A trippy xkcd celebrates a book launch

September 3, 2014 • 5:13 am

Turtles all the way down!

Today’s xkcd, by Randall Munroe, celebrates the issuing of the author’s new book.  This is a screenshot, but if you click on it you will go to the site, and then begin scrolling up (or down; it varies among machines and browsers)—forever.  (Note: it doesn’t work with some browsers, but I’ve found that Firefox works fine. And remember that it’s a figurative and literal book launch.)

Screen Shot 2014-09-03 at 6.01.56 AM

Be sure, if you have time, to look at some of the funny panels, like this one:

Screen Shot 2014-09-03 at 7.10.38 AM

And keep going once the book-rocket is in space: you’ll eventually land in a Chopraverse!

Here’s the book, which came out yesterday. You can buy it on Amazon.

Screen Shot 2014-09-03 at 6.06.56 AM

 

24 thoughts on “A trippy xkcd celebrates a book launch”

      2. I suppose, in a twisted way, that makes sense…if it’s turtles all the way down, and we’re already starting with turtles, then you’d have to go up to get to the rest….

        b&

        1. Oh, I bet I know what it is. If you are using a Mac and you’ve told your computer to scroll what I call, the “normal way” which Apple deems unnatural because the opposite is called “natural”, it is going to be up. Otherwise, it is down. It probably depends how your computer is set up.

    3. I didn’t know how to use it at first and realized that it was a matter of scrolling inside the panel not pulling down. Dexterity! It works well in Chrome for me.

  6. “What If?”

    Addressing frivolous questions in a rigorous, analytical way is a great educational exercise. The essay that has a NASA scientist taking a look at Santa Claus makes me laugh every time I read it, and then there’s the Thermodynamics of Hell.

    1. Then you’d love What If? and would presumably get a similar kick out of his book — as that’s exactly what the site is about.

      What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light?

      …well, officially, you would be “hit by pitch” and eligible to advance to first base. Unfortunately, first base is the first of what’s certain to be many global examples of what might be referred to as “a rapidly expanding volume of superheated plasma.”

      b&

  7. Having spent five minutes scrolling fractally away from work I am now unable to conceptually use my scroll ball. That screwed my brain up.

    I have just bought two. One to keep and one to give away.

  8. Randall’s “What If?” Column has been a regular source of numerate entertainment for several years now.
    If you can sell a wobbly stack of turtles once, surely you can sell it twice?

  9. What a giggle !

    Now, I shall spend the rest o’ m’ lunchtime parked in my fire – engine red pickup, driver’s window down, shades over my eyeballs wearing that brownish outback hat and pointing my hairdryer at the speeders’ – by alongside the boulevard – stretch betwixt Campus and downtown — checking out how many of their vehicles … … actually slow down.

    For yet one more giggle this hour !
    Blue

  11. Is there a technical word for an addiction for buying books? I looked at Amazon, and found that I’ve already pre-ordered the Kindle version. On May 24. It’s being released today, so I’ve got something to look forward to.

    1. Not bibliophilia and not librophilia but likely a biblioholic or a bibliomanic … … ?!

      Just sayin’.
      Blue

    2. Is there a technical word for an addiction for buying books?

      “Normal”?
      For around here, anyway.
      Some of us fight our addictions. We lose, but we fight.

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