If you need advice for the best way to move house, predict the weather or take a selfie, Randall Munroe, the creator of the webcomic xkcd, can’t help you.
But if you’re willing to get creative, Randall’s book How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems (£16.99, John Murray Press) will show you the worst ways to solve your problems, with some help from tennis star Serena Williams and astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield along the way.
In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, Randall talks to online assistant Sara Rigby about why the worst solution to a problem can be the most interesting.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:
- Bill Bryson: What should we know about how our bodies work?
- Jim Al-Khalili: Why should we care about science and scientists?
- Dr Tilly Blyth: How has art influenced science?
- Gretchen McCulloch: How has the internet affected how we communicate?
- Richard Dawkins: Can we live in a world without religion?
- Are Generation Z our only hope for the future? – John Higgs
Authors
Sara is the online assistant at BBC Science Focus. She has an MPhys in mathematical physics and loves all things space, dinosaurs and dogs.
