Good Is Not Dumb: Difference between revisions

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Unlike [[Obfuscating Stupidity]], '''Good Is Not Dumb''' does not involve any deception at all—the subject is ''genuinely'' nice and honest, but the [[Cynicism Tropes|cynicism of others]] lead them to misread the character as [[The Ditz]], a [[Gentleman Thief]], or some other [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|gullible]] or [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|deceptive archetype]]. After all, no one ''really'' [[Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids|gets through life being kind and trusting to everyone]], right?

Almost inevitably, the [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|genuine goodness]] of the character will triumph, often accompanied by the [[Hoist by His Own Petard|comeuppance]] of the disbeliever. The [[Con Man]] will be thwarted, the [[Jade-Colored Glasses|~~sceptical~~ cynic]] will be surprised by [[The Power of Trust]], and everyone will discover that [[Let's Get Dangerous|"good" is not a synonym for "clueless victim"]].

Almost inevitably, the [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|genuine goodness]] of the character will triumph, often accompanied by the [[Hoist by His Own Petard|comeuppance]] of the disbeliever. The [[Con Man]] will be thwarted, the [[Jade-Colored Glasses|skeptical cynic]] will be surprised by [[The Power of Trust]], and everyone will discover that [[Let's Get Dangerous|"good" is not a synonym for "clueless victim"]].

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]].

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== Anime & Manga ==

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* ''[[Gantz]]'': Masaru Kato. He is about as morally upstanding as they come, but he'll still ~~pre-emptively~~ ambush a guy on the toilet in order to defend himself and head off further violence.

* ''[[Gantz]]'': Masaru Kato. He is about as morally upstanding as they come, but he'll still preemptively ambush a guy on the toilet in order to defend himself and head off further violence.

* ''[[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.

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== Comic Books ==

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* The original [[Captain America (comics)]], Steve Rogers. Super-soldier, tactical genius, inspirational leader, unfailingly polite and incorruptibly idealistic.

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

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== Film ==

== [[Film]] ==

* 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." }}

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== Literature ==

== [[Literature]] ==

* [[Discworld|Carrot Ironfoundersson]] greets everyone by name, is perpetually polite and cheerful, and selflessly volunteers to help anyone in need. But anyone who mistakes him for an easy mark ''quickly'' learns otherwise.

{{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. }}

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== Live Action TV ==

== [[Live-Action TV]] ==

* 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.

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== Video Games ==

== [[Video Games]] ==

* 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?

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== ~~Webcomics~~ ==

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* Almost all of the good guys in ''[[The ~~Order of the Stick|~~Order of the Stick]]'' fall under this trope, with the exception of [[Spoony Bard|Elan]]. Paladins even state outright ([[Running Gag|several times]]) that they're "Good, not dumb."

* Almost all of the good guys in ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'' fall under this trope, with the exception of [[Spoony Bard|Elan]]. Paladins even state outright ([[Running Gag|several times]]) that they're "Good, not dumb."

** 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]].

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*** 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.]}}

** When he does flip out and [[Lampshade Hanging|brings this up]], he scares some very hard to scare people, while delivering an [[Curb Stomp Battle|incredible beatdown]] to the ~~oversized~~ war criminal sent to retrieve him. And at the end:

** When he does flip out and [[Lampshade Hanging|brings this up]], he scares some very hard-to-scare people, while delivering an [[Curb Stomp Battle|incredible beatdown]] to the over-sized war criminal sent to retrieve him. And at the end:

{{quote|'''Gil:''' Well, you '''know what'''? I can '''do''' crazy. I '''really can'''. And it looks like I'm going to '''have''' to. Agatha is in danger. This '''whole town''' is in danger. If I'm going to be able to help her '''at all''', I'm going to have to give up all this '''"being reasonable"''' garbage and show you '''idiots''' what kind of madboy you're '''''really dealing with!''''' [Smashes Vole apparently through a wall, [[Beat]], sudden wide eyes] ...oh. Oh, ''no.'' This must be [[Knight Templar|how my]] '''~~[[Knight Templar|~~father]]''' ~~[[Knight Templar|~~feels]] - '''''all the time!'''''}}

{{quote|'''Gil:''' Well, you '''know what'''? I can '''do''' crazy. I '''really can'''. And it looks like I'm going to '''have''' to. Agatha is in danger. This '''whole town''' is in danger. If I'm going to be able to help her '''at all''', I'm going to have to give up all this '''"being reasonable"''' garbage and show you '''idiots''' what kind of madboy you're '''''really dealing with!''''' [Smashes Vole apparently through a wall, [[Beat]], sudden wide eyes] ...oh. Oh, ''no.'' This must be [[Knight Templar|how my '''father''' feels]] - '''''all the time!'''''}}

** 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.

== Western Animation ==

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* 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.

* In the ''[[Justice League]]'' episode "Flash and Substance," Orion asks why Central City would honor a buffoon like the Flash, "who makes bad jokes, who concerns with pitiful men like the Trickster." But the Flash is anything but ~~dumb—he~~'s able to handle the Trickster without throwing a single punch. In fact, he convinces the Trickster to happily turn himself in to the police.

* In the ''[[Justice League]]'' episode "Flash and Substance," Orion asks why Central City would honor a buffoon like the Flash, "who makes bad jokes, who concerns with pitiful men like the Trickster." But the Flash is anything but dumb — he's able to handle the Trickster without throwing a single punch. In fact, he convinces the Trickster to happily turn himself in to the police.

** 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.

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== [[Real Life]] ==

* Studies show that more trusting people are often more capable of telling when others are lying.{{citation needed}}

:* 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.

** 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.

:** The opposite could just as easily be argued if one sees 'being lied to' as the cause and then 'becoming more ~~apprensive~~ of potential lies' as the effect, rather than the reverse.

*** The opposite could just as easily be argued if one sees 'being lied to' as the cause and then 'becoming more apprehensive of potential lies' as the effect, rather than the reverse.

:* 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.

** 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.

** 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.

:* It's quite likely that all three explanations contribute to the effect. Psychology!

** It's quite likely that all three explanations contribute to the effect. Psychology!

:* How about, if you lie too many times, the only ones who will hang around you are those whom nobody trusts?

** How about, if you lie too many times, the only ones who will hang around you are those whom nobody trusts?

:** Could just as well say, if you lie too many times you'll get so good at it you can hang out with anyone. Both statements could be true too, in different cultures or places or even situations. Cause and effect is like that. It is why scientists spend such a lot of time obsessing about proof and checking and rechecking things.

*** Could just as well say, if you lie too many times you'll get so good at it you can hang out with anyone. Both statements could be true too, in different cultures or places or even situations. Cause and effect is like that. It is why scientists spend such a lot of time obsessing about proof and checking and rechecking things.

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[[Category:Morality Tropes]]

[[Category:Hidden Badass]]

[[Category:~~Good Is Not Dumb~~]]

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]