Mad scientist
|
Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing â€" one popular stereotype of a mad scientist. |
A
mad scientist is a
stock character of
popular fiction, either
villainous or benign. Whether
insane,
eccentric, or simply bumbling, the mad scientist is often working with some utterly
fictional technology in order to forward their schemes. Alternatively, they don't see the evil that will ensue from the
hubris of "playing God". Because of recent profusion of
geek culture, modern mad scientist depictions are often
satirical and
humorous rather than critical. Not all mad scientists are evil or villains. Some are actually protagonists (or at least positive forces), such as Dexter in the animated series
Dexter's Laboratory or Washu in
Tenchi Muyo.
Mad scientists are typically characterized by obsessive behaviour and the employment of extremely dangerous or unorthodox methods. They often are motivated by
revenge, seeking to settle real or imagined slights, typically related to their unorthodox studies.
Their laboratories often hum with
Tesla coils,
Van de Graaff generators,
Jacob's ladders,
perpetual motion machines, and other visually impressive electrical oddments, or are decorated with
test tubes, bodies of
mutant creatures
embalmed in glass jars, and complicated
distillation apparatus containing strangely-colored liquids with no obvious purpose. Very often there will be chemicals heating over the yellow flame of a
Bunsen burner despite the fact this produces soot and little heat.
Other traits include:
* Pursuit of science without regard to its destructive or even
ethical implications (such as violating the
Nuremberg Code).
*
Self-experimentation.
* Playing God, tinkering with
nature.
* Absent-mindedness, often manifested in careless grooming.
* Lack of normal social relations, often to the point of being
hermits.
* Physical deformity, either a
birth defect or the result of maiming in some past incident.
* In English-language works: Speaking with a
German or
Eastern European
accent. (This was in large part the result of many scientists from Germany and Eastern Europe emigrating to the United States in two waves: one before
World War II comprising refugees from
Nazism, and one after the war comprising refugees from the
Soviet Union and, in some cases, former
Nazi employees. See:
Operation Paperclip and
Manhattan Project).
* In villains,
maniacal laughter, especially pronounced when their
experiments reach their
climax.
* Ranting
monologues about mistreatment by their more orthodox peers, and their plans for revenge.
* They have some
academic title, usually
Doctor or
Professor .
* They are almost invariably
white males.
As a fictional archetype, the mad scientist can be seen as representing the fear of the unknown, and the consequences that will result when humanity dares to meddle with "things that are best left unknown". Similarly, the tendency of the mad scientist to place himself in the role of
God may be an extension of the differences between religion and science, often creating fantastic beasts and monsters in their laboratories. In the 1931 film
Frankenstein, when the monster is brought to life, its creator cries out: "Now I know what it feels like to be God!". This statement was considered controversial enough for the line to be
censored from the
1931 filmed version of the story.
The mad scientist is the anti-thesis of the
heroic scientist and is considerably more popular.
Precursors
Since ancient times, popular imagination has circulated on archetypal figures who wielded esoteric knowledge.
Shamans and
witch doctors were held in reverence and fear of their rumored abilities to conjure beasts and create demons. They shared many of the same perceived characteristics such as eccentric behavior, living as hermits, and the ability to create life.
The protoscience of
alchemy long had a resemblance to mad science with its lofty goals and bizarre experiments. Certain alchemists were well known for behaving strangely, sometimes a result of handling dangerous substances, such as
mercury poisoning in the case of
Isaac Newton. The famous alchemist
Paracelsus claimed to be able to create a
homunculus, an artificial human. Alchemy steadily declined with the advent of modern science during the
Enlightenment.
Birth of science and science fiction
Since the 19th century, fictitious depictions of
science have vacillated between notions of science as the salvation of society or its doom. Consequently, depictions of scientists in fiction ranged between the virtuous and the depraved, the sober and the insane. Until the 20th century, optimism about progress was the most common attitude towards science, but latent anxieties about disturbing "the secrets of nature" would surface following the increasing role of science in wartime affairs.
The prototypical fictional mad scientist was
Victor Frankenstein, creator of
Frankenstein's monster, who made his first appearance in 1818, in the
novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by
Mary Shelley. Though Frankenstein is a sympathetic character, the critical element of conducting forbidden experiments that cross "boundaries that ought not to be crossed", heedless of the consequences, is present in Shelley's novel. Frankenstein was trained as both alchemist and modern scientist which makes him the bridge between two eras of an evolving archetype. His
monster is essentially the
homunculus of a new form of literature,
science fiction.
1927's
Metropolis, directed by Austrian expressionist director
Fritz Lang, brought the
archetypical mad scientist to movie audiences in the form of
Rotwang, the evil genius whose machines gave life to the
dystopian city of the title. Rotwang's
laboratory influenced many subsequent movie sets with its electrical arcs, bubbling apparatus, and bizarrely complicated arrays of dials and controls. Portrayed by actor
Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Rotwang himself is the prototypically conflicted mad scientist; though he is master of almost mystical scientific power, he remains slave to his own desires for power and revenge. Rotwang's appearance was also influential -- the character's shock of flyaway hair, wild-eyed demeanor, and his quasi-
fascist laboratory garb have all been adopted as shorthand for the mad scientist "look". Even his mechanical right hand has become a mark of twisted scientific power, echoed notably in
Stanley Kubrick's
Dr. Strangelove.
Nevertheless, the essentially benign and progressive impression of science in the public mind continued unchecked, exemplified by the optimistic "
Century of Progress" exhibition in
Chicago, Illinois, 1933, and the "World of Tomorrow" at the
New York World's Fair of 1939. However after the
first World War, public attitudes began to shift, if only subtly, when
chemical warfare and the
airplane were the terror weapons of the day. As an example, of all science fiction before 1914 which dealt with the end of the world, two-thirds were about naturalistic endings (such as collision with an
asteroid), and the other third was devoted to endings caused by humans (about half were accidental, half purposeful). After 1914, the idea of any human actually killing the remainder of humanity became a more imaginable fantasy (even if it was still impossible), and the ratio switched to two-thirds of all end-of-the-world scenarios being the product of human maliciousness or error. Though still drowned out by feelings of optimism, the seeds of anxiety had been thoroughly sown.
The most common tool of mad scientists in this era was
electricity. It was viewed widely as a quasi-mystical force with chaotic and unpredictable properties by an ignorant public.
After 1945
Mad scientists had their heyday in
popular culture in the period after
World War II. The sadistic medical experiments of the
Nazis and the invention of the
atomic bomb gave rise in this period to genuine fears that science and technology had gone out of control. The scientific and technological build up during the
Cold War, with its increasing threats of unparalleled destruction, did not lessen the impression. Mad scientists frequently figure in
science fiction and
motion pictures from the period. The movie
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, in which
Peter Sellers plays the titular Dr. Strangelove, is perhaps the ultimate expression of this fear of the power of science, or the misuse of this power.
In more recent years, the mad scientist as a lone investigator of the forbidden unknown has tended to be replaced by mad
corporate executives who plan to
profit from defying the laws of nature and humanity regardless of who suffers; these people hire a salaried scientific staff to pursue their twisted dreams. This shift is typified by the revised history of
Superman's
archenemy,
Lex Luthor: originally conceived in the
1930s as a typically solitary mad scientist, a major
retcon of the character's origins in the early 1980s made him the head of a megacorporation who also plays a leading role in his
R & D department.
Bob Page, the master villain in the computer game
Deus Ex, is another example. Still, the pose has been used whimsically by popular science writers to attract readers.
The techniques of mad science also changed after
Hiroshima.
Electricity was replaced by
radiation as the new tool to create, enlarge, or deform life (
e.g.,
Godzilla). As audiences became more savvy,
quantum mechanics,
genetic engineering, and
artificial intelligence have taken the spotlight (
e.g.,
Blade Runner).
:A recent survey of 1000 horror films distributed in the UK between the 1930s and 1980s reveals that mad scientists or their creations have been the villains of 30 percent of the films; that scientific research has produced 39 percent of the threats; and, by contrast, that scientists have been the heroes of a mere 11. (
Christopher Frayling,
New Scientist,
24 September 2005)
See also: List of mad scientists,
Cranks,
Evil genius*
Archaeology, at least where
magical artifacts are involved
*
Astrophysics*
Biochemistry, especially
biotechnology*
Biology, especially
genetics,
eugenics,
cybernetics and revival of the dead
*
Botany *
Chemistry*
Chemical engineering*
Cloning (e.g.
The 6th Day)
*
Cryptozoology,
astrobiology*
Electrical engineering*
Entomology*
Eugenics (e.g.
Gattaca)
*
Genetic engineering,
molecular genetics*
Mechanical engineering and
mechatronics*
Nuclear technology*
Physics, especially
nuclear physics *
Psychology, particularly its application to
mind control and similar topics
*
Relativity theory, with a special emphasis on
time travel*
Robotics*
SurgeryFields largely untapped by mad scientists include:
*
Civil engineering, excepting
demolitions.
*
Geology, except where trying to destroy the world, where physics is more involved than true geology.
*
Meteorology, except in the case of creating
weather control machines, which would more properly belong in the area of physics
*
Metallurgy, unless trying to make armor and the like, when metals with rather implausible strength may be used; or in the case of
robot creation, where a knowledge of metals is fundamentally important; or concerning
nuclear physics, for which metallurgy is crucial.
*
Pure mathematics, though the main protagonist in the film
Pi is a mathematician who arguably embodies some aspects of this archetype. Real-life Unabomber
Ted Kaczynski, who was a mathematician, also springs to mind.
*
Social sciences*
Archaeology, subjective, unless you consider Beloq, from
Raiders of the Lost Ark, as the mad archaeologist archetype.
|
Albert Einstein, archetypical real life "mad scientist". |
The scientists of literature and popular imagination have better defined our image of "mad science" than have actual scientists, because that is their function: to reflect back our own prejudices. "Popular belief and behavior are influenced more by images than by demonstrable facts" (Roslynn Doris Haynes, 1994). Some real-life scientists, not necessarily madmen, whose personalities (and sometimes, appearances) have contributed to the stereotype:
*
Albert Einstein,
physicist, whose hairstyle is commonly given to mad scientists.
*
B. F. Skinner,
behaviorist and
utopian.
*
Edward Teller, nuclear physicist who worked to develop the
hydrogen bomb.
*
Francis Galton, British scientist who developed
statistics and
eugenics.
*
Gerald Bull, engineer.
* Dr.
Gunther von Hagens, inventor of
plastination (to halt decomposition after death), and performer of public autopsies.
*
Harry Harlow, psychologist who wanted to study love through its deprivation.
* Professor
Heinz Wolff, Berlin-born
Emeritus Professor of Bioengineering at
Brunel University, and popular radio and television presenter.
*
Herman Kahn, futurist who articulated policy of
mutually assured destruction.
*
Horace Donisthorpe,
myrmecologist.
* Dr.
Ishii Shiro, Lieutenant General of
Unit 731 of the
Imperial Japanese Army.
*
Jack Parsons,
rocket propulsion researcher and
Thelemic occultist.
*
Jeremy Bentham,
British philosopher who had himself
mummified.
* Dr.
Josef Mengele,
Nazi "
Angel of Death", doctor at
Auschwitz.
* Professor
Julius Sumner Miller.
* Dr. A. P. J.
Abdul Kalam, "Missile Man" and
President of India.
*
Magnus Pyke, British TV presenter.
*
Nikola Tesla,
Serbian-American physicist,
mathematician, inventor, and
electrical engineer noted for highly eccentric personal habits.
*
Oliver Heaviside, British scientist who replaced his furniture with giant granite blocks.
*
Patrick Moore, British
astronomer.
*
Philo Farnsworth, inventor of television, and the first controlled
nuclear fusion device.
*
Stanley Milgram,
psychologist who pioneered work on
obedience studies, sometimes considered an example of ethically risky
social science research.
*
Thomas Alva Edison, "The Wizard of Menlo Park", inventor.
*
Trofim Lysenko, Soviet
biologist who terrorized Russian
genetics.
*
Wernher von Braun, development of
rocket technology in
Germany and the
United States; particularly as described in the
Tom Lehrer song bearing his name.
*
Sidney Gottlieb, American CIA chemist who administered drugs to unwitting patients as an attempted form of mind control while heading
Project MKULTRA.
*
Absent-minded professor*
Evil geniusRelated lists
*
List of mad scientists*
List of people widely considered eccentric* Haynes, Roslynn Doris (1994).
From Faust to Strangelove: Representations of the Scientist in Western Literature. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-4801-6.
*
Christopher Frayling -
Mad, Bad and Dangerous?: The Scientist and the Cinema (Reaktion Books, 2005) ISBN 1861892551
* Junge, Torsten; Doerthe Ohlhoff (2004).
Wahnsinnig genial: Der Mad Scientist Reader. Aschaffenburg: Alibri. ISBN 3-9332710-79-7.
* Tudor, Andrew (1989). Monsters and Mad Scientists: A Cultural History of the Horror Movie
. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-15279-2.
* Weart, Spencer R. (1988). Nuclear Fear: A History of Images''. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
* Analyzing the culture motif
**
Gary Hoppenstand, "Dinosaur Doctors and Jurassic Geniuses: The Changing Image of the Scientist in the Lost World Adventure"**
The Scarecrow's Brain - images of the scientist in film, Christopher Frayling**
Breaking Down the Stereotypes of Science by Recruiting Young Scientists* Within the genre
**
Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists**
The International Society of Mad Scientists**
The League of Mad Scientists**
The Ernest Glitch Chronicles - fictional stories of a Victorian mad scientist discovering modern phenomena
**
Bookproject about the Difference between Madness and Science**
Online community dedicated to the propagation of 'Mad Science'**
MadSci Network - collective group of scientists answering science questions
**
Denver Mad Scientists Club - Developers of the "Critter Crunch", widely credited as the first real-life
Robot combat contest
**
Homepage of a freelance mad scientist.**
MAD About U. humor webcomic about a college for Mad Scientists.
**
Girl Genius Eisner-nominated Web comic featuring "Adventure, Romance, and Mad Science", by
Phil and
Kaja Foglio.
**
Dr. Steel Modern day Mad Scientist.
