Where are We, Anyway?

Posted February 23, 2023

Hello! For my first post, I thought it would be fun to discuss a few common misconceptions about mad science that have always bothered me. Any industry has its fair share of myths, but with mad science being what it is...people are prone to jumping to conclusions about it! I can’t discuss every misconception I’ve ever seen, but this is a good starting-off point for those not too familiar with the mad science community.

What is mad science? How is it different from “normal” science?

Mad science is a very broad phrase; I certainly wouldn’t blame anyone for getting confused.

In a sentence, “mad science” is an umbrella term used to refer to the pursuit of knowledge without abiding by the moral codes nor procedural standards enforced by society. That is to say, mad science isn’t “science except evil”, it’s just science without the confines of social norms.

Although the term has been used to discredit the community for quite some time, the name stuck and is still used in professional settings. Personally, I quite enjoy the title.

Do you have to be a chemist/biochemist/biologist/engineer in order to be a mad scientist?

Not at all! While mainstream media tends to only feature mad scientists who specialize in at least one of those fields, I assure you that the community is much, much more diverse. Don’t get me wrong, the classic horror-movie type mad scientists certainly have their place in the community (I too am not immune to technicolored chemicals), but they’re not the only options by a long shot.

I’ve known my fair share of mad botanists, astronomers, zoologists, and even meteorologists throughout my career. Some mad scientists choose to be interdisciplinary rather than commit themselves to one specific field, myself included. Why limit yourself?

How about social scientists?

Actually, yes. Mad social scientists do exist, I’m lucky enough to be friends with a few myself. They’re certainly not the majority of the community by any means, of course, but they’re not as uncommon as outsiders may expect! I suppose so few people become mad social scientists simply because they don’t know it’s an option at all. Or, perhaps, all social scientists have been mad scientists this whole time. X)

So, your literal job title is “mad scientist”? What do you even do all day?

Yes, that’s the official job title! The job description, however, is what differs. Once again, mad science is a broad field, so everyone’s experience within the industry itself can vary wildly based on their specializations, if any.

I’ve spent the majority of my career working a corporate mad science job, which allowed me to work on quite the variety of projects. While I’ll save the details for a later post, the short-and-sweet of it is: Certain individuals (you know the ones) commission certain jobs (you also know the ones) through the company I used to work for, and those jobs are delegated to the various scientists working under the company. This sounds a bit drab at first, but I was once tasked with studying the social patterns of a tank full of mildly irradiated gray nurse sharks, which was fun.

My current freelancing career is fairly similar, albeit with a little less sharks. :( (I don't have the room or money to keep a shark tank in my lab, anyways.) Nowadays, I pick up jobs on a more case-by-case basis: An individual or company sends me a job inquiry, which could be anything from researching specific phenomena to animal mutation, and I get the work done while asking as few questions as possible.

Are all mad scientists really evil?

As I have said before, mad science is based purely around the pursuit of knowledge without chaining oneself to the societal constructs of morality. Therefore, debates of what is “good” and what is “evil” is an entirely moot point.

Okay, but be honest, do you have a huge death ray in your lab?

First off, “mad scientist” is not synonymous with “murderer”; don’t be so closed-minded. Plenty of mad scientists have never even touched a doomsday device.

Second off…yes I do, sorry. :(

Hopefully this post was able to clear up a bit of confusion for newcomers! If there’s something important that I’ve missed, or you have a few lingering questions, make sure to message me through my contact page. Some questions might even warrant their own post!

Stay Curious!

- Dr. Diamond

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