All Theories Are True: Difference between revisions

* [[Grant Morrison (Creator)|Grant Morrison]] loves treating fringe science claims as true in his comics, whether it's the "morphogenetic field" in ''[[Animal Man (Comic Book)|Animal Man]]'' or Masaru Emoto's theory that water has feelings coming true in a chapter of ''[[Seven Soldiers]]''.

* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in an issue of [[Alan Moore]]'s ''[[Tom Strong (Comic Book)|Tom Strong]]'', where the hero and villain reminisce about a 1930s adventure and are disturbed that phlogiston, invisible liquid heat, was real then... despite having since been disproven as a theory.

* ''[[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]]'' has a lot of fun with fringe science. Most notably the way the word "quantum" can be used to justify anything, and the morphogenic field. (''[[GURPS (Tabletop Game)|GURPS]] Discworld'' notes that all theories of morphic resonance are true on the Disc, ''including the ones that contradict each other'').

* ''[[Animorphs (Literature)|Animorphs]]'' used this trope sometimes. In the case of Area 51... I mean, Zone 91... it was heavily [[Lampshaded]]. It was more moderately lampshaded when an Atlantis-type lost civilization turned out to be real. And there are also the Skrit Na, whose main purpose for being in the books was to be an alien race fitting the description of [[The Greys]]. Subverted, though, when Erek is telling the story of how his Chee race arrived at the right time to be [[Ancient Astronauts]]. When asked about the concept that they might have been the ones to design the pyramids, Erek clarifies that the Chee didn't interfere with human society in ways like that, just as they don't do things like that in the present day. Also, the series' treatment of [[Psychic Dreams for Everyone|psychic phenomena]], and of the question of dolphin and whale intelligence, seems to be based on this trope.

* Kate Elliot's ''Crown of Stars'' series is set in a world in which the Peripatetic theory of a geocentric universe within a series of nested crystal spheres in which are contained the stars and the planets is true. It is still possible to go to the stars, although obviously the experience is a much different one. One character actually speculates on what, in the world of the story, is the fringe theory that the universe might be a heliocentric one in which the stars and planets float in a vacuum, but rejects it.

* ''[[The X-Files (TV)|The X-Files]]'' uses the premises of innumerable fringe and obsolete theories as the premises of episodes and the show's sprawling [[Myth Arc]]. A partial list:

* A notable [[Spiritual Successor]], ''[[Fringe (TV)|Fringe]]'' also uses this trope as its premise.

* In ''[[Sliders (TV)|Sliders]]'', the existence of the Kromaggs (humanoid creatures that evolved instead of ''Homo sapiens'' in various parallel universes) is ascribed to "Killer Ape Theory," which was a theory held by many 19th century naturalists about early ''human'' evolution. Notable in that in the real world, Killer Ape Theory tried (very inadequately) to explain the divergence between humans and the other apes, in the show the theory was appropriated to explain the divergence between Homo sapiens and Kromaggs from a common stock. And guess where the name "Kromagg" comes from?

* The ''[[Spelljammer]]'' setting for second edition [[Dungeons and& Dragons]], while fantasy, used such ideas as worlds being surrounded by crystal spheres and floating in phlogiston.

* A big part of the [[Mad Scientist|Sons of Ether]] brand in ''[[Mage: The Ascension (Tabletop Game)|Mage: The Ascension]]'' is science that go beyond conventional ideas of the "possible".

* [[Applied Phlebotinum|Wonders]] look like they work this way in ''[[Genius: The Transgression (Tabletop Game)|Genius: The Transgression]]'' however if you dig deeper it's really a combination of ''[[ClarksClarke's Third Law|actual]]'' [[Subverted Trope|science]] and [[Magic -Powered Pseudoscience|Mania]].

** This is also one of the noted problems of Lemurians and their [[Splat|Brahmins]]. A Genius can easily cite any scientific theory, bunkum or backed-up, for why their device works, but the members of the Peerage have ''some'' understanding that what they're doing is not quite science. The Lemurians, on the other hand, believe that something went wrong with the standing model of the universe, and want to try to "fix it" to support their theories.

** It's also how [[Eldritch Location|Bardos]] work. A theory of the universe is proven to be untrue? Then it simply spins off into an alternate dimension where it is. Certain Bardos include a model of the universe where the planets are crystal spheres pushed through seas of aether by gigantic archangels, a dystopia that demonstrates both the failures and successes of Soviet totalitarianism, a [[John Carter of Mars|Barsoom]]-like vision of Mars that came into existence when the Viking rover pictures came back, and the Hollow Earth, which is populated by both every sort of prehistoric creatures and Nazis.

* This is the basis of the ''[[GURPS (Tabletop Game)|GURPS]]'' supplement "Fantasy Tech". Everything from the the popular belief that ancient armor was ridiculously heavy to the [[Little-Known Facts|scientific fact]] that the sun exerts a strong natural attraction on dew, so if you fill bottles with dew during the night you will rise upward during the day.

* ''[[Command and& Conquer]]: Red Alert'' previously used Tesla Coils as [[Death Ray|death rays]]. Though it used to be thought this was possible, it isn't.

* The ''[[Fallout (Video Game)|Fallout]]'' series.

* "[[Steampunk|Gaslamp fantasy]]" ''[[Girl Genius (Webcomic)|Girl Genius]]'' is all about this, but then, at least one character states that a strong spark is actually a [[Reality Warper]].