Mad scientist

Mad scientist (also called a mad doctor or mad professor or evil genius) is a scientist or professor who is mad – a synonym for insane, owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly ambitious, taboo and/or hubristic nature of their experiments. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral; may be insane, eccentric, or clumsy; and often works with fictional technology or fails to recognize or value common human objections to attempting to play God. Some may have benevolent or good-spirited intentions, even if their actions are dangerous or questionable, which can make them accidental villains. Some are protagonists or allies thereof, such as Dexter in the animated series Dexter's Laboratory; Professor Calculus in The Adventures of Tintin; Dr. Muto; Professor Farnsworth on Futurama; Philo in UHF; Dr. Benjamin Jeffcoat of My Secret Identity; Emmett Brown of Back to the Future, Dr. Walter Bishop of Fringe, or Okabe Rintarou from the anime series Steins;Gate. Occasionally, there are parodies of mad scientists making fun of this stereotype.

Beside its popular diffusion this stereotype has some scientific grounds; various recent studies have highlighted the connection between creativity and mood disorders and between excellent school performance at age 16 and risk of developing adult bipolar disorder.