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Pre-order Releases Nov 17, 2026

Paperback

Do Aliens Speak Physics?: And Other Questions about Science and the Nature of Reality

by Daniel Whiteson and Andy Warner

From $13.67 / copy at 25+ copies; lower per-copy prices at higher quantities (see Volume pricing) As low as $11.01 at 1,000+

272 pages W. W. Norton & Company ISBN 9781324134312
Do Aliens Speak Physics?: And Other Questions about Science and the Nature of Reality
Ships on release · Nov 17 Releases Tuesday, November 17, 2026. Pre-order now: your copies ship on release and usually arrive around the release date.

Volume pricing Applied automatically in your cart

About the book

Do Aliens Speak Physics?

When the long-awaited day dawns and the aliens finally arrive on Earth, they might eat us and destroy the planet—or, just maybe, they might share the secrets of the Universe with us. When that time comes, will we be able to cross the communication barrier to beg for our lives? If the aliens do hold out those precious jewels of knowledge, will we even be able to grasp them?

It’s long been assumed, in both science fiction and real scientific efforts to communicate with hypothetical aliens, that math and physics could serve as a universal language connecting us with extraterrestrial minds. But as humanity draws ever closer to the possibility of an interplanetary future and expands its agelong search for alien life and intelligence, beloved author and physicist Daniel Whiteson and best-selling cartoonist Andy Warner wonder if we should be so sure. In Do Aliens Speak Physics?, they take readers on a wild adventure to the edges of space-time, science, and the imagination to investigate whether an alien–human mind meld could ever be achieved.

Deploying cutting-edge physics, deep philosophical insight, and plenty of cartoons, Whiteson and Warner explode what we thought we knew about talking to our cosmic neighbors—and even science itself—by asking and answering questions both lighthearted and profound. Would aliens even need science to build the technology that brings them to Earth? Is it possible that they could experience the Universe very differently from us—tasting electrons and smelling photons? Would the extraterrestrials have to perceive “electrons” and “photons” at all, or are these particles only convenient concepts for our human minds? At bottom, does physics reveal fundamental truths about the Universe, as we so often believe, or might it in fact tell us more about ourselves?

As ultimately mind-altering as it is hilarious, Do Aliens Speak Physics? will leave you with a view of the Universe—and humanity—that’s stranger and more marvelous than before.



Details

Publisher
W. W. Norton & Company
Authors
Daniel Whiteson, Andy Warner
Format
Paperback
Release date
Nov 17, 2026
ISBN-13
9781324134312
ISBN-10
1324134313
Pages
272
Carton quantity
36 copies

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Buying for a group

Do Aliens Speak Physics? for groups: pricing

Volume pricing applies automatically in your cart. No codes, no account needed.

CopiesPrice per copyYou save
25 – 99 $13.67 28% off list
100 – 249 $12.15 36% off list
250 – 499 $11.77 38% off list
500 – 999 $11.39 40% off list
1,000+ $11.01 42% off list

Where can I buy 100 copies of Do Aliens Speak Physics??

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What does Do Aliens Speak Physics? cost when I buy for a group?

Volume pricing applies automatically in your cart, with no code needed. Price per copy: 25 to 99 copies, $13.67 (28% off list); 100 to 249 copies, $12.15 (36% off list); 250 to 499 copies, $11.77 (38% off list); 500 to 999 copies, $11.39 (40% off list); 1,000+ copies, $11.01 (42% off list). Need a different quantity, or a quote to forward for approval? Ask a specialist and we will confirm pricing before you pay.

How fast can I get copies of Do Aliens Speak Physics??

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