Five Questions for a Scientist: John Cho

This month's "Five Questions" is with MIT Lincoln Laboratory scientist and SPAM Haiku Archive Master Emeritus (SHAME) John Cho.  The Archive is no longer accepting submissions, but it's certainly worth browsing or checking out the printed book, SPAM-ku.  Let's see what he has to say (now, in haiku form)!



1. Did the SPAM-ku phenomenon originate with you, or were these poems already floating around the Internet before you got involved?

Forwarded e-mail

Anonymous SPAM haiku

Origin unknown

2. What finally forced the SPAM-ku archive to close its doors to new submissions?

Job, marriage, children

Spring, summer, autumn, winter

Job, marriage, kids, cat

3. Could you explain for us-- preferably in 17 syllables-- what anisotropic scaling turbulence is?  What relation does it have to wind shear?

Gravity-flattened

Big whorls have small whorls that lead

To a viscous grave*

4. Where do contrails come from?

Jets spew wet vapor

Condensation nuclei

Blue-sky Etch A Sketch

5. How does a knowledge of poetry influence a scientist (and vis versa)?

Poems have spanking

Signal-to-noise ratios

When tuned to the truth

* Apologies to Lewis F. Richardson




JOHN CHO supplied his bio in haiku form as well:

JFK shot down

JNC born in Tokyo

Makes Boston his home

You can find his CV at his MIT page here.