Speculative science.

• Author: Krayewski, Ed
• Position: Briefly Noted - Randall Munroe - Brief article

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Randall Munroe, the NASA roboticist cure artist behind the webcomic xkcd, has a weekly column (what-if.xkcd.com) answering reader's "What if?." questions about science and technology.

With the clever Munroe as your guide, even the most seemingly absurd speculations lead to valuable insights. We learn why solar cars don't work via an explanation of why cows don't photosynthesize, for example. He also plays with pop perceptions of tech fears--he's sure a robot revolution wouldn't get anywhere because most don't work accurately for long and would likely end up stuck against walls.

Munroe's...