History Main / DamnYouMuscleMemory

Compare CentipedesDilemma and StumblingInTheNewForm, contrast NoobBridge (which occurs when a game's control scheme has an extra aspect that's non-standard) and see also ReflexiveResponse and JustForFun/WikipediaBehavior. May result in complaints of TheyChangedItNowItSucks. May also come into play in a WaxOnWaxOff situation.

* Related are the physical differences between ANSI (American) and ISO (European) layouts. The ISO layout has an extra key next to [=LShift=], the Enter/Return key is bigger and takes up the space of the \ key, which on ISO is moved next to the ' key. And then there's Japanese keyboard layouts like on the UsefulNotes/SharpX68000 that simply don't transition to Western keyboards at all...

** GUI: Ctrl-C is copy-to-clipboard. Command line / Shell prompt: Ctrl-C is ''terminate process''. Other [=OSes=] use a different key for the command modifier, such as [[UsefulNotes/MacOS OS X]], which uses "Command," or [=BeOS=], which uses alt.[[note]]This was changed in the Windows 10 prompt, so Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V now copy and paste like they're supposed to.[[/note]]

* The release of [[UsefulNotes/MacOS OS X Mavericks]] saw the switching of the positions of the "Open in New Tab" and "Open in New Window" options in Safari's right-click menu. Now, users used to the earlier layout (especially frequent Website/TVTropes browsers) will be constantly opening windows instead of tabs by accident.

* Each UsefulNotes/NintendoDS and UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS version had its power button and start/select buttons somewhere else (as can be seen from their page image). At least the D-pad and ABXY buttons remained the same.

* Some PC games tend to read USB controllers in a very different way than they are supposed to work. This is because the mapping is typically made with a certain brand of USB controllers and, even if other controllers have the same layout, the buttons will be different. A good example is the PC version of ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs2012'': the controller pattern, by default, is the Xbox One, but if you use a generic [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 Dual Shock]]-style controller with it, despite having pretty much the same layout[[note]]The only difference being that the placement of the left analog stick and digital directional are swapped[[/note]], the only inputs that will work properly are the left analog and Circle (B) button, which leads to awkward things like pressing what should be Y to confirm your choices, or even, pressing RT (which is the throw command) to ''pause the game''!

* Have you ever been confronted by [[WallOfText a large chunk of text]] and caught your eyes heading toward the upper left corner of the page in pursuit of the "Find on Page" function before realizing you were looking at a ''book'' and not a web browser? This is why programmers have a joke that says "You can't grep dead trees." (Grep is a UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} utility that searches text.)

*** TRIPOS / UsefulNotes/CommodoreAmiga DOS shell conventions have ''dir'' and ''list'' (not "ls"), but they behave in the ''inverse'' fashion of their [=MS-DOS=] and UNIX equivalents! That is, [=AmigaDOS=] ''dir'' is more like [=MS-DOS=] ''dir -w'' or UNIX ''ls'', and vice versa for ''list''.

** You can see this change happen right before your eyes in [[UsefulNotes/AcornArchimedes Acorn's]] lineup. The A3010, made in 1992, gives @ from its keyboard's shift+2. Fast-forward just two years to the RISC PC, and they're the other way round.

* In the fourth-season blooper reel of ''Series/{{Castle}}'', Creator/StanaKatic was supposed to write "Creator/StanLee" on a whiteboard, but then she realized that after writing S-T-A-N, she was automatically finishing it to write her own name.

** In the UK wrestlers post [[note]]Posting is supporting your weight on the other persons body to make it easier for them to lift you.[[/note]] on the thigh, close to the knee, US wrestlers post on the hip. Also, English speaking wrestlers always work the left arm, and on the left side, but Mexican wrestlers work the right arm, which just feels...wrong[[note]]Wrestling/{{Mistico}}'s constant botching when doing the Wrestling/SinCara gimmick in WWE is mostly attributed to his refusal to go to developmental and learn how to work from the left[[/note]]. Also, in Japan lots of moves have different names - an arm drag is completely different over there.

* Some PC games tend to read USB controllers in a very different way than they are supposed to work. This is because the mapping is typically made with a certain brand of USB controllers and, even if other controllers have the same layout, the buttons will be different. A good example is the PC version of ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'': the controller pattern, by default, is the Xbox One, but if you use a generic [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 Dual Shock]]-style controller with it, despite having pretty much the same layout[[note]]The only difference being that the placement of the left analog stick and digital directional are swapped[[/note]], the only inputs that will work properly are the left analog and Circle (B) button, which leads to awkward things like pressing what should be Y to confirm your choices, or even, pressing RT (which is the throw command) to ''pause the game''!

For when this is done intentionally as a game effect, see InterfaceScrew. This can go beyond gaming, as examples below show. Any control system for a device which can be easily confused for another falls into it. This is why we have StockControlSettings.

!!Real Life Examples:

* Different countries have different rules for which side of the road one drives on, which also determines what side of the car the driver's seat is on. Many countries, including the United States and most of Europe, have you driving on the right side of the road, while some other countries, such as Britain and Japan, have you drive on the left. This can cause problems for people moving from a country that drives on one side of the road to a country that drives on the other side.
** It also affects hand preference; if you are in a country that drives on the left, in a right-hand-drive car, requiring left hands to shift gears and you're a right-handed? [[SarcasmMode Good luck]], the reverse is also true for left-handed people living in a country that drives on the right and in a left-hand-drive car that requires right hand to shift gears. Zig-zagged, though.

* That stick on the side of the steering column may operate the lights, the [[WiperStart windscreen wipers]], or even the transmission. If you usually drive a car with one configuration, switching to another ''will'' result in wipers when you meant to change gear, finding yourself in neutral when you want to signal a turn, and signaling a turn when you want to clean the windscreen. Even if you regularly drive all three, you will still reach for the wrong one occasionally. In North America, the switch on the left side of the steering column almost always activates the turn signal: upward/clockwise for right turn signal, downward/counterclockwise for left turn signal. Similarly, a steering column mounted shifting mechanism will almost always be located on the right side of the column, where the windshield wiper on/off switch is located in many vehicles with a center console shifting operation. Going from a car that has a steering-mounted shift to one that has a center-console shift can lead to a WiperStart for some drivers. While this is a common mistake for drivers, the inverted mistake of an accidental gear change when attempting to turn the wipers on in a steering-mounted shift vehicle is much rarer because virtually all shifting mechanisms now feature one or more safeguards to prevent an unwanted gear change - For example, the brake pedal may need to be depressed in order to change gears.

* Going from a car with a key switch ignition to a push button ignition, and vice-versa. You'll end up either trying to stick your keys into a non-existent key switch or looking for a non-existent "push to start" button.

* Switching Keyboards between either France and Belgium (using AZERTY) or Germany, Austria and Swizerland (using QWERTZ) and most other European countries (using QWERTY) can be a pain since so many keys are still at the same place, just not all of them. Especially frustrating when you're typing your password.
** Switching between variants within those standards can also be complicated due to symbols and accented letters using different keys or key combinations. The above-mentioned countries have their own variant of AZERTY or QWERTZ that differs from the other countries' variants on the same and a lot of QWERTY-using countries have their own variant of it. Canada uses ''three'' variants of QWERTY: the standard US layout, the Canadian French layout and the Canadian Multilingual Standard layout -- the latter is the least popular of the three and will more often than not throw off both English and French typists who are more used to the first two.

** A milder variant of the example just above exists in virtual keyboards, for example switching (in Android) between Gboard and Swiftkey or vice versa, as some keys as Enter or Backspace change position and the former has two Shift keys, unlike the latter that has one.

* Even different models in the same brand of laptop/computer will inevitably have changes that range from slightly to drastically different (size is often the biggest factor, as well as keyboard sensitivity). Buying a new laptop after the old one broke will spark quite a bit of readjustment.

* Most public computers (such as those in libraries or internet cafes) have special time limit software installed along with procedures on how to log out. Oftentimes, you are not supposed to use the normal log out or shut down options like you would with your own home or work computer (doing so would inconvenience those wanting to use it after you as staff have to restart the computer again).

* Some keyboard layouts swap the Left CTRL and CAPS LOCK keys. This is used in some programming and other hobbylist niches, as this reduces the amount of motion that your left pinkie needs to make to reach for the CTRL key; Emacs users can attest to what's known as "Emacs pinkie" after extensive use of the conventional "Left CTRL is in the lower left corner of the keyboard" layout, and similarly this swapped layout can be helpful if your work or hobbies involve extensive use of clipboard commands. To a new user, however, it can happen irritatingly often that they end up non-capitalizing words they meant to capitalize, or reach for where the CTRL key normally is only to look like they're SuddenlyShouting For those with programmable keyboards, one can have the best of both worlds by making what is usually CAPS LOCK a "dual function" key, holding it down to trigger CTRL and tapping it to trigger CAPS LOCK, while leaving the dedicated Left CTRL key in its usual spot.

* Speaking of Keyboard layouts, you might expect that typing on typewriter would be a bit like just a less advanced computer, and you'd be wrong. Aside from the layout of the letters and numbers and the keys taken up by the mechanical funtion of the typewriter ("enter" is the lever on the side for example), typewriters were not standardized to each other much less modern keyboards. Backspace varies between the different corners, tab and caps lock often switch, and none of the symbols stay in the same place (even the alternates for the numbers). On typewriters that can truly automatically delete a character at the push of a button, both the location and name of that function aren't consistent because "backspace" simply moved the roller one space back on older typewriters. Modern replica typewriters fix some of these issues.

* Mechanical switches in keyboards come in a ton of different types that affect how you type. Most mechanical switchers either come in linear form where the key press is smooth and quick or tactile form where there's a bump felt when you hit the actuation point and takes a bit more force to press down. Getting used to tactile and switching to linear can cause some users to make accidental key presses due to how sensitive linear switches are. Likewise, users that are used to linear switches might find tactile switches slower by comparison and feel heavier to type with.

* On the [=M1911A1=], moving the safety down turns it off. On the Beretta 92, the same motion puts the safety on. On the H&K USP, the [=P8=] variant used by the German military puts the safety in the opposite motion to the regular USP. The Walther PP and the superficially-similar Makarov PM are in the same boat (down is safe for the Walther and off for the Makarov). Then there's the issues of finding the safety and the bolt releases on various Mausers, Springfields, Lee-Enfields, and Mosin-Nagants...

* Try going from anything but a Glock, to a Glock. A Glock has two "triggers" slightly offset (kinda like an Accu-trigger) when you go to shoot: the first trigger you encounter is a trigger safety for the second one, which is the actual trigger which fires the weapon when pulled. Pray it doesn't get caught on a tree branch.

* Going from an AR-15 style mag release (a button on the side of the magazine well) to one like an AK-47 (a lever on the back of the mag well) then to one like on most hunting rifles (in front of the mag well), If you're really used to one platform, but then use a completely different one, then don't be surprised if you reflexively use the motions for the completely wrong gun! HilarityEnsues when the AR guys start looking for their AK's bolt release, or pull at the rear trunnion searching for the charging handles. Conversely, hilarity also ensues when the AK guys start looking for their AR's selector switch on the wrong side of the receiver or they grasp around the bottom of the magazine and wonder why they can't get it to release.

*** Try some early H&K long guns - most of their weapons based on the G3's action have a AK-like release lever for military models, and then a AR-type release button on civilian ones. For some of them, that's the only significant physical difference between the two. Interestingly, military models actually have ''both'' releases, with the AK-like paddle actually being a more easily-reached backup linked to the AR-like button; early civilian versions[[note]]after the third or so time American lawmakers found a new excuse to ban H&K rifle imports for looking scary and H&K settled on their infamous stance towards the American shooting public as "you suck and we hate you"[[/note]] removed the paddle and relied on the button, because the paddle was also intrinsically linked to a part that was modified to preclude placing a full-auto trigger group in the weapon.

* Go to the Steyr AUG from pretty much any other assault rifle. Even if you aren't using a semi-auto-only civilian version, you'll notice there is no selector switch - fire rate is entirely determined by how far you squeeze the trigger (halfway for semi-auto, fully for automatic). Even versions that do have some sort of fire selector are less an easily-used lever and more a somewhat awkward tab underneath the trigger, which when pressed in blocks it from being pulled fully rearward. The safety is also push through style that's common on hunting rifles but almost unheard of on military rifles.

* There are some attempts to avert this however. For example:

** The Beretta [=ARX160=] has a selector switch on each side and places them so vertically between where they would be on an M16 or AK derivative (the two most popular assault rifle styles), so that the user at least feels where the control is if they reflexively go for where it would be on either platform. Similarly it has three magazine releases and the cocking handle can be rotated to either side easily.

** Typing out a file path for a computer? Hope you can remember to use forward slash ('/') on Unix-like systems and back slash ('\') on Windows or DOS. Luckily some more modern Windows shells will accept forward slashes too; however, Unix-like systems can't do the reverse for the back slash as the back slash has a previously defined function in Unix shells.

* What Ctrl+Alt+Delete does on Windows depends on what version you're using. In the earliest Windows [=OSes=] (like Windows 3.0), Ctrl+Alt+Delete simply ''rebooted your computer''[[note]]This is because originally it was a "debug" feature and had the assumption if you press it you're a developer who is well aware of what it does, but still[[/note]]. In Windows 3.1 it occurred to someone to ask you for confirmation first, then it became "Open Task Manager", until Windows NT settled on the "lock out" menu that most users would likely be familiar with today[[note]]Windows XP does this when the classic login screen is activated, but displays the task manager immediately otherwise.[[/note]]. Task Manager meanwhile was moved to Ctrl+Shift+Esc.

* File explorers: Linux uses a downwards triangle (▼) to indicate ascending sort, the idea being it's an arrow pointing in the direction you read for alphabetical/chronological order, but Windows and [=MacOS=] use a chevron (^), the idea being it's a representation of going from smaller to larger values. Unfortunately since triangles vs chevrons are normally a stylistic choice, switching to and from Linux will have you confused as to why the indicator is pointing "backwards".

* Macintoshes use the open Command (A.K.A.: Apple) key as their standard "meta" key for keyboard shortcuts, while Windows spreads most of the same shortcuts between Control and Alternate. Home/End goes to the start/end of a line in Windows, but to the beginning/end of a '''document''' on Macs (Command-Left/Right goes to the start/end of a line.) This is just one of many keyboard differences that trip up longtime users of either platform.

* killall in Solaris and HP/UX is not the same thing as killall in Linux. In Linux it means [[http://linux.die.net/man/1/killall "kill processes by name"]] In Solaris and HP/UX, it means [[http://docs.hp.com/en/B2355-90129/killall.1M.html "kill all processes."]] Many sysadmins which are used to Linux only [[OhCrap realize it]] when it's too late.

* File paths get more specific as you to left to right, while domain names get less specific. [=URLs=] make it this especially difficult as they use both systems at the same time. This is frequently exploited by scammers and phishers as most people aren't aware of this and thus will assume that a website purporting to be from a company like Google is legit if the URL is "google.{rest of url}" because the first domain is Google, when in fact the opposite is true; a legit Google URL would be "{rest of url}.google.com."

* Part of the reason why Windows 8 is hated so much is that the new Start Screen screws this up for everyone... who's used to using Windows with a mouse. Most of the keyboard based actions were untouched and work more or less the same. [[note]]The fact that there wasn't even a ''flipping Start button'' on the taskbar probably helped too.[[/note]]

* Under the good old [=DOSes=] (MS-/PC-/DR-) internal commands have absolute priority above executable files, even if there are files of the same name. Under [=FreeDOS=] and the Command Prompt included on Windows NT and Windows 2000 onwards, this has changed, so executable files may have the names of internal commands. So the command "DIR.COM" which is intended to mean "List all File that have the suffix COM" is interpreted as "Execute the file DIR.COM" by [=FreeDOS=] and the Command Prompt (you have to type "DIR *.COM" instead). This is more annoying than it seems in the first place, because listing all executables in a directory is a very common command.

* {{Website/Google}} has a... *ahem*... ''feature'' in which the order of the different search options (Web, Image, Video, News, etc.) would depending on what you searched for (presumably based on how many results each option would yield). Searching for a product will order it as All, Shopping, Images, etc, while searching for a political leader will order them as All, News, Videos, Images, etc. This didn't go over well with users, primarily because it was Damn You Muscle Memory embodied in a form where small changes to the control layout are made ''constantly'', rendering it impossible to adjust to.

* ImageBooru tag searching can differ in small yet significant ways. For example, on Danbooru you link words with underscores and use spaces to separate tags, while Derpibooru allows for space-separated phrases and separates tags with commas. Cue trying to use one 'booru's style with another.

* It's possible to navigate through a [=YouTube=] video by using JKL. J and L rewinds by 10 seconds and forwards by 10 seconds, respectively; K pauses the video. People who spend their time on the site would likely have learned to use it over Spacebar + Arrow Keys because in the olden days Spacebar would only work if you had the video selected - otherwise, it scrolls you down the page. The downside is that in other video players, JKL does nothing. VLC media player is worse because JKL actually does something, but instead of navigation it changes audio delay (meant for videos where the sound doesn't match the picture). A recent change to [=YouTube=] made it so that Spacebar always pauses the video now, but JKL navigation is still preferred by some people since it only requires one hand.

* Ctrl+Shift+T in Mozilla Firefox brings back a closed tab, but in Yahoo! Mail it opens the SMS feature.

* Yet another Firefox example: In version 3.6, new tabs open directly to the right of the one you're browsing rather than at the far right like they have previously.

* Some browsers let you type a Google search string into the address bar, others have their own bar for this and produce an error if you don't put an url into the address bar. Gnarfbl. (Firefox is an exception; while it does have a separate search bar, the address bar will do a search if it does not find an URL).

* On nearly every PC web browser, F5 refreshes the current page. On Website/{{Twitter}}'s website, however, that is overriden; F5 retweets a tweet instead!

* When you do a text search, Firefox puts the search bar in the lower-left, and Google Chrome puts it in the upper-right. And Internet Explorer (and by extension, Microsoft Edge) puts it in the upper-left! Current versions of Vivaldi have the search bar in the upper-middle.

* Opera completely rewrote its famous web browser for version Opera 15, which skips versions 13 and 14. This rewrite removes a few things that classic opera users have used for 4 years, in particular reordering the right click menu section for opening links in new tabs.

* Many programming languages feature "for...in" loops that let you easily iterate through a list, array or other iterable data structure. These usually take a form similar to "for(''type'' ''member'' in ''list'')", where member is the actual member object/variable, letting you use it by itself. Except in UsefulNotes/JavaScript, where it's the member's ''index'' instead, forcing you to dereference it in order to actually get what you want. So if you switch to [=JavaScript=] from another language and don't remember this, you'll be wondering why you're getting a bunch of integers instead of the objects you want, and will curse yourself until you do. [=JavaScript=] also has a for...of operation that works the same as for...in in other languages, making it slightly more convenient, if still leaning into this trope.
** Some programming languages features that let you find out how many elements are in an array or add an item into the array. Except they're hardly invoked in the same way. For example, to add something to an dynamic array, it's push in [=JavaScript=], append in Python, and add in C#.

* An ancient example: in the 80s, the prominent word processor was [=WordStar=], which defined several standard controls that the present Windows editing controls are based on, such as WASD. Their scheme was based on control+ letter for functions, and interestingly was written before cursor arrows became prominent on keyboards. Then in the late 80s / early 90s, the up-and-coming text editor was [=WordPerfect=]. WP took advantage of the rapidly expanding computer market to push their own standard instead of supporting existing ones. The result is that anyone familiar with WS is completely incapable of handling WP, and vice versa. F1 for help? Nope, that's F3. ^Q for quit? No, better try F7. And so on and so forth. The scheme relies on control/alt/shift+ F1-F10 for literally everything. About a decade later, Microsoft pulled the same trick with expanding markets to push the Word standard, but at least that one is comprehensible to a novice. [=WordPerfect=]'s keyboard shortcuts were so complex (and, at times, unintuitive) that there were overlays one could put above one's function keys as a reminder of which key combinations did what.

* ''VideoGame/BlackAndWhite'' features gesture recognition, including the ever useful ability to shake your mouse left and right to get rid of whatever special mode or spell you have attached to the cursor/hand of god. A decent number of people have tried to do the same thing to get out of zoom mode while using Microsoft Word.

* Anyone that has ever got used to vim surely has filled lots of files opened in other editors with "jjjjjjjjjjjjjkkkkkkkkkkkkkk" trying to scroll down. Another sign that you're a vim user is typing either ":wq" or "ZZ" at the end of documents opened in other editors. (Both those keystroke sequences are ways to save-and-quit in vim). For those gVim users out there? Don't get too used to using Ctrl+s to save your files, even though gvim gives you the option. Because one day, you'll be working in regular vim in a [=PuTTY=] session and you'll hit Ctrl+s to save all those awesome changes you've just made, and...[[StockScream AUUUUUUGH]]! Fortunately, Ctrl+q can get you out of that jam.

* A scrollbar is provided by Google Wave, where the arrows are located on the upper and the lower end of the bar. Clicking these will achieve a a page up/down effect indeed, instead of skipping lines. Moreover, you can't operate this thing carefully, because there is no line on which it would move, so you can't click past the bar. By dragging it, the scrolling delays until the shadow of the bar (?) catches up with the body of the bar, completely disorienting the user. You will end up dragging it randomly and ending up at the right place in the wave with a great deal of luck - the effect is simply ridiculous.

* The emulator [=SNES9x=] requires you to pause your emulation before saving or loading a state. On a Mac, this is done by pressing Cmd+ R, and then Cmd+ F or Cmd+ D depending on whether you want to freeze or defrost a state. However, other emulators generally skip the pausing part, so to save a state all you do is press Cmd+ F. What does Cmd+ R do? Reset the emulation! Extra fun because the instinct to press Cmd+ R then Cmd+ F in rapid succession can easily result in not only losing the progress you were trying to save, but making the whole save file useless because you just made a save state of the title screen. Hope you've been using the in-game save system! Or you could use the shortcut keys (F1-F10 to load a state, Shift-same to save).

* Chat functions in video games. Enter-message-enter is a common one, but other varients include space-message-enter, y-message-enter and t-message-enter. This is before getting into games with multiple "channels", for example [[Videogame/TeamFortress2]] has y for all-chat and u for team chat.

* 3d Software is absolutely awful for this. There are at least a few programs which could be considered industry standard so just learning how to operate in ''only'' one is limiting. Given the time projects take and how many shortcut keys are needed this is ''extremely'' confusing. Plus since you probably use the same shortcut 100 times in an hour, enjoy going to other programs. For example, Alt + Click is the pan camera control in Maya while using Photoshop only to bring up the eyedropper tool.
** 3ds Max to Photoshop is also a bad one, especially since you'll likely be switching from one to the other to create textures for your models. To add areas, vertices, or other objects to your selection, you Ctrl + left-click in Max, but Shift + left-click in Photoshop. The number of times you'll have to hit undo (which, mercifully, is Ctrl + Z in both) just to recover your lost selections...

* Tool shortcuts in Adobe, especially Flash and Illustrator. R is the rectangle tool in Flash, but the rotate tool in Illustrator, where M is the rectangle tool. Oval tool: Flash - O, Illustrator - L. Pencil tool: Flash - Y, Illustrator - N. For two such similar programs it's a huge pain in the ass.

Aditionally, Code::Blocks handles copying and pasting the linux way. You highlight your code and copy it, then middle click to paste it in. For those of you migrating from other [=IDEs=], such as DEVC++, this is infuriating. To add to the confusion, Code::Blocks uses the right mouse button for scrolling.

** Similarly, switching between [=IDEs=] can be difficult, and especially switching from a programming editor to a full IDE. For example, in jGrasp (Basically notepad with syntax highlighting and one-touch compilation) creating a new Java method is ''method signature''-''open brace''-''enter''-''enter''-''close brace''-''up''-''tab'' while in [=IntelliJ=] (A full IDE with autoformatting, tab completion, etc.) the process is ''method signature''-''open brace''-''enter'' and doing the rest will confuse the compiler because of the extra brace.

* Microsoft Office's Excel, [=LibreOffice=]'s Calc and [=OpenOffice=]'s Calc all use (nearly) the same functions, except that Excel and [=LibreOffice=]'s Calc use ''comma'' as a separator while [=OpenOffice=]'s uses ''semicolon''; thankfully, both Calcs replace the semicolons with commas (or vice versa) in case you forgot. Annoyingly, if you incorrectly type a function in Excel, it won't let you edit another cell until you correct the error, while Calc will either add extra end parentheses or simply display an error code in the cell, making the switch-over all that more annoying.
** One of the functions in all three programs, IF(), acts as an if/then/else statement, in the form of IF(''x'',''y'',''z''). In Calc, simply putting IF(condition) will net you TRUE or FALSE, the program being smart enough to return the values you most likely want. In Excel however, it causes an error, forcing you to specify IF(condition,TRUE,FALSE).

* Scrolling down on smartphones and tablets means moving your finger up. Scrolling down with a mouse wheel means moving your finger down. Scrolling down on a laptop with a trackpad means moving your finger down, unless it's using Windows 8, then you move your finger up, unless you've changed the default, then you move your finger down, unless you've changed it using third party software, then you move your finger up to scroll down until that software loads up and move your finger down to scroll down thereafter.

* Plaintext editors have basic functions all over the place. For example while undo is typically Ctrl + Z, redo may be Ctrl + Y or Shift + Ctrl + Z. Going to a specific line can either be Ctrl + G or Ctrl + L. And on and on.

** Even better is if someone asks you what time it is while you're holding a drink in the same hand as the wrist on which you're wearing the the watch. Splash!

* Every glasses wearer is familiar with spending the entire time they have lost their glasses and are searching for them fighting the impulse to ''put on your glasses to look for your glasses easier''. PROTIP: Keep your old pair in a place you can always find them easily when you need to find your new pair.

* Trained martial artists have gotten seriously hurt against knife-users because of reflexively trying to block the blade, which is [[BarehandedBladeBlock impossible for normal humans]]. It's slightly better if you were taught to parry at the wrist than outright block, but still no guarantee. Which is why most training centers with an emphasis on self-defence teach knife defense. [[CombatPragmatist Of course, the best way to avoid dying in a knife-fight is to not get into one.]]

* Does your culture/nation/society/whatever have family name first and given name last or vice versa? Either way, if you go somewhere that has it the other way around, [[NameOrderConfusion confusion]] will ensue. Even within the same "whatever", you can encounter this problem with certain websites, like Danbooru. Example: Searching for [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Nanoha Takamachi]] there uses "takamachi_nanoha", while searching for Fate Testarossa uses "fate_testarossa".
* If you've gotten used to living in a same gender dorm / hotel / house with a bunch of your buddies, you might be surprised to find that doing things like walking out of the shower and dripping water all over the floor with just a tiny towel around your waist, leaving smelly socks and clothes all over the place, leaving old pizza boxes and food cartons around until they start growing stinky mushroomy thingies on them and living without hygiene in general is not considered acceptable behaviour in society. Be wary if you visit your parents while on this phase.

* Automatically skipping over banner ads before realizing you're reading a text book and all the brightly coloured, highlighted boxes are in fact "important key information" notes.

* Hand gestures tend to vary from culture to culture. In the U.S., waving your hand at someone is a way to say hi, but to the Japanese it means "come here". Also, in the U.S., the thumbs up is a signal of approval, but raising your thumb in Kenya is akin to flipping the middle finger.
** And may God help you if you're in the middle east and you hand them something with your left hand, because that's the hand traditionally used for cleaning oneself.
* A fatal example of this trope happened with the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Lokomotiv_Yaroslavl_air_disaster Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash.]] The pilots inadvertently engaged the Yak-42's brakes during takeoff-causing the plane to take off later than normal, strike an antenna, and crash into a river-because they put their feet on the plane's brake pedal the same way they with the Yak-40, which they had more experience with. To make matters worse, the first officer suffered from a nervous system disorder that affected the feeling in his feet, which may have prevented him from realizing his foot was on the brake.
* The 3*3 rig check (three-ring release, straps and handles) on skydiving. The check comes ''automatically'' from muscle memory if a skydiver puts ''any'' kind of a backpack on. [Especially embarrassing it is to notice when the backpack in question has no chest and/or leg straps...]
* Some people, when gesturing that something is to their liking, automatically give the "okay" gesture of curling their thumb and index finger together and raising the other three. Plenty of others, however, just give a thumbs up. If you're one of the latter half, you're going to have trouble if you learn to scuba dive - the "okay" signal is the one for "everything's fine", but if you accidentally give the thumbs up underwater, it signifies that you intend to surface, and by implication, that everything is NOT fine. Thumbs down is less likely to be an issue, because it's a signal you give on the surface meaning "let's descend". However, the "so-so" gesture of holding your palm parallel to the ground and rocking it from side to side means "something's wrong" underwater (usually followed by pointing at the problem). Also, don't wave if you see someone you know; waving is a sign of distress. Whilst a lot of signals are fairly intuitive (since they should be easy to learn and remember), because they tend to be things that are easy to do with your hands, we usually already have some mentally preassigned meaning to them, and so some of them do require overcoming your natural (surface-based) muscle memory to remember the correct way to say something underwater. And let's not even get onto the fact that different dive operations in different parts of the world can use slightly varying signals - it's part of the reason that the safety procedures involve making sure everyone is familiar with the signals before each dive.

*** Also, one that tends to come up for children ageing into adult bikes is the different braking schemes for bikes. Most children's bikes have the "back pedal to brake" style brakes, so children get used to that method of stopping. Then transfer them to a bike with lever braking (as virtually all adult bikes are), and you'll be guaranteed they'll try to back pedal at least once in order to stop.

** More generally, people that type numbers on keyboards a ''lot'' without looking at them (especially professional number-crunchers and data entry personnel) are prone to mess up on dialling phone numbers, even if they're looking at the keypad. The reverse also applies for telemarketers and customer service personnel or anyone that spends all day on the phone.
* People who work in high volume call centers or other jobs that require answering the phone a lot with can find themselves answering or discussing the call in various ways:

** Someone who switches companies, products or goes from inbound to outbound, vice versa or from different departments will have trouble with mixing the companies up.

* Rotary phones in North America, Britain and Japan have the numbers going 1234567890 in the counter-clockwise direction [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rotaryphone1.jpg]]. In most European countries, however, they go 0123456789 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ericsson_bakelittelefon_1931.jpg]]. Even worse, New Zealand goes in ''reverse'' order - 9876543210 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_Zealand_Rotary_Telephone.jpg]]

** While this might have been true for Germany 30 years ago (when no-one cared about wasting water), today's urinals usually have either a flush button, an auto-flush sensor or work waterless - a German invention.

* In countries with Cyrillic alphabet switching the keyboard layout from Cyrillic to QWERTY and back is done usually either by Ctrl+Shift or by Alt+Shift. Using the computer, where the needed combination is different from what you've accustomed to, can be very annoying.

* A political version for Americans. Get used to the post-2000 color schematic for presidential elections (red for Republicans and blue for Democrats). Now, go to any site which uses the pre-2000 schematic (blue for Republicans and red for Democrats), like [[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/index.html this one]] and get confused when it says the Democrat won even though most of the states are red.

** This also goes for terms changing meanings to some extent due to how other countries' political systems have developed. Example: in a video by Philip Defranco where he talked about a political piece of news in Australia, he made a note to point out that in Australia, Liberals refer to more conservative people and vice-versa, as apposed to how it is in America. It's just not relative to locations either but ''time'' as well. Who here's also seen political figures cite historical figures from before the 20th century generally seen in a good light currently cite them as "Democrats" or "Republicans" as a means to either boost their arguments/side or tear down the other side? What I mean here is that, if you look at American history at least, the terms have switched meanings since the 1800s, where they meant the opposite that they do today. Hell, they even used to be the ''same'' term, referring to the "Democratic Republican Party" before being split off into two parties when the Federalist party was still a thing.

** Similarly, it isn't uncommon to absentmindedly reach into your pocket and panic when you don't find your wallet or your smart phone or whatever there... while you're actively using the object in question with your other hand.
---> "[[Webcomic/AwkwardZombie Look, I'll call you back. I think I lost my phone.]]"

* Writing a paragraph, drawing a sketch, etc. and making a mistake, immediately thinking "Control Z"/"Command Z", then realising you're not using a computer. ''WebComic/SequentialArt'' shows [[http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=519 one example.]]

* People who play word-rearranging games and puzzles (Scrabble and its knock-off's is the most common culprit) often go about their business subconsciously rearranging letters in other words, like sitting at at a STOP sign and getting "POTS", "POST", "TOPS", "SPOT", and "OPTS" out of "STOP".

** When you catch yourself before entering the wrong bathroom during your shift at work, because you're used to ''starting'' at that one when you clean them upon arriving.

** Then there's the confusion to starts when reading or writing a date differently based on what [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage English you're using]]. In America, a date is written as month, day and year (March 30, 1998 or 3/30/1998) while in the rest of the English-speaking world, it's day, month and year (30 March, 1998 or 30/3/1998). Now, does 2/1/2000 mean January 2nd or February 1st?

* Lifting an empty milk carton up in the air in a too violent move, because your brain thought the opaque carton was still full and your arm muscle overestimated its weight before applying the vertical force on it.

** This was a recurring problem in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels, as the actors playing Jedi couldn't help but do the lightsaber noises with their mouths.

** Related to this: Thanks to UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, there are people who try to blow dust off a surface of a table or a dusty object and find that their face masks deflect those air back to their faces.

** Any couple living together will sometime hear the "Hey!" or "Oi!" from their bathing or showering partner as they exit the bathroom and reflexively switch off the light.

** Mash the start button out of boredom or to try to start a game faster. Unique among coin-operated games, pressing the start button multiple times in succession at the start of the game ''starts multiplayer'' equal to the number of times you press start, provided there are enough credits in the machine.[[note]]For you pinball fans who didn't play many video games in the arcade, the standard for video games is separate buttons for each number of players, and the button does nothing after the first time it's pushed.[[/note]] The limit is usually 4, or 6 for games made by Creator/{{Sega}}, but it does result in a long, drawn out game that makes little sense unless you realize you're playing multiplayer by yourself. This phenomenon is common enough that pinball fans call it the Creator/EddieMurphy, due to how he often plays many characters at once in the same movie.
*** Or they might insert in coins and just stand there, expecting a game to begin automatically, not realizing there's a start button to push. That being said, games DID begin automatically until the 60's, when WesternAnimation frequently used pinball-like movements and shorthand for comedy, whose depiction has stuck with the public since.

* This can happen to patients who are in physical therapy after being off their feet for a while, long enough for the muscles to atrophy. In the transition period while the muscles regain their strength, you can develop odd walking patterns as your body tries to play it safe and not strain the weakened limbs that much (this is more likely if only one leg is weakened but the other is fine, as your body instinctively gives most of the work to the stronger leg). This is OK in the beginning while you're just regaining mobility, but it becomes a pain to reprogram your brain to walk normally once your legs are strong enough to do so. Can overlap with CentipedesDilemma as even able-bodied people have a much harder time walking normally when they conciously try to do so, let alone someone who has to remember what normal walking even looks like.

* If you're holding a (healthy) cat and it wants out, all you have to do open your arms and it'll handle the rest. That doesn't really work with dogs. A cat person who finds themselves holding a small dog can ''easily'' end up dropping the poor creature.

* Toyota had a commercial in which a pro wrestler (April Hunter) gets disillusioned with the business and quits for an orchestra. Since she's used to submitting opponents in scissor hold though, she end up snapping her cello in half.

* In ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'', the plot in the seventh episode about Mai's problem in taking pictures boils down to this. She is familar in taking pictures with a smartphone. When she needs to use a camera to take pictures for the club, though, she holds it in such a way it always shakes when she presses the shutter, causing a persistent shaky cam problem.
* ''Literature/BofuriIDontWantToGetHurtSoIllMaxOutMyDefense'': Kaede ends up suffering a bit of this. Due to New World Online being an immersive VR game whose time-frame dilates hours into days, when she returns from a School Break after playing the game for a week, she ends up doing things she would do in game in real life like try to pull up her shield instead of dodging a ball during gym.

* ''Anime/GargantiaOnTheVerdurousPlanet'': Ledo is more used to piloting his incredibly high tech mecha, Chamber. At one point, he pilots one of the Earthling's more primitive mecha and trips up by attempting voice commands and pushing buttons as if he were still piloting Chamber.

* Miu Furinji of ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' is introduced when she flips the titular protagonist as he (unknowingly) approaches her from behind. It's later revealed that her martial arts training has conditioned to do this on instinct whenever anybody touches her from behind, accidentally or not, and she's not very proud of it.

* ''Anime/RWBYIceQueendom'': Ruby, Blake and Yang are forced to enter Weiss' dream-world after she's infected by a Nightmare Grimm. They're each changed by the memories, desires and attitudes Weiss holds towards them, including their weapons. When Ruby tries to use her weapon in battle, she instinctively uses it as she would in reality only to discover that Weiss has designed the gun function backwards. Instead of firing in the direction she's facing, it now fires behind her. Ruby groans that she's going to have to put Weiss through a crash-course in how her weapon works.

** After said match, Kirito attempts the sheathe the wooden sword like he would a real one, forgetting that he is not wearing a scabbard and a wooden practice sword wouldn't go in it anyway. The same thing happens twice the ''Phantom Bullet'' arc, where he purchases a LaserBlade and several times tries to sheathe it instead of just turning off the blade.

** The first was during the underground fight with Mr. Kamikaze, that happened right after he had completed the training for his second FinishingMove, the Fujiyama Tiger Breaker. When he was about to win ''without'' the move a Tiger's Cave bouncer threatened to kill Kamikaze's son for trying to call the police on them if Kamikaze lost, [[PapaWolf causing Kamikaze to fight like a possessed]] and getting Tiger Mask to throw the fight in spite of knowing he'd get unmasked and killed if he lost... And as his coup-de-grace Kamikaze used a Flying Body Press, unknowingly putting himself in a ''perfect'' position for the Fujiyama Tiger Breaker, resulting in Tiger Mask executing the move by reflex and cursing when he realized he had just won. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome He then proceeded to save Kamikaze's son anyway]].

** Great Zebra nearly outed himself as a disguised [[spoiler:Giant Baba]] when he reflexively prepared to [[spoiler:kick]] Egyptian Mummy, but caught himself before he could use what was effectively his trademark move and get attention on [[spoiler:his enormous feet]]. Tiger Mask ''still'' saw through it, but [[AwesomenessByAnalysis he's rather good at noticing these things]] and the first time he met [[spoiler:Baba]] had taken notice of [[spoiler:those giant feet]].

* In ''ComicBook/DanceClass'', the three leads sometime suffer this when not practing in dance class by sometimes they do their ballet moves without realizing it since as during working on a writing on a whiteboard or just milling around with nothing to do.
* In ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures Spider-Man'' #34, Peter Parker is [[AccidentalAthlete accidentally recruited]] as a shortshop for his high school baseball team after he's seen using his super-powers to deftly catch and return a wayward ball. Team pitcher Flash Thomson is enraged because [[DrugsAreBad he suspects Parker's skills are due to illegal drugs]], while the Green Goblin wants to eliminate Parker so his son's rival team can win instead. But, Peter's skills are so accidental he can't mess up his game even when ''tries'' to. Peter deduces that his battles with super-villains have honed his reflexes so much that he can't help but react to the ball.

* In an early [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] UsefulNotes/WorldWarII period ComicBook/CaptainAmerica story, Cap is under the chemical mind control of The ComicBook/RedSkull and is presented to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. Hitler takes a swing at Cap, but learns too late from the Skull that Cap's [[SuperReflexes defensive reflexes]] are beyond his control as the superhero blocks the Leader's fist with his shield.

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': The [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonMonsterX two-headed Kaiju]] formed of San (Ghidorah's [[WhiteSheep left]] [[MultipleHeadCase head]]) and Vivienne Graham merging together has a spar with Godzilla, during which Godzilla at one point propels them into the sky. The San half of them takes controls of their arms and spreads them out wide on instinct, on account of him being formerly part of a flying dragon that had wings in place of arms (and likely also on account of the fact that the feelings of power and freedom that came with being able to fly are one of the only things about being part of Ghidorah that San misses).

* ''Fanfic/TheFifthAct'', Genesis reflexively cast status spells on Cloud, even though he does know [[NoSell it doesn't affect Cloud]]. Inverted [[spoiler: when they have to fight a Jenova-possessed Cloud, Genesis casts a Sleep spell on Cloud and non-lethally takes him down because Cloud lost his immunity.]]

* ''Fanfic/HistorysStrongestShinobi'': While trying to escape a villains lair Naruto ends up using a bow and arrow to incapacitate any lackeys who try to stop him, Miu and Kenichi. Except Miu and Kenichi call him out on being VERY trigger happy. Naruto explains that [[MultiMeleeMaster Shigure]] would end every training session by making Naruto shoot target practice with a crappy bow. Now however, he has a high quality bow and is in a target rich environment so he can't help himself.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Justice}}'', during his fight with Luffy, Parasite learns the hard way how his stolen combat knowledge has worked against him. [[spoiler:At the time, Parasite had the stolen energy of five amazons, giving him thousands of years of their combat training on top of the other powers. Amazons are trained to always block attacks with their magic, indestructible armbands whereever possible. The problem is that Parasite doesn't ''have'' those armbands. He had been blocking Luffy's attacks with his bare wrists, which is ''not'' a smart thing to do, SuperToughness or no]].

* ''Fanfic/WhiteSheepRWBY'': Part of the reason Jaune is so hopeless fighting as a human is because he is used to fighting as a Grimm, with CombatTentacles and truly monstrous SuperStrength. He keeps instinctively trying to use his tentacles or [[FertileBlood summon Grimm]], only to pull back at the last second. That being said, he really ''is'' terrible with a sword. It's just that in Grimm form he's more than strong enough with his bare hands.

* In ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'', Lt. Hicox gets caught by the Germans in the bar because he orders three Scotches using his index, middle and ring fingers -- like a Brit -- instead of his thumb, index and middle fingers -- like a German.

* ''Film/{{Shane}}'': The titular character accidentally reveals he's a gunslinger to the town when the local kid cocks a rifle and Shane instinctively goes into a crouch and places his hand on his revolver, having long trained his reflexes to go into combat mode at the sound of a gun being prepared to fire.

* In ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' Future!Wolverine keeps forgetting that he doesn't have metal claws when his mind is sent back to his 1970's body and is always falling behind in fights because it takes him a few seconds to remember and adjust.

* In ''Literature/{{Dune}}'', Paul is used to attacking slowly while sword-fighting in order to circumvent the deflector shields that are common in the empire. (His defenses, on the other hand, are appropriately fast.) When forced into a knife-fight to the death against an opponent who had never fought with a shield before, despite being clearly far more skilled than his opponent, Paul couldn't make a killing blow as he kept slowing his strikes (which would be perfect for getting through a shield, but a burden here) and had never killed a man before. Unfortunately, this leads spectators to believe that he is being incredibly cruel by dragging out his opponent's inevitable death.

** Dany finds out that riding a horse is very different from [[spoiler: riding a dragon]]. For example, she mentions that whipping her horse on its right flank makes the horse go left, because a horse's first instinct is to flee from danger, but [[spoiler: whipping a dragon on its right side makes it veer right, because a dragon's first instinct is always to attack.]]

* ''Series/AndyRichterControlsTheUniverse'': Andy and Byron had to share a hotel room on an out of town trip. When Andy had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, he instinctively took the same path back to bed as he did from his bathroom at home. Unfortunately, in the hotel room, that path led him into Byron's bed, which led to a [[BedmateReveal very awkward morning]].

** In one episode, Jorah Mormont gets into a fight with a dothraki named Qothor. Qothor uses an arakh, which are incredibly good at slicing flesh but are worthless against armour. At first, he puts Jorah on the defensive by swinging at his unprotected head, but then goes for a body shot which would have sliced an unarmoured foe in half. Since Jorah is wearing full plate he is completely unharmed, traps the blade against his side and stabs Qothor dead.
** After having his right hand cut off Jaime confesses to Tyrion that he struggles to remember to use his left hand, resulting in spilled wine and poor swordsmanship and that his instincts with his left hand are nowhere near the skills of his perfectly-trained right hand.

* In one episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', to illustrate the effects of sleep deprivation, Olivia mentions a particularly nasty case of this where a sleep-deprived cop accidentally AteHisGun; he woke up having an asthma attack, but in his sleep deprived state, mixed up the actions for the inhaler with the reflex to grab his gun, and ended up sticking the gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger.

* An extreme example at the end of the ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'', episode "Little Problems", in which Rodney and Cassandra get married. Therefore, Del is surprised when Rodney comes into the flat after his first day at his new job, collapses into a chair and asks what's for tea.

* ''Series/{{Psych}}'': In "Daredevils!", Shawn was hired by the son of a daredevil to keep his dad safe after a stunt went wrong due to sabotage [[spoiler: However, it turns out the daredevil, Dutch the Clutch, himself did it. Being terminally ill, he took out a unique life insurance policy that would grant his family over a million dollars if he died during a stunt and with six months left, he began attempting to sabotage his stunts.]] However, the joke of him being "unkillable" comes into play in that his daredevil instincts kick in to minimize the damage onto himself, allowing him to survive. [[spoiler: The climax has Shawn confront him before Dutch would do his final stunt, one that almost certainly would've killed him. He undoes the sabotage to his motorcycle when Shawn points out that his family would rather have six more months with him than the million dollars. Dutch proceeds to do the stunt as normal.]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rswDobEYQ8c An episode]] of ''The Sketch Show'' featured a woman returning to typing work after 30 years away, but by that point offices were using [[TechnologyMarchesOn computers instead of typewriters]]. She's used to pushing the typewriter carriage back to its starting position...and ends up pushing her monitor right off the desk.

* In an episode of the UK version of ''Series/{{Top Gear|UK}}'' the group was tasked with finding sedans that would handle racing as well as work as a normal car. James May chose one that had a dog leg gear shift. This meant that that instead of away and up for the first gear, it is away and down. Every time he would try to go into first gear, he'd be throwing it into reverse and run into who ever was behind him.
** This also happens anytime an American (even if they know how to [[DrivingStick Drive Stick]]) or a German comes on the show; based on the above example, in left-hand drive a (non-dogleg) first gear is *toward you* and up.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', the game that introduced the aforementioned CQC, also has Ocelot get hit with this. In his first encounter he demonstrates incredible skill with a Makarov pistol, though uses it in a way that Naked Snake suggests that he's more suited to revolvers, as he famously uses across the rest of the series. In their next encounter a week later, Ocelot has grabbed a Single Action Army revolver as Snake suggested, and takes Snake's contact EVA hostage with it. However, having heard six gunshots before they actually meet face-to-face again, Snake lowers his gun and calmly tells Ocelot that "you don't have what it takes to kill me" - which Ocelot learns too late to mean that his new revolver [[ItWorksBetterWithBullets runs out after only six bullets]] compared to the eight he's used to from the Makarov.

* Ross discusses this in ''WebVideo/SteamTrain''. He's an immigrant from Australia, and is used to calling flashlights "torches", which is the custom in his country. So when in America, he had to learn to start calling torches "flashlights". The problem arises that he's so used to the mental substitution that when he tries to refer to actual wooden torches, he accidentally calls them flashlights.

** The same episode Aang, being an Airbender, started his training in Earthbending and found it far more difficult than his training in Waterbending. Being he was used to a fighting style that relied on agility and misdirection, Earthbending requires blunt, direct force. This was even [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadowed]] very early on, when [[TricksterMentor King Bumi]] (a [[OldMaster very powerful Earthbender]]) forced Aang to think outside the box more, clearly in an attempt to start preparing him for the change in mindset he would have to make to learn Earthbending.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': The incident that turns [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Derek Powers]] into [[BigBad Blight]] is caused by Powers' own reflexes. A canister of experimental nerve agent is thrown at him and he instinctively shoots at it before realizing what it is, causing the tank to rupture and him to be exposed to the toxic, mutagenic chemical gas inside it. He then has to receive an equally-experimental radiation treatment to save his life, and the combined effects [[TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening activate his latent metagene]], turning him into what's functionally [[WalkingWasteland a living nuclear reactor]].

* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': In "Re-Enter the J-Team", El Toro Fuerte, a MaskedLuchador, enters a martial arts tournament. In his first match, he does pretty well at first, but then he instinctively goes to bounce off the non-existent ropes, causing him to fall out of the ring and lose by RingOut. He appologizes and says he is more used to pro wrestling rings.

** Korra outs herself as the Avatar while playing on the Fire Ferrets team when she accidentally [[DishingOutDirt earthbends]] in the middle of a pro bending match, despite being the team [[MakingASplash waterbender]]. Since she was also trained to fight rather than compete in a sport with rules, some of the tactics she initially uses (like knocking an opponent off the ''side'' of the ring instead of the back, and hitting an opponent with a very long stream of water) turn out to be illegal moves. This is also show to go both ways with Mako and Bolin sometimes struggling to keep up when put in a proper battle with bender who were trained to fight as their Pro Bending training means [[FragileSpeedster they often use more evasive and defensive techniques while using their bending in comparatively smaller bursts]] rather than attacking with full force and manipulating their elements as fully and creatively as their opponents.

* The episode "Parallels" in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' has Worf jumping from one quantum reality to the next. In one, he has trouble finding the button to fire weapons, because the console has a completely different configuration than the one in his own reality.

** PlayedForLaughs in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E06TrialsAndTribbleations Trials And Tribbleations]]". The Crew is sent back in time to the period of the original series, and are forced to pretend to be officers of that era. At one point, Sisko tries to contact the ''Defiant'' by tapping his Starfleet badge, before remembering that in this era they were just a cloth patch, and he has to use a handheld communicator. Given Dax's smirk behind him, she ''did'' remember.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Penny activates her weapons by moving her arm in a circular gesture, which arranges eight of her ten blades in a floating circle behind her. After her circumstances change, she has to learn a new way of doing things. In the middle of battle, she instinctively performs the circular gesture; nothing happens, allowing her opponent to send her flying. She quickly creates a new gesture, flinging her arms out to each side; this time, her blades activate. [[spoiler:In the Volume 8 finale, "The Final Word", her android body has just been transformed into a living one, which means she no longer has physical swords; she has to activate them as a Semblance instead.]]

* ''Anime/AceAttorney'': In the anime version of "Turnabout Samurai", the Steel Samurai on the day of the murder poses for a young fan who snuck into the studio. [[spoiler:However, the Steel Samurai uses the pose of the villainous Evil Magistrate instead of his pose. Phoenix realizes then that the man wearing the costume at the time was Jack Hammer, the actor for the Evil Magistrate, and not the defendant Will Powers]].

* ''Series/Numb3rs'': In "Primacy", the FBI is trying to nab a player who's after an in-game MacGuffin with an accompanying million-dollar prize, by creating a fake game server and letting him win the [[FakinTheMacGuffin fake MacGuffin]]. The plan goes awry when Amita, who's played the game since university, accidentally kills the target's avatar and apparently wins the [=MacGuffin=] herself, making her a target.

* ''Series/Numb3rs'': In "Primacy", the FBI is trying to nab a player who's after an in-game MacGuffin with an accompanying million-dollar prize, by creating a fake game server and letting him win the [[FakinTheMacGuffin fake [=MacGuffin=]]]. The plan goes awry when Amita, who's played the game since university, accidentally kills the target's avatar and apparently wins the [=MacGuffin=] herself, making her a target.

* The Teletouch pushbutton automatic transmission on the ill-fated [[ObviousBeta Edsel]] didn't bode well with most drivers due to the shift buttons being located where the horn is traditionally placed, i.e. the steering hub, resulting in drivers ending up shifting gears instead of sounding the horn.

* Deliberately [[InvokedTrope invoked]] with the "backward bike", a bike with the steering inverted (so that turning left goes right and vice versa), to test if people could still ride it. Most people tested couldn't ride more than about 10 feet without having to stop or falling over. People who trained with the bike for several weeks could get actually learn to ride it. However, they [[HereWeGoAgain faced the same problem when trying to ride a normal bike again for weeks after.]]

* This is true of many regulated martial arts competitors. Fight in a setting with rules to long and fighting without time limits, barred hold and what not can get weird. Even just a new set of regulations can ruin a fighter, as Wrestling/DanSevern recalls losing a fight to Royce Gracie specifically because, as a wrestler, it took him too long to realize that in Mixed Martial Arts [[JustHitHim punching your opponent in the face is a valid tactic when you can't counter a hold]]. Even a slight transition from one visibly similar competition to another, such as singlet grappling to gi grappling, or MMA gloves to boxing gloves, can prove disastrous.

* The fuel door for the gas tank can be on either side of the car depending on make and model, leading to many people driving a new car pulling up to the wrong side of the pump in a gas station. To make matters more frustrating, older cars don't have convenient arrows on the fuel gauge to indicate which side the fuel door is on, either. If you go old enough, you might just find the fuel door is behind the rear license plate - which means either side will work fine.

* Many characters, especially the lawyers, in ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' will find themselves shouting '''"[[CatchPhrase OBJECTION!]]"''' when someone is telling a {{blatant lie|s}}, they sniff out a contradiction or paradox, [[ThatWasObjectionable or because they don't like what's going on]], even if they're nowhere near a courtroom.

* Go to the Steyr AUG from pretty much any other assault rifle. Even if you aren't using a semi-auto-only civilian version, you'll notice there is no selector switch - fire rate is entirely determined by how far you squeeze the trigger (halfway for semi-auto, fully for automatic). Even versions that do have some sort of fire selector are less an easily-used lever and more a somewhat awkward tab underneath the trigger, which when pressed in blocks it from being pulled fully rearward.

* Dual-action shotguns can switch between semi-automatic and pump-action mode, but they're rare enough that they tend to be one-off designs from entirely different companies, and as such will be operated differently from one another. Take for instance the Franchi SPAS-12 and Benelli M3, which both switch modes by simply holding a button or lever near the front of the pump and sliding it in a direction. For the SPAS-12, you move the pump forward for semi-auto and backwards to switch to pump-action - for the M3, it's the exact opposite.

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Kirito's experience trapped in the video game world of Sword Art Online [[IKnowMortalKombat gave him incredible swordsmanship skills]]. However, it does result in some difficulties in other situations...

* Most professional sports, at least in America, have some rules that are different than their college equivalents, some of which are common, everyday occurrences at both levels. For example, in UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball, a receiver only needs to get one foot in-bounds after making a catch to make it count. In the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague, a receiver needs to get BOTH feet in before touching out of bounds. Additionally, a ball carrier in college football is considered down as soon as any part of his body other than his feet or hands hits the ground. In the NFL, the ball carrier must be touched by a defender in order to be considered down. As such, at least once every couple of years, a rookie (most commonly a WR who makes a diving catch and goes to the ground), doesn't realize that the play is still live and that he can get up to run. The most infamous example is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNOvBSTqLoc Plaxico Burress]][[note]]Yes, the same guy who later in his career would accidentally shoot himself in the groin after tucking a loaded gun into the waistband of his pants[[/note]], then a rookie for the Steelers, who got up and ''spiked the ball'' after a catch without being touched down, otherwise known as a fumble. Rule changes like this are why positions such as wide receiver have some of the toughest transitions from one level to the next.