Should we pay attention to the opinion of famous people?

i think it depends on the kind of famous people you talk about..I mean..if we talk about a famous scientist, or a writer, a painter, a musician, someone skilled and very skilled in his field...I am definitely with you..it is a sign of respect for his or her sacrifice and culture paying attention and thinking about his or her words.. but if popstars or TV showmen and women are those you have in mind...I don't think they deserve my attention...surely I don't trust politicians' opinion!!! I think they are more concerned over their interests than over ours!!!

I agree that we should pay attention when they speak about their particular expertize, but I find that too many people trust them when they talk about things they clearly have no knowledge of. For example, every election season, actors, singers and other performers come out in droves to support their favorite candidate. The opinion of entertainers on politics carries no more expertize than yours or mine. In fact, since they are quite often completely out of touch with the life of the average citizen, I think their opinion on these matters is LESS qualified than most people you might meet in your daily life. Yet many votes are swayed by what candidate is chosen by their favorite movie star. Quite foolish if you ask me.

He is not the only writer. Not sure he is really an expert. Famous people are just people. Some do not even become worthy of their fame, actually become infamous. People around you can have good things to share and say and be examples of. Not sure what is wrong when people need to have perfect examples of somethihg that they themselves are totally capable of.

I think it depends on who the famous person is, and what they are talking about in relation to their field of expertise. For example, if a politician is talking about politics, or an author about litereature, then I think they know what they are talking about, and we should listen. But in this day and age, the cult of celebrity means they often ask opinions of models and actresses/actors about politics or whatever, and I think that is totally wrong, and they are no more educated to speak on that subject than you or I. That is my opinion anyway.

People can educate themselves in fields besides the ones for which they're known, so I would be willing to listen to anybody who knows what they're talking about. Being famous doesn't make you an expert on anything, it's being an expert that should make you famous.

well i also think that we must pay attention t famous people wat opinion they give t us r experiences of their life an we cant get them frm common people but 1 thing i wud like t say that we shud listen t their opinions of their field only in which they r expert or the quality they hv developed in themselves and worked hard on it

No I don't think so. I am who I am and they are who they are and everyone has different Opinions about things just because they are famous does not mean they know it all. I prefer to do it my way if it works fine if it doesn't then I will try a different way.

Well... I think if you make your own opinion about something before... another opinon isn't so important than your own opinion... We don't have to pay attention in all famous people opinion... Famous people want to sell something. it is their work... so they will try to "sell" something to you saying something...

Taking into consideration that they're talking about one subject they have an old hand at, I think so, We must pay attention, but what I've seen is famous people talking about things they don't even know about, being a famous people doesn't mean you know everything but people trend to pay attention so I think they should be carefull about what they say.

I think if someone is a famous author, then I'd pay attention to what they have to say about writing, or an actor-what they think about the art of acting. But I'm sick of celebrities being political. I'd hate to spend a lot of money on a concert then have the musicians start preaching about how they hate George Bush-even if I agreed with them. I think it's mainly politics that bug me about celebrities, but I do like it when they get involved in causes or charities, like the environment, AIDS, orphans, etc. For me, that's using publicity for a good reason.

If the person has expertise in the field, then yes I think we should pay attention. If it is just the opinion of say Britney Spears on the stock market then no. I have seen the stars giving there opinons on things they know nothing about and most of the time I don't even listen.

I think you should rather build your own opinion, and just after that look into someone else's opinion... It's not just cause they're famous that their opinion is better than yours, and just to have an opinion about something cause a famous dude has the same one doesn't mean anything. Well, it does, that you don't have your own. You may pay attention to other's opinions, but do not take them as the right one ;)

Only if they're famous FOR their opinions. A famous philosopher is worth paying attention to, whether you agree or disagree with them. Britney Spears' opinion is almost certainly of no interest, on the other hand.

It depends what you mean by famous. The meaning of fame has been devalued in recent decades. There are many people who are famous but have no real talent, knowledge or understanding about life. You should listen to those who you think have wisdom or extensive knowledge about a specific subject area. However, there are many people who are wise and knowledgeable but who are not famous.

We should listen when a well known person gives a talk or opinion on something that is within his field, but otherwise no. Just because a person is an expert aircraft engineer for example, that doesn't mean he knows anything about motor cycles. Salman Rushdie is an author and writes on subjects that he knows well, but at the same time that doesn't make him qualified to write a book for example on cooking. A Doctor knows their own field, but they are not experts on say gardening. In those instances they are no more credible on a subject that is not in their area of expertise. It is not saying they know nothing about the subject, but it means that they aren't necessarily anymore expert on it than you are sweetlady. It is often the case that well know actors/actresses or even "people of the cloth" (Church) have a great deal to say about politics and the environment, but that doesn't necessarily mean we should take any more notice of them than we do of the next door neighbour. There are some people who are in the public eye who do like to think that they are an authority on any given thing, and voice their opinions very loudly. So, I think that we should listen to people who have vast knowledge of their own field and then make up our own minds about whether to believe or accept what they are saying. However, there are some people in this world who think that because they see someone in the newspaper, on television or in the magazines regularly, that the well known person has this great vision of truth and light.

You are quite right .. we should pay attention to 'famous' people .. but only when they are talking about a specific field that they have proper knowledge of .. otherwise we could be learning the wrong things ..

I agree that we should pay attention to famous people's thoughts if they are talking about their own line of work. THe thing is, though, the media asks celebrities really important worldly questions about things that have nothing to do with their career, and then I don't know if we should take their answers any more seriously than we would take any other person on the street's views on such subjects like politics and world affairs.

We should listen to what famous people have to say but i think after listening to what they have said you should form your own opinion about it! In case of Salman Rushdie he blindly alleged the Holy Quran to have some satanic verses, which is not true and is blasphemy against the Holy Quran! All i am trying to say is that you should form your opinion about things, try to find out for yourself rather than blindly believing in what some celeb says!

it all depend on what the topic and who the person it, we should listen to what they have to say but never believe everything they say, like the saying, dont believe everything you see you heard, but it never heard to hear other people's opinions

I dont think opinions of famous people make any difference. Its completely unimportant that thoughts of one person should match with other. Everyone has their own perception about a thing, and that should not be changed by listening to any other people, no matter who he is. You can only succeed in life if you listen to yourself. If you go on listening opinions of different people, you will end nowhere. Famous people only know the way how they became famous. They don't know other ways. One day, when you become famous, you will also give your opinion. But its just your opinion, it doesn't matter others should agree to it. As far as expertise is concerned, I believe everybody is expert in their field. Fame and expertise are different things. Sometimes, famous people are not expert and other times experts don't become famous. It's just luck.