

Kirk Schafer it's a what if. Doesn't have it.

@SuperGarryGamer 5 жыл бұрын

What ifs do have mouse-over text

@appa609 5 жыл бұрын

@@SuperGarryGamer Oh. Woah!

@endermeap6488 4 жыл бұрын

I love how this is just a less organized version of the what if book

@devonopdendries7722 4 жыл бұрын

This was a treat to see pop up in my suggested videos. I've been a fan of XKCD for years and really hope he revives the "What If" portion of his website again. Really cool to actually see the person behind those amazing comics!

@t.b.m.5718 7 жыл бұрын

I like how he just basically reverse engineer google without them getting mad.

@Legiondude 10 жыл бұрын

Google is such a troll

@BenPyman 10 жыл бұрын

Google was nerd sniping.

@Apollys 8 жыл бұрын

+Ben Pyman Ahahah!

@danshakulawrence983 7 жыл бұрын

AquaPhoenix Productions tru

@danshakulawrence983 7 жыл бұрын

AquaPhoenix Productions but how cool is getting physical, exclusive content directly from Google's staff?

@lilynaughton6972 7 жыл бұрын

Yep.

@RealHealthyMinute 7 жыл бұрын

Those Google peeps trolled him pretty good...

@alt8791 4 жыл бұрын

They should have included a link to rickroll him, given the amount of times xkcd mentions that.

@CreightonMiller 10 жыл бұрын

I shouldn't have watched this. It's messing with the xkcd narrative voice that I had going.

@Faith276 5 жыл бұрын

Creighton Miller TRUE

@illianderninebees 5 жыл бұрын

I'm not able to read XKCD the same way I always had...

@Alaerick1 5 жыл бұрын

Creighton Miller My version is the Will Wheaton what if audio book

@Anvilshock 5 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad that for me it ISN'T Wheaton.

@cheesybutler9544 4 жыл бұрын

same

@ehtuanK 10 жыл бұрын

I almost awaiting him to talk about awkward combinations of parenthesis and emoticons...

@bounana Жыл бұрын

I can't believe noone laughed at his pizza delivery joke XDD

@socearo 10 жыл бұрын

I thought he was banned from TED

@Laughing_Chinaman 10 жыл бұрын

why would he be banned?

@DiogoVKersting 10 жыл бұрын

Zevti that was funny

@SH4GN457Y 10 жыл бұрын

I'm a bit upset that he didn't open with that.

@gwadpot 9 жыл бұрын

155UR 5H4NK0V17CH Yeah...dang.

@Fralexion 9 жыл бұрын

Zevti The solution, of course, is to use brackets: Linux (or BSD :]) would...

@froge4300 Жыл бұрын

"i dont really like math for its own sake" this is SO TRUE even linear algebra can be fun if youre doing it in the context of graphics programming less so if youre doing it in school 💀💀💀

@Apollys 8 жыл бұрын

URGENT: If people had wheels and could fly, how could we distinguish them from airplanes? LOL

@chasey4634 8 жыл бұрын

+Apollys I KNOW IT! People wear clothes! ^^

@squabungus7310 8 жыл бұрын

Best question

@Apollys 8 жыл бұрын

Chasey Not all people :)

@maxharrison3733 7 жыл бұрын

Airplanes generate their own thrust, which must be enough to take off on their own.

@danieldriscoll2155 6 жыл бұрын

Planes are made of metal, people are not

@supranormal_ 10 жыл бұрын

So that's how Randall looks like

@angel-ig 4 жыл бұрын

He's not a stickman and he's got a face

@josephdaniel1999 10 жыл бұрын

This might be one of the best TED talks of the year for me.

@mattw7949 Жыл бұрын

"... so this is impractical. " Love this guy.

@CerealLover56 10 жыл бұрын

I absolutely love Randall Munroe.

@ProcessLoveCandy Ай бұрын

That was so brilliant. The best TED Talk I've seen in a while.

@shikamarunara8920 5 жыл бұрын

I immediately added this to my favourites around 1:37 after i had my mind blown a couple of times...paused ...writing this and i cant wait to watch the rest. ...i leave a like most of the times let alone i have subscribed a long time ago...but this video is really something and i hope i can learn something that i can use as a game designer one day

@andy4an 10 жыл бұрын

love this guy. his what-if series is stellar, and I eagerly anticipate each tuesday's submission.

@Zimpfnis 5 жыл бұрын

I wish it were each Tuesday. Feels like once a quarter nowadays

@proot. 5 жыл бұрын

@@Zimpfnis The rate is decreasing greatly. There were 4 in 2017, only 2 in 2018.

@matthewcupelli5901 8 жыл бұрын

I HAVE HIS BOOK AND JUST FOUND THIS TALK IM EXCITED

@chenyuming5404 6 жыл бұрын

Matthew Cupelli i have both of them

@davidmartin5145 Жыл бұрын

I’ve been reading XKCD for over a decade, how is it possible I didn’t know this video existed?

@kaykap7 9 жыл бұрын

I am totally in love with him! Reading his book makes me realize we should be BFFs.

@Sanguimaru 4 жыл бұрын

I was immediately confused when I saw him, because I was expecting a hat.

@thizzicality 8 жыл бұрын

the first example was best, awesome video!

@manuelfriend4060 5 ай бұрын

Hahaaaa. Whichever employee is responsible for those punch cards is a legend.

@joeyespinosa8324 10 жыл бұрын

I love this guy's website!! Been following it for a while now.

@lordoftheducks332 4 жыл бұрын

I read this guy’s book, and it’s honestly great. I saw the name and instantly clicked

@pietrocelano23 7 жыл бұрын

HE DIDNT ASK THE (...:)) VS (...:)!

@onee 6 жыл бұрын

Pietro Celano He didn't want to get banned.

@azufendusgarendum6583 4 жыл бұрын

lmao

@erenoz2910 4 жыл бұрын

plot twist: google has like 5 people who memorised all its information and they just type them out in real time

@derianvandalsen 4 жыл бұрын

That would amount to about a similar storage capacity, if fully used...

@TroyVan6654 5 жыл бұрын

2:20 No HBP because the batter didn't try to avoid getting hit. It would be a strike, because some (disintegrated) part of the ball would pass through the strike zone.

@roguishpaladin 4 жыл бұрын

But "If the ball is outside the strike zone when it touches the batter, it shall be called a ball if he makes no attempt to avoid being touched." Since this is also true, then...I guess it's a ball and a strike? I think the doctoring the ball rule might come into effect, though. By the mere act of throwing, the pitcher is intentionally damaging the ball and is thus ejected.

@TroyVan6654 4 жыл бұрын

@@roguishpaladin My interpretation is that if any part of the ball is in the strike zone, the ball is considered in the strike zone. This does raise a question of what happens if a ball touches the batter while some part of it is in the strike zone, but the point of touching is outside the strike zone. The strict letter of the definition of a strike in this situation - "[t]ouches the batter in flight in the strike zone" - suggests that the point of touching must be in the strike zone to considered a strike. In this case, if it is not a hit by pitch, it would be neither a ball nor a strike. Another question arises when a pitch enters and exits the strike zone, and then hits the batter. It would be a strike under clause (b) of the definition of a strike ("[i]s not struck at, if any part of the ball passes through any part of the strike zone"); but the ball is not in the strike zone when it hit the batter, and rule 5.05(b)(2) says that's a ball.

@TroyVan6654 4 жыл бұрын

@@roguishpaladin Also, the "doctoring the ball" rules - 6.02(c)(1) through (5) - don't apply to throwing the ball.

@mmmk1616 4 жыл бұрын

Love his stuff, love this talk!

@lost_boy Жыл бұрын

Easily the best ted talk out there.

@LIOTBs 3 ай бұрын

This is one of my all time favorites!

@Gliitch88 4 жыл бұрын

Randall is simply the best

@eternity9691 4 жыл бұрын

He's amazing !!!! Getting the book just now. Sending so much love nerd royalty !!!! 🌸♥️🌸♥️🌸♥️🌸🌠🌸🌠🌸🌠🌸🌠🌸🌸🌠

@Forriedude 4 жыл бұрын

I read XKCD three times a week! Didn't know you had a TED talk.

@alt8791 4 жыл бұрын

xkcd is the only way I bear having religion class. Thank you so much Randall!!!

@straef1042 5 жыл бұрын

Loved his book. Same goes for this video.

@JamieMartin 10 жыл бұрын

Nice talk. Always entertaining.

@loe7365 4 жыл бұрын

Damn I'm glad KZfaq recommended me this, I love the book and know every question n answer

@kaushaltimilsina7727 5 жыл бұрын

Such an incredible person! Wow! Making education as - learning and not just knowing something and inspiring and motivating the excitement to learn together: this is education. Wow!

@amodgawade4323 4 жыл бұрын

i just pre-ordered his book "How To" omg i can't wait for it to ship. this guy is awesome!! I bought his other two books as well, and they are lit.

@amodgawade4323 4 жыл бұрын

GUYS THE BOOK JUST REACHED Oh my gosh ! ! IM SO HAPPYYYY

@kaladinstormblessed5308 10 жыл бұрын

Randall Munroe is one of the two people online who I would donate money to.

@Blue_Lan_blue 8 жыл бұрын

He should get a ig Nobel prize!!!

@playgroundchooser 4 жыл бұрын

I've been reading XKCD for years now... and I've never seen Randall's face! 😄

@TheCubicalGuy 4 жыл бұрын

I've known about xkcd for years, own all three of his written books (or his first three), but this is the first time I've ever seen him or heard his voice. I never realized that I'd be able to, but I'm kinda sad it's in a video of answers I already know.

@Felipemelazzi 4 жыл бұрын

I must have watched this 4 times in my life

@CrySmore Жыл бұрын

Glad to see he is no longer banned from TED after the “Emoticons in parentheses” incident.

@kemcolian2001 2 ай бұрын

@definitelynotninaa 7 жыл бұрын

I LOVE this book!

@mrsynical8725 Жыл бұрын

Thank you Randall

@jaxnean2663 7 жыл бұрын

Totally love his book

@vull8375 4 жыл бұрын

There he is, the man, the myth, the legend.

@salmaN-yv4zb 8 жыл бұрын

A great mind! So glad I bought his book What if

@emmarounsville1479 5 жыл бұрын

RANDALL MUNROE??? THIS GUY'S MY HERO!!!!

@melkerart1793 5 жыл бұрын

The world would be a colder place without guys like Randall Munroe.

@jarodwilfrid8505 9 жыл бұрын

Wasn't he banned? He must have sneaked in...

@heatherrockwell9012 8 жыл бұрын

Yeah. But he never got his question answered....

@jarodwilfrid8505 8 жыл бұрын

Which was? (I can't remember:-)

@nooblangpoo 7 жыл бұрын

Jarod Obando I guess they'd let him in after a promise of no graphs.

@proot. 5 жыл бұрын

@@jarodwilfrid8505 How to end a parenthetical with emoticons.

@angel-ig 4 жыл бұрын

@@proot. He said "... (I can't remember :) " (so he knew it :))

@martijnvanweele6204 5 жыл бұрын

I love that Randall Munroe and Henry Reich actually teamed up at one point...

@giornogiovanna2614 4 жыл бұрын

thank you youtube recomendations !!!!

@woojinyoon107 5 жыл бұрын

His book, What If, is unique and awesome! That's why I like him!!

@traisjames2 4 жыл бұрын

Wish he still did these.

@KarnKaul 10 жыл бұрын

This was an unexpected surprise! xkcd was literally the first webcomic I'd discovered!

@fredpim11 3 жыл бұрын

merci infiniment pour ce travail de traduction

@TheMrCarnification 10 жыл бұрын

Amazing.

@blastocat4966 6 жыл бұрын

The book was amazing

@Krommandant 5 жыл бұрын

"No comment" made me laugh out loud. Good one Google!

@DAVIDSDIEGO 10 жыл бұрын

Great insight from the XKCD guy.

@thehater4053 7 жыл бұрын

This guy is my motivational hero

@wabdih 10 жыл бұрын

This talk was fun

@SanderDemeester 10 жыл бұрын

oh wow, he is amazing

@jaredloveless 4 жыл бұрын

great work! a smidge more of an introduction would be nice.

@robmckennie4203 4 жыл бұрын

"every week" lmfaooo

@dawnlee7720 5 жыл бұрын

Ahahahaha!! I like Google's sense of humour. X-D And this dude's too.

@marlenemcgovern808 10 жыл бұрын

Brilliant and witty Ted Talk. Mahalo for sharing! Do Drones deliver pies to Google? Please dont send me a card : )

@craftychrystal7913 4 жыл бұрын

On that last question.... Make it 'wings' instead of 'wheels' and --- Size ( even really big people are smaller than the smallest plane), speed (presumably not fast enough to start losing articles of clothing, but fast enough to get lift), cruising height above ground (the need to breath is a real limiter) lack of ability to show up on radar (unless they can pick up birds too then refer back to size), length of runway needed to land and take off ( if we had vertical capability, they would notice the lack of rotors on top), and so on... Or we could look at it from the way it was asked....They could tell at a glance that you had no registration numbers printed on your side and there for were not registered as a plane. Probably had no submitted flight plan, and therefore would probably end up crashing into other unregistered, flyers. Then the lack of burning and exploding on impact would probably be a dead give-away. Thank you very much! LOL