Centipede's Dilemma: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Beetle Bailey]]'': What do you do with your arms when you're walking? Mort Walker was nice enough to show a character walking before thinking about this and swinging them in the opposite order from how he moved his legs so that the reader didn't have to face the puzzle.

* In one [[Archie Comics]] story, Jughead beats Reggie at bowling this way.

 

== Fan Works ==

* Harry Potter from ''[[Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality]]'' [[Subverted Trope|refused to share the secret]] behind the Patronus V.2, because it is unlikely that the majority of people would be able to reach the mental state necessary, and attempting it could [[Brown Note|destroy their own ability to cast normal Patronuses]].

* In Chapter 8 of the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' fanfic ''[[It Takes a Village]]'' Spike finally figures out how to fly. He immediately makes it clear that ''no one'' is to ask him ''how'' he managed it, otherwise he might forget.

 

== Film ==

* In ''[[The King's Speech]]'', Lionel Logue points out that this is Bertie's problem (though it's a significant problem and not easily surmounted) by having him recorded reading Hamlet while listening to music that make it impossible for him to hear himself. It's not until much later, after getting drunk and dismissing Logue as a crackpot, that Bertie listens to the recording... and hears himself speaking without a stutter for the first time in his life.

* In ''[[Bull Durham]]'', the hot young pitcher has no control when he thinks about what he's doing, and his catcher exploits this, goading him into throwing a fastball right at his chest from five feet away, and he misses. His girlfriend makes him wear garters under his uniform, and he's so twisted around thinking about how uncomfortable he is that he pitches beautifully.

 

== Literature ==

* In ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' it is possible to fly as long as you don't think about the fact that you're flying. It's not terribly hard. All you have to do is throw yourself at the ground and miss (oh, and you have to distract yourself somehow right before you hit the ground).

* One of the ''[[Callahan's Crosstime Saloon]]'' stories by [[Spider Robinson]] is actually titled "The Centipede's Dilemma". In it, a character with a dangerous psychic ability is defeated and rendered powerless by using this technique.

** This [[Truth in Television|was proven]] on a Derren Brown show, where he asked an experienced tightrope walker stuff like that, and repeatedly told him not to fall off. Guess what happened next.

* In Walter Brooks' ''Freddy the Pig'' series, at one point a beetle came to Freddy saying he couldn't walk anymore, since every time he tried he got distracted by where his legs were and tripped. Freddy had him stare at the ceiling while he walked, and it worked.

* In the ''[[Babysitters Club|Baby-Sitters Club]]'' book "Mallory Hates Boys (and Gym)", when Mal's name is called to be on one of the volleyball teams and she starts jogging over to her teammates she suddenly becomes very conscious of her arms.

* Stephen Potter's satirical how-to-win-at-games-without-being-able-to-play-them book ''Gamesmanship'' lists breaking your opponent's flow in this manner as a fundamental technique, explicitly stating "CONSCIOUS FLOW IS BROKEN FLOW" as being "Rule 1".

 

== Live-Action TV ==

** Kenneth tries to ask Liz a question, but she is in a hurry so he responds "Can you walk and talk at the same time?" Kenneth: "Well, normally I can, but now you've got me thinking about it" and he immediately starts staggering and slurring his words for a few paces.

** Jack in "Jack-Tor", who forgets how to walk, hold his arms, or enunciate words when the camera is on him.

 

== Music ==

* The Scottish folksong of 'The Wee Kirkcudbright Centipede' who is an incredible dancer until someone asks her to demonstrate her dance step-by-step. She basically ties her legs together.

 

* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: The [[The Bible|Gospels]] of John, Matthew, and Mark give accounts of Jesus walking on water. Peter is initially able to do so as well, but falls once he begins to wonder how this could be possible. ([[An Aesop|The point is that Peter starts to doubt how he can do it, which means his faith in Jesus is faltering]].)

 

== Video Games ==

** Similar to how a player doing extremely well starts faltering once they realized it.

* For some particular reason, in a game where two or more players are fixed to a side of the screen, it's jarring for a player who's used to one side to have to use another. In most situations, there's no practical difference.

 

== Web Comics ==

* Inverted in ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'': When [[Gender Bender|transformed into a girl]], Justin initially has trouble walking because he tries to compensate for the new body... until told that he just shouldn't think about it, since the transformation gun already compensates.

* ''[[Spacetrawler]]''. [http://spacetrawler.com/2012/01/03/spacetrawler-197/ Emily deliberately invokes it.]

{{quote|'''Emily:''' Nice shooting. I wonder if you'd trip up if you stopped to think what each tentacle is doing.

'''Krep:''' I... Oh crap. }}

 

== Western Animation ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]

[[Category:Fight Scene]]

[[Category:Distraction Tropes]]