Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|"Do you know how many '''degrees''' I have?!"|'''Dr. McNinja''', ''[[~~The Adventures of Dr. McNinja (Webcomic)|~~The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]''}}

{{quote|"Do you know how many '''degrees''' I have?!"|'''Dr. McNinja''', ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]''}}

Related to the [[Mad Scientist]], the Omnidisciplinary Scientist is a master of every branch of science, regardless of the branch in which they theoretically have a degree. A writer either [[Did Not Do the Research]] or maybe ~They Just Didn't Care~. If someone is a scientist, and something about science needs to be known, the scientist will know it or learn it by the end of the episode.

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== Anime & Manga ==

* ''[[~~Mazinger Z (Anime)|~~Mazinger Z]]'' features a villainous example: [[Big Bad]] Mad Scientist Dr. Hell routinely designed and build [[Humongous Mecha]], complex computing systems, giant flying ships, submarines, all kind of weapons and devices (including a size-changing ray in one episode), cyborgs... He would need being an expert on any field of science to achieve all those scientific breakthroughs and perform all those feats, including physics, engineering, maths, robotics, computing science, cybernetics and medicine. In contrast, Dr. Kabuto and Professor Yumi subverted the trope, being experts on one field and needing help or expert advice in other areas, and using the trial-and-error method to make breakthroughs.

* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' features a villainous example: [[Big Bad]] Mad Scientist Dr. Hell routinely designed and build [[Humongous Mecha]], complex computing systems, giant flying ships, submarines, all kind of weapons and devices (including a size-changing ray in one episode), cyborgs... He would need being an expert on any field of science to achieve all those scientific breakthroughs and perform all those feats, including physics, engineering, maths, robotics, computing science, cybernetics and medicine. In contrast, Dr. Kabuto and Professor Yumi subverted the trope, being experts on one field and needing help or expert advice in other areas, and using the trial-and-error method to make breakthroughs.

** {{spoiler|Professor Kenzo Kabuto}} from the sequel ''[[~~Great Mazinger (Anime)|~~Great Mazinger]]'' was also a subversion, right like {{spoiler|his father Juzo Kabuto}}.

** {{spoiler|Professor Kenzo Kabuto}} from the sequel ''[[Great Mazinger]]'' was also a subversion, right like {{spoiler|his father Juzo Kabuto}}.

** On the other hand, Dr. Umon from ''[[~~UFO Robo Grendizer (Anime)|~~UFO Robo Grendizer]]'' played it slightly straight.

** On the other hand, Dr. Umon from ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer]]'' played it slightly straight.

* Dr. [[~~Black Jack (Manga)|~~Black Jack]] may be an Omnispecies Omnidisciplinary Doctor: he can perform surgeries and autopsies and deliver babies. And transplant horse brains into humans. And stitch together a child using her parasite twin body parts and plastic. He had even performed surgery on a dog, a whale, a ghost, a computer, an alien, and himself.

* Dr. [[Black Jack]] may be an Omnispecies Omnidisciplinary Doctor: he can perform surgeries and autopsies and deliver babies. And transplant horse brains into humans. And stitch together a child using her parasite twin body parts and plastic. He had even performed surgery on a dog, a whale, a ghost, a computer, an alien, and himself.

** [[They Fight Crime|And he fights crime.]]

** Not only did he perform abdominal surgery on himself to remove a parasite, he did so in the middle of the Australian outback, all by himself, while simultaneously fighting off dingoes.

** This is a pretty common trope in stories by [[Osamu Tezuka]]. In his original Metropolis manga, Duke Red not only creates an army of robots, but also a machine that makes artificial sunspots & other weirdness, although he does have to turn to a specialist to get a proper [[Artificial Human]]. Most of the numerous scientist characters in ''[[Astro Boy]]'' are omnidisciplinary to some degree. Ochanomizu, whose main background is in robotics also comes up with inventions like a bomb that flash-freezes everything for miles around & even a device that can read minds (although considering he's the head of the Ministry of Science he may have had some help with these). Astro's creator Dr. Tenma is said to be an expert in both Artificial Intelligence & the Human brain, which handily explains why Astro has such a lifelike personality, as Dr. Tenma could draw on his knowledge of neurology to create a computer system that emulates the Human nervous system.

* Dr. Shiba from ''[[Kotetsu Jeeg]]''. Not only he was an accomplished archaelogist but also he could cure people, make cyborgs, build a [[Humongous Mecha]] and flying ships, and transferring his mind from his dying corpse to a computer.

* Washuu in ''[[Tenchi Muyo]]''. In most of the [[Alternate Continuity|Alternate Continuities]] she, like [[Doctor Who|The Doctor]], is old enough that it's [[Justified Trope|justified]].

* Washuu in ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]''. In most of the [[Alternate Continuity|Alternate Continuities]] she, like [[Doctor Who|The Doctor]], is old enough that it's [[Justified Trope|justified]].

** For the original OVA, her having knowledge about pretty much everything in existence is helped by the fact that {{spoiler|she personally had a hand in ''creating'' everything in existence}}.

* Many of the "Meights" in ''[[The Five Star Stories]]'', scientists who create either [[Humongous Mecha]] "Mortar Headds" or [[Artificial Human]] "Fatimas" & in rare cases both, are skilled in other fields as well. This is justified by the fact that they are, like the other super-people in FSS, descended from genetically engineered superhumans. While Headliners get [[Super Strength]] & Divers get [[Psychic Powers]], Meights get super intelligence.

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== Comic Books ==

* Hank "[[Ant Man]]" Pym started out as an entomologist. His training studying insects also left him able to, among other things, create shrinking particles and artificially intelligent robots. Although perhaps his complete lack of relevant background in the latter field helps explain that particular example of [[AI Is a Crapshoot]].

* Hank "[[Ant-Man]]" Pym started out as an entomologist. His training studying insects also left him able to, among other things, create shrinking particles and artificially intelligent robots. Although perhaps his complete lack of relevant background in the latter field helps explain that particular example of [[AI Is a Crapshoot]].

** One issue of ''Secret Invasion'' contained a hilarious but possibly inadvertent sight gag with a board listing the eight or so ''completely unconnected'' disciplines that Pym was giving lectures on his cutting edge research in.

** Further evidence of Hank Pym being this trope in recent [[Mighty Avengers]] stories, wherein he is conferred the title of Scientist Supreme of the Earth-616 universe.

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*** One issue of ''[[Exiles (Comic Book)|Exiles]]'' sent them to an Earth that was conquered by Skrulls in the 19th century. When the Skrulls left, the top scientists who studied their technology were Reed Richards, Bruce Banner, and Peter Parker. Reed Richards was of course the top scientist, but he was only just coming to grips with radio.

* Oddly enough, [[Iron Man]], (Tony Stark) mostly gained this after [[Stan Lee]]'s writing stint. He was originally and is primarily an electronic and munitions engineer, an ambitious enough combo on its own. However, later writers have seen him brought in to consult on everything from spatial anomalies to medicine.

** The second animated series, [[Iron Man Armored Adventures]], extends this retroactively to his father, who is (at the least) versed in physics, engineering, infinite energy creators, biology, neurology, ancient Chinese, ancient Mongolian, mythology, geology, math and geometry.

** The second animated series, [[Iron Man: Armored Adventures]], extends this retroactively to his father, who is (at the least) versed in physics, engineering, infinite energy creators, biology, neurology, ancient Chinese, ancient Mongolian, mythology, geology, math and geometry.

* Forge from the [[X-Men]] has being omnidisciplinary as his power, in a way. He can invent pretty much anything mechanical he puts his mind to. Of course, he also has to go and be a sorcerer. [[Reed Richards Is Useless|And there are no explanations of why he doesn't invent a machine that cures cancer.]]

** His mutant talent is along the lines of [[Mad Science]]. He can create tremendously complicated machinery that can do just about anything. He sometimes has to take it apart to figure out how it works. And he therefore doesn't always realize when there will be side effects.

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* Peric in ''[[The Trigan Empire]]'' is the Omnidisciplinary Scientist par excellence. Initially an architect, he later builds a space rocket, invents a machine for turning men into intelligent water (!), discovers an elixir of youth, etc. etc.

* [[Disney Ducks Comic Universe|Ludwig van Drake]] has 999 diplomas, including one on diplomology.

* [[X-Men]] tried to subvert this and [[Zig Zagging Trope|ended up using it perfectly straight]] with Bolivar Trask, the anthropologist who first considered mutants a menace. Trask built the robotic Sentinels to protect mankind and, of course, they immediately [[Turned Against Their Masters|turned against him]] claiming to be his superiors. Professor X commented that this had happened because Trask was an anthropologist and not a robotic expert, and therefore had an inadequate knowledge of cybernetic brains. Building self-aware robots seems a heck of an accomplishment in cybernetics to me. Then again, [[Instant AI, Just Add Water|doing so seems particularly easy]] in the [[Marvel Universe]].

* [[X-Men]] tried to subvert this and [[Zig-Zagging Trope|ended up using it perfectly straight]] with Bolivar Trask, the anthropologist who first considered mutants a menace. Trask built the robotic Sentinels to protect mankind and, of course, they immediately [[Turned Against Their Masters|turned against him]] claiming to be his superiors. Professor X commented that this had happened because Trask was an anthropologist and not a robotic expert, and therefore had an inadequate knowledge of cybernetic brains. Building self-aware robots seems a heck of an accomplishment in cybernetics to me. Then again, [[Instant AI, Just Add Water|doing so seems particularly easy]] in the [[Marvel Universe]].

* The independent comic [[3]] has as one of the main characters "one of the last generalists, a dabbler in dozens of fields."

* [[Doctor Strange]] is the most powerful sorcerer in the Marvel universe and was one of the best neurosurgeons in the world prior to a car accident that left him with too much nerve damage to operate again. This presumably had no adverse effect on his actual knowledge of the field. In ''Doctor Strange: The Oath'' he mentions that he's maintained his medical license -- something which requires yearly certification and a certain number of hands-on hours.

* Belgian comic ''[[Jommeke]]'' has Professor Gobelijn, whose official title is 'Professor in EVERYTHING.' Too bad he is also the resident [[Absent-Minded Professor]], so his inventions often cause problems.

* [[Tintin ~~(Comic Book)~~|Professor Calculus]] is apparently versed in engineering (he built a working submarine), astrophysics (the moon rocket), nuclear physics (the nuclear propulsion engine), acoustics (a sonic weapon) and pharmaceutical and oil chemistry (identified the substance that ensured [[Every Car Is a Pinto]] and created a pill that makes you hate the taste of alcohol).

* [[Tintin|Professor Calculus]] is apparently versed in engineering (he built a working submarine), astrophysics (the moon rocket), nuclear physics (the nuclear propulsion engine), acoustics (a sonic weapon) and pharmaceutical and oil chemistry (identified the substance that ensured [[Every Car Is a Pinto]] and created a pill that makes you hate the taste of alcohol).

* Professor Barabas from [[Suske En Wiske]] counts. The man can build futuristic machines (including a time machine, a machine for talking to inanimate objects and a machine that can bring persons from paintings and other imagers to life), and has extensive knowledge about various historical and scientific subjects (including astrophysics and genetic engineering).

* Professor Barabas from [[Suske en Wiske]] counts. The man can build futuristic machines (including a time machine, a machine for talking to inanimate objects and a machine that can bring persons from paintings and other imagers to life), and has extensive knowledge about various historical and scientific subjects (including astrophysics and genetic engineering).

== Film ==

* A bit of [[Lampshade Hanging]] in ''[[Spider-Man (~~Film~~)|Spider-Man]] 3'': Dr. Connors tells Peter that he is a physics professor and not a biologist, but still will try to study the symbiote. He then provides all the necessary [[Exposition]] about it (in the comics, Mr. Fantastic took this role).

* A bit of [[Lampshade Hanging]] in ''[[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]] 3'': Dr. Connors tells Peter that he is a physics professor and not a biologist, but still will try to study the symbiote. He then provides all the necessary [[Exposition]] about it (in the comics, Mr. Fantastic took this role).

** Which, it should be said, ''makes no sense''. In the comic books, he's The Lizard. Does turning yourself into a reptile in an attempt to grow back your arm fall under the domain of physics now?

*** It helps that in the comics, he's not a physicist. he studies genetics, biochemistry and herpetology. He was also a surgeon before losing his arm. Then he became a research technologist. So, he fits the trope quite nicely.

* Dr. Otto Octavius in ''[[Spider-Man (~~Film~~)|Spider-Man]] 2'' is also something of an example. He is, presumably, a nuclear physicist (he was working on thermonuclear fusion in the film), but also apparently has enough knowledge of robotics and neurology that he can, on a whim, assemble four robotic tentacles and hook them up to his own nervous system.

* Dr. Otto Octavius in ''[[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]] 2'' is also something of an example. He is, presumably, a nuclear physicist (he was working on thermonuclear fusion in the film), but also apparently has enough knowledge of robotics and neurology that he can, on a whim, assemble four robotic tentacles and hook them up to his own nervous system.

* There's a fun little independent ''[[~~Indiana Jones (Franchise)|~~Indiana Jones]]'' knockoff called ''[[The Librarian]]: Quest for the Spear'', with [[Kelly Hu]] as [[The Dragon]], whose protagonist is a thirty-two year old [[A Man Is Not a Virgin|not-a-virgin]] who lives with his mother and has a combined total of something like twenty-two degrees. If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'.

* There's a fun little independent ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' knockoff called ''[[The Librarian]]: Quest for the Spear'', with [[Kelly Hu]] as [[The Dragon]], whose protagonist is a thirty-two year old [[A Man Is Not a Virgin|not-a-virgin]] who lives with his mother and has a combined total of something like twenty-two degrees. If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'.

** Somewhat justified in that part of the reason he's such a total social outcast is that he's forty-something and has spent more than half his life doing nothing but studying for those degrees.

** In the sequel, he meets a hot female archaeologist who beats him in the number of degrees.

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* Doctor Cockroach from ''[[Monsters vs. Aliens]]'' is an expert in all things mechanical, and knows enough about biology to turn himself into a stable roach-man.

** Also, his Ph.D is {{spoiler|in DANCE!}}

* In ''[[Avatar (~~Film~~)|Avatar]]'', Grace Augustine is the foremost expert on Pandoran botany, but she also appears to be an anthropologist. And a xenolinguist. And a schoolteacher.

* In ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'', Grace Augustine is the foremost expert on Pandoran botany, but she also appears to be an anthropologist. And a xenolinguist. And a schoolteacher.

** Possibly justified: in canon, the CEO is presented as dismissive toward science, monofocused on the avatar project and consequent acquisition of mining rights, and antagonistic toward Augustine herself; she and her small team may be doing All The Science because she doesn't have the funding, or the staff, to do otherwise.

* ''[[Iron Man (~~Film~~)|Iron Man]]'' franchise: Tony Stark, weapons designer, was able to build [[Powered Armor]] and clean, cheap, small energy, in a cave, with a box of scraps, in the first film. In the second, {{spoiler|he made an entirely new element in the space of a few hours, once he had the basic idea.}} Presumably if he had a whole afternoon he could fill all the blanks on the periodic table and create a perpetual motion machine.

* ''[[Iron Man (film)|Iron Man]]'' franchise: Tony Stark, weapons designer, was able to build [[Powered Armor]] and clean, cheap, small energy, in a cave, with a box of scraps, in the first film. In the second, {{spoiler|he made an entirely new element in the space of a few hours, once he had the basic idea.}} Presumably if he had a whole afternoon he could fill all the blanks on the periodic table and create a perpetual motion machine.

** Ivan Vanko was able to do the same, in Siberia, minus the new element. He also hacks computers in seconds (Hammer, US government, and SHIELD tech), and is a nuclear physicist.

** Also the captive doctor Yensen, who manages to build an electromagnet and implant it into Tony's chest. The concept is somewhat simple, but to make a precise and effective one for the exact purpose in the movie, would require something of an expert in electrical engineering. And as any doctor will tell you, there isn't really enough time in your life to get a medical degree as well as expert knowledge in other nearly completely unrelated fields. He admits to seeing the kind of wound Tony has several times in his home village and as a result has had practice in treating it, somehow.

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* Ryeland Ames, from Jack Williamson's ''The Dead Spot'', is famous for having built a particle accelerator AND a bathysphere AND an artificial heart AND portable H-bombs; the first two of which before he was 25. Notice that the story was written in 1938.

* Sax Russell in the Kim Stanley Robinson's ''[[Red Mars Trilogy]]'' develops in this direction. He's assigned to the original colonization mission as a physicist, but over time (a lot of time, as the longevity treatments developed in the first book greatly extend his career) he picks up Ph.D.-level training in chemistry and biology in order to further his goal of terraforming Mars.

* ''[[Dracula (~~Literature~~)|Dracula]]'''s Dr. Van Helsing, who [[The Smart Guy|seems to know everything]], including English law, even though he's Dutch.

* ''[[Dracula (novel)|Dracula]]'''s Dr. Van Helsing, who [[The Smart Guy|seems to know everything]], including English law, even though he's Dutch.

** That would be the guy who signs his letters "Abraham Van Helsing, M.D., Ph.D., D.Litt., etc." Three doctorates in different fields, plus implied other qualifications. Who knows - maybe he has a law degree too!

* John Lowson in Guy N. Smith's ''The Slime Beast''. He begins the story searching for King John's treasure and is referred to as an archaeologist, but relentlessly pursues and tries to capture and study the title monster, suggesting a biologist or zoologist.

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== Live Action TV ==

* The Doctor from ''[[Doctor Who]]'', especially when asked what he's a doctor of (Everything, by the way). This [[Justified Trope|makes sense]], as he's [[We Are As Mayflies|far older than humans]].

* The Doctor from ''[[Doctor Who]]'', especially when asked what he's a doctor of (Everything, by the way). This [[Justified Trope|makes sense]], as he's [[We Are as Mayflies|far older than humans]].

** In the Second Doctor story, "The Moonbase," the Doctor mentions that he studied human medicine under Joseph Lister, which means his knowledge of human medicine might be just a leetle bit out of date.

*** But in "The Shakespeare Code" he manages to restart [[Bizarre Alien Biology|one of his hearts]] through a rather strange jury-rigged procedure thingy. So presumably he's probably better with Time Lord biology than human.

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** Davros, creator of the Daleks, tends towards this as well. Described by the Doctor as having the finest scientific mind in existence, he uses his mastery of genetic engineering and cybernetics to make his creatures, then subsequently shows enough aptitude for medicine to work for a while as "The Great Healer" and enough knowledge of physics to design a bomb which can cancel out the electrical field holding atoms together and cause [[Punctuated for Emphasis|THE DESTRUCTION! OF REALITY! ITSELF!]]

** Averted wonderfully in "Remembrance of the Daleks" when Allison is examining a soldier. When asked, "Is he all right?" she replies, "No idea, [[Not That Kind of Doctor|I'm a physicist.]]"

* Every version of ''[[~~Star Trek (Franchise)|~~Star Trek]]'' has at least one Omnidisciplinary Scientist and [[Open-Heart Dentistry|Open Heart Dentist]], always justified by some means or another: [[The Next Generation]] had [[Super Prototype]] android Data, [[Deep Space Nine]] had [[Designer Babies|Designer Baby]] Doctor Bashir. The rest of the time they just called in a Vulcan, whose ''[[Planet of Hats|Hat]]'' seems to be "Omnidisciplinary '''''whatever I choose to study'''''", and an extensive amount of [[Backstory]] is devoted to justifying this. Vulcan neurochemistry has what would be in humans super-high levels of various hormones that facilitate learning, recall, analysis, and reflexes. They also result in [[Hot-Blooded|hair-trigger tempers]]; prior to the coming of [[The Messiah|Surak]], they were even more violent than ''[[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Klingons]]''. His Message was that all problems were solvable through [[Awesomeness By Analysis]], whereas [[Don't Think, Feel]] would only lead to [[The End of the World As We Know It]]. He wasn't all that popular until he gained a [[Foil]], T'Pel, who basically executed the story of [[Fight Club]] [[Up to Eleven]], freaking the ''entire planet'' out so badly that they've followed him ever since. The Foil then left Vulcan to found a Planet Of Hats that have been the Vulcans' Foil ever since - the [[Magnificent Bastard|Romulans]].

* Every version of ''[[Star Trek]]'' has at least one Omnidisciplinary Scientist and [[Open-Heart Dentistry|Open Heart Dentist]], always justified by some means or another: [[The Next Generation]] had [[Super Prototype]] android Data, [[Deep Space Nine]] had [[Designer Babies|Designer Baby]] Doctor Bashir. The rest of the time they just called in a Vulcan, whose ''[[Planet of Hats|Hat]]'' seems to be "Omnidisciplinary '''''whatever I choose to study'''''", and an extensive amount of [[Backstory]] is devoted to justifying this. Vulcan neurochemistry has what would be in humans super-high levels of various hormones that facilitate learning, recall, analysis, and reflexes. They also result in [[Hot-Blooded|hair-trigger tempers]]; prior to the coming of [[The Messiah|Surak]], they were even more violent than ''[[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Klingons]]''. His Message was that all problems were solvable through [[Awesomeness By Analysis]], whereas [[Don't Think, Feel]] would only lead to [[The End of the World as We Know It]]. He wasn't all that popular until he gained a [[Foil]], T'Pel, who basically executed the story of [[Fight Club]] [[Up to Eleven]], freaking the ''entire planet'' out so badly that they've followed him ever since. The Foil then left Vulcan to found a Planet Of Hats that have been the Vulcans' Foil ever since - the [[Magnificent Bastard|Romulans]].

** This is rather elegantly demonstrated in the J.J. Abrams ''[[Star Trek (~~Film~~)|Star Trek]]'' movie during the scene showing the Vulcan "learning pits." The schoolchildren are answering rapid-fire questions from many, many disparate disciplines, showing how Vulcan education is intensely omnidisciplinary from very early on.

** This is rather elegantly demonstrated in the J.J. Abrams ''[[Star Trek (film)|Star Trek]]'' movie during the scene showing the Vulcan "learning pits." The schoolchildren are answering rapid-fire questions from many, many disparate disciplines, showing how Vulcan education is intensely omnidisciplinary from very early on.

*** Almost certainly a [[Call Back]] ([[Time Travel Tense Trouble|... whatever]]) to an early scene in ''Star Trek 4''. Spock, getting back in mental shape after his [[Back From the Dead|recent inconvenience]], sits at a computer effortlessly solving rapid fire science questions (and [[Smart People Play Chess|chess problems]]), only to be stumped when it asks "[[Straw Vulcan|How do you feel?]]"

** And in Dr Bashir's case, it was almost averted originally. When [[Deep Space Nine]] first started, Dr Bashir was the medical expert who didn't even know everything about medicine (for example, he once had great difficult with a dying Cardassian patient due to his (at the time) lack of knowledge of Cardassian physiology). As a result, Bashir was used to play up the [[Running Gag|"I'm a doctor, not a..."]] [[Overly Long Gag|tradition]] instead. Very late into the show, it was revealed Bashir was in fact a [[Designer Baby]] and he was turned into a ridiculously Omnidisciplinary Scientist prone to [[Ludicrous Precision]] and capable of [[Improbable Aiming Skills]] almost overnight with the [[Hand Wave]] that he'd been like this all along, but had simply been keeping it secret.

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* On ''[[Crossing Jordan]]'' Nigel Townsend is a straight example of this. He knows everything about everything and readily admits it. It is even addressed by another character in one of the episodes. 'Dare I ask how he knows these things?' Another character responds, 'It's better not to question it.'

* The [[Stargate Verse]] tried to avert this by bringing in guest stars or occasionally even nameless specialists. However, this trope is still played straight several times in the franchise.

** In ''[[~~Stargate Atlantis (TV)|~~Stargate Atlantis]]'', half of the main cast during the final season consists of scientists and medical experts with various specializations, and most of the other recurring guest characters are scientists as well. This would make sense, as it's a scientific expedition they've undertaken. That said, among the main characters Dr. Rodney McKay is the go-to guy for an inordinately wide variety of problems, as he has far exceeded his original field and is now Atlantis' omnidisciplinary expert on alien technology. Not surprisingly, as at the beginning of the series McKay was the only scientist in his team, while the other three main characters (Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon) were pilots and combat experts.

** In ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'', half of the main cast during the final season consists of scientists and medical experts with various specializations, and most of the other recurring guest characters are scientists as well. This would make sense, as it's a scientific expedition they've undertaken. That said, among the main characters Dr. Rodney McKay is the go-to guy for an inordinately wide variety of problems, as he has far exceeded his original field and is now Atlantis' omnidisciplinary expert on alien technology. Not surprisingly, as at the beginning of the series McKay was the only scientist in his team, while the other three main characters (Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon) were pilots and combat experts.

** On ''[[Stargate SG 1]]'', Dr. Samantha Carter filled this niche prior to Dr. McKay. Originally a theoretical physicist, in the SG-1 team she was pretty much a standard [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist]] for everything technological, basically anything that didn't fit Dr. Daniel Jackson's specialties (archaeology and linguistics). (After the end of the ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' series, Carter was transferred to Atlantis, to take over command from Dr. Elizabeth Weir.) One of the few female examples.

** On ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', Dr. Samantha Carter filled this niche prior to Dr. McKay. Originally a theoretical physicist, in the SG-1 team she was pretty much a standard [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist]] for everything technological, basically anything that didn't fit Dr. Daniel Jackson's specialties (archaeology and linguistics). (After the end of the ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' series, Carter was transferred to Atlantis, to take over command from Dr. Elizabeth Weir.) One of the few female examples.

*** Was humorously averted in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' at times, though. One episode opens with the team encountering a woman in labor; all the guys look at Sam, who immediately yells, "What? I don't know what to do!"

*** Jackson himself feels like a liberal arts version of an [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist]], given how easily he can provide information on any pre-modern Earth culture, not to mention his knowledge of languages. Contrast this with the movie version, where he was explicitly an Egyptologist. Albeit, an Egyptologist with enough knowledge of astronomy to be able to piece together how the Stargate worked. In this sense, the television show took away this aspact of Jackson's character. While Sam was allowed to encroach onto Daniel's territory with knowledge of anthropology and cultures and sociological knowledge, after the pilot episode, Daniel's ability to grasp things like astronomy was steadily removed and dumbed down to create the [[Overly Long Gag]] that the rest of the team were incapable of keeping up with Sam's super intelligent scientific knowledge (this despite the pilot confirming Daniel had solved in two weeks, using astronomy, what she - the expert - had spent two years failing to discover). The short of it was, the plot dictated whether it was Daniel or Sam who had the answer, regardless of whether it made any sense for them to actually know.

** In ''[[~~Stargate Universe (TV)|~~Stargate Universe]]'' Dr. Rush is set up to be this. Admittedly most issues brought up so far deal with ancient technology, which he is supposed to be an expert on, and the basics of other fields, he has a tendency to refuse all other help. Averted in the pilot however, when he needed an MIT dropout to solve a math problem that he'd being working on for 2 years.

** In ''[[Stargate Universe]]'' Dr. Rush is set up to be this. Admittedly most issues brought up so far deal with ancient technology, which he is supposed to be an expert on, and the basics of other fields, he has a tendency to refuse all other help. Averted in the pilot however, when he needed an MIT dropout to solve a math problem that he'd being working on for 2 years.

* Professor Arturo in ''[[Sliders]]'', despite supposedly being a cosmologist or sometimes a more general theoretical physicist, successfully creates penicillin in an early episode (in a world where medicine was much less advanced). Later, quite unbelievably, he was capable of performing a Caesarean section on another (male) character, despite having no experience with any form of surgery, let alone such an exotic circumstance as a [[Mister Seahorse|male pregnancy]]. And then there was the time he revived a deactivated android... However, each of these cases was lampshaded with dialogue about how hard and/or different from maths he found it.

* On ''[[Eureka]]'':

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** The show behaves as if "fringe science" were a single category of scientific endeavor, overlapping physics, biology, biochemestry, and a dozen or so others (Sonoma State University may have once offered a degree in fringe science, but Harvard not so much). Walter Bishop is shown as an expert on teleporters one minute and performing autopsies the next. They even occasionally send patents to his clearly unhygienic lab to have him perform surgeries. Not that the character isn't a hoot. He also knows a lot about LSD.

*** In reality more than a few fringe scientists ''do'' think like that. At least one of the cold fusion groups has a medical doctor as a consultant.

*** In reality "fringe" science is stuff considered so laughable that almost ''nobody'' studies it(you can pick up everything currently known about, say, [[wikipedia:Phrenology|Phrenology]] from one thick book) so there's very little to actually learn, almost none of which is actually useful. It's not hard to be a fringe science [[Renaissance Man]] - what's hard is being a ''[[Awesome Yet Practical|practical]]'' fringe scientist. This makes some promising research projects(such as [[wikipedia:Cold fusion|cold fusion]]) almost impossible to staff because the nutcase-to-[[The Worm Guy|Worm Guy]] ratio is just absurd - few mainstream scientists realize what they're looking at if [[Vindicated By History|anomalous data appears]], and most nutcases think they've cured cancer if they drop bleach on the petri dish. Case in point, radioastronomers spent ''decades'' enhancing and tweaking their instruments trying to eliminate what they thought was earth-based "noise" before they realized they had discovered [[wikipedia:Cosmic microwave background radiation|cosmic microwave background radiation]].

*** In reality "fringe" science is stuff considered so laughable that almost ''nobody'' studies it(you can pick up everything currently known about, say, [[wikipedia:Phrenology|Phrenology]] from one thick book) so there's very little to actually learn, almost none of which is actually useful. It's not hard to be a fringe science [[Renaissance Man]] - what's hard is being a ''[[Awesome Yet Practical|practical]]'' fringe scientist. This makes some promising research projects(such as [[wikipedia:Cold fusion|cold fusion]]) almost impossible to staff because the nutcase-to-[[The Worm Guy|Worm Guy]] ratio is just absurd - few mainstream scientists realize what they're looking at if [[Vindicated by History|anomalous data appears]], and most nutcases think they've cured cancer if they drop bleach on the petri dish. Case in point, radioastronomers spent ''decades'' enhancing and tweaking their instruments trying to eliminate what they thought was earth-based "noise" before they realized they had discovered [[wikipedia:Cosmic microwave background radiation|cosmic microwave background radiation]].

* ''[[Sanctuary]]'': Dr Helen Magnus states in the first episode that she is "Any kind [of doctor] my patient need me to be." [[Justified Trope|Of course]], she has had [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|plenty of time to learn]].

** She seems to be any type of biological science, Will is brought in specifically to deal with the mental doctoring and Henry is the technical expert.

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* Dr. Spaceman (pronounced "Spatchemmen") in ''~30 Rock~'' performs work of all kinds; he's equally unskilled at all branches of science...

* Partially averted in ''[[Power Rangers Dino Thunder]]''. Although Tommy is well established as being a doctor of paleontology, this expertise in dinosaurs still enables him to create [[Transforming Mecha|dinosaur cyborgs]] ranging in size from motorcycle sized to [[Humongous Mecha|kaiju]] size, to create magical [[Power Rangers RPM|bio-armor]] (powered by magical "dino gems"), etc. Basically, he can do anything if its either shaped like or named after a dinosaur. More broad than the average paleontologist, certainly, but he's ''technically'' staying within his field of study.

** Kinda [[Justified Trope]] by the fact that he spent [[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers|his]] [[Power Rangers ~~ZEO~~|high school]] [[Power Rangers Turbo|years]] using hyperadvanced alien technology to fight crime as an afterschool activity. He was bound to pick ''something'' up.

** Kinda [[Justified Trope]] by the fact that he spent [[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers|his]] [[Power Rangers Zeo|high school]] [[Power Rangers Turbo|years]] using hyperadvanced alien technology to fight crime as an afterschool activity. He was bound to pick ''something'' up.

** He also had help, as it's outright stated that he couldn't have done it without Hayley.

** Speaking of Hayley, she outright plays this trope straight.

* Played realistically on ''[[NCIS]]'' when coroner Ducky is shown studying for his forensic psychology exam, which he passed. And...that's it. He hasn't gotten any more degrees, but that Master's FP degree comes in handy on several occasions.

* [[Quatermass|Bernard Quatermass]] develops into one of these over the course of three serials. In his first story he describes himself as just an engineer and relies on surgeon Dr. Briscoe for anything relating to biology, but by his third encounter with aliens he's done quite a bit of brushing up on other fields.

* Scorpius of ''[[~~Farscape (TV)|~~Farscape]]'' fame specializes in many different fields: originally a researcher in wormhole physics, he's also skilled enough in engineering, cybernetics and neuroscience to invent the Aurora chair and a neurochip containing a replica of his personality. And he's also [[Wicked Cultured]].

* Scorpius of ''[[Farscape]]'' fame specializes in many different fields: originally a researcher in wormhole physics, he's also skilled enough in engineering, cybernetics and neuroscience to invent the Aurora chair and a neurochip containing a replica of his personality. And he's also [[Wicked Cultured]].

* Chase on ''[[House MD]]'' apparently spent about 60 years as a resident. While his place on a diagnostic team does indicate he would have a wide knowledge base he has performed actual surgeries in virtually every conceivable surgical discipline.

** Averted somewhat by House himself- though he's a medical genius, he surrounds himself with a team of specialists to round out his knowledge pool. He apparently has a double specialty in Infectious Diseases and Nephrology (study of the kidneys).

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*** It sorta makes sense. They do not have routine patients after all, and very often they only crack the case by spotting something wholly unrelated during a test, something that would have been completely overlooked or ignored by a 'mere' technician. For instance, when out of other ideas, they'll sometimes resort to a whole-body MRI in the hopes of finding ''something'' out of place. If they were to assign that to a tech, what exactly would they tell them to look for?

* ''[[The X-Files]]'': Dr Dana Scully sometimes comments on psychological issues despite the fact that it's ''Mulder'' who has the degree in this area.

* Natalie on ''[[~~Forever Knight (TV)|~~Forever Knight]]'', although she's the medical examiner, is represented as doing a variety of science stuff (although not much is shown onscreen) in attempting to understand vampire Nick Knight's condition and "cure" him.

* Natalie on ''[[Forever Knight]]'', although she's the medical examiner, is represented as doing a variety of science stuff (although not much is shown onscreen) in attempting to understand vampire Nick Knight's condition and "cure" him.

* [[The Professor]] on ''~Gilligan's Island~'', by virtue of [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|his name]]. The only discipline he apparently neglected to learn was ship repair, no matter how many other engineering feats he performs.

* Charlie Epps from [[Numb3rs]] is a mathematics prodigy. Besides being an Omnidisciplinary Mathematician (he seems to know everything about every algorithm ever made) he also seems to be an expert on chemistry, sociology, computer programing and physics. The only reason that he needs such a wide variety of skills is that the team of FBI agents he works with are all [[Idiot Ball|idiots]].

** Charlie has the sort of knowledge in the computer and physical sciences that are required support for a mathematics degree at many universities. Really, Amita is the expert programmer and Larry the expert physicist ([[The Cameo|and Bill Nye]] the expert chemist).

** Charlie is omnidisciplinary ''within'' mathematics, however (Omni''sub''disciplinary?).

* Dr. Julia Hoffman of ''[[Dark Shadows (TV)|Dark Shadows]]'' qualifies. When first mentioned (but not yet seen), she's an expert on blood disorders, then turns up at Windcliff Sanitarium where she demonstrates psychiatric/psychological training, and in later episodes turns out to be a qualified surgeon, research scientist (her search for a cure for Barnabas), and even electrical engineer.

* Dr. Julia Hoffman of ''[[Dark Shadows (TV series)|Dark Shadows]]'' qualifies. When first mentioned (but not yet seen), she's an expert on blood disorders, then turns up at Windcliff Sanitarium where she demonstrates psychiatric/psychological training, and in later episodes turns out to be a qualified surgeon, research scientist (her search for a cure for Barnabas), and even electrical engineer.

* Topher Brink of ''[[Dollhouse]]'' is an expert in neuroscience, computers, and electrical engineering. It's somewhat necessary for his job. He's also been to medical school, though we don't actually know if he's an MD.

** Echo is a more justified example - she has dozens of different personalities in her head, including a nurse and a few rocket scientists.

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* Simon Campos on ''[[Flash Forward]]'' is a quantum physicist who also reads medical charts and breaks encryption.

* Lem and Phil on ''[[Better Off Ted]]''.

* Siroc on ''[[~~Young Blades (TV)|~~Young Blades]]'' is introduced as a [[Gadgeteer Genius]] and man ahead of his time, but by the end of the series is shown as knowledgeable in knowledgeable in biology, engineering, forensics, medicine, and whatever other branch of science the plot requires.

* Siroc on ''[[Young Blades]]'' is introduced as a [[Gadgeteer Genius]] and man ahead of his time, but by the end of the series is shown as knowledgeable in knowledgeable in biology, engineering, forensics, medicine, and whatever other branch of science the plot requires.

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** Probably justified in the case of older Exalts, who are hundreds or even thousands of years old and have thus had a lot of time to study.

** ''Every'' Exalt is a jack-of-all-trades with regard to any of the 25 abilities.

* The ''[[~~Mage: The Ascension (Tabletop Game)|~~Mage: The Ascension]]'' gameline from the [[Old World of Darkness]] was rife with this, as skills on the character sheet came in broad categories such as "technology", "medicine", "science", "computers" and "academics", specialization optional. The reality-bending technomages on the side of the Nine Traditions could easily slip into this trope, especially the Sons of Ether who embodied the [[Mad Scientist]] and/or [[Mad Doctor]] trope to a T. Strangely, all the awakened super-scientists, engineers, spacepilots, pharmacologists, cybersurgeons and geneticists of the Technocracy were far more specialized and usually stuck to their field of expertise, despite the fact that the Technocracy was All About Science.

* The ''[[Mage: The Ascension]]'' gameline from the [[Old World of Darkness]] was rife with this, as skills on the character sheet came in broad categories such as "technology", "medicine", "science", "computers" and "academics", specialization optional. The reality-bending technomages on the side of the Nine Traditions could easily slip into this trope, especially the Sons of Ether who embodied the [[Mad Scientist]] and/or [[Mad Doctor]] trope to a T. Strangely, all the awakened super-scientists, engineers, spacepilots, pharmacologists, cybersurgeons and geneticists of the Technocracy were far more specialized and usually stuck to their field of expertise, despite the fact that the Technocracy was All About Science.

** It may have had something to do with the fact that the Sons of Ether tended to be loners or at the very least disorganized and thus were encouraged to be at least decent in a little of everything, while the Technocracy is Also All About Organization and had dedicated branches for specific needs.

* ''[[~~Genius: The Transgression (Tabletop Game)|~~Genius: The Transgression]]'' has the same broad categories as all [[New World of Darkness]] games, but Geniuses also have the explicit ability to apply their skills to related yet bizarrely inappropriate circumstances. If they learn to drive a car they can use those skills to guide a spaceship through re-entry.

* ''[[Genius: The Transgression]]'' has the same broad categories as all [[New World of Darkness]] games, but Geniuses also have the explicit ability to apply their skills to related yet bizarrely inappropriate circumstances. If they learn to drive a car they can use those skills to guide a spaceship through re-entry.

** Then again, another of the abilities of a Genius is to spend [[Mana|Mania]] to [[Awesomeness By Analysis|intuitively understand technology]]. Given that "technology" is a very broad category, there's a high chance of overlap between those two skills.

* Any character with Science skill in the current edition of the World of Darkness is this by default, as there's only one "Science" skill, just as there's only one "Academics" skill. Even the specialities are extremely broad, such as "Physics" or "Chemistry."

* ''[[~~D 20~~ Modern]]'' does divide the sciences into multiple Knowledge skills. However, there are only four of them - behavioral sciences, earth and life sciences, physical sciences, and technology. Under this system, a geologist character will also be an expert on biology. Furthermore, it is easy for a Smart Hero to max out several of these skills and be a true [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist]].

* ''[[D20 Modern]]'' does divide the sciences into multiple Knowledge skills. However, there are only four of them - behavioral sciences, earth and life sciences, physical sciences, and technology. Under this system, a geologist character will also be an expert on biology. Furthermore, it is easy for a Smart Hero to max out several of these skills and be a true [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist]].

* ''[[Rifts]]'' and other Palladium Books games have this trope in spades. In the case of the original ''Rifts'' book, there's the Rogue Scientist, who can grab any and all science skills in the book. The CAF Scientist in Phaseworld is similar, though he does get to pick one science at a slightly higher bonus as his specialization (as in, his specialization is in one entire scientific field). ''Heroes Unlimited'' has other examples, but as the point of that game is to make comic book style superheroes, it's likely [[Invoked Trope|done on purpose]] in that case.

* ''[[~~Maid RPG (Tabletop Game)|~~Maid RPG]]''. In the replay "Maids at the End of the World", the Master is Masami Onji a scholarly genius who is greatly knowledgeable about every field imaginable.

* ''[[Maid RPG]]''. In the replay "Maids at the End of the World", the Master is Masami Onji a scholarly genius who is greatly knowledgeable about every field imaginable.

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== Video Games ==

* Parodied in ''[[~~Portal 2 (Video Game)|~~Portal 2]]'' by GLaDOS, who casually mentions an engineer with "A medical degree, in fashion." As usual with [[G La DOS]], this is just to torment the (female) player character, by taunting her about her image.

* Parodied in ''[[Portal 2]]'' by GLaDOS, who casually mentions an engineer with "A medical degree, in fashion." As usual with [[G La DOS]], this is just to torment the (female) player character, by taunting her about her image.

* Guildenstern in the ''[[Onimusha]]'' games initially seems to be only a demon biologist or geneticist, but later installments have him dipping into chemistry, electronic warfare, physics, engineering, and so on.

* Caulder/Stolos in ''[[Advance Wars]]: Days of Ruin'' is described by Dr. Morris as having been "kicked out of the medical academy", but is knowledgeable about a great deal of things unrelated to medicine.

** Lash from the two prior games is a lesser version -- she mostly showcases her mechanical knowledge but is proficient in several other fields as well.

* The Engineer from ''[[~~Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|~~Team Fortress 2]]'' claims to have ''eleven'' Ph.Ds, despite specializing in building automated weapons and support devices in-game.

* The Engineer from ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' claims to have ''eleven'' Ph.Ds, despite specializing in building automated weapons and support devices in-game.

** Dude, the guy can build TELEPORTERS. 11 degrees would help with that.

*** By [[Percussive Maintenance|pounding them with a wrench]].

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* In the [[Halo|Haloverse]], Dr. Catherine E. Halsey, Chief Scientist of the Office of Navel Intelligence, was the key mind behind all aspects of the [[Super Soldier|Spartan-II]] project, from the [[Bio Augmentation|augmentations]] to the [[Powered Armor|MJOLNIR armor]], and was also a major authority on [[Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligences]], among other things overseeing the creation of the AIs who were to be uploaded to the Spartan's MJOLNIR armor (most notably Cortana, who was directly copied from a clone of Halsey's brain). She was also heavily involved in researching both [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Covenant]] and [[Precursors|Forerunner]] technology.

* Professor Oak/Elm,etc from [[Pokémon]] claim to be "pokemon doctors" which seems to mean that they're geneticists, naturalists, and maybe veterinarians. But they have the technological know-how to build electronic encyclopedias, teleporters, artificial intelligences, and some crazier things.

* Dr. Andonuts from [[~~Earthbound (Video Game)|~~Earthbound]] {{spoiler|and [[~~Mother 3 (Video Game)|~~Mother 3]]}} is this. Judging by his inventions, he's a physicist, a biologist, a roboticist, and a hell of a structural engineer. With so much on his plate, it's no wonder he [[Parental Abandonment|doesn't have time for his son]].

* Dr. Andonuts from [[Earthbound]] {{spoiler|and [[Mother 3]]}} is this. Judging by his inventions, he's a physicist, a biologist, a roboticist, and a hell of a structural engineer. With so much on his plate, it's no wonder he [[Parental Abandonment|doesn't have time for his son]].

* Averted by ''[[Mass Effect]]''. If Liara is in your party {{spoiler|when you encounter the Rachni}}, she will tell you she's an archaeologist, not a biologist, and has no idea what they are.

** Played straight in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' with Mordin Solus -- Although he is primarily a medic, he knows a bit about pretty much everything.

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** He also takes care of ''all'' the upgrades on Normandy SR-2 as his sidework, main project being studying the Collectors. Seriously, this guy really is [[Ear Worm|the very model of a scientist salarian.]]

*** [[Justified Trope]]. [[Verbal Tic|Salarian lifespan short. Operate at much faster rate than human beings]]. [[Motor Mouth|No doubt brain works quicker. Would ensure quick accumulation of vast amounts of knowledge]].

* True to its [[Superhero]] roots, ''[[City of Heroes]]'' has a few, the most notable being [[Mad Scientist]] Dr. Aeon. He's done time and dimensional travel, attempted a geothermal plant (which only failed because he hit a [[Sealed Evil in A Can|demon's prison]] while drilling and decided that would work ''way'' better than a volcano), created his own super-powered army, built a [[Power Armor|personal battle suit]], and a virtual reality corporation. It's been said that he has the mental capacity to juggle hundreds of projects simultaneously.

* True to its [[Superhero]] roots, ''[[City of Heroes]]'' has a few, the most notable being [[Mad Scientist]] Dr. Aeon. He's done time and dimensional travel, attempted a geothermal plant (which only failed because he hit a [[Sealed Evil in a Can|demon's prison]] while drilling and decided that would work ''way'' better than a volcano), created his own super-powered army, built a [[Power Armor|personal battle suit]], and a virtual reality corporation. It's been said that he has the mental capacity to juggle hundreds of projects simultaneously.

* ''[[Fallout]] 3'' has Dr. Li and Dad (maybe others). Li apparently is trained in botany and hydroponics and also can make a mean [[Humongous Mecha|Giant Stompy Robot]]-driving high-output compact fusion generator. Dad apparently has training with theoretical quantum physics (or whatever science is involved in the [[Star Trek II ~~the~~ Wrath of Khan ~~(Film)~~|Genesis Device]]-like GECK) and also general practice medicine.

* ''[[Fallout]] 3'' has Dr. Li and Dad (maybe others). Li apparently is trained in botany and hydroponics and also can make a mean [[Humongous Mecha|Giant Stompy Robot]]-driving high-output compact fusion generator. Dad apparently has training with theoretical quantum physics (or whatever science is involved in the [[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|Genesis Device]]-like GECK) and also general practice medicine.

** This trope applies for the player character him/herself, right from the first game. There is a skill simply labeled "Science", which among other things covers computer programming, pharmacology and agriculture. Medicine is a separate skill, though there is some overlap.

* Doctor Dala in the ''[[Fallout New Vegas]]'' DLC ''Old-World Blues'' claims to have 213 doctorates, many of which are in fields that didn't exist before she began studying them.

* Doctor Dala in the ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' DLC ''Old-World Blues'' claims to have 213 doctorates, many of which are in fields that didn't exist before she began studying them.

* Every Capsuleer (that is, every player character) in [[Eve Online]] can be this. Cybernetics, "Neural Remapping" for superintelligence, and effective immortality let Capsuleers master fields in astrophysics, mechanical and electrical engineering, "astrogeology", industrial operation, and economics, on top of being a weapons expert and having superhuman piloting skills. All this skill and knowledge has a tendency to make them feel a bit [[A God Am I|superior]] and [[Heroic Sociopath|distant]], [[Complete Monster|at best]].

* [[~~Mega Man X (Video Game)|~~Mega Man X]] was found by Dr. Cain, who managed to build working knock-offs (even if reploids aren't as good as androids), which is actually kind of impressive for a paleobotanist (he was there looking for Mesozoic plants). A subversion since his failure to accurately replicate X is an ongoing part of the plot, producing Iris and Colonel as late as the fourth game.

* [[Mega Man X]] was found by Dr. Cain, who managed to build working knock-offs (even if reploids aren't as good as androids), which is actually kind of impressive for a paleobotanist (he was there looking for Mesozoic plants). A subversion since his failure to accurately replicate X is an ongoing part of the plot, producing Iris and Colonel as late as the fourth game.

* ''[[Infinite Space]]'' has Dr. Gavriil Minas, who's mostly around to be [[Mr. Exposition]] and occasionally develop new modules for your ships.

* Averted and lampshaded in ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' with [[Deadpan Snarker|Jade]] [[Heroic Sociopath|Cur]][[Four-Star Badass|tiss]]. Everybody expects him to be one, but as it turns out his doctorate revolves around [[Functional Magic|fonons]] rather than biology or medicine. As such, he gives one or two exasperated sighs whenever people have a science question and he has to explain that, it's "not (his) subject." Oddly enough, his [[Always Second Best|inferior rival]], [[Ambiguously Gay|Dist]], is closer to this trope as he's done the same kind of research Jade has along with building huge machines.

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** Gil is actually more of a biology specialist, hence being the go to guy for doctor questions, where as Tarvek is mechanical engineering, hence his facination with and amazing ability to create/manipulate the muses. All sparks seem to come together on the subject of weapons.

** Tarvek seems to be more like Klaus, with an extraordinary ability to analyze and replicate creations. His interest with the muses is just because {{spoiler|they were built for his ancestor, and thus ''him''.}}

* From the ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja ~~(Webcomic)~~|Doctor McNinja]]'' FAQ ([http://drmcninja.com/about.html link]):

* From the ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja|Doctor McNinja]]'' FAQ ([http://drmcninja.com/about.html link]):

{{quote| '''Q: What kind of doctor is he anyway? That's a PhD on his wall. The sign in front of his office says he's a physician. In the one comic he's doing dental work on a patient, and then says he's a podiatrist!'''<br />

A: Ninjas are mysterious in their ways. ''Way'' mysterious. }}

** One scene shows the Doctor with a wall of diplomas.

** One storyline reveals that he is apparently ''every'' kind of doctor thanks to an army of clones going out to learn everything. Except for agricultural science, that clone had to go into hiding. He changed his name to "Old." [[Incredibly Lame Pun|You know, Old McNinja]]. [[Don't Explain the Joke|He's a farmer]].

* Kevyn, "resident [[Mad Scientist]]" of ''[[~~Schlock Mercenary (Webcomic)|~~Schlock Mercenary]]'' [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20020118.html delivers a tirade about how ridiculous this archetype is.] However, between his sheer smarts (he doesn't have any actual degrees, as he's so smart he gets bored after learning entire three-to-six-year disciplines in a few months and leaves) and his hobbies, he still fits the role.

* Kevyn, "resident [[Mad Scientist]]" of ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20020118.html delivers a tirade about how ridiculous this archetype is.] However, between his sheer smarts (he doesn't have any actual degrees, as he's so smart he gets bored after learning entire three-to-six-year disciplines in a few months and leaves) and his hobbies, he still fits the role.

** This trope is later [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20030609.html subverted again] in the same comic, when the crew encounter an unknown life-form, and the captain asks both Kevyn and the ship's doctor for their "professional opinion." Neither one helps.

** More recently, Tagon's Toughs has acquired a specialist on A.I. and robotics, who calls Kevyn [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20080406.html "an arrogant generalist"] on first meeting him. They eventually reach a balance, as Kevyn has more practical experience than the average scientist, and helps the newbie wrap her brain around concepts like "the value of field testing".

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** [[Power Perversion Potential|Anything]]?

* [[Dr. Nonami]]: Both Nonami and Mechano specialize in robotics, but also are extremely proficient in all other areas of science.

* ''[[Drive (~~Webcomic~~)|Drive]]'': Nosh, the science officer of the [[Cool Ship|Machito]].

* ''[[Drive (webcomic)|Drive]]'': Nosh, the science officer of the [[Cool Ship|Machito]].

* ''[[~~Casey and Andy (Webcomic)|~~Casey and Andy]]'' dabble in any and every field to cause disasters; quantum physics, chemistry, engineering, medicine, you name it. They can build things that can do anything you wish, as long as you specify it with a descriptive name that ends with "-O-Mat". ("Can you build a Bio-Signature-Tracker-O-Mat?") They've created death rays, explosives, genengineered world-eaters, wood-fueled submarines, spacecraft, planck adjusters, wolverine claws, and started a massive fire with only jello and pineapple chunks.

* ''[[Casey and Andy]]'' dabble in any and every field to cause disasters; quantum physics, chemistry, engineering, medicine, you name it. They can build things that can do anything you wish, as long as you specify it with a descriptive name that ends with "-O-Mat". ("Can you build a Bio-Signature-Tracker-O-Mat?") They've created death rays, explosives, genengineered world-eaters, wood-fueled submarines, spacecraft, planck adjusters, wolverine claws, and started a massive fire with only jello and pineapple chunks.

== Web Original ==

* [[Doctor Steel]]'s Ph.D is never elaborated on (according to him, he is a "doctor of reality engineering"), but he's "displayed" skills in engineering, mathematics, biology, medicine, chemistry... baking (well, not so much)...

* [[The Spoony Experiment ~~(Web Video)~~|Doctor Insano]] has the power of science, which allows him to shoot lasers out of his hands. Presumably, all the other X-Sanos are equally gifted.

* [[The Spoony Experiment|Doctor Insano]] has the power of science, which allows him to shoot lasers out of his hands. Presumably, all the other X-Sanos are equally gifted.

* [[Global Guardians PBEM Universe|Doctor Simian]] holds eighteen doctorates, including one in "Other Sciences."

* In ''[[~~Atop the Fourth Wall (Web Video)|~~Atop the Fourth Wall]]'s'' review of ''[[Spider Man]]'''s "Planet of the Symbiotes" arc, he notes a sign advertising a "Science Expo" and comments on how in Comic Book World, "Science" seems to be a single discipline.

* In ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall]]'s'' review of ''[[Spider-Man]]'''s "Planet of the Symbiotes" arc, he notes a sign advertising a "Science Expo" and comments on how in Comic Book World, "Science" seems to be a single discipline.

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** His arch-rival Professor Dementor seems to be more of a straight physicist, but that may be due more to his relative lack of screen time. Ironically, unlike the [[Polymath]] Drakken, he is very competent and fairly successful, to the point that Drakken often steals from him (or at least tries to).

* Professor Membrane from ''[[Invader Zim]]'', not to mention the titular character.

* An episode of [[Captain N ~~the~~ Game Master]] had [[Mega Man (~~Video~~ ~~Game~~)|Dr. Light]], normally an expert of robotics, performing medical duties on a very human patient. Makes you wonder why they didn't use the opportunity to promote the [[Super Mario|Dr. Mario]] game.

* An episode of [[Captain N: The Game Master]] had [[Mega Man (video game)|Dr. Light]], normally an expert of robotics, performing medical duties on a very human patient. Makes you wonder why they didn't use the opportunity to promote the [[Super Mario|Dr. Mario]] game.

** Probably because it was one of the few episodes with no leanings toward comedy.

* Prof. Algernon from ''[[Exo Squad]]'' is a partial subversion. On the one hand, he is skilled in theoretical physics (discovering the Gravitational Focus Effect which "cannot be explained by normal physics"), numerous forms of engineering (building the GRAF Shield, upgrading Able Squad's E-Frames), and neuroscience (curing Dark Matter Syndrome). Also VR painting. However, when consulted on the subject of genetics, he is quick to point out that it isn't his field and can provide no assistance.

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* Judging by his inventions, Professor Utonium of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' is, at the minimum, an electrical engineer, a chemist, a biologist, and a theoretical physicist.

* The title characters of ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' have constructed everything from robots to spaceships to time machines, despite only being [[Vague Age|fourteen at most]]. Ditto for [[Mad Scientist]] Dr. Doofenshmirtz, who can create just about anything you can slap the "[[Theme Naming|-inator]]" suffix on.

* In [[Batman Mystery of the Batwoman]] this is played with in [[Batwoman]] as she ''appears'' to be a brilliant martial artist who also invented miraculous gadgets and is a skilled and experienced computer hacker. {{spoiler|It turns out it is three different women [[Collective Identity|using one costume]] who each bring their own skills to the table}}.

* In [[Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman]] this is played with in [[Batwoman]] as she ''appears'' to be a brilliant martial artist who also invented miraculous gadgets and is a skilled and experienced computer hacker. {{spoiler|It turns out it is three different women [[Collective Identity|using one costume]] who each bring their own skills to the table}}.

* [[Family Guy]]'s Stewie has mastered time travel, weather manipulation, robotics, cloning...and still isn't potty-trained. Oh yeah, he's also [[Da Vinci]].

* On ''[[The Simpsons]],'' [[Absent-Minded Professor|Professor Frink]] has been everything from an astronomer to a physicist to an entomologist.

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== Real Life ==

* Can, rarely, be an example of [[Truth in Television]]--if you go far enough back in history. This is the origin of the phrase [[Renaissance Man]]; during the Renaissance, most fields of science were sufficiently new and undeveloped that someone with above-average intelligence could be an expert in more than one or two. By [[Johann Wolfgang ~~Von~~ Goethe]]'s time, science had sufficiently diversified that this was no longer possible except in emerging fields; Goethe (an extreme case of genius) is thus sometimes called "the last man to know everything". Much the same is said of Henri Poincaré (died 1912) in mathematics.

* Can, rarely, be an example of [[Truth in Television]]--if you go far enough back in history. This is the origin of the phrase [[Renaissance Man]]; during the Renaissance, most fields of science were sufficiently new and undeveloped that someone with above-average intelligence could be an expert in more than one or two. By [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]'s time, science had sufficiently diversified that this was no longer possible except in emerging fields; Goethe (an extreme case of genius) is thus sometimes called "the last man to know everything". Much the same is said of Henri Poincaré (died 1912) in mathematics.

** The [[Renaissance Man]] ''did'' also have to know what at the time was treated like science and was later found not to actually work- all manner of mysticism, in short, including alchemy, astrology, etc.. He would generally treat magic as another science- it made as much sense as anything else at the time.

* [[Leonardo Da Vinci]]

* [[Leonardo da Vinci]]

* [[~~Aristotle (Creator)|~~Aristotle]] knew just about everything there was to know in his time. He proved the Earth was round, catalogued every known animal (along the way, he was the first to differentiate whales from fish), advanced all natural sciences, organized legal knowledge, and made art commentaries that are still quoted in colleges (particularly his problems with "Deus Machina" endings), and the list goes on... He quite literally wrote the book on every discipline of his time and made new advancements in almost every one of them.

* [[Aristotle]] knew just about everything there was to know in his time. He proved the Earth was round, catalogued every known animal (along the way, he was the first to differentiate whales from fish), advanced all natural sciences, organized legal knowledge, and made art commentaries that are still quoted in colleges (particularly his problems with "Deus Machina" endings), and the list goes on... He quite literally wrote the book on every discipline of his time and made new advancements in almost every one of them.

* [[wikipedia:Athanasius Kircher|Athanasius Kircher]] is another historical example, with [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]] tendencies as well. Not only did he study geology, [[Ancient Egypt|ancient Egyptian]] heiroglyphs("decoding" occult meanings that probably weren't there), and microbiology(in his time a new science), he designed a "cat piano" played by making the cats squeal in pain.

* While geared towards engineering rather than research, fields of Bioengineering deal with applications of technology with respect to biological systems. This means that bioengineers have to be trained in various sciences pertaining to engineering (usually mechanical or electrical engineering, so various fields of physics) and biochemistry. This isn't nearly every discipline, of course, but it is still a much broader range than most scientists and engineers tend to deal with.