# Government By Mad Scientists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 3, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267 "2014-12-03T23:14:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/1 "2014-12-03T23:14:56Z")
Authoritarianism Autocracy Despotism Dictatorship Totalitarianism Democracy Representative Democracy Monarchy Oligarchy Aristocracy Military junta Plutocracy Stratocracy Timocracy Anarchy Anocracy Kritarchy Particracy Republic Theocracy What would you call a government that was lead by Mad Scientists? ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/2 "2014-12-03T23:54:24Z")
Mad scientists probably wouldn’t run a government. They are far more interested in their scientific projects. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/3 "2014-12-04T00:00:22Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Mad scientists probably wouldn’t run a government. They are far more interested in their scientific projects. Ahem [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/](http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/4 "2014-12-04T00:03:37Z")
IIRC there was a past thread in the SDMB that showed a lot of evidence and well based opinion that most of the mad scientists you see in fiction are in reality engineers. So I will go for [Technocracy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy), with rulers that are evil. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/5 "2014-12-04T00:08:05Z")
As a Son Of Ether, I call it a great idea! ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/6 "2014-12-04T00:27:12Z")
Well, is it one mad scientist, acting as a dictator, or a small group of mad scientists, functioning as an oligarchy, or a whole lot of mad scientists, who get to vote, elect representatives and officials from amongst their number, and so forth, in which case it would be a sort of democracy, but with a very restricted franchise. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/7 "2014-12-04T00:33:49Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Mad scientists probably wouldn’t run a government. They are far more interested in their scientific projects. There’s the occasional mad _social_ scientist, however. And there’s only so many experiments you can do with just [orphans and hedge mazes](http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090506). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/8 "2014-12-04T00:57:17Z")
Sparkocracy. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/9 "2014-12-04T01:14:31Z")
Angryocracy. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/10 "2014-12-04T01:20:44Z")
Teslacracy. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/11 "2014-12-04T02:01:50Z")
Technocratic despotism. Because you don’t put scientific conclusions to a popular vote, or fail to act on them based on the polls, you know. Especially when they are \*mad \*scientific conclusions, you don’t even put those up for peer review! OTOH a multiparty Technodespotic regime would be fun at election time. Instead of “I, Can D. Date, approve this message” the mandatory campaign ad tagline would be “Fools! You laugh now but evveryone will soon know my name, Dr. Can D. Date! I’ll show them!! I’ll show them ALL!!” ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/12 "2014-12-04T02:12:38Z")
As a Mad Scientist, I object to the uninformed and hateful belief that all Mad Scientists are evil. Many of us are good. We don’t want to unleash doomsday devices, deathrays, or robot armies. We want a better world. I could speechify on just what I mean, but imagine the world of Futurama- a world where unfettered Science can and does meet our every need. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/13 "2014-12-04T02:24:14Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > As a Son Of Ether, I call it a great idea! You sellouts. Everyone knows all the best mad science is being done inside the Technocratic Union. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/14 "2014-12-04T03:10:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You sellouts. Everyone knows all the best mad science is being done inside the Technocratic Union. Without a sense of childlike wonder (which you Greyfaces utterly lack) it is not possible to do Science. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/15 "2014-12-04T03:18:17Z")
Meritocracy? I make the bold assumption that the United Federation of Planets is in fact a meritocracy. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/16 "2014-12-04T05:30:52Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Meritocracy? > > I make the bold assumption that the United Federation of Planets is in fact a meritocracy. So how do you explain \*Admiral \*Janeway? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/17 "2014-12-04T05:31:20Z")
From my Dog Greek\*…“Epistemocracy”? \*(No, not that one.) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/18 "2014-12-04T10:02:38Z")
Latveria? (Slightly) more seriously: Crankocracy Malocracy ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/19 "2014-12-04T10:46:28Z")
One thinks of the third book of Jonathan Swift’s _Gulliver’s Travels_, in which the hero visits the land of Balnibarbi, which is ruled – with disastrous results – by mad scientists. (Some folk are of the opinion that Swift was, here, eerily prophetic of various twentieth-century abuses against humanity.) The word “Balnibarbocracy” might be suggested: admittedly, it’s rather a mouthful. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267/20 "2014-12-04T11:17:29Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > One thinks of the third book of Jonathan Swift’s _Gulliver’s Travels_, in which the hero visits the land of Balnibarbi, which is ruled – with disastrous results – by mad scientists. (Some folk are of the opinion that Swift was, here, eerily prophetic of various twentieth-century abuses against humanity.) The word “Balnibarbocracy” might be suggested: admittedly, it’s rather a mouthful. Didn’t the mad scientists who controlled Balnibarbi actually live above it, on the flying island of Laputa? Laputocracy is quite a good word (although it could also be taken to mean rule by prostitutes, an altogether superior system of government). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-by-mad-scientists/706267.md?page=2)