Achievements in Ignorance: Difference between revisions

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** This actually seems to be a running theme in regards to the Aes Sedai, that much of what they can and can't do is limited largely by tradition. That and a massive lack of initiative and imagination. The veil of general secrecy inherent within the White Tower is to blame for much of what was lost, with certain Aes Sedai not finding students they could trust to pass their skills on to and consequently taking their knowledge with them.

* In ''Riddle of the Seven Realms'' by [[Lyndon Hardy]], the protagonists fly suspended beneath a balloon made out of lead. Astron, a demon to whom the human world's physics is new and fascinating, had simply improvised a substitute when the conveyance's original balloon was punctured by arrows, unaware that a "lead balloon" was considered preposterous by humans.

* In German, an achievement made in ignorance of the inherent dangers is frequently called a "Ritt über den Bodensee" (a ride across Lake Constance). This is based on a folk legend that was turned into a ballad by Gustav Schwab, ''Der Reiter und der Bodensee'' (The Rider and Lake Constance): In a cold winter, a rider loses his way in a snowstorm and without realizing it rides across the frozen-over Lake Constance. This is something a sane person would normally not attempt because due to the size of the lake (Germany's largest) and the Rhine running through it you could not be sure that it would be safe for a rider and horse to cross all the way. It does not end well though—when he is told that he has arrived in a village on the other shore, [[Go Mad ~~From~~ the Revelation|the shock of realization of the danger he unwittingly had gone through kills him]].

* In German, an achievement made in ignorance of the inherent dangers is frequently called a "Ritt über den Bodensee" (a ride across Lake Constance). This is based on a folk legend that was turned into a ballad by Gustav Schwab, ''Der Reiter und der Bodensee'' (The Rider and Lake Constance): In a cold winter, a rider loses his way in a snowstorm and without realizing it rides across the frozen-over Lake Constance. This is something a sane person would normally not attempt because due to the size of the lake (Germany's largest) and the Rhine running through it you could not be sure that it would be safe for a rider and horse to cross all the way. It does not end well though—when he is told that he has arrived in a village on the other shore, [[Go Mad from the Revelation|the shock of realization of the danger he unwittingly had gone through kills him]].

* in the [[Nick Polotta]] book, ''[[Illegal Aliens]]'', humans are told of a (non-existent) material on their ships called "deflector plating" that is immune to all weapons fire. While the aliens are busy snickering behind their hands at the gullible humans, we go and invent deflector plating.

* In David Weber and Steven White's ''Starfire'' series, the war with the Bugs results in this happening when the newest members of the Grand Alliance, just getting introduced to the more advanced tech now available to them, innocently ask why the man-portable kinetic weapons that fire projectiles at 10% light speed, carried by infantry and ground vehicles for a century and half, haven't been adapted to allow for bombardment from orbit, giving the equivalent of tactical nuclear strikes without the radiation and fallout. Alliance military researchers promptly smack themselves on the forehead and begin producing the weapon system from off-the-shelf equipment.

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* In ''[[Garfield]]'', Odie chases Garfield up a tree resulting in both of them sitting on a high branch. Jon immediately tells Odie that "dogs can't climb trees". Garfield's response? "It's amazing what one can accomplish when one doesn't know what one can't do."

** In fact, in one of the early comics, this is how Garfield himself learned to walk on his hind legs.

* In [[Sally Forth Wood]]: a helicopter is in a war zone somewhere in the universe {{spoiler|until Snorky reads its manual and concludes it cannot fly, at which point it doesn't any more}}.

* In [[Sally Forth (Wally Wood)|Sally Forth]]: a helicopter is in a war zone somewhere in the universe {{spoiler|until Snorky reads its manual and concludes it cannot fly, at which point it doesn't any more}}.

* Schroeder can play extremely difficult piano pieces on a toy piano where the black keys are simply painted on.

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* Steve Jackson Games' role-playing system ''[[Toon (game)|Toon]]'', which takes place in a cartoon universe, gives appropriately cartoony reasons for being able to do this sort of thing. If a character wants to walk off a cliff and on thin air, or breathe underwater or whatever, he can roll to intentionally try to ''fail'' an intelligence roll. If he fails, it's considered that he's too dumb to realize it's impossible. This is a reference to all the times cartoon characters do just that. It's actually considered a law of [[Toon Physics]] that gravity does not affect a character until they realize it's supposed to. This is demonstrated in an episode of ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]''.

** The "Star Toon" setting in ''Tooniversal Tour Guide'' sourcebook features the Bozonians, an alien race so monumentally stupid they can build outlandish architectural wonders and incredible scientific devices [[It Runs on Nonsensoleum|because they're too dumb to realize the things they build should be impossible]]. Visitors to their home planet of Bozok are strictly controlled, because all it would take is one smart-ass telling the locals "That's impossible!" to [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|bring down a civilization]].

* In ''[[Warhammer ~~40000~~|Warhammer 40k]]'', it is explained that ork technology only works because orks aren't bright enough to realize that it should not work. They also believe that red vehicles go faster. In fact [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|they believe it strongly enough for it to be true]].

* In ''[[Warhammer 40,000|Warhammer 40k]]'', it is explained that ork technology only works because orks aren't bright enough to realize that it should not work. They also believe that red vehicles go faster. In fact [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|they believe it strongly enough for it to be true]].

** There is one instance where an ork manages to steal a spaceship and go for a joyride around the system, despite the fact ''the ship had no fuel''. It worked simply because he didn't realize that he was running on empty.

** The Orks have incredibly powerful telekinetic powers, they are just too dumb to realize it.

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** Sadly not entirely true now, due to age and repeated injuries taking their toll. He still does as much as he can, but he can't do them all any more.

* Many of the innovative visuals and special effects seen in ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' are the result of first-time film director [[Orson Welles]] simply refusing to believe that certain things couldn't be done on screen.

* A literal case of this with gamers who earn Xbox 360 Achievements (or [[~~PlayStation~~ 3]] Trophies) without looking up the requirements on what is needed to get them.

* A literal case of this with gamers who earn Xbox 360 Achievements (or [[Play Station 3]] Trophies) without looking up the requirements on what is needed to get them.

** Specifically, when you're near the end of a [[No Damage Run]] and are aware of it, you might start [[Centipede's Dilemma|locking up or playing too conservatively for your own good]]. No such problem if it hasn't occurred to you that you haven't taken damage, or don't realize there's a reward at stake.

** Particularly prevalent in Rhythm games, where players can enter an almost trance-like state of mind when they're doing good, only to be sucked out of it when they realize how good they're doing, usually resulting in them screwing up.

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[[Category:Contrived Stupidity Tropes]]

[[Category:Stupidity Tropes]]

[[Category:~~Achievements in Ignorance~~]]

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