From Alchemy to Artificial Intelligence: Stereotypes of the Scientist in Western Literature

Abstract

Throughout Western culture, the master narrative of the scientist is of an evil and dangerous man. This simplification underlying contemporary mythology of knowledge arises from fear of the power and change that science entails, leaving many people feeling confused and disempowered. It reemerges in the media, most often under the name of “Frankenstein, ” with any new discovery that appears to threaten social equilibrium. This is not a new phenomenon. From medieval stories about alchemists to films about computer hackers, good scientists are in the minority, and the number of recurring stereotypes is small. Seven are identified: the evil alchemist; the noble scientist as hero or savior of society; the foolish scientist, whether the gullible, seventeenth-century virtuoso or the absent-minded professor; the inhuman researcher of romanticism; the scientist as adventurer, transcending boundaries of space and time; the mad, bad, dangerous scientist, unscrupulous in the exercise of power; and the helpless scientist, unable to control the outcome of his or her work. These archetypes offer writers and filmmakers a convenient shorthand, a matrix in which to slot contemporary scientists and their projects, simplifying the issues. Like all myths, they appear simple but represent complex ideas and suppressed fears, which transcend time, place, and race.

Scientists and deliberativeness of European public television news

“…98 She says that 'the good scientists are clearly in the minority". 99 Along the same lines, very recently seven prototypes of scientists were found in fiction and non-fiction media consumed by Dutch children: a genius, a genius wizard, a nerd, a puzzler, an adventurer, a wizard, a mad scientist and a misunderstood genius. 100 Irrespective of the differences between these stereotypes, they all have in common that tend to be at odds with the image of scientists that provide, as experts, rational arguments to an issue.…”

Applied cultural and social studies are needed for a sustainable reduction of genetic disease incidence

“…The natural sciences have a very high status in our society (Kagan, 2009), which is partially shaped by the images of scientists as extremely potent miracle-workers (for good or evil) in popular culture and literature (Haynes, 2003;Kirby, 2008). This often leads to high and unrealistic expectations from sufferers of diseases with no current treatment that there -somewhere -is a miracle cure hidden away in a lab.…”

Turn on the light on science: A research-based guide to break down popular stereotypes about science and scientists

“…The scientist described, according to Haynes (2003), as an evil and dangerous man is an easy subject for writers and filmmakers, a convenient shorthand for the simplification of the narrative; in the wider public, however, it generates confusion and a feeling of helplessness in relation to the ethical themes that people feel close 8 Turn on the light on science to (Haynes 2003). Scientific power is often enveloped in a shroud of mystery that gives it an dark charm.…”