The Big Bang Theory gave us years of entertainment with a very brainy Sheldon Cooper and his pretty smart friends who are navigating life together. But Sheldon had his moments when he was most annoying, and this is one that goes at the top of the list.
In Season 1, Episode 9 of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon Cooper came up with an idea, and Leonard set up a test to confirm its validity. Because of that, he was invited to give a speech, a prestigious honor for a professor of Theoretical Physics trying to get attention in his field. But our arrogant Sheldon Cooper read the invitation and threw it in the trash, citing that he was the lead scientist on the project, and he vetoed the engagement.
Several issues are at play here. He didn’t even consult Leonard about it, and he forbade Leonard to go as if he had the authority to make that call. But the main issue here is that he came up with the idea, and Leonard did the work. Sheldon Cooper is standing on the premise that coming up with the idea is the most important thing when it comes to science.
Skip ahead to Season 8, Episode 18 of The Big Bang Theory, and the entire conversation flip-flops. In the most contradictory moment throughout the series, Leonard comes up with an idea and consults Sheldon about it, who likes it. He likes it so much that while Leonard is asleep that night, Sheldon works out the math and writes a paper about it.
After publishing the paper with Leonard, it catches some attention. When a journalist calls Sheldon to learn more about the discovery, he gives the interview and lets the journalist believe that he is the lead on the project. When they publish the article, Leonard isn’t even mentioned in it.
This leads to a conversation about ideas versus work again. Only the shoe is on the other foot. Sheldon argues that the idea isn’t as important as the execution, and he’s more than comfortable with taking credit for the whole thing. For someone to be considered such a genius, he really didn’t have his thoughts together as you might think. Contradiction shouldn’t exist in a mind that thinks so highly of itself.
If you thought the issue was over, you might be surprised to learn that it comes up again. In Season 12, Episode 11 entitled “The Paintball Scattering,” President Siebert invites Sheldon up to the private lounge with Amy because of their work in Super-Asymmetry. Siebert makes a big deal about them being his superstars but he would prefer if Amy handled the media campaign.
Both Sheldon and Amy object to Siebert’s preference but when Sheldon can’t handle a test question the president throws at him, it proves that Amy should be the one doing the talking. Then, the first article comes out in the monthly magazine Wired. Siebert can’t wait to share the news.
The headline declares Amy, “The Neurobiologist Who Revolutionized Physics.” Of course, Sheldon isn’t happy about that headline. At a paintball game where all the couples are fighting, Sheldon reveals that he didn’t like the article because it was as if Amy was taking credit for his idea.
Here it is, his idea again. They did the work together and this time, Sheldon isn’t talking about the work. He’s talking about where the idea came from because to him again, that is the most important part. Will this guy ever make up his mind?
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At their wedding, Amy sparked the entire thought process when she commented on his bow tie. She said that there is beauty to asymmetry. Sheldon’s mother further inspired the thought process when she talked about imperfections having the ability to make things perfect. When Sheldon shared this revelation with Amy, they began working on their theory immediately…as in people were waiting on them to get married while they were writing equations on a mirror with lipstick.
Again, Sheldon flops. It’s this flaw about him that really annoys me. Throughout the show, he takes credit for things he didn’t do, no matter how small they are. He claimed to have trained Leonard to be a better roommate. He took credit for teaching Leonard things he already knew. It was a constant theme with him.
As much work as Amy put into Super-Asymmetry, she definitely deserved credit and Sheldon did ultimately handle it better than he did the other two incidences. He shared credit. They won the Nobel Prize together. And Sheldon was adamant about that when two other physicists tried to win the Nobel Prize from their work that wasn’t accomplishing anything until Amy and Sheldon’s paper came along.
So to sum up, Sheldon was the guy with the idea and Leonard did the work. Then, Leonard was the guy with the idea and Sheldon did the work. At the end, it was Amy’s remark that sparked the idea and they did the work together. But in each of these three incidences, it doesn’t matter which part he played in the process, he always considered himself to be the most important part of the project. The most annoying character in television history.
