“This book will change the way we understand the kitchen,” says leading molecular gastronomist Ferran Adrià, of the 2,438-page, six-volume Modernist Cuisine that Nathan Myhrvold coauthored. The former Microsoft chief technology officer will discuss the science of cooking, from sous vide to the many uses of a centrifuge, tonight at 7:30 at Town Hall. And as of this morning, tickets ($5) were still available at brownpapertickets.com. If you want a preview, watch the fairly hilarious Today show video above. Myhrvold, ever earnest, makes a striped mushroom omelette with dehydrated mushroom puree, and Matt Lauer can’t resist a few jabs: “Other than just because you can, what’s the purpose of this?”

There’s even more Myhrvold in our future: Nosh Pit’s Allecia Vermillion reports that he’ll be a guest chef on reality show Top Chef this season, taste testing some of East Texas’s best barbecue. The episode airs January 4.