History Main / AbsentMindedProfessor

** There's no non-magical university on Discworld, but if there were, Leonard of Quirm would also be an example. As it is, he's merely an absent-minded polymath. One of the best descriptions of him, from ''Discworld/{{Jingo}}'' is "a man who'd stay up all night to invent an alarm clock to wake him up in the morning."
** Hubert Turvy in ''Discworld/MakingMoney'' - the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork's economic forecaster and builder of a hydraulic water-based computer. But a classic CannotTalkToWomen computer nerd.

'''Prof 3: Then we have to aboard!\\

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* Herr Doktor Archeville from the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse''. Brilliant scientist, and one of the most agile minds on the planet. Often forgets what city he's in, can't remember the actual names of his lab assistants so he labels them "Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta" and so on (and then get's that mixed up) and if those same lab assistants weren't paid to remind him would often forgets he needs to eat and sleep every so often.
[[/folder]]

Now if you'll excuse me, I must nip on home, as I seem to have forgotten to put on my pants. Ah, [[EinsteinHair the hair]]? Oh, yes, I should try to comb it some time... I ''do'' have a comb, don't I? A {{subtrope}} of...oh, yes, ForgetfulJones. Compare with AttentionDeficitOohShiny.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film — Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' has Belle's father Maurice. He invents strange contraptions, gets lost in the woods on his way to a fair, ignores his horse Philippe's instincts to turn back, and ultimately ends up as the Beast's temporary prisoner.
* Professor Bomba from ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}''; his outdated computers and messy house suggest he really doesn't get out much.
%%* Professor [=MacKrill=] from ''WesternAnimation/HelpImAFish''.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'': True to the book, Professor Porter is such a character.

* ''Film/TheAbsentMindedProfessor'' and its sequel, ''Son of Flubber''. Of course.
** And its remake ''Film/{{Flubber}}''.

* Sir Austin Cardynge of the {{Lensman}} universe. Indomitably brilliant and dedicated to his job, but completely unhinged to the point where he doesn't even care if he and everyone else on his ship (with a crew of over a thousand) end up dead, so long as his notes get back to Civilization intact.
** Neal Cloud, from the same universe (''Masters of the Vortex''), is an aversion. He's a mathematical savant capable of making complex calculations in the blink of an eye and being right every time, yet he's psychologically stable enough to have been happily married with three children - and after being widowed in the horrific cold open, he recovers (in time) from his grief and falls in love again.

* Good news everyone! Professor Farnsworth of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', who is also very old. [[spoiler: And capable of making you [[MemeticMutation read this in his voice.]]]]
** Extra credit goes to the episode "A Big Ball of Garbage", where he goes to an inventors' competition, realizes the invention he brought (the death clock) is the same one he showed last year, attempts to invent the same thing again after it's pointed out to him ("I need a new invention! Perhaps some kind of death clock..."), quickly creates a new invention (the smell-o-scope) to replace it, then only hours later... "Eureka!" "You built the smell-o-scope?" "No, I remembered that I'd already built it last year!"
* Prof. Frink from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
* Gune from ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE''.
--> '''Gune:''' [''holding up a small device''] Does this look familiar? Do you know what it is? Neither do I. I made it last night in my sleep. Apparently I used Gindrogac. Highly unstable.
--> '''Preed:''' Gune...
--> '''Gune:''' I put at button on it. Yes. I wish to press it, but I'm not sure what will happen if I do.

* The Vector in ''WesternAnimation/{{Skyland}}''.
* Cosmo from ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', has been described by Butch Hartman, its creator, as such.

* Wallace from ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit'', though he's more "eccentric" than "scattered".

* ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' has Belle's father Maurice. He invents strange contraptions, gets lost in the woods on his way to a fair, ignores his horse Philippe's instincts to turn back, and ultimately ends up as the Beast's temporary prisoner.

* ''Disney/{{Tarzan}}'': True to the book, Professor Porter is such a character.

** There's no non-magical university on Discworld, but if there were, Leonard of Quirm would also be an example. As it is, he's merely an absent-minded polymath.

'''Chronotis:''' Oh, I can't remember his name.\\

—-> '''The Doctor:''' What was his name, Professor? What was his name?\\

'''Chronotis: I remember!\\

'''Chronotis:''' Oh, I can't remember his name.

[[folder:Film — Live Action]]

* Dr. Kelp, ''Film/TheNuttyProfessor'' version 1.

--> Professor Marshmallow, remarkable fellow,
--> Knew everything, so it is said,
--> But failed when it came to remembering a name,
--> He couldn't keep those in his head.
** He goes to a shop to try to buy something but forgets what he came to buy. After accidentally sitting in glue while searching in an attempt to remember what he wanted to buy and then becoming stuck to a chair, he finally remembers that he came to the shop to buy... a chair.

* ''Radio/TheGoonShow'''s Henry Crun, although an occasionally brilliant inventor, is both incredibly absent-minded and ridiculously old, meaning conversations about his latest creation tend to go like this:
--> '''Crun:''' Well, now that you've asked me a straightforward question... I have no option... but to give you a direct answer. [long pause] ...What was the question again?
--> '''Seagoon:''' Does that mean aeroplanes can land on it?
--> '''Crun:''' Land on what?
--> '''Seagoon:''' The aerodrome!
--> '''Crun:''' Ohh! Am I building one of those?
-->...And that's if you're lucky and he doesn't just fall asleep halfway through a sentence.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

-->'''Ballister:''' Doctor, have you... looked out the window recently?
-->'''Meredith:''' Oh, the fire? Yes, I was wondering about that.

* Discussed in ''WebComic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal, [[http://smbc-comics.com/comic/absent "Absent"]]. "In case three, every time you forget to wear pants, people whisper how brilliant you are. Do you ever wear pants?"

* Herr Doktor Archeville from the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse''. Brilliant scientist, and one of the most agile minds on the planet. Often forgets what city he's in, can't remember the actual names of his lab assistants so he labels them "Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta" and so on (and then get's that mixed up) and if those same lab assistants weren't paid to remind him would often forgets he needs to eat and sleep every so often.

* Doctor Chronopolis from ''Podcast/RedPandaAdventures''.

* Professor Von Schlemmer, of the ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', fits this to a tee.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' episode "Pomp and Circuitry" Rusty jokes that his son Dean will one day grow up to be this. Rusty himself sometimes qualifies, as he is sometimes a professor (guest lecturer in Mexico) and sometimes whole plotlines revolve around him being absent-minded (Escape to the House of Mummies Part 2). Also he has been known to forget the names of his own sons.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', Professor Von Schlemmer is this. It is pointed out by Tails in one episode.

This StockCharacter is a brilliant scientist, but, uh, ''very'' flighty, often forgetting things like the date, [[AccidentalMisnaming people's names]], meetings, [[ForgetsToEat eating]], [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment people's names]], etc. His mind tends to run a mile a minute, he can often struggle to hold a normal conversation, and it's typical for him to become so engrossed in his work that he loses track of just about everything else. Good thing he ([[AlwaysMale and it's very often a he]]) is [[BunnyEarsLawyer good at what he does]] and often has perfect memory for scientific details or [[MouthfulOfPi mathematical values]]. With a little prodding from {{the hero}}es to focus on the matter at hand, he rarely fails to create the tools necessary to save the day.

* Pops in ''WEsternAnimation/AprilAndTheExtraordinaryWeapon''. While not as bad as many other examples, he gets so caught up in his excitement in working out the flying machine, and the energy it runs on, that he fails to notice that the prison is flooding.

* From ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'', we have the Absent Minded disadvantage, which is exactly what it sounds like. the game itself notes that it "is the classic disadvantage for eccentric geniuses".

* Wizard version: The Moochick from the original ''MyLittlePony''. Very knowledgeable... to the point where he can have difficulty remembering a particular detail at first, like where he stashed the Rainbow of Light.

[[folder:Comics]]
* There is a throwaway gag in the ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' album ''[[Recap/TintinTheBrokenEar The Broken Ear]]'', a man mistaking a parrot for a lady. The man is completely unimportant to the story (the parrot is the point) but Hergé took the time to identify him as 1) very absent-minded and 2) a Professor. In the original French he climbs up a lantern to look at this strange bird and the following dialogue ensues:
--->'''Parrot:''' Good morning, sir! With whom do I have the honour?
--->'''Professor:''' I-I'm Professor Euclide ... I ... excuse me, sir, I was distracted and ... would you believe I mistook you for a bird!
** Speaking of ''Tintin'', Professor Calculus has some aspects of this. He is also [[ICantHearYou stone deaf]]. This was PlayedForLaughs too. Calculus is, in fact, the quintessential absent-minded professor.
** Also in ''Tintin'', the album ''[[Recap/TintinCigarsOfThePharaoh Cigars of the Pharaoh]]'' has the very absent-minded Dr. Sarcophagus, an egyptologist. Similar characters appear in ''[[Recap/TintinKingOttokarsSceptre King Ottokar's Sceptre]]'' and ''[[Recap/TintinTheShootingStar The Shooting Star]]''.
* Flemish comic book series ''ComicBook/SuskeEnWiske'' has Professor Barabas.

* ''ComicBook/PietPienterEnBertBibber'' even had three: Professor Kumulus, Professor Snuffel and Hilarius Warwinkel.

* The Ur-example in American comics has to be Mister Fantastic of the ComicBook/FantasticFour, best known for being able to completely ignore his [[MostCommonSuperPower bombshell]] wife to work with test-tubes.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Peter Parker once channeled Reed, ignoring Gwen Stacy while he worked on a science project.
* Professor Schimauski, by German artist Creator/WalterMoers.
* The title character of ''[[http://aulas.pierre.free.fr/chr_cos_01.html Savant Cosinus]]'' by Christophe (1893), was so absent-minded he once forgot he was in a dentist's waiting room and was mistaken for the dentist by a patient who told him she needed a root extracted. Cosinus then suggests to use tables of logarithms to perform the operation (confusing the root of a tooth with a square root...) Cosinus later inspired Hergé for the character of Professor Calculus.
* A story in the only issue of now defunct Premier Magazine's Horror Anthology [[http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=1685 "Horror From the Tomb"]] from 1954 is not only about one, but also named after one.
* ''ComicBook/{{Cubitus}}'': Sémaphore, who isn't exactly a professor, but he does invent a lot of stuff.
* In [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ''Comicbook/TheFlash'', Iris West's dad, Professor Ira West, was an extreme version of this. According to ''The Life Story of the Flash'', he has every physics award available, but no idea where he put any of them. In his first appearance, he nearly learns Barry's secret identity, but gets distracted before he can put the clues together. A later {{retcon}} takes it further; Barry ''told'' him he was the Flash, and Ira assisted him in creating his super-compressible costume, but a blow from some burglars gave him EasyAmnesia, wiping his memory of the day and leaving him permanently forgetful.
* One ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' comic has [[https://www.chemwatch.net/188222/amoebic-dysentery a science lab]] with a bug-eyed guy drinking while another behind him says "What the-!? This is lemonade! Where's my culture of amoebic dysentery!?" Some labs use this cartoon to demonstrate exactly ''why'' you don't eat in labs.

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

* Professor Bomba from ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'', his outdated computers and messy house suggest he really doesn't get out much.
* Professor [=MacKrill=] from ''WesternAnimation/HelpImAFish''.

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

--> Prof 1: What's the time of the day?
--> Prof 2 (pulls out a matchbox): Tuesday.
--> Prof 3: Then we have to aboard!
(And they leave for the street.)

* Grand Maester Pycelle on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' invokes this trope in-universe to diminish himself as a threat.
* Mr. Boynton on ''Series/OurMissBrooks'' is smart, but ObliviousToLove, his idea of a hot date is taking Miss Brooks to visit the zoo, and he endlessly panders to his pet frog [=McDougall=].

*** When the Tenth Doctor becomes human and goes into hiding, his new personality as "John Smith" is very much this, to the point where he suddenly forgets where he's going. This is partly due to his WistfulAmnesia.

** Professor Yana from "Utopia" is this, as he gets distracted a lot and often spaces out when others are talking. However, this stops when [[spoiler: he becomes {{the Master}} again]].

** In the episode "Safe:" [[spoiler: while investigating a series of bank robberies, it's more than halfway through the episode that he remembers that the boxes stolen were some of his inventions. It's later still that he remembers what's in them.]]

* Daniel Faraday, ''Series/{{Lost}}''. The youngest graduate of Oxford in its history, professor in his ''20s'', pioneer in [[spoiler:TimeTravel]]... and he can barely remember anything. [[spoiler:Until the Island heals him, that is...]]

* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003''. In the first season Dr. Baltar appears to be this, with his odd habit of rambling on to himself. No one gives him more than a funny look as, after all, he's just the usual quirky genius, right? It's not as if he's got an imaginary Cylon in his head or something.

* The scientist in ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' episode "Double Helix". His son calls him out on being so focused on his research that he was never there for his family. The scientist is incredibly shocked when he finds out that his teenage son is dating a 30 year old woman.
* In ''Series/ElleryQueen'', Ellery is a certified genius. He is also constantly misplacing his glasses, hat, keys. etc. and accidentally leaving things in the fridge.

[[folder: Webcomics]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder:Poetry]]
* The first stanza of a poem from an old, out of print and almost certainly out of copyright British comic book annual:
--> Professor Marshmallow, remarkable fellow,
--> Knew everything, so it is said,
--> But failed when it came to remembering a name,
--> He couldn't keep those in his head.
** He goes to a shop to try to buy something but forgets what he came to buy. After accidentally sitting in glue while searching in an attempt to remember what he wanted to buy and then becoming stuck to a chair, he finally remembers that he came to the shop to buy... a chair.
* The protagonist of one the most popular Russian children's poems, ''What an Absent-Minded One'' by Samuel Marshak, puts on a frying pan instead of a hat, gloves in place of boots, ends up sitting two days in a detached train car and is shocked that he somehow got back to the same station after two days' traveling. He was based on a real-life physics and chemistry professor – who [[DudeNotFunny recognized himself no less]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* In "Pimpernel Smith" Professor Horatio Smith, despite bravely sneaking into Nazi Territory to save people seems to forget the simplest things. He doesn't want to travel to Berlin because it's so far away, despite being scheduled to go there the next day. His students had to put a note in his pocket to remind when the train leaves - which nearly causes him to get caught. While teaching a class in England he finds a knot tied in his cloak and says "This means something." (Crumpets for lunch)

* Mr. Welch, a professor of history in ''Lucky Jim'', is usually too scatterbrained to finish a sentence properly.

[[folder:Animated Films]]

[[folder:Live Action Films]]

* This is commonly a characteristic of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INTP INTP]].