Scientists and movie stars

So a rather strange thought popped into my mind today; that being that movie stars and research profs are much more similar than I would have anticipated.

I'm sure that you're probably wondering why I would have even been thinking of any of this. Well, with a wife in the entertainment industry I may end up meeting movie stars and the like... Ok, she's told me many times that it would be unlikely and if we do I should try and remember who they are and not do anything to embarrass her. Which I've taken to mean not to talk and/or stare at them. Not that I really blame her; I mean look at the crap that I talk about!

Just the same, if I had a chance to have a conversation with a star out of her sight I think we'd find that we have many things in common. Here's a list of some of the similarities that I can think of:

Egos/narcissism: We all assume that most movie stars are self important, but you might not think of that as being a key trait of a research prof. But in reality they need to think that they are smarter than you, better than you and more talented than you. Of course they also have incredibly frail egos and are always afraid that there may be someone out there who is better than them, thus constantly needing to be validated by others

Popularity: Sure, these are nowhere near the same scale, but the factors that are used to measure them are very similar. Scientists look at the number times their publications have been cited and their success in getting grants, comparing themselves by these numbers. Movie stars have their box office numbers and salaries as an equivalent.

Territory: Movie starts have their dressing rooms/trailers and huge homes; scientists have lab and office space. And I'm pretty sure that scientists are the most vicious and evil about getting their space.

Adoration: Movie stars have an entourage of people to do their every bidding, just for the chance to prosper from the affiliation with the star; profs have grad students.

Awards: So the movie stars have a much better presentation of all their awards, even the Razzies get better publicity than the Nobel Prize. Hell, the wussy peace prize gets all the attention anyway, which is ironic since Nobel made his fortune by creating a stable explosive compound. But whenever a prof is an invited speaker the first thing that is done as he/she is introduced is a listing of the major awards that he/she has won; accompanied by the appropriate feigned modesty.

So in the end research profs and movie stars may not be all that different...so long as you neglect the minor aspects of mass recognition, salary and looks.