Daniel Lemire's blog

, 1 min read

So, you want to be a mad scientist?

Exceptional scientists are often a bit crazy:

  • Kurt Gödel starved to death when his wife was hospitalized. He was paranoid.
  • John Nash suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
  • Paul Erdõs was a homeless itinerant most of his life.
  • Henry Cavendish was so shy that he only communicated with his servants by writing notes.
  • Theodore Kaczynski (the Unabomber) became assistant professor at the University of California at Berkeley at the age of 25, before going to live in a cabin without electricity or running water.
  • Nikola Tesla was obsessive compulsive and mysophobic.

Further reading: Scientists and their emotions.

Source: tvtropes via Daniel Lowd.