Talk:Carol Vorderman/Archive 1

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Update URL[edit]

I've been trying to update the page with Carols Website http://www.carolvorderman.net/ but my changes haven't gone through. Any ideas? Alex Reynish (talk) 10:40, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

No idea why it didn't work Alex; but I would strongly suggest you do not add it anyway. The site is currently a single page and adds little or no information that is not already in her article AND it pushes her MathsFactor commercial enterprise to a degree that could be considered spam if added here. As a final point - it is usual to add new talkpage section at the bottom of the talk page, not at the top as you have done. 21st CENTURY GREENSTUFF 10:49, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Mathematician[edit]

She is not a mathematician. Frankly that is insulting to people who earn their livings as mathematicians.

I agree. In general, the ongoing confusion of "arithmetic" and "mathematics" in the popular media is irritating.

82.5.68.95 (talk) 18:30, 14 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

3rd class degree[edit]

The second trivia point is, quite simply, rubbish. Students in the UK do not refer to thirds as 'Vordermans', and probably never well. (It's possible that they do in Cambridge though; citation needed.)

I'd have to search down citations but I do frequently hear this one. Timrollpickering 13:59, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed: I have never, ever heard the term "Vorderman" in this connexion. Yes to Douglas Hurd, a probably no to Vorderman.
I've never heard a third class class degree refered to as a 'Vorderman' a Douglas (Hurd) yes...
A Google search for vorderman third is dominated by Wikipedia and mirrors but there are some uses - e.g. this Independent article "Have the Desmond and Vorderman had their day?" See also this Usenet post from 2001 Timrollpickering 12:15, 3 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I remember hearing some where that they all used someone elses name to mean some thing including her but not that her name was used for anything. I am sure it was with referance to a small group of people at Cambridge that got 90% 3 years in a row. Plus if carol was brought up in wales does that not mean that she counts as welsh as most people count their nationality as where they grew up is there anyway to referance that carol classes herself as english which would mean that she should be in the welsh tv personalities category or both. Some people do class themselves as English-welsh. The same as African-American. Or they say that they are Briish and refuse to say which country in Britain Delighted eyes 02:29, 27 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What kind of engineering did she study? There's a heck of a difference between different types (e.g. civil vs. electrical). I presume from stuff I've heard that it's mechanical engineering. Can anybody confirm? Mrstonky (talk) 17:40, 8 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Age at acceptance at Cambridge[edit]

Note: there is nothing remarkable about being accepted at Cambridge aged 17. Matriculating aged 17 would be unusual (though far from unheard of), but I think in her day, as in mine, the usual thing was to be interviewed in the first term of your Upper VIth year, when probably two-thirds of interviewees would be 17. (Has it changed yet? I know there was talk of applying during the Long Vac after A2 results). As it stands, the article makes it sound like there was something noteworthy about her acceptance at age 17. Yehudi Menuhin making his solo debut at the age of seven is worth mentioning because it is unusual, but what it says here is not just uselessly informative, but possibly misleading, since the reader (if unfamiliar with UK higher education) might go away thinking that British school pupils are accepted at university aged 18/19, or even older, rather than 17/18, which I am sure was (and still is?) the norm.--AlexanderLondon 11:07, 3 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thinking man's totty?[edit]

Perhaps we should add that Carol became a 'thinking mans totty' in FHM ? To be honest the idea (the very concept) makes me want to puke. --Dan|(talk) 18:32, 25 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Wasn't that Joan Bakewell's sobriquet?
I thought Joan Bakewell was "the thinking man's tart" (as in Bakewell tart). -88.109.227.71 10:18, 23 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I believe JB was called "thinking man's crumpet" almost-instinct 10:58, 26 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Would it be worthwhile pointing out that a "third" at any other university is considered a fail? Far from being a mathematical genius, I think she'd have problems getting a teaching post. --195.153.219.170

No, it would not be worthwhile "pointing out" a falsehood. 81.135.40.171 (talk) 14:54, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

It would not be worthwhile including POV information that a third is considered a fail. Obviously by the existence of a formal failure process, and then a lower category of ordinary degree, it simply is not a fail. As to not being able to obtain a teaching post, I've not looked into grades recently, but when I graduated in 1987, a PGCE was open to any mathematics graduate, there was no requirement for 1st 2.1 etc.

I beg to differ. A Third Class Honours Degree is a damn difficult thing to get and it is a pass at every Universiity I know of - at least it was when Carol and I went to University (not at the same time or place lol). In my case it was as a result of doing too many extra curricular activities related to Student Union duties and the lecturers gave me a Third as an example to others to work harder. Those students not quite up to the mark either got 2:2 or fails in my day (1975). You had to be somewhat special to get a Third! I cannot imagine what Carol was up to at University. To use a term not normally applied to Carol, it just doesn't add up ! --NikkiW 15:50, 5 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I find it very hard to believe someone with a 154 IQ would get a third class degree unless they made virtualy no effort at all. Does anyone have a source for the "QI rated at 154" if not I'm going to delete it. -Greeny 29th May 2006

Yes, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7779515.stm in the trivia box. El Paulio (talk) 10:59, 13 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]
There's more to getting a degree than intelligence. Motivation plays a big part. I've got an IQ of 160-ish but scraped a pass because by my final year I'd lost interest and stopped doing any work. No worries, had absolutely no problem getting work after I "graduated". --Matt Westwood 19:22, 8 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I think something should be said about what an advocate for mathematics she has become. I'm pretty sure she endorses a bunch of study guides. --195.92.67.78 20:44, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Where Carol comes from[edit]

As a former resident of Rhyl 1954 vintage, I know that Carol was brought up in Rhyl and not Prestatyn as stated and went to Blessed Ted's Catholic Secondary School. --NikkiW 15:44, 5 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

According to the episode of 'Who do you think you are' she filmed for the BBC, screened in the UK 27/09/2007, she was born in England, but lived in Prestatyn until the age of 18. Prestatyn was where her mother's family were based, and Vorderman's mother returned there with her young children when her marriage collapsed.Indisciplined 22:46, 27 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Contract error[edit]

Hello, long time lurker-first time poster here. Just to say that Carol Vorderman was a host on How 2 (On ITV) from 1990 - 1996, she did not join that show when she signed her ITV contract. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.112.157.91 (talk) 16:17, 24 December 2006 (UTC).[reply]

IQ[edit]

Is her IQ really 384? I don't think that is even possible, due to the way the IQ scale is made. Can someone change it to the correct one? --Landspeed 19:17, 21 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Until someone supplies the correct figure, I'm removing this ridiculous number. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.146.47.250 (talk) 22:32, 21 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]
If on the [WAIS] scale, it is definitely impossible...on WAIS, 100 is average with most people being 60-140 and only a tiny proportion of idiots at <60 and genii at >140, but there might be a scoring method that allowed 384 to be a score. For instance, I've heard people saying their IQ is as high as 250>, but on the WAIS that would be impossible...basically, I am saying different tests are scaled differently :-) 78.86.230.62 (talk) 15:05, 27 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]
IQ score is only relevant if you know the scale, there is no standardised IQ scale. Every IQ test uses a different scale, the typical commonality being that the 'average' score is 100. For example, WAIS is scored by ranking the test taker on a curve of 100 mean and standard deviation of 15, whereas Stanford Binet uses a standard deviation of 16. I proctor for Mensa, and am familiar with most of the major IQ tests, I know of no test that would score someone at 384.Dbnull (talk) 18:25, 1 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know her exact score, but I believe she is a member of Mensa and has an IQ in the genius range. F W Nietzsche (talk) 02:29, 21 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Pretty much my point, DB...if the scale isn't mentioned, the number means nothing 78.86.230.62 (talk) 23:46, 15 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Terms like "genius" and "idiot" are no longer used in intelligence testing. Flanker235 (talk) 00:06, 28 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Debt TV ads criticism[edit]

She was criticised that the debt TV ads she did used her image as a maths genius to make people sign loans though it wasn't the best solution for them, is this something worth adding to the article? Chris Ssk 20:49, 5 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Definitely. The fact she is perceived as a skilled mathematician (which she undoubtedly is) is highly relevant to her decision to get involved with these loan sharks. 62.249.253.152 (talk) 22:51, 26 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

She also did some awful magarine adverts, 'which lowers your cholesterol', and the hand movement follows, THAT WAS SO FAKE 87.168.3.81 (talk)squiggel87.168.3.81 (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 21:33, 31 January 2009 (UTC).[reply]

Date of birth[edit]

1960 I thought I thought I heard an early date. This would explain the Cambridge discrepecy —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mariegriffiths (talk • contribs) 23:07, 29 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Various[edit]

Does anyone mention Carol's appearance on Stars In Their Eyes as Cher? Very nice!

Also, I am watching her on Richard and Judy and it looks to me as if she has had more cosmetic treatment on her face than dentistry.

She is going on about a program featuring her ancestors in the Dutch reistance getting quite emotional.

The other week she was on The One Show and applauded the lady ferry pilots in WW2. Good for her!

IMHO I think people who rubbish her are just jealous. Royzee (talk) 17:17, 28 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

FootNote in general (new wiki user) - Someone needs too check this page for vandalism; have just removed data which said she was apparently 67 .. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.38.244.8 (talk) 16:31, 15 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Offered?[edit]

"Channel 4 had reportedly "offered" to cut her salary by 90%"??87.16.189.108 (talk) 20:34, 1 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Is she a Tory?[edit]

She's going to be David Cameron's maths czar (???), despite his party's cutting funding to education, and she thinks we should give to the rich to help the poor. Carol, go and read Das Kapital by Marx to understand that a democratic state and the welfare state and labour rights that inevitably follow are necessary to liberate workers from the tyranny of capitalist control under pure capitalism. Freedom is in the ballot box, not the wallet. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alpha-ZX (talk • contribs) 19:13, 6 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Referring to 21stCenturyGreenstuff who stated "The subject's personal politics are irrelevent to the encyclopedia" - this is not the case as she heads a taskforce set up by the Conservative Party. Many other celebrities have their political allegiance on the encyclpedia who do not work for the parties in question e.g. David Tennant, Timothy West, Stephen Fry and Christopher Lee. She, however, does work in an advisory capacity for one and as such, it should be noted. It should also be noted due to the fact that several different media outlets have reported on the subject, including the one cited - [1] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Horleye (talk • contribs) 01:12, 15 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Pathetic attempts by Labour Party supporters to discredit someone. Mind you, the Labour Party could do with a maths genius seeing as they run the country's finances into the gutter every time they are elected. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.22.152.207 (talk) 19:10, 6 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Name credit[edit]

Because of programmes being repeated, for a time she was credited as Carol Mather and Carol Vorderman on different shows on the same day.94.196.208.107 (talk) 11:39, 29 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Known for...[edit]

The article says she is known for co-presenting countdown AND guest hosting Have I Got News For You. Given that since Angus Deayton left, HIGNFY has been having a different guest host each week, I hardly think this is what she is known for. ~~ 20/8/11 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.151.167.128 (talk) 20:41, 20 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  1. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article5640769.ece

What's the deal with her eye?[edit]

OK, so I saw a bunch of pictures of this chick, and in each one it was like one eye was looking straight at me, other eye... not so much. Did she lose an eye in an industrial accident or something? Is she able to move each eye independently like a seahorse? I came to her Wikipedia page for answers, and found none... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.148.215.182 (talk) 05:52, 4 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I believe that she has a Strabismus, which means her eyes do not point in exactly the same direction. The reason this isn't listed is that it's of no real consequence (we're not, after all, into parading medical conditions for the hell of it, only it they have an implication on the life or activity of the subject in the public world).  drewmunn  talk  07:14, 4 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Use of maiden name[edit]

Her maiden name - or birth name - is not a pseudonym. The article should lead with that name - the name by which she is commonly known - and not claim that it is a "stage name". For some purposes her married name is her legal name, but that should not be given undue weight here by placing it first. See multiple past discussions and pursue it there if you really feel you need to do so. Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:20, 9 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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Vicar of Dibley[edit]

The section on her other television work could include reference to how, in a 2003-2004 poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom, Vorderman spoke up for The Vicar of Dibley. Vorbee (talk) 15:48, 30 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

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