NOT THE SHARPEST KNIVES IN THE DRAWER: Celebs Don’t Know Much About A(ny) Science Book
London-based Sense About Science, which describes itself as “an independent charitable trust promoting good science and evidence in public debates,” has compiled this year’s “Celebrities and Science Review 2008” (pdf), taking the glitterati to task for idiotic public utterances on a variety of science and medicine topics about which they are profoundly ignorant, including:
Scientists have responded to celebrities including: Kelly Osbourne on avoiding cancer risks, Tom Cruise on psychiatry, Demi Moore’s promotion of detoxing with leeches, Ivanka Trump and ‘spit’ parties, Amanda Peet defending MMR, Mariah Carey’s use of Einstein’s equation, Jenny McCarthy misunderstanding MMR, Nigella Lawson on special diets, Delia Smith on sugar addiction, Carole Caplin on food supplements and more! Scientists also couldn’t resist a response to US presidential candidates on the subjects of the MMR vaccine and fruit fly research. …
[T]he most common misconception of the last couple of years was how products or food can be ‘chemical free’, something which doesn’t appear this year. References to the effectiveness of detox have however remained steady. New topics appear too, including genetic testing, psychiatry, maths and international celebrities have resurrected inaccurate claims about the MMR vaccine.
The group urges clueless celebs: “[B]efore making scientific claims, check your facts - all it takes is a phone call” - and hooks them up with scientists willing to explain the basic science they should have learned in school. Perhaps one of them has the patience and intestinal fortitude to explain Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity to Paris Hilton.
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