title: Whatever happened to the 'mad, bad' scientist? Overturning the stereotype.
abstract: The cluster of myths relating to the pursuit of knowledge has perpetuated the archetype of the alchemist/scientist as sinister, dangerous, possibly mad and threatening to society's values. Shelley's Frankenstein provided imagery and a vocabulary universally invoked in relation to scientific discoveries and technological innovation. The reasons for the longevity of this seemingly antiquated, semiotic imagery are discussed. In the twenty-first century, this stereotype has been radically revised, even overturned. Scientists are now rarely objects of fear or mockery. Mathematicians, both real-life and fictional, are discussed here as being representative of scientists now depicted empathically. This article examines possible sociological reasons for this reversal; what the revisionist image suggests about society's changed attitudes to science; and what might be the substitute fears and sources of horror.
authors.affiliation: University of New South Wales, Australia; University of Tasmania, Australia R.Haynes@unsw.edu.au roslynn.haynes@utas.edu.au.
authors.forename: Roslynn D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Haynes
mesh_terms: D004645:Empathy; D005239:Fear; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D059232:Laboratory Personnel; D009040:Motion Pictures / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends; D012586:Science; D013240:Stereotyping
keywords: Frankenstein; alchemist; communication; environment; evil scientists; mathematicians in fiction; myth; semiotic characters; ‘mad scientist’