Possession Implies Mastery: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

A reasonably common fallacy based on the notion that the possession of a piece of technology, excluding things specifically described as a [[Black Box]], implies that the owner has a full understanding of its workings and mechanisms, the principles on which it operates, and can adapt and use those principles in other matters in a reliable way, and can even undermine them as necessary.

* Averted in the ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' novels where Admiral Shannon Foraker is quite frank about how even when they capture Mantie technology they can't actually use it because they don't have the same tech base or miniaturisation technology, but that it's still worthwhile because it gives them ideas on how to do it, and how to develop countermeasures.

* Subverted in ''[[Stephen King|The Tommyknockers]]''. The titular entities have no clue HOW their stuff works, but somehow managed to figure out how to make it.

** Averted in ''[[Harry Potter]]'' as a whole. Just because you have a broomstick/wand/crystal ball/whatever doesn't mean you can ''use'' it without going to school first.

* Averted in ''[[The Bartimaeus Trilogy]]'', where Nathaniel gains possession of an extremely powerful magical artifact and tries to use it against his enemy. Bartimaeus notes that there's no chance of him being able to master it on his first try, but stops when he succeeds in generating a massive surge of magical energy. Then he loses control and the backlash knocks him unconscious.