#scientist characters

[papirussian]

I love characters who act all evil, dramatic, and sassy

(Invader Zim, Starscream, Underfell Papyrus, Bill Cipher, Professor Venomous, Scarab (Fionna and cake), The Devil from Cuphead, I could list more)

This is like, on the opposite side of the spectrum, and the other side is like all the nerdy old depressed man characters

(Stanford Pines, Rick Sanchez (though, he's also kind of evil and sassy sometimes), Simon Petrikov, Dr. Flug (he's not really old I guess), Fiddleford MgGucket, Im blanking but I know there are more)

And then there's kinda the middle of the spectrum where they're like, chaotic, anti hero type, mysterious/ cunning/ kinda dark but also dorky

(Hellboy, Stanley Pines, Deadpool, Ghost Rider, Gambit, I feel like Jake the dog could fit here, again there's a lot more I'm sure)

[virovac]

We need scientist characters that are only moral as scientists, and basically Robbie Rotten in every other aspect of their life.

Confidentiality agreements? Full disclosure? Of course. And safety is of utmost importance

But off the clock they’re committing tax fraud, not parying for newspapers and on Halloween dressing up as monsters and scaring couples at common makeout locations.

[fuzzynecromancer]

I've been thinking for a while about the Royal Smart Person trope SFDebris has observed in Trek vs how real science works.

What I'd like to see is specialization in scientists, at least in things with ensemble casts. Comic relief guy is good at programming, dynamic lead character is a biotechnician, the stiff-necked alien is bad with idioms but a whizz at physics (especially for solving the latest Space Anomaly problem). It would lend at least a veneer of realism and might cut back on the ass-pully feeling of magic science.

[gettingthesciencewrite]

Science (Related) Fact of the Week

Want to write a scientist in your story but don’t want to have them working in a lab all of the time (or what we lovingly call “benchwork”)? You’re in luck!

Not all scientists choose to work in a lab after they get their Ph.D or masters. Some choose to go into industry, some work exclusively on writing codes at home, and some goose to work in communications (like medical writing, or grant writing). Some folks only go to universities/colleges where they only have to teach and don’t have to work in a lab!

That being said, these folks still earned a graduate after working for 4-6 years on their scientific thesis. Just because your character is not in a lab does not mean they can’t still understand procedures, science papers, and concepts (if they got a Ph.D, they most likely are an expert in a specific field).

The benefits of having a non-benchwork focused scientist is that you, the writer, get to avoid procedures! But more importantly, your characters may be trained to communicate science in a way that others outside of a field can understand. They also are more likely to have a wider breath of knowledge on different fields (with a small catch: they lack the knowledge depth of said fields).

So, if you need aim credibly specific expert, choose the lab PI or benchwork scientist. If you need the Jack of All Trades type of scientist, you might be better off writing a “bench-less” scientist.

[tignya]

FUCK

I have had my heart stolen by yet another Overwatch character.

[themostfinalofpams]

Every time someone types a (mad) scientist character as INTP I grow stronger.