Sheldor the Conqueror

[Wisp]

Being a genius is, or should be, the centre of Sheldon's existence, and his intellect, and recognition of the same, is absolutely key to his ego/sense of identity. In reality, having a nationally funded experiment of that magnitude screwed with could well have precipitated a psychotic break. Especially with the actual real life discoveries of Tennant and Morris to do with magnetic monopoles and Dirac strings. (Obviously the inspiration for the script, but the actual results came in after the show was aired, I believe.) Penny's first impression of him was a '"Beautiful Mind" genius guy', and considering John Forbes Nash Jr, that's possibly a closer description than she knew.

I rather think Sheldon has held onto outward elements of childhood because he was actually forced to grow up too fast in some ways. He certainly wouldn't have had normal socialisation, with accelerated schooling. He couldn't identify with his age peers, and he would be far too young to associate with his academic peers. He finds a sense of identification with Spock - rational, logical and a fish out of water, observing a culture of which he is not quite a part. This lack of social awareness gets overlooked - this is a guy who never went through most of the rituals and milestones of childhood and schooling. Hence the fact that he can't drive. Though, oddly, he can shoot. (The crossbow in the closet still amuses me.) I suspect that was a failed attempt at father-son bonding, like the football.

(Oh, and there is the fact that his father was an alcoholic. With the lack of appropriate socialisation, and a possible genetic propensity, giving Sheldon booze ranges from a bad idea to downright cruelty.)

In some ways, he has ended up with the worst possible set of people to observe for a sense of human behaviour. Having watched his parents marriage implode/explode/skeet shoot the Franklin plates, he's already got a skewed idea of relationship models. Now, he's got a handful of pathetic, desperate, socially inadequate individuals around him. And I think they use that, consciously or not. Hanging around with Sheldon means that there is always someone weirder, more freaky, than them. Although, initially, Sheldon was the dominant force, it was his schedule that determined events. Though over time this has become less of an Alpha Male thing, and more of a stick to beat him with, it was apparent to begin with, that he was the top dog.

So, yes, if you take a guy like that out of his comfort zone, and expose him to stress and anxiety, and then destroy the one area that he is supremely confident in, his intellectual ability, he's going to crack. I like to think that the Chancellor's medal was an indicator that the faculty still had confidence in him, but his academic career would be definitely be shaky. Because he's now going to be looking over every other bit of work he's done and wondering if it has been messed with, if he can trust himself, if he can't trust others.

So, he's already questioning himself, having seen his credibility trashed. And the hits keep coming, he's continually told that he needs to conform, that he needs to change. There's no-one on his side in this, because nobody has taken the time to understand him. His observations of the group around him lead him to believe that this is how things have to be.

So, we end up with a confused man, being shoved towards a place that he is deeply unsure of, without the emotional foundations to cope. I absolutely go with that idea that he's regressing, in the face of all of this.

Amen to that! He's been pushed into the corner and we're supposed to find him unsympathetic. He's become the butt of all the jokes. I used to think that the show was about the strength of those who don't fit in where they "should", but now it's apparent that the show, with particular focus on Sheldon, charts the gradual watering down of the most stubborn "oddball" of all. We wouldn't want a wierdo like that being right and logical now, would we? Better make him self-conscious! Only good can come of that... apparently. No. Some people do not have to "learn", and they do not have to conform. I strongly doubt any of the other characters have life figured out, and the way I see it, Sheldon had neatly avoided the soul-crushing inevitability of rejection, because it was not something that concerned him. The first time I watched TBBT I thought: "this is a guy who's got life sussed. His friends should take a leaf out of his book." (regarding human interaction anyway) What is wrong with having a popular character that has different emotional requirements to everyone else? Nothing. Other shows have proved that much more successfully.