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Comment by dehrmann | Hacker News Reader

> It is a little known fact, that Ms Spears is an expert in semiconductor physics.

On one hand, it's definitely a joke, but on the other, Offspring frontman Dexter Holland has a PhD in molecular biology and Queen guitarist Brian May has a PhD in astrophysics, so it's not like famous musicians can't be highly educated in the sciences.

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Rowan Atkinson has worked on Control Theory in his MSc thesis

https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/dashboard/searchResults/titleDeta...

Cool, I am not surprised he is a smart cat.

This list also includes Dr Brian Cox, who was in Dare and the live line-up of D:Ream (with such hits as 'Things can only get better').

And is a well published Physicist, broadcaster and educator.[1]

Also Brian May is deeply into Victorian Stereoscopy and has published books and movie (and takes stereoscopic images with his special selfy stick). He's part of the London Stereoscopic Society, I watched him present his film at a film festival.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_(physicist)

Adam Steltzner, who was lead engineer for the EDL of the Curiosity Rovoer, used to play in a rock band. I attended his talk, and he was just as charismatic in real life as on camera.

I think Cox is the odd one out, as he's probably actually better known as a physicist than a musician these days.

There's also Tom Lehrer, of course.

I don't think we should be surprised to find doctorates in all walks of life. ~1-2% of Americans have a Ph.D.[0], yet ~1-2% of Americans are not academics. We've all probably been handed our change and receipt by an expert in Anglo-Saxon astrolinguistics at some point or another.

[0] https://www.reference.com/world-view/percentage-americans-ph...

True though in May's case he quit his PhD because his band was taking off, and returned to finish it nearly 40 years later

The datasets and observation techniques must have improved a lot in the meantime, so it as a win-win scenario.

Yeah, it's a kind of magic. We are the champions.

Don’t forget cybersecurity expert Taylor Swift.

Dolph Lundgren (actor):

Degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology

Master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney

Hedy Lamarr has "co-invented an early version of frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication for torpedo guidance" according to Wikipedia, in addition to "appeared in 30 films over a 28-year career".

Also Bad Religion frontman Greg Gaffin is an evolutionary biologist with a PhD in Zoology

Natalie Portman is one of only 10 people to have an "Erdos-Bacon" number, which is your Erdos Number + Kevin-Bacon number. How many degrees of separation are you from co-writing a paper with Erdos and how many degrees of separation are you from being in a film with Kevin Bacon. Natalie Portman's Erdos No. = 5, and her Bacon No. is 2, for a combined 7.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%91s%E2%80%93Bacon_numbe...

> Natalie Portman is one of only 10 people to have an "Erdos-Bacon" number

No, she is one of only 10 people to have an Erdos-Bacon number listed in the Wikipedia page for Erdos-Bacon numbers.

There are lots of people with Erdos-Bacon numbers who aren't listed on that page, e.g., Neil deGrasse Tyson [6].

If you don't know it yet, listen to '39 by Queen and pay attention to the lyrics -- the meaning of that song certainly caught me off guard the first time I realized it.

https://genius.com/Queen-39-lyrics was helpful

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