Smart, funny book on why physics matters

Christine McKinley was a seventh-grader in Alaska when she decided it was better to be cool than smart and turned herself into someone who “smoked nonfiltered Camels and swore like an oil pipeline welder.”

Then her family moved to California, enrolled her in Catholic school and she discovered physics.

Now her daytime job is in mechanical engineering, she sings in a band, hosts television shows and is the author of “Physics for Rock Stars,” a smart, funny primer on why everybody should understand and trust the laws of gravity, motion, energy and entropy.

“A solid understanding of the laws of physics will not only help you execute a flawless stage dive and win a fist fight on top of a train,” she writes in the introduction, “but it will also help you cultivate a balanced and sane personal life. I promise.”

McKinley will be at Warwick’s on Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. She will probably have her guitar. She answered questions by phone from Portland, where she lives.

Q: Why did you write this book?

A: I wanted to write the book because I love physics and think about physics every day in this kind of quirky way about how it affects my life and life in general. I was kind of amazed that some of my smartest, most creative friends not only didn’t think about physics or any science but didn’t even know some of the basic laws of gravity and motion and energy. I thought, Oh, my gosh, they’re missing out on all this poetry and all this magic and it just seemed like I needed to make an offering.

Q: What do you think might have happened if you had stayed in Alaska?

A: Oh, I think I would have been a really good drug dealer. I have a lot of the skills required. But I certainly wouldn’t have been given the high school education and the boost that I got from the Sisters of St. Joseph. So I might have just thought of myself in a different way.

Q: How were you able to avoid some of the obstacles that seem to keep so many girls from getting and staying interested in math and science?

A: I think it was my stepdad, who I absolutely loved and trusted, looking me in the eye and saying, “You will need to make a living on your own and you’re smart, so let’s consider engineering.” And I pushed back a little bit and said, “No, I want to major in physics,” and he was persistent and kind and said, “I really need you to get something in four years that will allow you to support yourself.” And boy was he right.

Q: Why do you think society continues to struggle with the girls-and-science thing?

A: Since I’m not an educator, I only know my own experience and the experiences of friends I’ve talked to about this. I struggled in second year algebra and tried to drop out of it and I was in a school and I had parents who would not allow that. One message I got — instead of “You’re not good at math, that’s OK, dear” — was “Hey, math’s hard for everyone. Dig in.” And so I realized that the guys were struggling, too. Even the smartest kids in the school were squinting at the board and going, “What the hell is this?”

I didn’t need to feel incompetent or dumb; I just needed to feel like wow, this is tough material. I think, “Keep practicing, it’s hard for everyone” would be a great message for girls.

Q: Your book has a lot of fun-sounding experiments that you specifically tell people not to try at home. Does that mean you’ve never actually had a fist fight on top of a moving train?

A: I have not had a fist fight on top of a moving train. I certainly have had a fist fight, though.

Q: Where did you come up with the experiments, and how did you decide which ones to include in the book?

A: I had so many ideas of fun, bizarre things. I had to include the ones that were PG rated and I wanted people to see that physics isn’t just for nerds. It’s for race car drivers and secret agents and anyone. The message I wanted is you don’t have to be bigger and tougher, you just have to be smarter about life. You can get through it even if you feel you are tiny and unlucky and you didn’t choose the right parents. If you are just clever, as clever as you can be, you can do really well.

Q: One of the things I enjoyed about the book is how funny it is. How do you know when something is funny?

A: I try it out. Thankfully here in Portland I’m blessed with so many great writers and humorists and entertainers in my circle and in my neighborhood. We bounce our material off each other quite a bit. Some of the best writers in Portland have read these bits and edited them and said, “Eh, that isn’t as funny as this,” or “It would be funnier if.”

Q: What will your event here be like?

A: I’ve asked Warwick’s if I can play a few songs. I assume that’s going to happen. I will whip out my electric guitar and play a couple of songs about entropy and momentum. I know that sounds strange, but they’re good. I swear.

I’m writing songs now for every chapter of the book. There’s a chapter on gravity, and one on entropy. I think when you listen to the song you won’t be able to necessarily tell it’s about (physics). Like the song about entropy is about burning all of someone’s belongings in the yard after you’ve broken up with them. It’s about things you can’t undo.

Q: So your life really is physics and rock music, like the book title says.

A: It is. Really what I meant by the title is physics is for anyone who wants to be something big — rock star in the larger sense. It’s for people who want to be really brave and instead of just taking risks, taking calculated risks. And get used to calculating how things are going to turn out in your life, instead of just hoping.

john.wilkens@utsandiego.com (619) 293-2236 • Twitter: @sdutwilkens

“Physics for Rock Stars: Making the Laws of the Universe Work for You,” by Christine McKinley, Perigee, 272 pages, $16.