Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 6, episode 3.
Howard's (Simon Helberg) gadget on The Big Bang Theory already resolved Sheldon's (Iain Armitage) ethical dilemma in Young Sheldon season 6. The boy genius continues his college adventures at East Texas Tech this year. While the Coopers deal with issues at home that center on Georgie's (Montana Jordan) predicament as an unwed expecting father, his younger brother tackles an ethical dilemma with regard to science. Sheldon struggles to decide whether he's for or against ethical limitations on scientific discoveries — something that was already answered by a specific Howard storyline on The Big Bang Theory.
The Big Bang Theory season 4 premiere, "The Robotic Manipulation," also explores this matter, using some more eccentric subject matter to convey an answer to the matter of ethical limitations. In the episode, Howard's robotic arm malfunctioned while he was using it for his own sexual pleasure, which resulted in him being rushed to the hospital. This proves that even scientific inventions need a limit, giving Sheldon a concrete and simple answer to his ethical dilemma years after Young Sheldon season 6, episode 3, "Passion's Harvest and Sheldocracy.": just because something can be done, it doesn't mean that it should be done. The robotic arm was perfectly capable of being used as a massage tool, but it wasn't designed to be a sex toy, hence, it couldn't be utilized that way without risk of injury, leaving Howard to learn this ethical lesson in an embarrassing way.
Howard Made The Coolest Inventions On Big Bang Theory
The robotic arm wasn't Howard's invention. Instead, he "borrowed" it from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It's uncertain what happened to it after his accident, but after that, he never dared pull something like that again. Despite that, he also created several nifty gadgets on The Big Bang Theory. The most notable ones include the Wolowitz Zero-Gravity Waste Disposal System deployed on the International Space Station, as well as, a telescope, components for satellites, and space probes used in the same space station. In this regard, Howard is better than Sheldon, as the latter is a theoretical physicist and thus more limited in physical inventions.
Will Howard Return To Young Sheldon?
Despite its prequel nature, Young Sheldon was able to bring Howard into the show via a voice cameo. The episode aptly revealed the real reason why Sheldon has undying hate for engineers and engineering. Despite the fun banters, Howard's guesting stint was actually disappointing, as The Big Bang Theory spin-off didn't really take advantage of his presence. Since then, it has been curious when he might return to Young Sheldon. At this point, there are no concrete plans for his next cameo, although, given Mayim Bialik's multiple appearances as Amy, it isn't outside the realm of possibility that CBS brings Howard back to Young Sheldon in the near future.
Howard's dynamic with the socially-inept genius on The Big Bang Theory was arguably one of, if not the most interesting. They weren't exactly as close as Sheldon and his best friend and true soulmate Leonard (Johnny Galecki); they bickered and even had serious conflicts, but they were great pals, nonetheless. While the nerd-centric sitcom didn't get to fully explore their bond, it would be great to learn more about their pairing through brief but well-executed Howard cameos in the future on Young Sheldon.
Young Sheldon season 6 airs Thursdays on CBS