History Main / MadMathematician

* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' has Sho Minamimoto, who shouts trigonometric functions when attacking, gives out missions like "Beat the bosses of 2.2360679's 0 + 5. t = 60 min."[[note]]The game is about a "Reaper's Game" where you try to win back your right to exist through missions assigned by the PunchClockVillain who supervises the contest (Sho being the second one to get the job). This particular mission means you have to beat two minibosses in areas 0 and 5 of Route 5 (2.2360679 being the square root of 5), which are the scramble crossing and the Udagawa district, respectively.[[/note]], is the trope image for MouthfulOfPi and is also a complete psychopath. He's still like this [[VideoGame/NEOTheWorldEndsWithYou three years later]].

* In one episode, ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' deals with a math-themed villain known as The Mathster. She [[LamePunReaction quickly grew tired]] of his [[HurricaneOfPuns many, many math jokes]].

[[caption-width-right:300:You know we have chalkboards for that sort of thing, right, John?]]

See also MadScientist, CrazyPeoplePlayChess, and CalculusIsArcaneKnowledge.

** GodOfEvil Darkseid's primary goal in life is solving the Anti-Life Equation, a FormulaicMagic BrownNote that acts as mathematical proof that life is meaningless and would allow him to turn all of existence into a WorldOfSilence. In ''Saga of the ComicBook/SwampThing'' he's seen struggling in front of a board filled with religious and mathematical symbols.

* ComicBook/GreenLantern and [[StarfishAliens sentient mathematical progression]] Dkrtzy RRR was discovered by mad mathematician Timph Rye, who sought to prove that willpower could be derived formulaically. Dkrtzy RRR is itself of suspect mental stability; its tendency to corrode the minds of its enemies from the inside is... controversial among the ranks of the Corps.

---> '''Breakker:''' ''(To [=JD McDonagh=])'' You know what, I'll help you out: I'm the NXT Champion... ''(Points back to [=McDonagh=])'' You're the Number One contender... ''(then points to Ilja Dragunov)'' You never lost your Championship... So, the way I see it if my math is correct, which it always is... ''(Faces [=McDonagh=])'' You have a 33 and a third percent chance of winning!

* The most infamous depiction of this trope comes from Wrestling/ScottSteiner, during his [[Wrestling/TotalNonstopAction TNA]] run where educates "[[Wrestling/SamoaJoe Señor Joe]]" on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msDuNZyYAIQ how he has a 141 2/3% chance of losing to him]] at the 2008 TNA Sacrifice PPV. The entire promo is quite the listen (see Quotes page), especially since Steiner (who in RealLife has a degree in Mathematical Statistics) was in his [[Main/{{Angrish}} default]] Main/LargeHam mode.

[[caption-width-right:300:We have chalkboards for that sort of thing.]]

* Cassie in ''Series/TheLibrarians2014'' has extreme mathematical abilities (she can calculate in ''seven'' dimensions in her head) and synesthesia which in combination can make her constantly repeat certain phrases or pass out under the load of too much information.

* The most infamous depiction of this trope comes from Wrestling/ScottSteiner, during his [[Wrestling/TotalNonstopAction TNA]] run where educates "[[Wrestling/SamoaJoe Señor Joe]]" on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msDuNZyYAIQ how he has a 141 2/3% chance of losing to him at the 2008 TNA Sacrifice PPV. The entire promo is quite the listen (see Quotes page), especially since Steiner (who in RealLife has a degree in Mathematical Statistics) was in his [[Main/{{Angrish}} default]] Main/LargeHam mode.

* The most infamous depiction of this trope comes from Wrestling/ScottSteiner, during his [[Wrestling/TotalNonstopAction TNA]] run where educates "[[Wrestling/SamoaJoe Señor Joe]]" on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msDuNZyYAIQ how he has a 141 2/3% chance of losing to him at the 2008 TNA Sacrifice PPV. The entire promo is quite the listen (see Quotes page), especially since Steiner (who in RealLife has a degree in Mathematical Statistics) was in his [[{{Angrish}} default]] Main/LargeHam mode.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Mysterium}}'', one of the psychics is this: he has a Ph.D in math and specializes in communing with the restless dead through numerology, having discovered that this was possible after his brother died in UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne.

* Hilda's incarnation in ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' litters her speech with lots of math speak, although she seems to prefer using math that a layman can easily understand. For example, [[MaleGaze when a boy glanced]] [[WhoWearsShortShorts at her shorts]], she said "[[MyEyesAreUpHere My eyes are 44.7º up, boy.]]"

* N from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' shows tendencies towards this. He adores functions and formulas, carries a Menger Sponge accessory, and he's trying to "solve the equation to change the world". His OneLetterName even fits, since "n" is frequently used as a variable in math equations. However, he's not so much insane as he is... [[WellIntentionedExtremist horribly misguided]], [[spoiler: a [[AdultFear sheltered and abused]] ManChild TykeBomb designed to destroy Unova's political system so his TreacherousAdvisor can take over]], and convinced that HumansAreBastards.

Clearly, [[WritersCannotDoMath many writers]] (and viewers) [[EverybodyHatesMathematics fear and dread mathematics]]. On rare occasion, a character is found who possesses a defining trait of having delved deeply into the study of profound mathematical knowledge. These characters are, as a rule, insane. It is not necessarily clear whether [[GoodWithNumbers advanced number theory]] is itself [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow destructive to sanity]] (as with some forms of FormulaicMagic), or whether [[PowerBornOfMadness the insane are drawn to math]]; nonetheless, the correlation seems to exist.

* A quick short on ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' had Major Glory fighting the Evil Math-Magician... with "Justice Fruit Pies, the delicious treat you'd have to be crazy to hate".

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

See also MadScientist, CrazyPeoplePlayChess.

* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' has Sho Minamimoto, who shouts trigonometric functions when attacking, gives out missions like "Beat the bosses of 2.2360679's 0 + 5. t = 60 min."[[note]]The game is about a "Reaper's Game" where you try to win back your right to exist through missions assigned by the PunchClockVillain who supervises the contest (Sho being the second one to get the job). This particular mission means you have to beat two minibosses in areas 0 and 5 of Route 5 (2.2360679 being the square root of 5), which are the scramble crossing and the Udagawa district, respectively.[[/note]], is the trope image for MouthfulOfPi and is also a complete psychopath.

* Sigismund Arbuthnot the mad maths master, in the ''Literature/{{Molesworth}}'' stories.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons", a magical "infinity-sided die" brings to life the eponymous tabletop game's villain/mascot, the mighty math-wizard Probabilitor the Annoying.

* ComicBook/GreenLantern and [[StarfishAliens sentint mathematical progression]] Dkrtzy RRR was discovered by mad mathematician Timph Rye, who sought to prove that willpower could be derived formulaically. Dkrtzy RRR is itself of suspect mental stability; its tendency to corrode the minds of its enemies from the inside is... controversial among the ranks of the Corps.

* In Franchise/TheDCU, the sentient ComicBook/GreenLantern mathematical progression Dkrtzy RRR was discovered by mad mathematician Timph Rye, who sought to prove that willpower could be derived formulaically. Dkrtzy RRR is itself of suspect mental stability; its tendency to corrode the minds of its enemies from the inside is... controversial among the ranks of the Corps.

Clearly, [[WritersCannotDoMath many writers]] (and viewers) [[EverybodyHatesMathematics fear and dread mathematics]]. On rare occasion, a character is found who possesses a defining trait of having delved deeply into the study of profound mathematical knowledge. These characters are, as a rule, insane. It is not necessarily clear whether [[GoodWithNumbers advanced number theory]] is itself [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow destructive to sanity]] (as with some forms of FormulaicMagic), or whether [[PowerBornOfMadness the insane are drawn to maths]]; nonetheless, the correlation seems to exist.

* Moriaki-sensei from ''Manga/SoredemoMachiWaMawatteiru'' looks like your average SternTeacher at first, but he takes Mathematics ''way'' too seriously.

See also MadScientist.