10 Times Well-Loved Scientists Were Total Jerks

The noble pursuit of knowledge that is science, could there be any purer calling? Surely this higher intellectual plane is the one part of society that is free of the opinions, prejudices and personality problems of the people you meet in day to day life? Nope.

Scientists, whether in their personal lives or professional capacities are some of the worst offenders for tantrum throwing, smack talking, boundary pushing, antagonistic dickishness and there have been a fair few of them throughout history that have made a career out of getting on everybody's last nerve.

Of course, as is always the case, these are just a couple of bad apples that are spoiling it for the rest of us. But, unfortunately, these are the types of characters that end up sticking out in the history books - and not always for the right reasons.

There have been a fair few pretty nasty experiments over the years, but that's not what we're here for. We're here for the guys who were just ... you know ... jerks.

Whether it's freaking out children, endless petty bickering or straight up bullying, there are definitely a few scientists out there that could do with a good talking to from their mothers and a long, hard look in the mirror.

The Milgram Experiment, designed by Stanley Milgram in 1961, was made up of a series of psychological experiments designed to test obedience to authority figures. Would people inflict unbearable pain on another human being just because a man in a white coat told them to? The answer was, overwhelming, yes.

The experiment consisted of one "learner" and one "teacher", sat in adjoining rooms so that they could hear but not see one another. The learner would answer a series of questions from the teacher, and if they got them wrong, the teacher would have to administer electric shocks of increasing strength. They were told that this was to test the effect of pain on the ability to learn, which was a total lie.

If, at any point, the teacher questioned the experiment, the overseeing authority figure in a white lab coat would have four stock replies simply telling them that they had to continue. If the teacher objected more than four times, the experiment was halted.

Despite the screams of the learner in the next room (who was an actor, you'll be pleased to hear), over 65% of the original participants continued the experiment through to administering a deadly 450-volt shock. Despite many expressing concerns, most of the participants were happy to continue the experiment once they discovered that they would not be held responsible for any "permanent damage". Yikes.

The scientists came away with the conclusion that people are easily led sheep that will do anything to defer responsibility, and the participants presumably came away with a blossoming existential crisis and the need for a very stiff drink.