History Main / TheMadnessPlace

* Igors in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' don't have a Madness Place themselves, but their masters often do. If an Igor is working for a mechanical genius who ''isn't'' in the Madness Place (such as Hubert Turvy in ''Literature/MakingMoney'', who is constantly fretting about how the Glooper might cause people trouble) they tend to get a bit disconcerted, because there's something ''weird'' about people like that.

* ''Literature/AHerosWar'': Landar goes into "brilliant but oblivious" mode several times, going days without food or sleep but coming up with revolutionary advancements. She even wishes she could turn it on and off like a switch, but Cato wants her to stop lest she kill herself.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' is the TropeNamer. When Sparks [[strike:retreat]] advance to their Madness Place, amazing things can happen[[note]]Amazing things may or may not include killing, rebuilding a glider in mid-flight, building an escape machine and/or death ray in your sleep, and killing and reanimating yourself and your boyfriends to cure one of them of a disease[[/note]]. Also given a more high-brow term in-setting: "Spark-induced fugue state". You can tell how deep into the madness place a Spark is by the way their speech bubbles are. Mild bouts have a more mad font. Deeper in, their speech bubbles have wavering edges on top of the mad font (as seen in the trope image). Really deep in involves yelling (such as when Gil minionizes Wooster [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060306 through sheer force of will]]). Occasionally being under drugs (or coffee) can make the things they say entirely incoherent, though the results are still impressive. At one point, Agatha [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20181102 winds up skipping a few meals]]. Well, that, and using those meals as ingredients in yet more science. So Tarvek, no stranger to this sort of thing, [[CuttingTheKnot cuts the knot]], throws a labcoat over her head, and drags her bodily to dinner.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' is the TropeNamer. When Sparks [[strike:retreat]] advance to their Madness Place, amazing things can happen[[note]]Amazing things may or may not include killing, rebuilding a glider in mid-flight, building an escape machine and/or death ray in your sleep, and killing and reanimating yourself and your boyfriends to cure one of them of a disease[[/note]]. Also given a more high-brow term in-setting: "Spark-induced fugue state". You can tell how deep into the madness place a Spark is by the way their speech bubbles are. Mild bouts have a more mad font. Deeper in, their speech bubbles have wavering edges on top of the mad font (as seen in the trope image). Really deep in involves yelling (such as when Gil minionizes Wooster [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060306 through sheer force of will]]). Occasionally being under drugs (or coffee) can make the things they say entirely incoherent, though the results are still impressive.
--> "In my experience, a strong Heterodyne will take about two hours to '''truly''' warp the laws of nature."
** At one point, Agatha [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20181102 winds up skipping a few meals]]. Well, that, and using those meals as ingredients in yet more science. So Tarvek, no stranger to this sort of thing, [[CuttingTheKnot cuts the knot]], throws a labcoat over her head, and drags her bodily to dinner.

* Gear from ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' has a tendency to go into one of these and come out with a whole bunch of high tech gadgets.
* When Twilight Sparkle of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' gets stressed over something she can't figure out, her focus on it can get just a ''little'' neurotic.
** In "Lesson Zero", she becomes certain that her mentor will punish her if she doesn't write a friendship report--and if she doesn't have anything to write about, ''she will make something worth reporting''. This ends in her having a mental breakdown which causes her to enchant the entire town into an obsessed stampede.
** "It's About Time" sees her go even deeper into this place when she tries to avoid a horrible, unspeakable evil her future-self warned her about. She disaster-proofs the whole town, goes to Tartarus and back, then locks herself in her laboratory and doesn't eat or sleep for an entire week as she tries to avert the crisis. [[spoiler:What did future!Twilight want to warn her about? [[SelfFulfillingProphecy Not to go creepily obsessive about the future]]]].
** In fact, it's noticeable as far back as the ''pilot episode'', with the strong implication that her FriendlessBackground comes from spending too much time working on advanced magical theory instead of getting out and about in the fresh air. There's a certain amount of FridgeHorror to it if one tries to imagine what her life would have been like without that trip to Ponyville. Some fans believe she's on the autistic spectrum.

Compare HappyPlace. Not to be confused with [[EscapeFromTheCrazyPlace the Crazy Place]]. Or [[{{Cloudcuckooland}} the Cuckoo Place]]. May be caused by ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder, though going to TheMadnessPlace isn't necessarily due to a medical disorder. Compare NeurodiversityIsSupernatural, where atypical mental conditions do more than make you good at MacGyvering superweapons.

* The desire to stay in TheMadnessPlace for long periods is a driving force in for many tabletop wizards and sorcerers to become a {{Lich}} to escape the distractions of life. There's no need for food and sleep for an undead, and in the off-chance a pesky adventurer interrupts your study and trashes your workshop, well, [[BackFromTheDead there's always more time.]]

** Hell, it's noticeable as far back as the ''pilot episode'', with the strong implication that her FriendlessBackground comes from spending too much time working on advanced magical theory instead of getting out and about in the fresh air. There's a certain amount of FridgeHorror to it if one tries to imagine what her life would have been like without that trip to Ponyville.

* [[TheWoobie Chrona]] in ''Manga/SoulEater'' spends time in this, a HappyPlace and a BlackBugRoom. [[AmbiguousGender S/he]] spends much less of the anime in it due to a [[EarnYourHappyEnding happy]] GeckoEnding ([[spoiler:[[HeelFaceDoorSlam less so in the manga]]]]). [[MadScientist Dr. Stein]] is constantly at risk of slipping into his. Other "victims" include [[spoiler:Justin Law and Death The Kid]].

* TheWoobie Chrona in ''Manga/SoulEater'' spends time in this, a HappyPlace and a BlackBugRoom. [[AmbiguousGender S/he]] spends much less of the anime in it due to a [[EarnYourHappyEnding happy]] GeckoEnding ([[spoiler:[[HeelFaceDoorSlam less so in the manga]]]]). [[MadScientist Dr. Stein]] is constantly at risk of slipping into his. Other "victims" include [[spoiler:Justin Law and Death The Kid]].

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

* The more down-to-earth version of this is a state of mind called "flow" where a person is focused on a task they find interesting or challenging, while utilizing internalized skills. It is a state of intense focus and relaxation at the same time and a person engaged in it will typically ignore basic biological needs, potentially for days on end. Artists and scientists often find it easier to attain this state of mind, but anyone can reach it. Playing video games can often induce this state in a player. The problem comes when the state ends and you suddenly realize you haven't eaten or gone to the bathroom in sixteen hours.

* Igors in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' don't have a Madness Place themselves, but their masters often do. If an Igor is working for a mechanical genius who ''isn't'' in the Madness Place (such as Hubert Turvy in ''Discworld/MakingMoney'', who is constantly fretting about how the Glooper might cause people trouble) they tend to get a bit disconcerted, because there's something ''weird'' about people like that.

For obvious reasons, this trope is usually associated with the MadScientist, but it can appear alongside a PlayfulHacker or other [[CloudCuckooLander personalities]]. As touched upon above, those in the madness place tend to [[ForgetsToEat forget to eat]], [[GeniusSlob bathe]], and sometimes talk. They may think they've said something, or think it's so blindingly obvious they shouldn't have to mention it. In a sense, ItsAllAboutMe.

When these guys get involved--or perhaps we should say ''[[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder obsessed]]''--with a project, they ignore all distractions. The prisoner's crying? I don't hear anything. Crime against nature? I haven't been outside in ten years, so I don't really care. Food, sleep? Obstacles. And enemies jumping into the lab are like bonus "volunteers". You don't even have to hunt them down with a taser first!

Those who have found the Madness Place are [[PowerBornOfMadness very productive]]...for a time. Sometimes even [[GoMadFromTheRevelation a long time]]. But eventually, [[BoredWithInsanity they come back]], and have to deal with mere mortals again.

[[folder:Film]]

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Listen" is basically about the Doctor jumping straight to this place, to the point of doing some ridiculously dangerous and stupid things in pursuit of a mystery that may or may not exist outside [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight his imagination]].

* This trope essentially ''is'' the manic phase of UsefulNotes/BipolarDisorder

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': If Madness and Greatness are two sides of the same coin, then King Baelor Targaryen is the test-case. He built a great Sept and an impressive work of architecture, was kind to the poor and brought peace between the Iron Throne and Dorne, but he also neglected his responsibilities and made a mockery of the Crown.

* ''[[Literature/ZonesOfThought A Deepness in the Sky]]'': The Focus biovirus traps people in this as a permanent condition, so they can be used as brilliant but unquestioning drones for the Emergent dictatorship.

For obvious reasons, this trope is usually associated with the MadScientist, but it can appear alongside other [[CloudCuckooLander personalities]]. As touched upon above, those in the madness place tend to [[ForgetsToEat forget to eat]], [[GeniusSlob bathe]], and sometimes talk. They may think they've said something, or think it's so blindingly obvious they shouldn't have to mention it. In a sense, ItsAllAboutMe.

Compare HappyPlace. Not to be confused with [[EscapeFromTheCrazyPlace the Crazy Place]]. May be caused by ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder, though going to TheMadnessPlace isn't necessarily due to a medical disorder. Compare NeurodiversityIsSupernatural, where atypical mental conditions do more than make you good at MacGyvering superweapons.

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', we get a somewhat-downplayed version with [[TheAce Daenerys Targaryen]], as she isn't loud about it and "[[RightfulKingReturns For Politics, Survival, and Getting My Family's Stuff Back]]!" doesn't quite have the [[ForScience same ring to it]]. Yet, some of the greatest leaps of insight she makes (be they magical, mundane or [[TakeAThirdOption just too outside the box]] for others to predict) are preceded by a rather weird reliance on visions and dream-states with the accompanying logic they give. The thing is, she makes it work for her more often than not -- particularly in the short-term. ([[DidntThinkThisThrough Longer-term]]...[[NotQuiteTheRightThing there can be a few issues, however]].) She often displays states close to trancing, lucid dreaming, or what looks an awful lot like natural self-hypnosis using mantras or sayings to spur herself along. As she is about the only major Targaryen example we get to go on in the series itself, you've got to ask questions about how much [[InTheBlood the House as a whole]] has done similar things down the centuries... be the individuals either the great, middling, or outright nutty ones. Even her [[TooDumbToLive less-than-impressive]] [[TheAlcoholic brother]], [[{{Jerkass}} Viserys]], could fixate on trying to avenge his House ''for years''. To [[SanitySlippage his detriment]], [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy in his case]].