Science-Related Memetic Disorder: Difference between revisions

[[File:ggmain20081203b_2543ggmain20081203b 2543.jpg|link=Girl Genius (Webcomic)|rightframe]]

{{quote|''"Does he really have to kill them to prove his point? Can't he just show them a pie chart?"''|'''Joel Robinson''', ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000 (TV)|Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'', ''[[The Mad Monster]]''}}

Named for the communicable form of mad science in the [[Web Comic]] ''[[A Miracle of Science (Webcomic)|A Miracle of Science]]''.

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* In ''[[Soul Eater (Manga)|Soul Eater]]'' Dr. Franken Stein suffers from this, explaining how as a child doctors tried to figure out the reason for his mental instability and desire to dissect everything, traits which also make him the most powerful graduate of Shibusen. He even goes on to explain how insanity is contagious, meaning his condition gets worse when madness begins to consume the world. This might be a slight subversion of the trope, however, as it seems when his madness is less controlled, he goes from analytical genius to stark-raving madman.

* The Whispered in ''[[Full Metal Panic (Anime)|Full Metal Panic!]]'' are born with some form of [[Mad Science]] gene that allows them to build and instinctively understand one particular type of futuristic [[Black Box]] technology, such as the creation of [[Humongous Mecha]], futuristic submarine construction, AI, cold-fusion reactors, or similar. Which [[Black Box]] technology any given Whispered has knowledge of is random, and when they access their knowledge abilities they slip into some form of catatonic state.

* Doctor Jail Scaglietti, the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Striker S (Anime)|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Striker SStrikerS]]'', is eventually revealed to have been born with an uncontrollable obsession to discover the secrets behind the [[Lost Technology|Lost Logia]] of Ancient Belka and Al-Hazard {{spoiler|[[Artificial Human|when he was created]] by the [[Government Conspiracy|leaders of the TSAB]] as a result of [[Playing Withwith Syringes|project "Unlimited Desire"]]}}.

* Hank "Ant-Man" Pym. As he has stated, he only takes on board scientific projects that interest him or stimulate his imagination. He is also somewhat prone to [[Freak -Out|bouts of insanity]] and [[My Greatest Failure|creating villainous robots]]. Exactly what mental illness Hank suffers from has never really been disclosed, but the general consensus is that he really should be on some sort of medication.

== [[Fan FictionWorks]] ==

* In the ''[[Narbonic]]''/''[[Girl Genius (Webcomic)|Girl Genius]]'' forum-role play known as [[The Mad Scientist Wars]]... well, guess. Almost every major member of the main cast is a Mad Scientist, and SRMD is shown to be well documented in the medical field. It's a purely genetic condition, of course. Interestingly, one character was shown to have been taking some kind of medication to repress the syndrome, before a skipped dose and stress caused him to 'Break Through'.

== [[Film]] ==

{{quote| The Roqueforts are celebrated for their Roquefort cheese<br />

The Rothschilds are famous for their wines<br />

Hersheys have their chocolates, and Liptons have their teas,<br />

== [[Literature ]] ==

* Although they're rarely developed characters, any Marthter that any Igor has worked for on the ''[[Discworld]]''. Either they start out mad, or become mad, as a result of their scientific activities. ''[[Thief of Time]]'' has an example of a developed character of this sort.

* {{spoiler|Lydia}} from ''[[The Chronicles of Professor Jack Baling]]'' calls it Hypercognitive Dementia. It’s characterized by the ability to create devices that “regular” science would classify as impossible. However, there are downsides as well, including a marked reduction in empathy, an inability to see how one’s actions affect others, and a belief that the sufferer’s struggles are the only ones that matter.

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

* One episode of ''[[Monk (TV)|Monk]]'' has the eponymous detective put on medication for his crippling OCD, but the meds dampen his brilliant powers of observation and detection. He gives up the meds voluntarily when {{spoiler|he realizes he can't remember the face of his dead wife}}.

* The title character of ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' seems to need his physical pain and emotional bitterness in order to keep his remarkable (if unorthodox) medical talent. When he tries methadone he finds himself pain-free, cleans himself up, and seems genuinely happy... until he realizes he's lost his edge.

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* In the tabletop RPG setting ''[[Deadlands]]'', "[[Mad Scientist]]" is actually a type of playable character. While it isn't a disease in the classic sense, being a [[Mad Scientist]] in this setting is an incurable condition, as {{spoiler|demons whisper clues about devices that should not work, but do, into the ears of eager listeners, all in an attempt to hasten [[The End of the World Asas We Know It|the end]].}} Side effects include developing phobias of common items, depression, slavish obsession over one's creations, and possibly even horrific nightmares. Despite this--orthis—or perhaps because of it--Madit—Mad Scientists were among the most popular character types.

* Although all [[Our Orcs Are Different|Orks]] in ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' are already insane by human standards, their "[[Gadgeteer Genius|mekboyz]]" and "[[Deadly Doctor|painboyz]]" are even less stable, and infamous for performing acts of mad genius that unsettle even their fellow Orks. This is due to their very DNA - as a warrior race created by extinct [[Precursors]], some Orks have an instinctive understanding of science or medicine that grows through experimentation, compelling them to tinker in machine shops or perform unnecessary surgery on their squadmates. The end result is typically crude and dangerously unstable, but undeniably effective, even if the Ork can't explain how he got to it. It helps that Orks are latent psykers, to the extent that the fact that [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|they expect a device to work]] allows their more insane creations to function in spite of the laws of physics.

* ''[[Old World of Darkness (Tabletop Game)|Old World of Darkness]]'':

** In ''[[Mage: The Ascension (Tabletop Game)|Mage: The Ascension]]'', the Sons of Ether were basically [[Mad Scientist]] technomancers, with a penchant for Victorian [[Steampunk]] or [[Raygun Gothic|1950s rayguns and giant robots]]. There was a thin line between maniacal Sons of Ether and Marauders (Awakened who have gone insane and warp reality all around them). Certainly a Technocrat who went Marauder would be a textbook example of a futuristic Mad Gadgeteer. In fact, the Technocracy called awakened mages and other supernaturals "reality deviants". Come to think of it, in ''Mage: The Ascension'', paradigm dissonance ''is'' a form of insanity, if you define insanity as experiencing things differently from what the majority experiences. For the Awakened, if their avatar warps reality, then their hallucinations can turn real.

** In ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade (Tabletop Game)|Vampire: The Masquerade]]'', a few Malkavian vampires are scientists that have had the Malkav curse inflicted upon them. (There's even an archetype for playing such a character in the handbook.)

* In ''[[Genius: The Transgression (Tabletop Game)|Genius: The Transgression]]'', becoming a Genius warps you into something ''not quite human''. On the one hand, [[Touched Byby Vorlons|Inspiration]] grants the ability to "delicately bend" the laws of physics, with higher levels of Inspiration naturally granting greater power. On the other hand, a more Inspired Genius will likely find it harder and harder to maintain his [[Karma Meter|Obligation]] and, if they [[Moral Event Horizon|snap]], they can become an [[Reality Warper|Unmada]], or [[It Got Worse|worse]], one of the [[Complete Monster|Illuminated]], at which point [[Omnicidal Maniac|everyone and everything]] [[For Science!|starts to look like a resource]]. Inspiration also seems to be contagious; [[Muggles|Mortals]] exposed to mad science have a likelihood of becoming [[The Igor|Beholden]], if not a Genius in their own right.

* ''[[Promethean: The Created (Tabletop Game)|Promethean: The Created]]'' uses a variant of this to explain the "demiurges" who created the Promethean Lineages -- theyLineages—they were mortals unwittingly channeling the Divine Fire of the universe, the fundamental force of existence. However, humans weren't ''made'' to channel the Divine Fire, which meant the demiurges were a bit... ''off'' when they decided to bring human corpses back to life.

* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' has this in the form of the tinker gnomes of the ''[[Dragonlance]]'' setting. A sub-race of gnomes who were cursed by a god to be brilliant and ingenious inventors [[Rube Goldberg Device|with absolutely no concept of 'practicality']] [[Made of Explodium|or even 'safety']].

== Webcomics[[Video Games]] ==

* ''[[A Miracle of Science (Webcomic)|A Miracle of Science]]'', the [[Trope Namer]], is about a {{spoiler|[[Boxed Crook|reformed mad scientist]] turned}} police detective hunting down a mad roboticist who is threatening the stability of the solar system. The medications used in the treatment of SRMD makes one character, in his own words, "feel like [his] head is full of felt."

* The genetic condition of Mad Science (aka hypercognitive dementia, also known as Walton's Disorder, also known popularly as Mad Genius; DSM-IV numeric code 29533) and its eventual treatment is also the major theme in ''[[Narbonic (Webcomic)|Narbonic]]''. There is talk of a cure, but {{spoiler|at least in the form we see it, it turns the mad scientist into a [[Weirdness Censor]]-equipped mundane. Makes them impotent, too.}}

* ''[[Girl Genius (Webcomic)|Girl Genius]]'' is a [[Steampunk]] series in which "Sparks" run rampant. No cure in sight short of massive, irreversible brain damage. But the Spark who's working on it is getting ''much'' better about that whole "quality of life" thing! Sparks are compelled to build things - often extremely ''dangerous'' things - with minds of their own and little to no regard for consequences. It's been called '[[The Madness Place]]' with three known levels. After the first, concern for safety starts to falter a bit - ''all'' safety.

* Hannelore's father in ''[[Questionable Content (Webcomic)|Questionable Content]]'' is implied to suffer from a version of this; in one strip he goes off his meds and builds her a "fully functional" robot boy. Well, almost fully functional; the fun parts are still in "beta". [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Private beta, obviously]].

** Devisors also frequently forget to do things like eat or sleep -- thissleep—this isn't related to Diedrick's, devisors and gadgeteers just tend to get ''really'' into their work -- andwork—and the cafeteria has "devisor specials" that the friends of the inventor in question can take to them in the labs, containing easy-to-eat stuff like lots of finger foods.

{{quote| "Perfect, the first batch of impervion was created in a lab accident that killed twenty-five people. And the man who invented it is certifiably insane. It's not something you should be able to whip up in your basement in a few hours."}}

* [[The Spoony Experiment (Web Video)|Doctor Insano]]. Some of his origin stories have him being actually driven mad, either through bad videogames or through his anger at being rejected as a teenager.

== Real Life[[Western Animation]] ==

** Subcritical manic state (hypomania) has shown distinct connection with heightened creativity -- especiallycreativity—especially for lateral and divergent thinking. It's not impossible that many geniuses labeled "mad scientists" in history carried gentler forms of bipolar disorder. Some might have even been the legendary unipolar hypomanics -- professionallyhypomanics—professionally referred to as "Lucky Bastards".

** People who are better at thinking outside the box than others may not realize when thinking ''inside'' the box is more appropriate, leading to perceived eccentricities.

{{quote| "Before, when I looked at a piece of blank paper my mind was filled with ideas. Now all I see is a blank piece of paper."}}

[[Category:Science Related Memetic Disorder{{PAGENAME}}]]