Good Is Not Dumb: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}{{Needs Image}}

 

 

 

 

A direct inversion of [[Good Is Dumb]] and [[Dumb Is Good]]. The ultimate stage of this is the [[Guile Hero]] who can play [[The Chessmaster]]'s game without falling into the ambiguity at best, clear villainy at worst of the [[Magnificent Bastard]].

Compare and contrast with [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]], [[Good Is Not Nice]], [[Gentleman and a Scholar]], [[Beware the Nice Ones]], [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]], [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good]], and [[Good Is Old-Fashioned]]. Also see [[Rousseau Was Right]] and [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness]].

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Karakuridouji Ultimo]]'': Sophia. He's on the Good Doji side, and is the embodiment of Wisdom.

* ''[[Liar Game]]'': Nao. Like Corporal Carrot, she started off extremely naive, honest and easily manipulated. As the game continued, however, we see that she is a lot smarter than she appears. She even {{spoiler|schemes with Fukunaga and doesn't tell Akiyama and pulled it off}}, and often uses her innocent nature to trick and trap others.

* ''[[Naruto]]'': [[Shrinking Violet|Hinata]] [[Yamato Nadeshiko|Hyuuga]]. She doesn't need to beat Neji in a fight, because her words alone revealed him for who he truly was during the Chuunin exams.

* ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'': Himura Kenshin.

* ''[[Souten Kouro]]'': Cao Cao is serious about upholding the law, but he's not Lawful Stupid and knows a set-up when he sees it during his tenure as police chief. As he said in exposing the eunuch Jian Shi's plot against him: "I am not the kind of fool that would kill {{spoiler|His Highness}}, who you had caught in your wicked scheme!"

 

* [[Superman]] sometimes invokes this trope, often when an [[Anti-Hero]] claims that [[Good Is Old-Fashioned]].

** ...except when [[Frank Miller|certain writers]] depict him as an idiot on the assumption that anyone that powerful ''must'' be [[Dumb Muscle]].

** It's ''because'' of his peerless strength that Superman is one of these by default. The only way to give him interesting stories is to give him opponents that work around his strength and test his wits. More often than not, Superman has to solve problems by ''highly specific and concentrated'' applications of force. In fact, he has as many if not more characteristics of a [[Guile Hero]] as an [[Action Hero]], especially when faced with foes stronger than him.

* [[Spider-Man]] certainly has his flaws, he's hot headed, neurotic and can occasionally descend into bouts of self-pity, yet he's still extremely loyal to his loved ones, lives by a very strict [[Thou Shalt Not Kill]] code and above all else, he values responsibility. He also happens to be a genius scientist.

* In [[Zatanna]]'s ongoing series she is confronted by Oscar Hampel, who claims that he was turned into a puppet because of a tragic series of events almost out of his control and that his violent actions were an isolated event. Zatanna accepts that her father, for all his wisdom and power, [[Humans Are Flawed|was only human]] and might have overreacted by turning Oscar into a puppet. She gives Oscar the benefit of the doubt and agrees to help him become human again...after she runs him through a magic [[Lie Detector]], that is. After all, just because her father was not perfect does not mean he was wrong ''this'' time, and she is going to make sure before she takes any actions.

 

 

* Abbe Coulmier from ''[[Quills]]'' is a compassionate priest who believes [[Rousseau Was Right]], and serves as a foil to the Marquis de Sade. While it initially seems like de Sade has the advantage, Coulmier turns out to be more than capable of zinging him right back, and punctures de Sade's pretensions to evil.

{{quote|"You're not the anti-Christ. You're just a malcontent who knows how to spell." }}

* Georgia Byrd from ''[[Last Holiday]]'' might seem naïve, but she is a very good saleswoman and gives some solid advice to other characters. Despite all of Kragen’s attempts to humiliate her, Georgia is usually one step ahead of him.

* Batman is portrayed as such in [[The Dark Knight Saga]]. In fact, most of the plot of ''The Dark Knight'' revolves around the Joker trying to get Batman to break his moral code and prove that, deep down, everybody is just like him and that [[Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids|Batman's idealism is misplaced]]. He fails miserably.

 

{{quote|And that was Carrot at work. He could sound so innocent, so friendly, so... ''stupid,'' in a puppy-dog kind of way, and then he became this big block of steel and you walked right into it. }}

* In ''[[Good Omens]]'', the ever-polite angel Aziraphale occasionally gets visits from the [[Legitimate Businessmen's Social Club|representatives of property developers]] who are [[Shame If Something Happened|very concerned about the possible risk of fire to his bookshop.]]. He listens to them cheerfully and politely sends them on their way, and ''they never return''...

* In ''[[The Hunger Games]]'', Peeta is kind and patient and {{spoiler|totally kills people in the arena, including finishing off one girl in cold blood while he's in the Career pack}}, besides being three steps ahead when it comes to manipulating the on-camera narrative.

* The ''[[Father Brown]]'' series, by [[G. K. Chesterton]], uses this heavily with its titular character. In his first appearance, the [[Gentleman Thief]] Flambeau is shocked that a quiet, unassuming priest can not only outwit him but knows more than him about criminal behaviour. Father Brown points out that of course priests know these things; people ''confess'' to them.

* [[Jim Butcher]]'s other series, ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', also uses this trope on the Knights of the Cross, Michael Carpenter in particular. Michael is a [[Church Militant]] [[Knight in Shining Armor]] and devout Catholic, but he's also a perceptive person. If it looks like he's falling for a [[Plan]], it's because he believes it's the only honorable way to get Harry out of the latest mess and/or God will see him through it, ''never'' because he hasn't noticed the risk.

** Also because Harry has risked the same for him.

* In [[Timothy Zahn]] [[The Thrawn Trilogy|novels]], Luke is written this way. While he may be one of the strongest Jedi, he is also able to outsmart his opponents when necessary.

* Wedge Antilles, in his [[Star Wars|film]] and early [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|EU]] appearances, was just an [[Ace Pilot]], leader of Rogue Squadron, and loyal to his friends and cause. His [[A Day in the Limelight|day in the limelight]], the [[X Wing Series]], showed some promising hints of interpersonal savvy, tactical insight, and further loyalty to principles rather than organization. This is turned [[Up to Eleven]] by the time of his [[Aaron Allston]]-written appearances in the ''[[New Jedi Order]]'' and ''[[Legacy of the Force]]''. He's adept at [[Xanatos Speed Chess]], an incredibly quick thinker, adept at cutting past what people are saying to what they ''mean'' and their underlying goals, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|and a loving husband and father who is deeply principled and moral]]. Somehow, people keep [[Underestimating Badassery|underestimating him]].

* In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', Frodo makes it very clear to Gollum that he is well aware that Gollum is trying to think of a way to betray the hobbits and take back the ring. Sam is surprised at this because he had assumed Frodo was far too good a person to be able to understand deception and treachery. Sam admits that he (and probably Gollum as well) "had confused kindness with blindness."

 

* Benton Fraser from ''[[Due South]]''. Honest, noble, impeccably polite at all times... and a lot more competent and intelligent than he appears.

** Incredibly reminiscent of [[Discworld|Captain Carrot]], to the point that you think ''somebody'' must have been inspired by somebody else. Apparently not, though.

* In the ''[[Firefly]]'' episode "Trash," Saffron assumes Mal is an idiot because he's being kind and compassionate to her. Then she walks headlong into his [[Batman Gambit]] when it turns out he expected her [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|sudden but inevitable betrayal]], and Inara beat Saffron to the drop point.

* Carly in ''[[iCarly]]'' sees the best in people, but if betrayed or oppressed, will come up with a scheme like having a massive in-school riot to get the good principal back.

* On Season 2 of ''[[The Amazing Race]]'', Tara & Wil and Chris & Alex constantly ragged on Blake for being an idiot, despite this, he made several brilliant strategic moves, including being the first team to beg for money, getting his bags on a flight when all the other teams had to check theirs, and getting preferred parking on a ferry, most of which were decried by the above teams as "cheating".

** Part of Boston Rob getting Uchenna & Joyce and Gretchen & Meredith on a faster flight in Season 7 (when Rob, in order to mess with their heads, mentioned a fictional earlier flight, which just turned out to exist) was him talking about how Uchenna & Joyce couldn't do anything for themselves.

* Eiji Hino from ''[[Kamen Rider OOO]]'' may seem like a carefree fool, however underneath his simple exterior lies a rather cunning mind.

 

* Commander Shepard of [[Mass Effect]], when played [[Neutral Good|Paragon,]] is this. Despite only one minor, notable exception, Paragon Shepard is a good friend, with many [[Pet the Dog]] and [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] moments who is definitely an idealist. That said, mess with him/her and [[Papa Wolf|the people he]]/[[Mama Bear|she cares about]] (or just innocent people), [[Berserk Button|and you will die.]] [[Badass|Period.]]

** I'm curious. What's the exception?

* Does not even begin to describe [[Disgaea|Sereph Lamington]], a [[Chessmaster]] grade example.

* [[Mega Man X]], a [[Neutral Good]] [[Reluctant Warrior]] who lives in an increasingly [[Crapsack World]] infested with [[The Virus]], capable of turning even his best friend against him. Often referred to as 'too trusting' in-universe and 'emo' outside of it because he doesn't like killing people. He's also an [[Sealed Good in a Can]] [[Super Prototype]] [[One-Man Army]] with ''lots'' of combat experience and what he can't handle his aforementioned [[Mega Man Zero|best friend]] ''will.'' He also ends up ruling the world, basically because he's the only person that could manage it. There was talk of having him hit the [[Despair Event Horizon]], [[Knight Templar|lose that compassion]] and become the [[Big Bad]] of the [[Mega Man Zero|sequel series]]. That would have been ''bad.''

 

** And even Elan isn't completely dumb, because what he lacks in book smarts, he makes up for in [[Genre Savvy]].

** [[Lawful Stupid|Miko]] might be another exception. "Good, not dumb" is often a response to people expecting other paladins to act like her.

*** Miko, if anything, is a [[Deconstruction]] of [[Dumb Is Good]] as she's too stupid and stubborn to deal with complex moral situations.

**** Hell, even Miko can't be underestimated, because she managed to track down the Order across a continent, and possessed enough of a tactical mindset to defeat the Order twice with only her horse as backup and damage/kill most of the raiding ogres in the opening round of combat.

* Arthur in ''[[Arthur, King of Time and Space]]''. His enemies often assume that because he's nice, unassuming, and prepared to give the benefit of the doubt if possible, he can't be dangerous. Many of them are dead now, and the remaining ones [http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/2256.htm still haven't learnt].

* Everyone thinks that just because [[Girl Genius|Gilgamesh Wulfenbach]] never built a [[Death Ray]] and tries to be civilized and fair, they can push him around and act like he's nothing. When [[Berserk Button|he's finally pushed over the edge]], he shows the entire world that yes, he ''does'' know how to build a [[Death Ray]], and yes, he's perfectly capable of kicking the crap out of Europa to protect his father and [[She Is Not My Girlfriend|not-girlfriend]].

*** This is apparently accepted under Europa's cultural definition of 'death ray.'

{{quote|'''Castle Heterodyne:''' [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|Wulfenbach sparks are known for their oversized machinery, you know.]] [Agatha blushes.]}}

** Gil's probably just as much of a case of '[[Beware the Nice Ones|nice is not harmless]],' though. You could even make a case for filing him under '[[Good Is Not Nice]],' especially lately, despite being an [[Overlord, Jr.]]. The...[[Webcomic Time|three-year day]]...since the above incident has not been easy on him.

 

* Arguably Ned Flanders from ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', at least in [[Flanderization|the early seasons]]. He's smart enough to outsmart Homer, though that's not saying much.

** He's also a forensic scientist in his civilian job, and a ''good'' one too.

** You can tell that even Batman is almost envious of his ability to quietly shut down a super-foe, something he cannot imagine being able to do in Gotham.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

** Which is the kind of [[Fridge Brilliance]] only found in [[Real Life]]. A person gets mistrustful if they get burnt one time too many - if you can see lies and deceptions coming, people will not get a chance to betray you, and therefore you will not become hurt, wary and eventually (possibly) paranoid.

** A more likely explanation is simply that people who are more trusting of others are typically those with good social skills. Which makes them better at spotting and interpreting body language, getting a rough idea on other people's moods and current mental state (stressed, agitated, relaxed, bored, etc.) - and all of that helps in figuring out if someone is telling the truth or lying through his teeth.

** It could also be the other way: if you can't tell when people are lying, protecting yourself means assuming that everyone might be. Being good at telling when people are lying means that you don't need that, so you can be trusting.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Knight in Shining Tropes]]

[[Category:Idealism Tropes]]

[[Category:Morality Tropes]]

[[Category:Hidden Badass]]