Stars who spout 'pseudo-science should check their facts first' (Scientists fight celebrity idiocy)

The Daily Mail (U.K.) ^ | January 2, 2008 | FIONA MACRAE

[Stoat]

Stars who spout 'pseudo-science should check their facts first'

By FIONA MACRAE - More by this author » Last updated at 23:29pm on 2nd January 2008

 

Nicole Kidman: Criticised for promoting a computer brain workout programme

 

When your name's Nicole Kidman or Gwyneth Paltrow, everyone wants to hear what you have to say.

But before holding forth on their favourite remedy, celebrities should get their facts straight, experts say.

The two Hollywood actresses, along with the TV presenter Gillian McKeith and fashion designer Stella McCartney, are singled out by a charity founded to increase the public's understanding of scientific issues.

Sense About Science warned: "A small group of people in the public eye promote pseudo-science without embarrassment and cannot be dissuaded from it."

Alice Tuff, who helped compile the list of celebrity pseudo- science, said: "Celebrity lifestyles and comments have a lot of social weight. Once in the public domain, it's almost impossible for, say, a toxicologist to eclipse a Stella McCartney or a Gwyneth Paltrow in order to give the public the facts. So the pressure must be there to get it right in the first place."

Miss Kidman, who appears in the Christmas blockbuster the Golden Compass, is criticised for promoting Nintendo's computer-based mental workout programme Dr Kawashima's Brain Training.

Endorsing the game, the 40-year-old star said: "I've quickly found that training my brain is a great way to keep my mind feeling young."

However, scientists say there is scant evidence for her claim.

Dr Jason Braithwaite, a cognitive neuroscientist at Birmingham University, said: "There is no conclusive evidence showing that the continued use of these devices is linked to any measurable changes and general improvements in cognition."

Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow has been singled out for her lack of knowledge of the genetics of cancer.

The actress, known to follow a wholegrain-rich, meat and caffeine-free macrobiotic diet, said recently: "I am convinced that by eating biological foods it is possible to avoid tumours."

But Professor Tim Hunt, of charity Cancer Research UK, said: "There is little evidence to implicate particular diets or particular foods with increased risk of cancer."

Also under the microscope is nutritionist Gillian McKeith. Referring to obesity among children, the presenter of Channel 4's You Are What You Eat, said: "If a quarter of kids are overweight now, then when they grow up and have kids, half of them will be overweight.

"And then if they have kids, everybody will be overweight."

But John Garrow, emeritus professor of medicine at the University of London, said: "Obesity is not mainly genetically determined, although it does 'run in families' because families share a similar environment.'

Stella McCartney is criticised for a magazine interview in which she said a chemical found in many skin creams is also found in anti-freeze. Scientists said the chemical, propylene glycol, is versatile and its use in cosmetics is not "scary".

Not all celebrities fared badly. The chef Jamie Oliver and the illusionist Derren Brown were praised for their responsible attitude to science.

[tpanther]

Oh yeah, I remember that.

Thanks! And the same to you!

[laotzu]

I do not doubt those quotes, and want to use them. Are you confident they are accurate?

[the OlLine Rebel]

“it’s almost impossible for, say, a toxicologist to eclipse a Stella McCartney or a Gwyneth Paltrow in order to give the public the facts.”

Which proves how stupid the “MASSES” are.

[Xenalyte]

When your name's Nicole Kidman or Gwyneth Paltrow, everyone wants to hear what you have to say.

Um, no, not EVERYONE.

[the OlLine Rebel]

“eating biological foods”

Excuse me? What?

[the OlLine Rebel]

“If a quarter of kids are overweight now, then when they grow up and have kids, half of them will be overweight.

“And then if they have kids, everybody will be overweight.”

This just doesn’t make any sense at all!

“But John Garrow, emeritus professor of medicine at the University of London, said: “Obesity is not mainly genetically determined, although it does ‘run in families’ because families share a similar environment.’”

I don’t quite buy that PC line, trying to dismiss genetic components. God forbid we say that fat might be a genetic problem. It’s obvious that genetics plays a part, just looking at body types of different isolated ethnicities.

[the OlLine Rebel]

The program is very new.

There wouldn’t be much out there to go on about how “good” it is.

As another poster impled, it’s not as if it’s better at keeping your mind active than any other old-fashioned activity.

[George Smiley]

With fame I become more and more stupid, which of course is a very common phenomenon.

— Albert Einstein (to Heinrich Zanger, Dec 1919)

[TightyRighty]

The one from Cameron Diaz is a snippet from an episode of Oprah right before the 2004 election. Here is the full quote:

We have a voice now, and we’re not using it, and women have so much to lose. I mean, we could lose the right to our bodies…if you think that rape should be legal, then don’t vote. But if you think that you have a right to your body, and you have a right to say what happens to you and fight off that danger of losing that, then you should vote…

The others I found just by poking around. Look up "stupid celebrity quotes". Here's a few more:

"A zebra does not change it's spots." - Al Gore

“If you have intercourse you run the risk of dying and the ramifications of death are final.” — Cyndi Lauper

“[I hope] my child will be a good Catholic like me.” — Madonna

[Calvin Locke]

There's the old joke "What do you call a blonde that dyes her hair red? -- Artificial Intelligence.

I don't recall any symmetrical responses, but at least Kidman is not as bad as Lindsay Lohan...