Blueshift ponders…who’s your favorite fictional scientist?

• By Maggie Masetti
• September 10, 2010
• 17 Comments

If you recall this week’s link round-up, we linked to a very cool subway map of science. Sara printed out her own copy (it’s easier to follow if you can see the whole thing at once, instead of scrolling around on a screen), and this got us thinking of what scientists we thought should or perhaps shouldn’t be included on it. You may hear more from us about that in the future!

But this also got us talking in our weekly Blueshift meeting about our fictional science heroes… so that’s what we’d like to ponder this time around! So:

Blueshift ponders: Who is your favorite fictional scientist? It could be from a book, comic book, TV show, movie, or anywhere else!

Photo credit: Fox Magrathea Circe/metaphorge.com

We all had our own favorites. Here are some of them.

Sara: I admit, I’m pretty partial to the physicists on The Big Bang Theory. When the show first came out, I was worried that it would just poke fun at nerdy scientist stereotypes. Well, I was surprised – it does poke fun, but it’s also got some savvy science humor and the characters are deeper than just stereotypes. I think most of us here at Goddard can see a bit of Leonard, Sheldon, and Raj in the folks that we work with (for better or worse)!

I’m also a big fan of mad scientists in movies, like Doc Brown in Back to the Future. Inventing a flux capacitor and putting it in a car as awesome as a DeLorean… now that’s pure genius. 1.21 Gigawatts!

We also asked some of our friends and co-workers what they thought. Here they are:

Mike: Currently Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb. He is very clever, very polite, somewhat evil (ok who isn’t) and shows how the use of “ator” at the end of a word really makes it cool. Oh and Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. Such a tragic and flawed character. Constantly striving to do better and better, but then being horrified at what he produced. I think some of the first atomic bomb scientists felt similarly. They run a close 1 & 2.

John: Dr. Egon Spengler (Peter had the best lines, but Egon was a little more sciencey (sort of)).

Eliot: Well, maybe not my favorite, but the first one that came to mind was Doctor Emmett Brown.

Keith: Does Sherlock Holmes count? Watson describes him as having a profound knowledge of chemistry and I think Holmes is said to have published a few monographs.

Gail: Dr. Hari Sheldon from the Foundation trilogy. First, he invented a really cool science (“psychohistory”). Second, he outsmarted the government and just about everyone else. Third, he had a wicked sense of humor. What real scientist wouldn’t admire that combination?

Kevin: I’m gonna hafta say… Well, no, I won’t. But here’s a hint: He has a Ph.D. in horribleness.

Ed: My favorite would have to be Professor Farnsworth from Futurama, but I suspect you already have him covered. If not, I’ll just say that I appreciate how he always has “good news” for “everyone.” His Smelloscope and What-If Machine inventions are unparalleled in their entertainment value.

On a more serious note, I’ve always liked Ellie (Jodie Foster’s character) from Contact, although now that I think about it I’m having a hard time figuring out why, other than the fact that she’s played by Jodie Foster. Maybe because she just seemed like a real scientist, compared to other movie scientists.

Maggie: I picked both Professor Farnsworth and Jodie Foster in Contact – but before I could get back to what I was writing, I got Ed’s response picking exactly the same two people. And he said what I was trying to way better than I could, so I’ll just say “ditto”! I guess I really have to “ditto” Sara too – because the characters on The Big Bang Theory remind me so much of myself and my friends. But in a good way. Yeah. :-)

Now we want to know – who are your favorite fictional scientists? Tell us who – and why – in the comments! And we’d love some movie and book recommendations for seeing your favorites in action.

Comments are moderated and we ask that you be respectful. No profanity please! Any comments with non-NASA links may be edited or removed.

Disclaimer: All opinions in this blog entry are that of specific individuals and do not represent those of NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, or Blueshift.