Michael the Physicist

Name:

Michael Crosser

Where do you live?

Aloha, Oregon (near Portland, pronounced 'u-lo-ahh' despite the obvious spelling)

What is something that you are passionate about that other people don't understand?

Physics - I dread going to parties and telling people what I do (I'm a physics professor). Most people respond by telling me how much they HATE physics and anything else with MATH in it. It's actually frustrating how this hatred is accepted. Even the most "academic" people have no problem hating math/physics and then expect me to have read the latest novel by such and such. I would never admit that I HATE to read -- which, uhhhh... I don't. I'm just using this as an example and stuff... -- and yet it is perfectly acceptable to HATE what I love. Sorry, I guess that question set me off a little...

What songs make you think about roller skating?

"I wear my sunglasses at night". But, really what reminds me of skating the most is whenever I see the video game 'Tron'. I never brought enough quarters with me and thought it was the coolest game ever.

Have you ever been on a vacation that didn't turn out as relaxing as you hoped?

Whenever I go to visit family in Kentucky. There are so many people to see that I never really relax. Also, the time shift from Pacific to Eastern Standard Time sucks.

Where do you get most of your world news? TV, print or something else?

I suppose three main sources: a) I listen to NPR when I drive to/from work. Since I commute for an hour each way, I get a lot of news. b) I like to read Slate magazine online for opinion and news. c) And I watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report regularly. Actually, I'm a little disappointed about the last one. I used to have satellite tv and would get the live east coast feed for that station. So I used to watch it at 8:00 PM PST everyday. Cable television delays the show for 3 hours. So now I record it and watch the next day instead.

What book should be required reading for all high school students?

Two books: Dante's Inferno - I didn't actually read it until college, but it is great to read something that was so satirical and insulting for its time. My favorite are the politicians who are stuck upside down in their own feces. The other book is "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". I make references to that sometimes when I am teaching. It would be nice if students knew what I was talking about (both for the references and for the material I am teaching). See? I do like to read.

Do you have a blog or a website that you'd like to plug?

I'll plug three: a) since I mentioned it above, I should plug www.slate.com b) Mr. Deity (www.mrdeity.com) which does satirical sketches about religion, and c) Bad science (www.badscience.net) in which a blogger who writes for the Guardian discusses how science is used incorrectly in the media.

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I know and love a few physicists (Hi Maria!) and they have the best sense of humor. I had some amazing physics instructors when I was in school and they really made the subject come alive for me. I'm not going to lie to you, I'm not a genius when it comes to equations and one of my lab reports had so much error that the t.a. kept it. I still like reading about physical concepts and astronomy. And I really enjoy any band who is going to use physics in their music videos. (How many videos will OK Go make for this song and will I post all of them on this blog?)