Puff of Logic: Difference between revisions

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUmXhCmVaQg This Skittles commercial.] Three teens sit on a rainbow and enjoy their Skittles while looking down below: Teen #1: "Hey, what if this rainbow doesn't exist and it's just in our imagina-" the rainbow opens under him and falls out of the sky in mid-sentence while the other two teens look on, followed by the slogan "BELIEVE THE RAINBOW! TASTE THE RAINBOW!"

 

* This is pretty much the entire premise of ''[[Noein]]''. {{spoiler|The big bad is eventually killed by everyone refusing to acknowledge his existence.}}

 

* In [[Grant Morrison]]'s [[Doom Patrol]], the [[Meta Fiction|metafictional]] world of Orqwith disappears from reality when Rebis exposes the contradiction at its heart (based on a [[Knights and Knaves|Raymond Smullyan puzzle]]):

{{quote|'''Rebis:''' I've come to ask the question. One of you must have the answer. Why is there something instead of nothing?

'''Rebis:''' Then you can't possibly exist. }}

* One ''[[Nodwick]]'' story sees the party 'defeat' a lich by smacking it in the head with a magic club that makes you smarter (called, predictably, the [[A Worldwide Punomenon|"Clue-By-Four"]]). The lich, realizing that its status as [[The Undead]] only prolongs its own agony and causes it to lash out on others thus making the universe a slightly crappier place to live, promptly reasons itself out of existence.

 

== [[Fan Works]] ==

* Mentioned in ''[[Unfamiliar]]'' when Alex tries to dispel Louise's notion that she is incapable of magic.

 

== [[Film]] ==

* In the movie [[Cloak and Dagger (film)|Cloak & Dagger]], Davey has Jack Flack, an imaginary spy that helps him out throughout the movie. After Jack convinces [[My God, What Have I Done?|Davey to shoot a bad guy]] that was trying to kill him, Davey stops believing in Jack, and [[Tear Jerker|Jack just fades from existance.]]

 

* The [[Trope Namer]] is ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', where [[God]]'s existence is disproved because the Babel Fish is just too handy to have evolved naturally. Since God exists because Faith needs no proof, any proof such as the Babel Fish would cause God to vanish "in a puff of logic." The book then says that this argument has been nearly universally rejected on the basis that it is [[Logical Fallacy|profoundly stupid]].

** It didn't stop Oolon Coluphid from making a nice bit of lunch money writing a book about it himself.

* In his ''Meditations on First Philosophy'', Descartes actually invokes this by noting that if he wasn't thinking, then perhaps he would not exist.

** He goes on to state that, regardless of what else he may be wrong about, he must at least exist in the capacity of an entity that is capable of being wrong; if he doesn't exist in at least that capacity, then [[Somebody Else's Problem|it's not his problem]].

{{quote|Belafon sat down with his feet dangling over the edge of the rock.

"Look, don't worry," he said. "If you keep thinking the rock shouldn't be flying it might hear you and become persuaded and you will turn out to be right, okay? It's obvious you aren't up to date with modern thinking". }}

* In ''The Pedant and the Shuffly'' by [[John Bellairs]], persuading hapless passersby that, logically speaking, they don't exist, is the wicked magician Snodrog's favorite trick.

* In ''[[Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club]]'', {{spoiler|Tyler Durden disappears when Marla shows up to confront the narrator, the explanation being that Durden was his hallucination, and not hers.}}

{{quote|"It is a slightly arresting notion that if you were to pick yourself apart with tweezers, one atom at a time, you would produce a mound of fine atomic dust, none of which had ever been alive but all of which had once been you."}}

 

* In the ''[[Bottom]]'' episode where Richie and Eddie are trapped on the collapsing Ferris wheel, [[Deus Ex Machina|God saves them from falling at the last moment]]. But then they remember that they're atheists, conclude that they must be hallucinating, and...

* A ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' sketch had an apartment building built using the power of hypnosis. It would only remain standing as long as the tenants believed it was the best housing available. When interviewed, one of the tenants mentions that they used to live in a villa overlooking Nice. When the interviewer comments that the villa sounds much better, the tenant realizes it's true...and the building starts to shake. Fourtunately,the man says "NO! NO! OF COURSE NOT!" Then the building changes back to normal, although some of the furniture (and the tenant) were a little shaken.

* ''The Mark Steel Lectures'' profile of Rene Descartes (see above) includes a spot where Mark invites the audience to stop and think about whether they actually exist for twenty seconds (with "Life is But a Dream" playing behind) ended with a buzzer and the message "Stop Thinking Now!".

 

 

* The ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' second edition [[Sourcebook]] ''Tome of Magic'' has a spell called Solipsism, which can create illusory objects that behave exactly like real ones—but only if you believe they are real. If you don't believe in it, you'll fall right through that bridge the cleric conjured. This is loosely based around the philosophy of solipsism, which posits that the only thing one can be sure exists is himself, and therefore one's perceptions define one's reality.

** It also plays with this trope with the spell Shadow Conjuration. It summons quasi-illusory monsters that are as powerful as the real thing if you believe they're real, and one-fifth damage if you don't.

* In ''[[Macho Women with Guns]]'', the Batwinged Bimbos From Hell can learn the "Distort Reality" skill; when they are attacked, they can focus their attention on something else (their nails, a run in their stockings, a cloud, etc) and since they've forgotten the attack, it can't hit. It will instead target one of her allies, who might not appreciate the gesture.

 

* A variant happens in Gilbert and Sullivan's ''[[Ruddigore]]''. The Baronetcy of Ruddigore is cursed - its occupant must commit a crime every day, or die, dragged off by the ghosts of those previously killed by the curse. Until, that is, the current Baronet realises that suicide itself is a crime, and since not committing a crime is tantamount to suicide, this too counts as a crime. Therefore, none of the people killed by the curse should have died; as soon as this is realised, the former Baronets simply pop back to life, just in time to [[Pair the Spares]] with the female chorus.

 

* ''[[Divine Divinity]]'' had two [[Dem Bones|skeleton]] [[Mooks]] discussing the scientific impossibility of their very existence. One of them remarks that realizing the truth would be quite unpleasant and the other agrees to drop the issue. Still, the seeds have been planted and they both collapse immediately after.

* ''[[Planescape: Torment]]''. Being set in Planescape (mentioned above), ''everything'' works this way. Several notable examples include:

* ''[[Super Scribblenauts]]'' allows the player to summon various deities. It also allows you to summon an atheist who upon seeing a god will immediately start displaying the "thinking" icon and run towards it, causing the god to die on contact.

 

* ''Almost'' happens twice in ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' episode 4. The first near-Puff of Logic is actually suicidal in nature. The second is not, but it's quite a bit more brutal than a simple "puff".

** {{spoiler|Played straight in Episode 6, though, by Furudo Erika, after being disproven as the 18th person on the island.}}

 

* [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2005/10/11/episode-610-logic/ This] ''[[8-Bit Theater]]'' strip. (Incidentally, Red Mage tried this much earlier on a giant, and failed miserably.)

** Red Mage also uses similar reasoning in a later strip to deny the existence of 'Megahedron', his supposed avatar of the gods, claiming that it is really just a figment of his own imagination. His reasoning was that, if Megahedron was a figment of Red Mage's own mind, then he'd be smart enough able to convince him of his existence, a task at which he had so far failed (Megahedron's own suggestion). And when Red Mage conceded that point, he went on to say that since Megahedron ''had'' convinced him with that argument, then that means that Megahedron ''is'' a figment. The only problem with that (which RM is too busy ignoring Megahedron to listen to) is that by that logic, Megahedron did ''not'' convince him. So that should convince him, which should not convince him, which should and [[Logic Bomb|oh dear, I've gone all cross-eyed]].

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130807021428/http://amultiverse.com/2012/05/21/the-dhal-goat/ Happens here] in ''[[Scenes From A Multiverse]]''.

 

* ''[[Protectors of the Plot Continuum]]'' take [[Brain Bleach|Bleeprin]], a mixture of aspirin and bleach, to ease the pain of working with bad fanfic. The Board Constitution contains a clause which reads thus:

{{quote|Please refrain from reminding the agents that this is chemically impossible. They already know that, and they don't care. However, if you remind them of this, it may stop working. Then they would have to kill you.}}

* In his review of ''[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/community/myvideos/74334-thebanjokid/video/5112-Banjo+Kid+Reviews%3A+Azumanga+Daioh Azumanga Daioh]''{{Dead link}}, [[The Banjo Kid]] muses over whether or not it's possible to expect to be disappointed, promptly [[Earthshattering Kaboom|causing the world to explode]].

* In ''[[Eddsworld]]'', the three main characters get a car and get it to fly by "using the Z-Gear of course". It goes up to very trippy music in which Edd and Tom start dancing in the car. Matt then shouts "how can a car fly?" It then falls down to land on top of a plane. This trope is then inverted when the pilot wonders [[Crowning Moment of Funny|whether his '''plane''' can fly]]. Then this continues and when the car gets there, several planes are now below them (each having doubted their flying capability).

* ''[[5-Second Films]]'' gives us an example in the form of [http://5secondfilms.com/watch/you_got_mail/ a mailman working on the wrong day.]

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* ''[[Looney Tunes]]'':

{{quote|'''Foghorn:''' ...No, I'd better not look - [[Logic Bomb|I just ''might'' be in there]].}}

* ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'':

** In "Life of Crime", as Spongebob and Patrick are keeping warm with a fire, Patrick questions how they have a fire when they're underwater, and it immediately goes out.

* An episode of ''[[Histeria!]]'' had the kids annoying Rene Descartes ("I Think, therefore I Am") so much that he couldn't think. As soon as he realizes this, <nowiki>*poof*</nowiki>! This is a riff on a summary of Decartes's argument for existence: "I can doubt everything except that I am doubting. Doubting is a type of thought. I am thinking, therefore, I must be existing."

{{quote|'''Tennessee:''' No, you just think I'm dead.

'''Abe:''' No, you're dead. I was your biggest fan. Look, I clipped your obituary.

* Bender attempts to invoke this in ''[[Futurama]]'' with the Robot Santa. "Come on, everybody! He can't hurt us if we don't believe in him!" It doesn't work.

* ''[[The Critic]]'' episode in which Jay and Margo send their parents on a vacation for their 50th anniversary and they wind up on a dilapidated airplane flown by an alcoholic penguin.

 

== Jokes ==

** Inversion Punchline: "[[Super Dickery|You're such an asshole,]] [[Superman]]."

* Descartes walks into a bar, the bartender asks him what he wants, and he orders a beer. He drinks it, and the bartender asks him if he wants another beer. Descartes says "I think not", and disappears in a puff of logic.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Absurdity Ascendant]]

[[Category:Logic Tropes]]