[indigoviolet]

You can choose to not display your interests on your Profile. They are still "public", but hidden on your Profile.

[flipbrad]

i have no idea what the hell that means, and quite frankly, therein lies facebook's problem.

[indigoviolet]

This is explained on your Profile settings page: "These settings only control the information people can see on your profile. This information, such as your Pages and list of friends, is still public, so it could appear elsewhere on the site and be accessed by applications you and your friends use."

Here's a more detailed explanation: http://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.php