You’ve seen it a million times. The wild-haired, wild-eyed genius cackles and monologues about his new invention, his vision for changing the world. There might be lightning crackling in the background; there are probably burbling test tubes and humming electrical gadgets. He’s a mad scientist, a stock character in countless books and films.
But lurking behind the trope’s ubiquity in horror and sci-fi, there’s a revealing glimpse of how our society views science, and how stories can help guide our relationship with new discoveries.
The Origins of the Mad Scientist Archetype
Stories about the dangers of forbidden knowledge go way back; early examples include the Judeo-Christian serpent in the garden of Eden and the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus, who created humans from clay and then was eternally punished for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humans. These stories, says Stephen Snobelen, a professor of science history at the University of King’s College in Halifax, hinge on humanity being given power that it is not meant to wield.
“One of the classic scenarios in the mad scientist story is that you’re playing God,” says Snobelen. “There’s a mismatch between the power of nature and the finiteness of the human mind. So, we have this problem, that we don’t see the consequences of our actions, because we can’t see the big picture.”
