Kevyn: You're perpetuating a horrible myth, Hob. Experts in a given scientific field seldom have expertise in multiple fields. The 'Mad Scientist' or 'Tinkering Hero' archetype is patently ridiculous. I'm a physicist, specializing in wormhole dynamics. I apply gravitic tunneling to the problems of managing receiverless teleportation. That does not make me a demolitions expert.
Hob: Wow. So you don't know 'splosives?
Kevyn: Actually, I do. But that's only because everybody needs a hobby.
Hob: Wow. So you don't know 'splosives?
Kevyn: Actually, I do. But that's only because everybody needs a hobby.
"I'm a whizz at calculus, psychology,
plain geometry and anthropology
I'm the living end in entomology
and at bridge I excel
I know all about atomic energy
Horses, boats and cars and biochemistry
but when it comes to brain surgery then I can only do swell"
plain geometry and anthropology
I'm the living end in entomology
and at bridge I excel
I know all about atomic energy
Horses, boats and cars and biochemistry
but when it comes to brain surgery then I can only do swell"
— Professor Ludwig Von Drake, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
"I know more than you do — I'm Dr. Science!"
Here's another great example of Trek logic in action: if you were a science officer, you are automatically an expert on everything. Okay, I can see why she would be schooled in the science of made-up Trek physics when it comes to black holes. But she also knows everything about engineering, biology, nanotechnology, and anything else you might come up with. She even assisted the Doctor in brain surgery! How many times does Picard take over Engineering? How many times does Archer take the helm? How many times did Kirk get into a fist fight? ... Okay, bad example.
— SFDebris
"Since it is considered extremely difficult to genuinely acquire an encyclopaedic knowledge, and even more to be proficient in several fields at the level of an expert (see expertise about research in this area), not to mention to achieve excellence or recognition in multiple fields, the word polymath, in both senses, may also be used, often ironically, with a potentially negative connotation as well. Under this connotation, by sacrificing depth for breadth, the polymath becomes a 'jack of all trades, Master of None'."
"You dare mock me? When all of science is mine to command?"
— Baron Zemo, The Avengers #8
Abel: I'm surprised, Jyrras. I would have thought you would know a lot more about astronomy and astrology.
Jyrras: Eh. Meh. A lot of folks seem to think that if you are smart in one branch of science that you are an expert in all of them.
"According to the caption, he's both an astronomer and a nuclear physicist. Why can't scientists in fiction pick a damn field of study and just stick with it?"
— Linkara on Altair Lane in Zero Patrol #1
"Jay Garrick says it's time to go to the Justice League with what he knows. While The Atom apparently performs an autopsy on Endless Winter. He's a physicist!"
You have an unrealistically broad knowledge of every scientific field. This includes Anthropology, Astronomy, Bioengineering, Biology, Chemistry, Engineer, Geology, Mathematics, Metallurgy, Meteorology, Naturalist, Paleontology, Physics, Physiology, Psychology, and Sociology – but also any other roll that requires a “scientific opinion.” This doesn’t necessarily translate to practical application, however; e.g., you might be an expert on metal composition and layering (Metallurgy), but that doesn’t mean you can craft a sword (Smith)!
"This is getting ridiculous! How much information did my other self — this timeline's Hank McCoy — have in his head?! It is as if the X-Men looked to him for everything from battle scenarios, tech-support and medical evaluations to studying the Legacy Virus!"
— Dark Beast, Uncanny X-Men #334
Zoe: This "Doctor" friend of yours. Is he a scientist?
Jamie: He is in a way I suppose, yes.
Zoe: What's his speciality?
Jamie: His what?
Zoe: Well, is he a physicist, biochemist, astronomer, biometrician?
Jamie: Yes, he is.
Jamie: He is in a way I suppose, yes.
Zoe: What's his speciality?
Jamie: His what?
Zoe: Well, is he a physicist, biochemist, astronomer, biometrician?
Jamie: Yes, he is.
— Doctor Who, "The Wheel in Space"
Liz Shaw: What are you doctor of, by the way?
The Doctor: Practically everything, my dear.
The Doctor: Practically everything, my dear.
— Doctor Who, "Spearhead from Space"
Intercom: One of them is calling himself a 'Doctor'.
Professor Yana: O-of medicine?
Intercom: He says 'of everything'.
Professor Yana: O-of medicine?
Intercom: He says 'of everything'.
— Doctor Who, "Utopia"
Quell: So, what are you a doctor of?
The Doctor: Now, there's a question that's never asked often enough. Let's say intestinal parasites.
The Doctor: Now, there's a question that's never asked often enough. Let's say intestinal parasites.
— Doctor Who, "Mummy on the Orient Express"
The Doctor: You're a medic, I'm the Doctor.
Medic: A doctor of medicine?
The Doctor: Well, medicine. Science. Engineering. Candy floss. LEGO, philosophy. Music. Problems. People. Hope. Mostly hope.
Medic: A doctor of medicine?
The Doctor: Well, medicine. Science. Engineering. Candy floss. LEGO, philosophy. Music. Problems. People. Hope. Mostly hope.
— Doctor Who, "The Tsuranga Conundrum"
John: I have ten degrees, including all of yours... Except yours, Will.
Harry: That makes me feel a trifle lilliputian.
John: That's over the span of 170 years. I got my biology degree at Oxford in 1840, so I'm a little behind the times. The same in other areas—I can't keep up with the new stuff that comes along. No one can. Not even in their specialty.
Wonderella: What exactly are you a doctor of, anyway?
Dr. Shark: Oh, who remembers anymore?
"Movies tend to treat scientists like they treat minorities: There's at most one of them in the movie, they probably aren't ending up with the romantic lead, and they're used as a stand-in for a wide range of diverse backgrounds."
— Cracked: 5 Dumb Things Hollywood Apparently Believes About Scientists
- #1. Scientists Know All Science
- #1. Scientists Know All ScienceDr. Otto Octavius: These smart arms are controlled by my brain through a neural link. Nanowires feed directly into my cerebellum allowing me to use these arms to control fusion reaction in an environment no human hand could enter.
JF Sargent: Quick question Doctor Octopus, are you physicist, or a neurologist, or a roboticist? Because you just casually described incredible breakthroughs in all of those fields. And you know what? It's not fair for me to use a super villain. Let's stick to normies, like Lucius Fox from Batman who not only knows how to design and build a train system but also how to run a multinational super corporation and cure fear toxin. But fine, again, I get it. We're still in superhero movies. Dr. Elizabeth Straw from Prometheus is an archaeologist and astronaut, and feels comfortable performing an autopsy on an alien head. Those are three very specific skills that require a lifetime of study, and the third one isn't even a thing.
"I'm a biologist, but sure I can invent time travel, just give me a minute."
— Jemma Simmons, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Bruce: How many PhDs does Hulk have? Zero. How many PhDs does Banner have? Seven.
[later]
[later]
Thor: It'll be fine! Use one of your PhDs.
Bruce: None of them are for flying alien spaceships!
Bruce: None of them are for flying alien spaceships!
Emily: So then you're sure [the alien rifle's] man made.
] man made.Epsilon: Yeah, I'm positive. Why?
Emily: Well, for starters, it isn't using human technology. It just fired some kind of modified plasma energy. Very deadly. And pretty!
Sarge: Plasma?
Emily: Alien energy source. I've seen it countless times in archaeological digs.
Simmons: Wait, I thought you were a surgeon?
Emily: I have an IQ of 240. A prodigy can only cut people open so many times before she needs to find a hobby.
Epsilon: Jesus. Couldn't try cross stitching?
Emily: I sewed them back up, thank you very much.
— Red vs. Blue, S12E13 "Catch Up, No Mustard"
Weezi: Do you honestly expect us to believe you were able to convert an electric generator into a rocket? Even if such a thing were possible, I thought you were a geologist!
She-Hulk: That's not a problem, Weezi. He's a comic book scientist, after all. Remember, Hank Pym started out as an entomologist and ended up building robots!
— The Sensational She-Hulk #31
