Mad Science

What we traditionally think of as a "Mad Scientist" comes to us probably in the largest part from Dr. Frankenstein - a deranged man of letters living in forced seclusion with few or no relations. This description also applies to Dexter of Dexter's Lab and Doc Brown of de Lorean time machine fame.

However, I posit that not one of these characters can be considered a true scientist.

Let us explore the short list given above:

1. Dr. Victor Frankenstein
Background: Obsessed with mostly debunked notions of reanimation, he began his research and training on his own as a child. His entire life pushed him toward his own untimely death at the hands of his eventual creation.
Madness: While heavily involved in research and field study, Dr. Frankenstein was involved in almost no rigorous experimental design, rather, his theory was that he could reanimate dead tissue. No mad peer review, nary a mad poster session.
Verdict: Dr. Frankenstein was primarily a Mad Surgeon, with a background in Mad Engineering as evidenced by all his Mad Devices.

2. Dexter of Dexter's Lab
Background: A tortured genius child with a secret luBOARatoree accessed from his bedroom, Dexter is tormented by both his rival Mandark and sister Dee Dee.
Madness: A combination of devices and novel chemical compounds provide plot devices. He is however involved in several school science fairs.
Verdict: Dexter was primarily a Mad Inventor and Mad Biochemical Engineer, though he was involved in some actual science.


3. Dr. Emmit Lathrop "Doc" Brown (von Braun)
Background: Born of German immigrants to California, Doc Brown supposedly was a minor figure in the Manhattan Project. After destroying his family mansion in a fire and selling off the prime real estate to fund his own projects, Doc Brown eventually made time travel possible, if impractical.
Madness: Doc Brown's obsession with a vision brought on by a concussion and his haphazard and highly irresponsible methods of experimentation and acquisition brought him nothing but the ire of his colleagues. Only his dog and a relationship with part-time reference library clerk (suggested from copies of RQ, Reference Quarterly, a magazine on his bed's headboard, and his ease within the confines of the Hill Valley Historical Archives) Martin "Marty" McFly kept him from total personal isolation before the timeline was shattered by the events of TE-1.
Verdict: Doc Brown was primarily a Mad Engineer.

As we can see, our perception of Mad Science is actually skewed toward what is more akin to Mad Engineering. There is very little actual Mad Research or Mad Scientific Method - everything we see is simply Mad Scientific Knowledge applied to real world problems: Mad Engineering, in essence.

While I'd pay to see a Mad Poster Session and Mad Paper published, and would like to know just how a Mad Control Group would operate, I'm content to take Mad Engineering in my fiction.