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Good Is Not Dumb: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"Just because you're an angel doesn't mean you have to be a fool."''|''[[Good Omens]]'', [[Terry Pratchett]] and [[Neil Gaiman]]}}
[[Good Is Not Dumb]] is the trope where a [[Nice Guy|sincerely good, kind, and polite character]] is [[Good Is Dumb|underestimated by others because of their kind nature]].
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"]].
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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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]].
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{{examples|Examples: }}
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** Goku isn't even a complete moron. In ''[[Dragon Ball]]'', he showed an unusual level of craftiness, and was shown to be at least reasonably clever. And that was ''outside'' of fighting. It seems he was just poorly educated.
* ''[[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.
* ''[[Saint Seiya]]'': Crystal Saint, Marin, Albiore, Mu, and Dohko. They were the only Saints outside of the main cast who weren't fooled by {{spoiler|the fake Pope}}.
* ''[[Trigun]]'': Vash the Stampede.
* ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]'': Dr. Tenma, Nina Fortner, and Dr. Reichwein.
* Taiki Kudou from [[Digimon Xros Wars]].
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== 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]].
** ...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.
* It's implied that The Gentleman from ''[[Astro City]]'' is one of these. His goodness is never in question -- he's unfailingly polite, selfless, and idealistic, even in the midst of battle. On the other hand, his intelligence to date has been largely implied; for example, he's one of the few super-beings who avoided capture during a secret alien invasion.
* [[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.
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== 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." }}
* 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.
* In ''[[Cars 2]]'', Mater's simple nature belies the fact that he's a genius at recognizing obscure car parts at a glance. {{spoiler|He later uses this to identify Sir Miles Axelrod as the mastermind behind the efforts to sabotage the World Grand Prix.}}
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== 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. }}
** While Sam Vimes is a textbook example of [[Good Is Not Nice]], his wife Sybil is an example of this trope. She's always unflappably polite and kind-hearted (even to [[Bile Fascination|Nobby Nobbs]]), but beneath her lighthearted exterior is a razor-sharp mind, as demonstrated when she negotiated Ankh-Morpork's fat trade with the Dwarf King in ''[[Discworld/The Fifth Elephant|The Fifth Elephant]]''.
** And then there's Nanny Ogg, the [[Cool Old Lady]] who's always up for a good drink, a good smoke, and a <s>good</s> ribald song. Yet she's smart enough to keep ''[[Never Mess with Granny|Granny Weatherwax]]'' in check...
* 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.
* None of the main cast of ''[[Codex Alera]]'' can be considered dumb, but Tavi in particular stands out. He's constantly derided for being overly idealistic and trying to make peace with nonhuman species who have been at war with Alera for centuries. However, he's a [[Guile Hero]] with a talent for [[Crazy Awesome]] [[Batman Gambit|Batman Gambits]] and understanding creatures that don't think like humans, so as often as not his idealism actually pays off, much to the surprise (and sometimes annoyance) of his detractors.
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** Also because Harry has risked the same for him.
* [[Brother Cadfael]] from the [[Ellis Peters]] mystery novels is a very intelligent man, quite good at medicine, reading people and bringing the most unnoticeable clues together. He is also remarkably kind and compassionate. Hugh Beringar is also a good and honorable person -- and a [[Magnificent Bastard]] on top of that.
* 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."
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== 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.
* Dr. Molly Clock in ''[[Scrubs]]''. Her cheery optimism refuses to yield even against the naked cynicism of Dr. Cox and Dr. Kelso, and allows her to triumph against them.
* Trance Gemini of ''[[Andromeda]]''.
* [[Stargate Atlantis|Rodney McKay]] was quite surprised to find that Col. Sheppard has a Mensa-worthy IQ.
* 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.
* Occurs several times in ''[[Survivor]]'' -- Natalie in ''Samoa'' successfully played Russell's scheming to her own benefit. Also "Fabio" in ''Nicaragua'', who had a "lovable goof" personality but was reasonably game-savvy and combined the two to get the win.
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== Webcomics ==
* 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."
** 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.
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* Studies show that more trusting people are often more capable of telling when others are lying.
** 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.
** 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.
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