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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"If you gotta ask, you'll never know."''
|'''[[Louis Armstrong]]''', defining [[Jazz]].}}
{{quote|'''Ben:''' You have to tell me how to work this thing.
'''Azmuth:''' Don't you want to figure it out on your own, like a true hero would?
'''Ben:''' Hmm... not really.
|'''''[[Ben 10]]'''''}}
What could be more more [[Egregious]] than [[Cannot Spit It Out]], you ask?
There's a crisis and information is needed. There's someone, perhaps many someones, who have this information right on hand and it would simply take five minutes to explain.
In fact, the hero outright ''asks'' for it. [[Politeness Judo|Politely. A lot.]]
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"You'll have to figure it out yourself."
The problem is this isn't limited to villains or even the [[Ineffectual Loner]], but characters who really shouldn't have any motives to [[Poor Communication Kills|keep this information secret]] from the character. Except to pad out the season, of course. Though they frequently claim that making the hero work through things by himself is a necessary learning experience.
Commonly uttered by [[Time Travel
It's also a stock phrase for the [[All Powerful Bystander]]. The [[Trickster Mentor]] never ''says'' it, but [[The Only Way They Will Learn|you know he's thinking it]]; the [[Zen Survivor]] practically ''breathes'' in these. An [[Oracular Urchin]] will get out of de-cryptifying their [[Cryptic Conversation]] with the hero this way. Likewise heroes and super heroes with a [[Secret Legacy]] might be overjoyed to find out they're not the black sheep of their family, but wonder why mom and dad never helped out before.
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Used in almost exactly the same places and situations as "[[You Are Not Ready]]", with the implication that [[Only Smart People May Pass|the act of working the information out is the only way to make yourself worthy of it]]. Often couched within a [[Cryptic Conversation]].
{{examples
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* Despite the obvious worry of ''[[Princess Nine]]'''s lead about the truth of her late father cheating in a baseball game, none of the characters who admit to knowing will tell her. She is later inexplicably convinced by her own ''bizarre dream sequence''.
* In ''[[Naruto]]'' Jiraiya tells this to Naruto when he is training him on how to use the Rasengan, that Naruto will have to work out how to pop the balloons and complete all 3 stages of mastering the jutsu by himself.
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** Also, during a [[Cryptic Conversation]] over a game of shogi, Asuma asks Shikamaru what part of Konoha the King represents. {{spoiler|Only with his last breath does he reveal the identity of the King: the new generation.}}
** Kabuto revives some fairly powerful kages during the 4th shinobi world war, controlling their bodies but allowing them to speak normally to their opponents, who they would otherwise want to be allied with. One of them, the Mizukage, gets tired of explaining his techniques, and eventually states that if they're not strong enough to figure it out on their own and seal him, they don't deserve to win.
* Used effectively in a serious arc of ''[[Ranma ½
** Except he actually didn't. His mom found the scroll detailing it and cut it up to use as an envelope containing a message for Ranko. All without being aware that Ranma was Ranko and that Ranma needed to learn the Umisenken.
* In [[Suzumiya Haruhi]], both Asahina Mikuru and Nagato Yuki give Kyon very incomplete information about {{spoiler|how to ... save the world from Haruhi.}} Kyon puts both clues together at nearly the last minute to do just so. [[Justified Trope|Justified]] to some extent because both Asahina and Nagato are constrained by rules.
* This is C.C.'s favourite trope in ''[[Code Geass]]'', aside from being a [[Sugar and Ice Personality]]. {{spoiler|She was in league with the Protagonist's parents, but switched sides after some soul-searching}}. Mostly, she's willing to help out ''a lot'' from behind the scenes, whilst leaving Lelouch to learn lessons on his own.
* At no point in ''[[Aiki]]'' does Kunitoshi ever give a straightforward lesson on anything. The most he does is tell you when you've screwed up. On the other hand, should someone manage to get started on their own, he ''does'' give them legitimate advice on the next steps.
* In [[Saiyuki]] the main character, as a Sanzo priest, is supposed to give advice and provide an example of how to live your life. Sanzo rejects this as hypocritical and useless. He therefore takes a "figure it out yourself" stance on LIFE. The one time he does give a lecture on Buddhist ideology (his personal favorite, "if you meet the buddha, kill the buddha") it is a HUGE deal.
* In the ''[[One Piece]]'' episode where the Straw Hats first meet [[Cool Old Guy|Silvers Rayleigh]] (first mate of the legendary Gol D. Roger) Robin asks if her knows anything about the Void Century and Will of D, knowledge she has been pursuing all her life. Rayleigh's ominous answer is as follows:
{{quote|'''Rayleigh:''' Yes, we know. We learned the entire history. However, Miss... Don't be hasty. Push forward on your ship one step at a time. Perhaps we, as well as [[Doomed Hometown|Ohara]], were too impatient. If I were to tell you the entire history here and now, it's not like you could do anything the way you are now. After you've taken your time to see the world, the conclusion you reach might be different than what we found.}}
:* He does tell her then that he ''will'' tell her now if she desires, but she sees his point and tells him not to.
:* Although, a common fan theory interpretation of what is says is that he believed Robin would [[Go Mad From the Revelation]] should he tell her.
== [[Fan Works]] ==
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*** {{spoiler|His reasons are all garbage; he really did want to preserve the mysteries in the story, since it's all a game he cooked up.}}
== Literature ==
* Most of ''[[Harry Potter]]''{{'}}s interactions with Dumbledore revolve around measured dispensing and denying of plot critical
** Even in book six, Dumbledore isn't immune to this. There is no reason for Dumbledore not to tell Harry what a Horcrux is, and a good reason for him to do so (Harry doesn't think finding out about them is that important, if he knew what they were, it might move up his priority list.
*** Dumbledore kept secrets from Harry so that {{spoiler|Voldemort wouldn't know}}
** During book seven, while the [[Power Trio]] is on the road trying to figure out what they have to do, Hermione suggested this trope as a rationale for why they had to do something. Later on, when Harry turned the same rationale on her for a different goal, she admitted that she didn't really believe it and was just trying to get her way in the first place.
** Justified in not telling Harry about {{spoiler|being the last horcrux, if he had, Voldemort could have known and Voldemort had to kill the soul in Harry}}
* ''[[His Dark Materials]]'': Lyra cannot be told anything about her destiny but has to complete it naturally on her own... [[Because Destiny Says So]], literally...
* ''Everybody'' in Robert Jordan's ''[[Wheel of Time]]''. If the good guys didn't universally have a habit of not sharing information with each other (along with [[Jerkass|other]] [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl|tragic]] [[Straw Feminist|flaws]]), the series really would have been a trilogy.
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* This is [[Vorkosigan Saga|Miles Vorkosigan's]] standard response whenever someone asks him how to do something he's asked them to do, when he doesn't know how to do it himself.
** [[The Emperor|Emperor]] Gregor also makes Mark Vorkosigan figure it out himself in ''Mirror Dance''. As Mark says (using asking someone for the time of day as a metaphor):
{{quote|
* In ''[[The Thrawn Trilogy]]'', the eponymous antagonist uses this after dropping a few oblique hints so a smuggler captain he wants to come to a particular conclusion doesn't get suspicious.
** A version of this trope is brought up in ''[[X Wing Series|Starfighters of Adumar]]'', when Wedge Antilles does not want to kill the [[Proud Warrior Race]] guys he's having to fight, but can't tell them why because he's trying to sway their government, and outright stating that he finds their way of life repulsive won't win the New Republic any favors.
{{quote|
* Richard's companions in ''[[Neverwhere]]'' pointedly refuse to explain most of London Below, on the premise that it's dangerous to know too much. Richard nearly dies several times due to lack of forewarning, at which point his "friends" chide him for ''not knowing information they withheld.''
* In ''[[Isaac Asimov|The Gods Themselves]]'', the nature of [[Starfish Alien|Soft One]] maturation requires that the Rational work out the species' life cycle on his own. Simply telling him how it works prevents him from reaching the level of mental development needed to actually cause the final maturation.
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* It's a recurring part of the Ancients' schtick in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', and a lot of what makes the Tollans so annoying.
** Nicely explained concerning the issue of ascension. The Ancients believe people should learn how to do it themselves (after all, ''they'' did), while the Ori promise to ascend followers for them ([[The Cake Is a Lie|which is actually a lie]], but no one knew it at the time). While Daniel is usually frustrated by the Ancients and their lack of helpfulness, he once spoke in their defence to stop people from following the Ori:
{{quote|
* ''[[Angel]]'': "You're Welcome". Cordelia wakes from her coma to help Angel and company rediscover their true calling:
{{quote|
'''Angel:''' Remind me.
'''Cordelia:''' Oh no, that's for you to figure out, bubba. }}
* During ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County Jr]].'', this was usually the reply Brisco got when asking questions about the Orb to anyone who was actually in a position to know something.
* In an episode of the 2000s [[
** Of course, it was this very bomb that enabled the ''Cylons'' to find the ''humans'' once they had settled on New Caprica.
* Dr. Cox has this attitude very often with all of his interns/residents on ''[[Scrubs]]'', although it is possible that this is because, as doctors, they need to be able to perform procedures/diagnoses in order to become effective medical staff. Or, possibly, because he's [[Dr. Jerk|a jerk]].
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* Dimitria spent the first half of ''[[Power Rangers Turbo]]'' doing this (her species could ''only talk in questions,'' supposedly, though fellow "Inquirian" Visceron didn't have this problem), only to drop this practice when the four veteran Rangers- probably more experienced at this sort of thing than she was- were retired and replaced, at which point she got a lot more direct.
* Lampshaded in an early episode of [[Red Dwarf]], with the 'Holly Hop Drive'
{{quote|
'''Holly:''' It's fairly straightforward. If you want to start it you press "START", and you can work out the rest of the controls for yourself. }}
* Should you ever find yourself in [[Fraggle Rock]] and [[Wandering Minstrel|Cantus the Minstrel]] happens to be around, ask him for some advice. He'll give it freely, but it's so cryptic that you ''have'' to
* It's also the case for several characters on [[Fringe]], particularly the [[Blue and Orange Morality|Observers]],<ref>
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* ''[[Dragon Age Origins]]''. If Loghain is a party member, and you decide not to take him with you to defeat the Archdemon, he puzzles why you spared his life if you had no intention of forcing him to kill the archdemon as an alternative to self-sacrifice, one of your answers is that someday he'll realize why. If you choose the Heroic Sacrifice, it's doubly poignant.
* Inverted in ''[[Kingdom Hearts]] [[Chain of Memories]]''. Axel explicitly offers Sora a hint as to what's going on in Castle Oblivion, but Sora turns him down, stating that he'd rather figure it out himself.
** Granted, in ''[[Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days
** Played straight in the first ''[[Kingdom Hearts (video game)|Kingdom Hearts]]'' though, when Sora asks Hercules what it takes to be a true hero.
* The entire second ''[[Myst]]'' game is an instance of
** Arguably, the entire series is based on this.
* In the case of the ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' series, it's obvious what the real reason is that [[Phoenix Wright]] (and Apollo) have to figure everything out for themselves. After all, it wouldn't be much of a game if they kept telling you how to solve the problems. In-universe, however, it's kind of strange how everyone, including his [[The Obi-Wan|mentor Mia]], refuses to give any advice at trials more helpful than sometimes-vague hints. Apparently, Phoenix's growth as a lawyer is more important than making sure his innocent client doesn't get convicted of murder, even if that client is Mia's little sister.
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* A few of the [[Nukees]] comics that focus on the undergrads talk about this tendency in undergrad textbooks. "The book says, 'the reader can show how X becomes Y squared. I'm the reader! I can't show! The back of my ass! That's what I can show!"
* In ''[[Homestuck]]'', Karkat is extremely reluctant to explain anything of use to John, even though it would be immensely helpful. This is because he's organising the conversations in a reverse temporal fashion (his first talk with John is John's last, and vice versa). Thus, he's already explained those facts and doesn't want to repeat himself every time, which means John either figures it out himself, gets the information from another source (which pisses Karkat off) or waits until Karkat is finally good and ready to explain. When Karkat later trolls Jade, she enforces a password system for the explicit purpose of not letting him do this.
* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', [
== Western Animation ==
* On ''[[Rugrats]]'', Angelica could be found repeatedly [[Parental Bonus|reciting the Louis Armstrong quote]] to the babies.
** [[Hilarious in Hindsight|That just made the time they camped out a lot funnier.]] Angelica said, "We couldn't sleep 'cause of the Sachmo."
* In ''[[Ben 10]]'', as the page quote illustrates, uttered by the creator of the Omnitrix at the very end of the [[Made for TV Movie]]. Due to the very little learning experience Ben expresses, it's pretty much used to maintain the [[Status Quo Is God|status quo]].
* Mr. E from [[Scooby Doo Mystery Inc]] is this one. He hands a lampshade in one eposide when he wants to give a Riddle to Mystery Inc, but Shaggy wants a straight answer.
{{quote|
* In ''[[Miraculous Ladybug]]'', Lucky Charms work this way. The power always gives Marinette a seemingly-random [[Lethal Joke Item| (and apparently useless)]] item that she can use to defeat the [[Villain of the Week]], but she has to figure out just ''how'' to use it on her own.
== Real Life ==
* The ancient philosopher Socrates believed in using a complex questioning method to engage with his opponents, instead of simply arguing for the ideas that he had in mind; this makes this [[Older Than Feudalism]]. This method of debate gets so mind-blowingly annoying that it may have had more than a little to do with why Socrates was eventually sentenced to death by the people of Athens.
** It probably didn't help Socrates that (at least as portrayed by Plato) he rarely paid more than lip service to his own favored method of discourse. After an initial series of exchanges that show how hopelessly confused his opponent is regarding the matter at interest, the core questions from Socrates invariably go like: "And wouldn't you agree that such and such, and also that this and that, so because of fee fie foe it must be true that blah de blah?" The opponent is then reduced to meekly agreeing. Figure it out yourself, indeed.
▲** It probably didn't help Socrates that (at least as portrayed by Plato) he rarely paid more than lip service to his own favored method of discourse. After an initial series of exchanges that show how hopelessly confused his opponent is regarding the matter at interest, the core questions from Socrates invariably go like: "And wouldn't you agree that such and such, and also that this and that, so because of fee fie foe it must be true that blah de blah?" The opponent is then reduced to meekly agreeing. Figure it out yourself, indeed.
▲*** During his lifetime Socrates objected to the way Plato represented him. Plato basically treated Socrates as a mouthpiece for his ideas.
* Similar to the matrix example above, it's debated whether or not [[wikipedia:Qualia|qualia]] can be accurately defined.
** Obviously it can be sufficiently defined since they wouldn't be able to talk about it otherwise. The word qualia can; individual qualia can't. That's basically what the word is defined as; "Things which cannot be accurately defined."
* Often invoked (many times as a [[Hand Wave]]) in technical lectures and discussions, especially in math and science: "The proof is left as an exercise for the reader." In general, the lower the quality of a textbook or the shorter a lecture is on time, the more frequently you can expect the sentence to occur.
** It's sometimes more of a focus thing. As engineer, you dont really need the whole mathematical proof behind most things. You need to understand what you're doing and why and apply it to practical things like building bridges. As a doctor, there is knowledge needed about what the body is made off but you dont need all the exact chemical reactions. A race car driver
* There are things in life that can only be learned/believed through experience, some because it doesn't quite make sense logically at the time ("Careful - the [unchanged-looking] stove is hot now."), and some because it's something no one really knows how to explain, and you can't really comprehend unless you've learned it by experience. ({{spoiler|"Love and hate are not opposites."}})
** Including the above. Everyone who knows this is nodding his/her head. The people that don't are thinking, "Whaaat? That's crazy. Why can't you just tell me????"
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[[Category:Information Desk]]
[[Category:Figure It Out Yourself]]
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