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Mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a caricature of a scientist who is described as "mad" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly ambitious, taboo and/or hubristic nature of their experiments. As a motif in fiction, the mad scientist may be villainous (evil genius) 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''; Rick Sanchez of ''Rick and Morty''; 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 trope. ==History== Since the 19th century, fictitious depictions of science have vacillated between notions of science as the salvation of society or its doom. Consequently, portrayal of scientists in fiction ranged between the virtuous and the depraved, the sober and the insane. Until the 20th century, optimism about progress was the most common attitude towards science (with notable exceptions such as Herbert G. Wells), but latent anxieties about disturbing "the secrets of nature" would surface following the increasing role of science in wartime affairs, as well as increased scrutiny of vivisection and the development of the animal rights movement. The prototypical fictional mad scientist was Victor Frankenstein, creator of his eponymous monster,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.britannica.com/topic/Frankenstein )〕 who made his first appearance in 1818, in the novel ''Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus'' by Mary Shelley. Though Frankenstein is a sympathetic character, the critical element of conducting experiments that cross "boundaries that ought not to be crossed", heedless of the consequences, is present in Shelley's novel. Frankenstein was trained as both alchemist and modern scientist which makes him the bridge between two eras of an evolving archetype. The book is said to be a precursor of a new genre, science fiction, although as an example of gothic horror〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/f/frankenstein/critical-essays/frankenstein-as-a-gothic-novel )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/britishandamericanfiction/frankenstein-as-a-gothic-fiction.html )〕 it is connected with other antecedents, as well. 1896 saw the publication of H. G. Wells' ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'', in which the titular doctor—a controversial vivisectionist—has isolated himself entirely from civilisation in order to continue his experiments in surgically reshaping animals into humanoid forms, heedless of the suffering he causes.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://academic.depauw.edu/aevans_web/HONR101-02/WebPages/Spring2006/Schmid(Todd)/wells.html )〕 Fritz Lang's movie ''Metropolis'' (1927) brought the archetypical mad scientist to the screen in the form of Rotwang, the evil genius whose machines gave life to the dystopian city of the title. Rotwang's laboratory influenced many subsequent movie sets with its electrical arcs, bubbling apparatus, and bizarrely complicated arrays of dials and controls. Portrayed by actor Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Rotwang himself is the prototypically conflicted mad scientist; though he is master of almost mystical scientific power, he remains slave to his own desires for power and revenge. Rotwang's appearance was also influential—the character's shock of flyaway hair, wild-eyed demeanor, and his quasi-fascist laboratory garb have all been adopted as shorthand for the mad scientist "look". Even his mechanical right hand has become a mark of twisted scientific power, echoed notably in Stanley Kubrick's ''Dr. Strangelove'' and in the novel The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965) by Philip K. Dick. Nevertheless, the essentially benign and progressive impression of science in the public mind continued unchecked, exemplified by the optimistic "Century of Progress" exhibition in Chicago, 1933, and the "World of Tomorrow" at the New York World's Fair of 1939. However, after the first World War, public attitudes began to shift, if only subtly, when chemical warfare and the airplane were the terror weapons of the day. The most common tool of mad scientists in this era was electricity. It was viewed widely as a quasi-mystical force with chaotic and unpredictable properties by an ignorant public. A recent survey of 1,000 horror films distributed in the UK between the 1930s and 1980s reveals mad scientists or their creations have been the villains of 30 percent of the films; scientific research has produced 39 percent of the threats; and, by contrast, scientists have been the heroes of a mere 11 percent.〔Christopher Frayling, ''New Scientist'', 24 September 2005.〕 In comic books many of the earliest foes were mad scientists. The Ultra-Humanite, an evil crippled scientific genius, was Superman's first recurring foe and possibly the first comic book supervillain. He apparently served as a model for the more well-known Lex Luthor. Other examples include early Batman foe Hugo Strange. However, many of these villains come more under the classification of evil genius. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mad scientist」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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