Celebs lecturing at university

[Edwina's Secretary]

Since niether Bill Gates nor Steve Jobs has a college degree I guess they aren't qualified to teach anyone anything about computers....or business...or marketing....

[Lady's Human]

ES, not my point.

Bill Gates and (very arguably) SteveJobs have proven their knowledge firsthand, where the rubber meets the road. Similarly, Chuck Yeager was (barely) a high school grad and was one of the best pilots ever to fly. If Mick jagger wants to teach a class on music, cool. If Ms. Diaz wants to teach a class on acting, fine. If they stay in the field which has brought them prominence I have no problem with it. It's when an actor goes into a field in which they have no proven skill or knowledge in and lectures/appears on that topic that I have a problem. I have no idea what Ms Diaz's lecture or discussion was, I don't care.

Just showing an interest in the environment does not qualify one to lecture on it, especially when there are so many contradictory theories and so much conflicting data. The same data from the past fed into computer models that they are currently using to predict global warming in the 1970's lead to mass hysteria and predictions of a new ice age. PICK ONE. Truth be told, we dont have accurate enough data over a long enough period of time to truly know. Scientists discard data from the 1800's as scientifically inaccurate when talking about storms, but they use it wholesale when talking about the environment. PICK ONE. There's not enough data, and having an actress lecturing on hard science doesn't help.

[Edwina's Secretary]

But you misrepresent what is reported in the article....

....helped lead a lecture on environmentally friendly design....

A champion of environmental causes, Diaz served as a sidekick for friend and renowned environmental architect William McDonough, a consulting professor at Stanford.

Soooo...she is using her celebrity to support a cause in which she believes, at the invitation of a renowned expert in the field...and possibly promoting education and getting students enthused.

She is not donning the academic cap and gown and representing herself as the leading thinker in the field.

I'm also not entirely sure how much hard science is involved in environmentally friendly design.

The debate on global warming is safe from the hands of the artistically inclined....at least for today!

[Lady's Human]

ES, there is a lot of hard science in environmentally friendly design. Green buildings and the like take large amounts of hard science to design.

In another article on the appearance, it states that Mcdonough was invited to Stanford at the request of Ms Diaz, after her appearance was planned. In other words, the renowned expert was there at her request, not the other way around, and Stanford has asked him to come back WITHOUT Ms diaz so he can give a real lecture.

[jackie]

But you misrepresent what is reported in the article....

....helped lead a lecture on environmentally friendly design....

A champion of environmental causes, Diaz served as a sidekick for friend and renowned environmental architect William McDonough, a consulting professor at Stanford.

Soooo...she is using her celebrity to support a cause in which she believes, at the invitation of a renowned expert in the field...and possibly promoting education and getting students enthused.

She is not donning the academic cap and gown and representing herself as the leading thinker in the field.

I'm also not entirely sure how much hard science is involved in environmentally friendly design.

The debate on global warming is safe from the hands of the artistically inclined....at least for today!

Someone who agrees, but can put it into much better words than me.