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"Mad doctor" redirects here. For the Mickey Mouse short, see The Mad Doctor. Mickey Mouse is a comic animal Cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. The Mad Doctor was a classic Mickey Mouse cartoon released in 1933.
Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing — one popular stereotype of mad scientist.
Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing — one popular stereotype of mad scientist.

A mad scientist is generally a stock character, or a parody of a stock character, of popular fiction, more specifically science fiction. A stock character is one which relies heavily on cultural types or names for his or her personality manner of speech and other characteristics A parody (ˈpɛɹədiː US, [ˈpaɹədiː] UK) in contemporary usage is a work created to mock comment on or poke fun at an original work its subject Genre fiction is a term for fictional works ( Novels short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific Literary genre The mad scientist may be villainous, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if they even have a coherent scheme. Psychosis (from the Greek ψυχή "psyche" for mind or soul and -οσις "-osis" for abnormal condition with adjective psychotic In popular usage eccentricity refers to unusual or odd Behavior on the part of an individual Fictional technology is proposed or described in many different contexts for many different reasons Exploratory engineering seeks to identify if a prospective Alternatively, they fail to see the evil that will ensue from the hubris of “playing god”. Hubris, sometimes spelled hybris ( Ancient Greek ὕβρις is a term used in modern English to indicate overweening Pride, self-confidence For disambiguation see Playing God Playing God refers to someone supposedly taking on the role of God for human purposes Not all mad scientists are evil or villains. Some are protagonists (or at least positive forces), such as Dexter in the animated series Dexter's Laboratory. Dexter's Laboratory ( Dexter's Lab for short is an Annie Award -winning American animated series created by Genndy Tartakovsky Occasionally there are self parodies of mad scientists making fun of the stereotype.

Though the archetypes often overlap, a mad scientist need not be an evil genius. A mad scientist is simply a scientist who has become obsessively involved with their studies and has begun to develop eccentricities by normal standards; an evil genius is a genius who uses their gift for explicitly, consciously evil purposes. A genius is a person of great Intelligence or remarkable abilities in a specific subject who shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect and/or ability especially Evil, in many cultures is used to describe acts or thoughts which are contrary to some particular religion For example, while a mad scientist would test the bounds of science to create an army of zombies, he may do it to see if – or prove that – he could, or out of boredom, to impress women, to help clean up his house, or many other such reasons. By contrast, an evil genius would construct his army with a purpose, such as taking over the world – in addition to being evil, such characters tend to have large-scale ambition (see Megalomania in fiction). World domination (sometimes world conquest, global domination, or Colloquially taking over the world) in which a single political authority Megalomania (from the Greek word μεγαλομανία is a historical term for behavior characterized by Delusional fantasies of Wealth, power A mad scientist may be a naive pawn of an evil genius, the evil genius often promising the scientist the funds and resources to conduct his research. Mad scientists also, whilst definitely being intelligent, usually fail to think things through to their conclusion while an evil genius is usually a clever planner and would have a diabolical use for the army of zombies as well as a plan to avoid being killed by them.

Contents

Traditional defining characteristics

Mad scientists are typically characterized by obsessive behavior and the employment of extremely dangerous or unorthodox methods. They are often motivated by revenge, seeking to settle real or imagined slights, typically related to their unorthodox studies. Revenge (also vengeance, retribution, or vendetta amongst others consists primarily of retaliation against a person or group in response

Their laboratories often hum with Van de Graaf 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. A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic machine which uses a moving belt to accumulate very high electrostatically stable Voltages on a hollow metal globe A spark gap consists of an arrangement of two conducting Electrodes separated by a gap usually filled with a Gas such as Air. The term perpetual motion, taken literally refers to movement that goes on forever A test tube, also known as a culture tube, sample tube, test flute or flaccid flute, is a piece of Laboratory glassware composed of A mutant is an individual organism or new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of Mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA Embalming, in most modern Cultures is the Art and Science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall Decomposition Distillation is a method of separating Mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture Very often there will be chemicals heating over the yellow flame of a poorly adjusted Bunsen burner despite the fact this produces soot and less heat. A Bunsen burner is a common piece of Laboratory equipment that produces a single open gas Flame, which is used for heating sterilization and combustion Typically, the laboratory is decorated in the Raygun Gothic style, a term coined precisely to describe this kind of retro-futuristic aesthetic. Raygun Gothic is a catchall term for a visual style that incorporates various aspects of the Googie, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architectural styles Aesthetics or esthetics ( also spelled æsthetics) is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values sometimes called

Other traits include:

Mad scientists are usually among the first fictional characters in mainstream media (movies, TV, written stories) to introduce a newly-developed concept of science to the mainstream public. In the pulp magazine era, mad scientists were building rocket ships to travel to the Moon, Mars, and other planets. Pulp magazines (or pulp fiction; often referred to as "the pulps" were inexpensive Fiction magazines When World War II popularized the existence of "radiation" and its mysterious consequences, mad scientists built nuclear bombs and radiation-powered machines and mutated monsters. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including By the time the 21st century debuted, mad scientists of the time were experimenting with nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and similar sciences. Nanotechnology, sometimes shortened to nanotech, refers to a field of Applied science whose theme is the control of matter on an Atomic and Molecular

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. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. This is reflected by the recurring role of the mad scientist as a God-like creator, as many fantastic beasts and monsters have been birthed 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!”. Frankenstein is a Horror film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and very loosely based on the novel of the same name This statement was considered controversial enough for the line to be censored. Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable harmful or sensitive as determined by a censor

The mad scientist is the antithesis of the heroic scientist and is considerably more popular. In addition to the archetypical Mad scientist, Western culture depicts Scientists and Engineers who go above and beyond the regular demands of their professions

Dr. Herbert West, the protagonist of H. P. Lovecraft's "Herbert West–Reanimator" is another example of a mad scientist, albeit somewhat less stereotypical. Howard Phillips Lovecraft ( August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of horror, fantasy "Herbert West&mdashReanimator" is a short story by American Horror fiction writer H

History

Precursors

Since ancient times, popular imagination has circulated on archetypal figures who wielded esoteric knowledge. Shamans, witches and witch doctors were held in reverence and fear of their rumored abilities to conjure beasts and create demons. Witchcraft, in various historical anthropological religious and mythological contexts is the use of certain kinds of Supernatural or magical powers A witch doctor often refers to Healers in Third world regions who use traditional healing rather than Science or developed Medicine. They shared many of the same perceived characteristics such as eccentric behavior, living as hermits, and the ability to create life.

Perhaps the closest figure in Western mythology to the modern mad scientist was Daedalus, creator of the labyrinth, who was then imprisoned by King Minos. This article is about the mythological character For other uses see Daedalus (disambiguation. In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth ( Greek λαβύρινθος labyrinthos) was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer In Greek mythology, Minos ( Ancient Greek:) was a mythical king of Crete son of Zeus and Europa. To escape, he invented two pairs of wings made from feathers and beeswax, one for himself and the other for his son Icarus. Icarus ( Greek:, Latin: Íkaros, Etruscan: Vicare) is a character in Greek mythology. While Daedalus himself managed to fly to safety, Icarus flew too close to the sun, which melted the wax of his wings, casting him down into the sea below.

In actual history, Archimedes shares some of the elements of the mad scientist, but was closer to the more benign archetype of the absent-minded professor. Archimedes of Syracuse ( Greek:) ( c. 287 BC – c 212 BC was a Greek mathematician, Physicist, Engineer The absent-minded professor is a Stock character of popular fiction usually portrayed as an Academic with important information but whose focus on their learning

A more whimsical prototype of the mad scientist can be found in Aristophanes' comedy The Clouds. Aristophanes (Ἀριστοφάνης ˌærɪˈstɒfəniːz in English ca Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and The Clouds (Νεφέλαι / Nephelai) is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes lampooning the Sophists The play depicts Socrates, a contemporary of Aristophanes, as tinkering with odd devices and performing implausible experiments to determine the nature of the clouds and sky, and presents his philosophical method as a means for deceiving others and escaping blame, closer to the later descriptions of his opponents, the Sophists, than to those usually ascribed to him. SOCRATES is the European Community action programme in the field of Education. While this is at variance with the depictions by Plato and Xenophon, two of Socrates' students, it is plausible that Aristophanes' parody of Socrates is more accurate than their panegyrics. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Xenophon (Ancient Greek, Modern Greek "Ξενοφών" "Ξενοφώντας" ca A parody (ˈpɛɹədiː US, [ˈpaɹədiː] UK) in contemporary usage is a work created to mock comment on or poke fun at an original work its subject A panegyric is a formal public speech, or (in later use written verse delivered in high praise of a Person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating One of Plato's students, Aristotle, is known to have also been an experimentalist, and may have taken the concept up from his teacher's teacher. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. A similar parody of insane and pointless experimentation may be found in the Academy of Lagado in Gulliver's Travels.

The protoscience of alchemy long had a resemblance to mad science with its lofty goals and bizarre experiments. Alchemy a part of the Occult Tradition is both a philosophy and a practice with an ultimately unknown aim involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of Certain alchemists were well known for behaving strangely, sometimes a result of handling dangerous substances, such as mercury poisoning in the case of Sir Isaac Newton. Mercury poisoning (also known as mercurialism, hydrargyria, Hunter-Russell syndrome, or acrodynia when affecting children is a Disease Sir Isaac Newton, FRS (ˈnjuːtən 4 January 1643 31 March 1727) Biography Early years See also Isaac Newton's early life and achievements The famous alchemist Paracelsus claimed to be able to create a homunculus, an artificial human. Paracelsus (11 November or 17 December 1493 in Einsiedeln Switzerland – 24 September 1541 in Salzburg, Austria) was an alchemist, The concept of a homunculus ( Latin for "little man" plural "homunculi" the diminutive of homo, "man" is often used to illustrate Alchemy steadily declined with the advent of modern science during the Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century

Films and fiction

Since the 19th century, fictitious depictions of science have vacillated between notions of science as the salvation of society or its doom. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding 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. Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, generally known as Frankenstein, is a Novel written by the British author Mary Shelley Frankenstein's monster (or Frankenstein's creature) is a Fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley 's novel Frankenstein or Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, generally known as Frankenstein, is a Novel written by the British author Mary Shelley Mary Shelley ( Née Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin; 30 August 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. A monster is any of a large number of Legendary creatures which usually appear in Mythology, Legend, or Horror fiction. The concept of a homunculus ( Latin for "little man" plural "homunculi" the diminutive of homo, "man" is often used to illustrate

Another archetypal Mad Scientist is Faust, or Dr. Faustus. Faust or Faustus ( Latin for "auspicious" or "lucky" is the protagonist of a classic German Legend in which he makes The Faust legend is a widely recognized and referenced example of selling one's soul to the devil. In almost all cases, Faust is selling his soul for knowledge or supernatural power.

Fritz Lang's 1927 movie Metropolis brought the archetypical mad scientist to the screen in the form of Rotwang, the evil genius whose machines gave life to the dystopian city of the title. Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang ( December 5, 1890 &ndash August 2, 1976) was an Austrian German - American Metropolis is a silent Science fiction film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Lang and Thea von Harbou. An archetype ( pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit or /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/ (Amer C A Rotwang is a Fictional character in Fritz Lang 's 1927 Science fiction film Metropolis. A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος alternatively cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society Rotwang's laboratory influenced many subsequent movie sets with its electrical arcs, bubbling apparatus, and bizarrely complicated arrays of dials and controls. A laboratory (informally lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific Research, Experiments and 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. Rudolf Klein-Rogge ( November 24 1888 – April 30 1955) was a German stage and Film actor of the 1920s and 30s 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". Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology 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, 1933, and the "World of Tomorrow" at the New York World's Fair of 1939. A Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago, Illinois from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Expo (short for "exposition" and also known as World Fair and World's Fair) is the name given to various large public exhibitions held since the 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. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of Chemical substances to kill injure or incapacitate an enemy. Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft. 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). Asteroids, sometimes called Minor planets or planetoids', are bodies—primarily of the inner Solar System —that are smaller than planets but 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.

A recent survey of 1000 horror films distributed in the UK between the 1930s and 1980s reveals mad scientists or their creations have been the villains of 30 percent of the films; scientific research has produced 39 percent of the threats; and, by contrast, scientists have been the heroes of a mere 11 percent. (Christopher Frayling, New Scientist, 24 September 2005)

After 1945

Mad scientists had their heyday in popular culture in the period after World War II. Sir Christopher John Frayling (born 25 December 1946) is a British educationalist and writer known New Scientist is a weekly International science magazine and website covering recent developments in science and technology for a general English -speaking Events 622 - Prophet Muhammad completes his hegira from Mecca to Medina. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Popular culture (or pop culture) is the Culture — patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance — World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The sadistic medical experiments of the Nazis, especially those of Josef Mengele, and the invention of the atomic bomb gave rise in this period to genuine fears that science and technology had gone out of control. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Dr Josef Mengele ( March 16, 1911 – February 7, 1979) was a German SS officer and a Physician in the A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. The scientific and technological build up during the Cold War, with its increasing threats of unparalleled destruction, did not lessen the impression. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Mad scientists frequently figure in science fiction and motion pictures from the period. Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, in which Peter Sellers plays the titular Dr. Richard Henry Sellers, CBE, commonly known as Peter Sellers ( 8 September 1925 &ndash 24 July 1980) was a British 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. A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business Corporate titles are titles conferred on individuals as a means of identifying their function in the Organization. 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 1986 made Lex Luthor the head of a megacorporation who also plays a leading role in his R & D department. Superman is a fictional Comic book Superhero widely considered to be one of the most recognized of such characters and an American Cultural icon An archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis (sometimes spelled arch-enemy, arch-foe, arch-villain or Lex Luthor is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Retroactive continuity is the deliberate changing of previously established facts in a work of serial fiction Lex Luthor is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The phrase research and development (also R and D or more often R&D) according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers Bob Page, the master villain in the computer game Deus Ex, is another example. This guide details the role and background information of major characters appearing in the video game Deus Ex. Deus Ex (abbreviated DX and pronounced as ˌdeɪəsˈɛks day-uss ex) is a Cyberpunk -themed Action role-playing game developed Still, the pose has been used whimsically by popular science writers to attract readers.

The techniques of mad science also changed after Hiroshima. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at Electricity was replaced by radiation as the new tool to create, enlarge, or deform life (e. Radioactive contamination is the uncontrolled distribution of radioactive material in a given environment g. , Godzilla). Etymology Name "Godzilla" is a combination of two Japanese words and. As audiences became more savvy, quantum mechanics, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence have taken the spotlight (e. Quantum mechanics is the study of mechanical systems whose dimensions are close to the Atomic scale such as Molecules Atoms Electrons Genetic engineering, Recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct g. , Blade Runner). Blade Runner is a 1982 American Science fiction Film, directed by Ridley Scott.

See also

References

External links

Dictionary

mad scientist

-noun

  1. A stock character in popular fiction; a bumbling scientist working on unlikely ways to save the world, or a villainous one bent on destroying it.
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