Matt Murrie works to live in a world where people prefer finding solutions to complaining about problems, where people seek answers through questions, and curiosity is treated like the natural resource it is. Endlessly curious in and fascinated by the spectacular diversity of people and places that make up the universe, he's taught for over a decade across five countries and three continents. He's a returned Peace Corps volunteer who has written six books with his father, Steve Murrie. Matt also taught English literature, writing, and entrepreneurship at Westminster College and blogged on the Huffington Post. Today, he's a social entrepreneur and "edupreneur" working full-time as the Executive Director and Chief Curiosity Curator for What If...? 360.
Andrew R McHugh breaks down complexity into understandable and useable chunks. He is currently a Masters student at Carnegie Mellon University, studying human-computer interaction. Previously, he co-founded the What If...? Conference, What If...? 360's predecessor. Andrew left in 2014 and has been designing and developing user experiences ever since. Actively curious about many things, he has a background in design, philosophy, technology and people, mathematics, and physics. During his undergraduate years, Andrew built a bikeshare program, led a movement for systematic sustainability change, and researched brain-computer interfaces, and digital divide/differentiation problems. In his free time, he tinkers on his next project and listens to music louder than necessary.
Murrie and McHugh--creators of the What If...? conference, which
aims to inspire curiosity, critical thinking, and innovation by
asking hypothetical, even ridiculous-seeming questions--present a
book designed to do the same. Divided into sections titled History,
People, Stuff, and Nature, the book features more than 80
questions, such as "What if Poland joined Germany in 1939?" "What
if you could move objects with your brain?" and "What if humans had
elephant noses?" Profiles of experts, relevant sidebars, and kids'
answers accompany explorations of each question, while occasional
activities range from creating an idea notebook to crafting a map
of the Earth that mixes up continents and borders. The serious
treatment of sometimes silly ideas drives home the notion that
there really is no such thing as a stupid question. Ages 8-12.
--Publishers Weekly
What if a book could inspire curiosity? Almost 100 questions, all
beginning with "What if" and divided into history, people, nature,
and "stuff" categories, encourage readers to consider the world
around them. Each question is followed by a short explanation of
the topic with related questions and areas to pursue. For instance,
questions like "What if computers were conscious?" and its
accompanying information on artificial intelligence show readers
how a thought could lead to reality. Other questions--such as "What
if dinosaurs didn't go extinct?" "What if humans had elephant
noses?" and "What if you had no possessions?"--guide children to
see the impact of events and possibilities within the impossible or
within their own lives. At the heart of each question is a call to
creativity, knowledge, entrepreneurship, or activism. Most of the
questions also include activities to help kids explore the topic in
more depth, as well as biographical and technical profiles.
Concluding "curious resources" extend the possibilities in this
blend of philosophy, science, and the arts.-- Angela
Leeper--Booklist online "March 13, 2016"
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