The secret (nerdy) life of celebrities

Mr. Analog · October 26, 2007, 08:52:28 AM

There are a lot of celebrities listed here that we know already, but "Blossom" with a PhD in Neuroscience? WTF? MADNESS!

http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9043739

Lazybones · October 26, 2007, 09:44:38 AM

I met Wil Wheaton in person and knew he was a computer geek well before it was known he was on slashdot.

Shayne · October 26, 2007, 09:48:58 AM

I dunno if having a chemical engineering degree makes you nerdy...or a failed architecture major or a computer engineer dropout. Worst article EVA!

Tonnica · October 26, 2007, 10:08:34 AM

There's a couple real gems in this article. My favourite:

QuoteHedy Lamarr (Ecstasy, Samson and Delilah) owns us all for her pioneering work on spread spectrum technology, which makes both Ethernet and your cell phone tick.

I've seen quite a few of her movies and she was a really classy starlet. I wouldn't have imagined she helped established the tech that makes cell phones work.

Thorin · October 26, 2007, 10:23:56 AM

Wow, the one that really stands out to me is Hedy Lamarr (frequently referred to as The Most Beautiful Woman in Hollywood) and her patented frequency-hopping wireless torpedo control system that paved the way for anti-jamming devices, Ethernet, and cell phone networks. Keeping in mind she did this back in 1940/41, back when women were generally not given any technical training but learned how to keep house.

Thorin · October 26, 2007, 10:24:41 AM

Damn, you posted it before me

Shayne · October 26, 2007, 10:24:56 AM

...and ran most of the factories...

Thorin · October 26, 2007, 10:32:59 AM

No, that's the thing. They didn't run the factories, they just worked in them. Women even in WWII were relegated to lower jobs. "Rosie the Riveter" did a lot of factory menial work, building things, but there were (almost) always male overseers. At the time, women inventing technological devices was almost unheard of.

Tonnica · October 26, 2007, 10:47:04 AM

Quote from: Thorin on October 26, 2007, 10:24:41 AMDamn, you posted it before me

Great minds think alike.

In this case it's really just a striking combo. A beautiful face, a beautiful mind, and lots of talent.

Shayne · October 26, 2007, 10:52:32 AM

Sure, but having done a little google digging their is a lot of famous women scientists, perhaps not very many who went on to do the Hollywood starlet thing but still Marie Curie, Maria Mayer, Rachel Carson. Sorta off topic as they are not celebs, but they still were alive and doing the whole science thing during the early 1900s.

I would have preferred this list to be more defined with Celebs who actually make went through with things.

Mr. Analog · October 26, 2007, 11:14:53 AM

Quote from: Tonnica on October 26, 2007, 10:47:04 AM
Quote from: Thorin on October 26, 2007, 10:24:41 AMDamn, you posted it before me
Great minds think alike.

In this case it's really just a striking combo. A beautiful face, a beautiful mind, and lots of talent.

A'yup!

A fun article to be sure.

Thorin · October 26, 2007, 11:49:22 AM

Quote from: Shayne on October 26, 2007, 10:52:32 AM
Sure, but having done a little google digging their is a lot of famous women scientists, perhaps not very many who went on to do the Hollywood starlet thing but still Marie Curie, Maria Mayer, Rachel Carson. Sorta off topic as they are not celebs, but they still were alive and doing the whole science thing during the early 1900s.

I would have preferred this list to be more defined with Celebs who actually make went through with things.

Ah... What? The article's title: "Geek stars: The secret (nerdy) life of celebrities"; the sub-title: "Who says all the big stars are brainless?"

To me, that seems pretty obvious that they're going to be picking people who a) are celebrities and then b) show that they have big brainpower; interesting that they seem to define "nerdy" as "having a brain", but that's a totally different discussion.

Hedy Lamarr was picked because a) she's a celebrity and b) she applied her brainpower to a possible technological solution for a problem with torpedo guidance, which happened to pave the way for other electronic processes and devices that we use a lot today.

Quote from: Shayne on October 26, 2007, 09:48:58 AM
Worst article EVA!

It seems like everything is always black and white with you... Are you sure there aren't other worse articles on the web?

Shayne · October 26, 2007, 11:55:53 AM

So perhaps at times I can be a little melodramatic. If an article is going to list off celebrities that are nerdy then at least stick to that aspect of the article. To list a bunch a few dropouts and chemical/electrical engineers (2 year diploma at NAIT) and such doesn't scream nerdy and almost makes the opposite claim or perhaps their were not enough to fill up 4 pages. Their are a few on there that are rather legitimate for certain, but Weird Al?

The TV/Movie ones seem pretty legit though. A few accomplished scholars to be certian