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  1. - Top - End - #61
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    I agree with an earlier poster that mad scientists are frequently autodidactic. And obsessive. Having them obsess over any field would really sell them, though at least part of their study ought to involve math either directly or indirectly (like physics).

    Really though, it seems that the mad science angle is always used for fields that are newish and growing relatively quickly in complexity. And in the modern age, groundbreaking work isn't usually done by a single person so much as it is done by teams of researchers.

    So, I think it's the mad financier is the modern iteration of mad science. John Hammond, for example. They set the goals and organize the team, then reap the rewards. Since they do not even need to understand the underlying science, it's much easier for them to fall to their hubris. So they might even be better at the core story trope of the classical mad scientist.
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  2. - Top - End - #62
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by BeerMug Paladin View Post
    So, I think it's the mad financier is the modern iteration of mad science. John Hammond, for example. They set the goals and organize the team, then reap the rewards. Since they do not even need to understand the underlying science, it's much easier for them to fall to their hubris. So they might even be better at the core story trope of the classical mad scientist.
    I don't think John Hammond is a particularly good example as most of his mad science-ing was done by Dr Henry Wu, who was InGen's chief geneticist. Judging from the Jurassic World re-makes, Dr Wu gleefully puts both hands on the figurative power lever to bring his Frankenstein's Monster to life (the Indominus Rex), so I wouldn't be surprised if he was like that earlier on in his career during the Jurassic Park days.

  3. - Top - End - #63
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by BeerMug Paladin View Post
    Really though, it seems that the mad science angle is always used for fields that are newish and growing relatively quickly in complexity. And in the modern age, groundbreaking work isn't usually done by a single person so much as it is done by teams of researchers.

    So, I think it's the mad financier is the modern iteration of mad science. John Hammond, for example. They set the goals and organize the team, then reap the rewards. Since they do not even need to understand the underlying science, it's much easier for them to fall to their hubris. So they might even be better at the core story trope of the classical mad scientist.
    The need for large teams is if anything something that could drive someone to mad science. 'I have this idea, and I know it's right! But scientific society is insisting that I get IRB signoff, preregister the experiment, proceed carefully in stages, do replicates, report monthly to the funding agency, attend faculty meetings about the color of paint to use on the hallways between the labs, etc. I'll show them, I'll skip all of that, build it, and then they'll see!'. Also, the 'mad' title does make you eligible to receive minions from villain support charities...

    But I'll definitely second the idea of a 'mad financier'.

  4. - Top - End - #64
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by NichG View Post
    villain support charities...
    Now I'm imagining what sort of beg letters that charity would send out...

    Dear Mr. Goblin,
    I'm sure you saw that last week when Dr. Viktoria Nefarious von Tottenberg was arrested after her breakthrough success in mind-grafting the brain of an executed criminal into a M1 Abrams tank. While the news media focused endlessly on how the Zombie-Tank had run over several elderly widows on its way to attack the puppy orphanage while blaring Nickelback at 150 decibels from its external speakers, I would like to tell you about how we at Extremely Vile Ideas Labs helped make this breakthrough achievement possible with the support of concerned evildoers like yourself.

    First we identify leading candidates who just refuse to let things like 'morality', 'ethics review boards' or indeed 'laws' stand in the way of the nightmare future of mad science we all crave. We found Dr. von Tottenberg after an ill-tempered hamster she had successfully mind-grafted to an electric 'manscaping' razor went on a rampage and gave several bystanders tragic haircuts in their personal regions. Thanks to the support of unethical monsters like yourself, our talent scouts were able to successfully exfiltrate Ms. von Tottenberg before the Swiss police closed the border.

    It goes without saying that our agents also detonated her mountaintop lair as part of the dramatic and evidence-destroying escape plan we offer to all totally crazed researchers needing to get out of town before the 'do-gooders' show up.

    Then we nurture any promising mad scientists through a rigorous mentorship program, where candidates learn not only evil science, but how to ironically kill minions, evade detection by wearing either totally lame or utterly implausible disguises, look good in tight leather pants, and, of course, work on their maniacal laugh. Indeed we are the only non-profit evil organization in the world with fully accredited graduate programs in Bio-unethics, implausible lasers, clearly omnicidal robotics, and many other top mad science fields. Indeed only last year, thanks to the support of maniacs like you, we were delighted to offer a new doctoral program in splicing weapons onto clones of prehistoric animals. But kidnapping the spouses/children/anime love pillows of the accreditation committee doesn't come cheap, and there is so much more we could offer. Dr. von Tottenberg's immensely promising research was tragically delayed by six months due to funding shortfalls for smuggling the red <REDACTED> crystals out of <REDACTED>.

    So if you are like me, and you long to crush the governments of the world in your bio-engineered fist, you know the importance of basic mad research. Where would we be today without the invention of shrink rays, freeze rays, heat rays, gravity rays, hero-weakness rays, and so much more critical research we all depend upon? Think of all the strange rays that are yet to be discovered! Please, donate today. Even a modest donation of several million in uncoined gold or ownership of an small evil holding corporation buys the amoral mercenaries, refined uranium and Substance X that today's mad scientists need to succeed!

    Sincerely,
    Dr. E. E. "Kaboom" McBlast.

    Because the future is only a nightmare away.


    Honestly it'd be more interesting than the nonsense my college keeps sending me.
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  5. - Top - End - #65
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    I think honestly the most realistic answer to this topics question is pharmacologist/orchanic synthesis chemist though.

    Mad science is mad science, but this version pays the bills.
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  6. - Top - End - #66
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lvl 2 Expert View Post
    I think honestly the most realistic answer to this topics question is pharmacologist/orchanic synthesis chemist though.

    Mad science is mad science, but this version pays the bills.
    If you're not paying the bills by extorting the world with your creations, then is your heart really in your mad science? Were all the mad degrees worth it? Was mad academia just for the prestige? The mad student loans still need their databases destroyed, but that'll have to wait until the weekend because you have the 9-5.
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    I don't think extortion is strictly necessary but yes, if you try to make a living by honest work, you're not a mad scientist (unless you're employer is an evil person / corporation. And yes, a mad scientist doesn't have to be self-employed. There is no shame in leaving the more mundane matters of running a business to other people so you can focus on the important things, aka mad sciencing.
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  8. - Top - End - #68
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    This may have been to subtle, but my suggestion was mostly that illegal drugs tend to sell better than most illegal science projects.
    The Hindsight Awards, results: See the best movies of 1999!

  9. - Top - End - #69
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lvl 2 Expert View Post
    This may have been to subtle, but my suggestion was mostly that illegal drugs tend to sell better than most illegal science projects.
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  10. - Top - End - #70
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lvl 2 Expert View Post
    This may have been to subtle, but my suggestion was mostly that illegal drugs tend to sell better than most illegal science projects.
    Anyone can do that though.
    Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
    Eh, he was an ass.
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  11. - Top - End - #71
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    Anyone can do that though.
    Nah. Chemistry is very much like cooking : at its core it is following basic recipes but being good enough to make the really expensive (and good) stuff takes years of practice.

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    Eh, he was an ass.
    A multi-millionaire ass.
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  12. - Top - End - #72
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
    Nah. Chemistry is very much like cooking : at its core it is following basic recipes but being good enough to make the really expensive (and good) stuff takes years of practice.


    A multi-millionaire ass.
    I more meant the selling, not the making. The bane of Walt's existence, for example, was he had no idea how to sell it and would hop into bed with the first person who came along that could.

    Also, psh. What did he buy with those millions? Money ain't nothin' if you can't spend it.
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  13. - Top - End - #73
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    Well, what you do want to do with your mad science? Chemical engineering, for instance, is the "blow stuff up" field. Possibly structural engineering as well if you want to be incredibly efficient at it.
    Is blowing things up with chemical explosives really what a mad scientist wants to be doing. It just seems so... petty, and small scope. Unless you're building some sort of doomsday device (which would be more of a physics project) merely "blowing stuff up" is far too lacking ambition IMO.

    If you do want to be a mad chemical scientist, I would think biological/medical chemistry would be a better route. For drugging and mind-controlling the population, or creating mutants, or super-soldiers. Or turning the population into mind-controlled mutant super-soldiers.

  14. - Top - End - #74
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Wardog View Post
    Is blowing things up with chemical explosives really what a mad scientist wants to be doing. It just seems so... petty, and small scope. Unless you're building some sort of doomsday device (which would be more of a physics project) merely "blowing stuff up" is far too lacking ambition IMO.

    If you do want to be a mad chemical scientist, I would think biological/medical chemistry would be a better route. For drugging and mind-controlling the population, or creating mutants, or super-soldiers. Or turning the population into mind-controlled mutant super-soldiers.
    It's only small scope if you're thinking small. Blowing up the moon, for instance, is far from petty.
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    It's only small scope if you're thinking small. Blowing up the moon, for instance, is far from petty.
    I don't want to downplay the 'mad' part of our discussion but what point is there in blowing up the moon? I'd aim for something more practical, like critical infrastructure or so. I think e.g. bridges. They're also flashy enough.
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  16. - Top - End - #76
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kato View Post
    I don't want to downplay the 'mad' part of our discussion but what point is there in blowing up the moon?
    A.) I feel like you're downplaying the 'mad' part of our discussion.

    2.) Maybe you just noticed the little kid you're fighting has a tail.
    Last edited by Peelee; 2019-04-24 at 01:32 AM.
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  17. - Top - End - #77
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Becoming a neuropsychologist who uses test subjects to experiment with bleeding edge, illegal neuroprosthetic research and targeted brain lesions to study effects on behaviour?

    Delves into the maddening depths of the mind-body problem into the darkest recesses of the philosophy of mind... unlocking secrets of sapience, consciousness, and the human condition in turn.

    A brain-melting (NPI) concoction of philosophy, experimental science, relativism of observational metrics, and terrifying human experimentation.

    That fit your bill?
    Last edited by Schismatic; 2019-04-24 at 01:37 AM.

  18. - Top - End - #78
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    It's only small scope if you're thinking small. Blowing up the moon, for instance, is far from petty.
    Mandatory reminder that nuclear reactions are a subset of chemistry, technically speaking.
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  19. - Top - End - #79
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
    Mandatory reminder that nuclear reactions are a subset of chemistry, technically speaking.
    Imean, cmon now, chemical engineering is a subset of chemistry.
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    Imean, cmon now, chemical engineering is a subset of chemistry.
    You'd think that. Then you study it, and it turns out it's almost entirely physics.
    I would really like to see a game made by Obryn, Kurald Galain, and Knaight from these forums.

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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Hai,
    I am Renu, This post is too good and very useful content. I feel good to see your fantastic explanation in this question. Keep posting...!

  22. - Top - End - #82
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Knaight View Post
    You'd think that. Then you study it, and it turns out it's almost entirely physics.
    I am neither smart enough nor dumb enough to go into engineering. I may be both smart enough and dumb enough to go into law, though...
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    Quote Originally Posted by Knaight View Post
    You'd think that. Then you study it, and it turns out it's almost entirely physics.

    It all comes down to philosophy and human apprehensions of knowledge in order to find meaning to create feeble, conceited concepts of empowerment in a meaningless existence.
    Last edited by Schismatic; 2019-04-24 at 05:10 AM.

  24. - Top - End - #84
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    A.) I feel like you're downplaying the 'mad' part of our discussion.

    2.) Maybe you just noticed the little kid you're fighting has a tail.
    III.) Perhaps you're a Mad Chemist and Physicist and plan on using the debris and tidal disruptions to destroy critical infrastructure.
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  25. - Top - End - #85
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    You know, that's something that always bothers me about 'blowing up the moon' scenarios. I mean, excluding magic, how much force do people expect to use to influence the tides? I mean, fine, if you blow it to smithereens, half of it falling on Earth and half blowing into outer space that works. But in most cases (when it doesn't magically vanish) it's just broken up. It's still there, it's just not one block but the mass is still (mostly) in place.

    But I'm drifting off.
    I'll agree I see great potential in drugs. There are all kinds of applications and it seems like it pays well. I don't think it's THE mad scientist occupation but it's got potential.
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  26. - Top - End - #86
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    A mad scientist is rarely an actual scientist. If I were to go on a "career path" to be a mad scientist, I would avoid getting degrees in the sciences, focusing instead on practical applications of knowledge, such as engineering. A "mad scientist" is typically an engineer with a vision going into scientific fields in the hope of finding recognition (and/or financing), and finding none. When one wants to "show them all", it's primarily as a last-resort practical showcase of a principle or device said to be - or laughed out as - theoretically impossible or unfeasible by the 'actual scientists'.
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  27. - Top - End - #87
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    Default Re: What's the best degree path for a potential mad scientist?

    This discussion reminded me of one pretty old webcomics very specifically about mad science, where it is treated as a psychlogical condition called Science related memetic disorder. Very much worth a read.
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