Scientists and Intellectuals in Entertainment

If the general public has misconceptions about scientists, it is not hard to see why. Scientists and other intellectuals are often poorly portrayed by the entertainment industry. An easy choice for an evil antagonist is a mad scientist. An equally easy choice for a ridiculous fool is a scientist without common sense. These stereotypes are reinforced again and again in movies, television and literature. It's amazing when any child grows up wanting to be a scientist, in our culture.
The undermining of scientists' public image is especially acute in science fiction. The genre appeals to people who are interested in science, and they are badly served by writers who misrepresent scientists as bumbling idiots or evil megalomaniacs. The early history of science fiction has some of the best examples.

William Haloupek
Mathematician -- PhD 1992
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Astronomy is my hobby. Kind of an obsession at times! Not so much about where to point my telescope, but more learning about exotic places.
I started out in Topology and Analysis at Texas Tech, then went to Wisconsin and switched to Applied Math. Started working on a PhD thesis in General Relativity, then changed to Dynamical Systems, and ended up with a PhD in Differentiability Theory. Studied a lot of Classical Physics.
I also worked as a radar engineer in the missile defense industry for 10 years. This gave me an appreciation of the "real world."
Other hobbies: genealogy, coin collecting, science fiction, philosophy, hiking.