History Main / FigureItOutyourself

* [[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirlsS2E3BirthdayBashTooPoopedToPuff One episode]] of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' involves the people of Townsville taking the girls' help for granted. Fed up with their laziness, the girls try to teach Townsville to start taking care of their own problems. Their lesson semi-backfires though when the people [[UngratefulBastard proclaim that their don't need the girls anymore]] and throw a party after they manage to kill a monster. Even the narrator chews out the girls for no reason.

** This could potentially be invoked in the first game of the series with a certain dialogue choice. The protagonist may encounter Portalbendarwinden, a crazy old hermit living between Beregost and Nashkel. If the protagonist asks him for advice, Portalbendarwinden says a bunch of nonsense in the style of a TalkativeLoon. The game then gives the protagonist [[RantInducingSlight the choice to go over the edge]] and demand that Portalbendarwinden give them a straight answer, lest they [[CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon do something unspeakably terrible to him]]. Unfortunately, as much fun as it is to pick this option, it doesn't end well. After the rant's over, Portalbendarwinden [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness does give them a straight answer]], in the form of telling the protagonist that [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere they're a jerk and that he's not talking to them anymore, at which point Portalbendarwinden vanishes]].

* Should you ever find yourself in ''Series/FraggleRock'' and [[WanderingMinstrel Cantus the Minstrel]] happens to be around, ask him for some advice. He'll give it freely, but it's so cryptic that you ''have'' to FigureItOutYourself. This quirk of his has been lampshaded on several occasions.

* In a meta example, a number of video games have secrets that must be found in order to get OneHundredPercentCompletion, or even just to get the most out of the game. While the companies would rather encourage players to invoke this trope, unfortunately, there's a reason why the GuideDangIt trope exists...

* Inverted by the Reapers in the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' trilogy. They constructed an extensive galaxy spanning mass relay network and left behind more than enough clues for all potentially spacefaring races to be spoon fed mass effect field technology - so that those races do not figure out any alternative Faster Than Light Travel technology. The Reapers want species to develop technology on the narrow path that they desire - so that they can then completely neutralize this technology and harvest ie genocide the entire species.

* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'': Kirigiri and Togami both pull this regularly. Kirigiri justifies it with the idea that Naegi needs to learn how to solve cases on his own in case [[AnyoneCanDie anything happens to her]], while also wanting to avoid her preconceived notions influencing the investigation. Perhaps more pragmatically, she also has to worry about giving out more than anyone needs to know on the off-chance that one of the other students might be the BigBad ([[spoiler:[[ProperlyParanoid which turns out to be the case]], just not in the way she thought]]). Togami, meanwhile... he's just a {{Jerkass}} who wants to flaunt his intellect in a show of power, since to him [[ThisIsACompetition the game is a life-or-death struggle that he intends to win]]. In the second case he actively hinders the investigation in order to smoke out people smart enough to be a threat to him.

* In the card game TabletopGame/{{Mao}}, it is against the rules to tell people about the rules. That is the only one of the rules that the people trying to get you to learn the game can tell you. You have to figure out everything else from how the people who know how to play are playing, and [[TrialAndErrorGameplay when you get penalized for getting something wrong]]. Oh, and a new rule is added by the winner of each round. This game is often described as a good glimpse into what trying to learn etiquette feels like for autistic people or people who have some sort of social learning disability.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2404 Buddha, in the best Zen tradition, offers a flower in response to a request for enlightenment.]]

This trope is used in almost exactly the same places and situations as "YouAreNotReady", with the implication that [[OnlySmartPeopleMayPass the act of working the information out is the only way to make yourself worthy of it]]. This is the intellectual version of HelpingWouldBeKillStealing. See BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible for characters trying to avoid incrimination. Often couched within a CrypticConversation. Can cross over with ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself, if these mentors prevent others from aiding the hero. Compare NeverGiveTheCaptainAStraightAnswer.

* The cheela (neutron-star dwelling beings) of ''Literature/DragonsEgg'' live ''much'' faster lives than humans, and advance at a much faster rate (it takes them roughly ''one day'' to advance from their equivalent of Sumeria to their equivalent of Rome). When a human spaceship shows up and ''even further'' boosts their rate of technological advancement (by essentially beaming Wikipedia at them), they feel the need to pay them back when they (again within a day or two) advance far past human technology. However, they can't just ''tell'' us everything; instead, everything they know is ''encrypted'' with keys that are based on the knowledge contained inside. So, for example, the unlock the section on faster-than-light travel, humans will need to find a pyramid on a body around ''Epsilon Eridani''...which is about 10 light years away from the Sun. Their reasons aren't really explored, but they seem to feel that simply telling us will deprive us of the benefits of figuring it out ourselves.

** In ''Dreaming of the Sun and Moon!'', Ash was stuck on what do next because his Island Challenge was finished and the Pokémon League. Although he thought about catching some more Pokémon, Ash asked Professor Kukui for some help but he told him that he should figure it out for himself. When asked by Olivia about his plans, Ash told her that he needed to figure it out for himself. However, after thinking about Olivia words about seeing the world, Ash not only fingered out what he wants to do next for his journey but also that his Alola journey was coming to a closed.

It is commonly uttered by [[TimeTravel Time Travellers]] since solving people's problems for them would change history... [[TimeyWimeyBall except when it doesn't]] or [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast already has]] or [[TimeCrash or makes everything implode]]. TimeTravel is funny that way. So no straight-answers from your future-self, or whatever.

** In ''Master Class Choices!'', Serena was told by a former Pokémon performer and Kalos queen that she would never defeat the current queen because she lacks something. However, in ''Performing a Pathway to the Future!'', Serena did figure it out for herself what she lack when she witness the current Kalos queen performances at the Master Class and vowed to overcome it.
** In ''All Hail the Ice Battlefield!, after Ash went to the Winder Woods alone depressed from his performances in his gym battle, Clemont understood that his friend needed time to figure things out for himself because as Gym Leader he knows that Trainers have to [[TheOnlyWayTheyWillLearn overcome their mistakes]] on their own in order to get a badge from the other Gym Leaders. However, in the next episode, Serena does get Celmont's reason for letting Ash figure things out on his own but she knew she could help him in that and comfort him.
** In ''Dreaming of the Sun and Moon!'', Ash was stuck on what do next because his Island Challenge was finished and the Pokémon League. Although he thought about catching some more Pokémon, Ash asked Professor Kukui for some help but he told him that he should figure it out for himself. When asked by Olivia about his plans, Ash told her that he needed to figure it out for himself. However, after thinking about Olivia words about seeing the world, Ash not only fingered out what he wants to do next but also realized that he lost sight his reasons for staying in Alola in the first place and that was for his journey to become a Pokémon Master as he decided to resume his journey by traveling the world.

** This could potentially be invoked in the first game of the series with a certain dialogue choice. The protagonist may encounter Portalbendarwinden, a crazy old hermit living between Beregost and Nashkel. If the protagonist ask him for advice, the resulting nonsense gives the protagonist [[RantInducingSlight the choice to go over the edge]] and demand that Portalbendarwinden give them a straight answer, lest they [[CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon do something unspeakably terrible to him]]. Unfortunately, as much fun as it is to pick this option, it doesn't end well. After the rant's over, Portalbendarwinden [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness does give them a straight answer]], in the form of telling the protagonist that [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere they're a jerk, and that he's not talking to them anymore, at which point Portalbendarwinden vanishes]].

** This could potentially be invoked in the first game of the series with a certain dialogue choice. The protagonist may encounter Portalbendarwinden, a crazy old hermit living between Beregost and Nashkel. If the protagonist ask him for advice, the resulting nonsense gives the protagonist [[RantInducingSlight the choice to go over the edge]]. Unfortunately, as much fun as it is to pick this option, it doesn't end well. After the rant's over, Portalbendarwinden [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness does give them a straight answer]], in the form of telling the protagonist that [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere they're a jerk, and that he's not talking to them anymore, at which point Portalbendarwinden vanishes]].

* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', Elminster refuses to reveal the big secret behind the protagonist's past he's been hinting at, declaring that "self-discovery is best left to the self."

* The ancient philosopher Creator/{{Socrates}} believed in using a complex questioning method to engage with his opponents, instead of simply arguing for the ideas that he had in mind; this makes this OlderThanFeudalism. This method of debate gets so mind-blowingly annoying that it may have had more than a little to do with why Socrates was eventually sentenced to death by the people of Athens.

*** Part of the reason he was executed was because he annoyed (or rather, pissed off) the wrong people with his questions. The high and mighty didn't like being made fools of back then.

* In the card game TabletopGame/{{Mao}}, it is against the rules to tell people about the rules. That is the only one of the rules that the people trying to get you to learn the game can tell you. You have to figure out everything else from how the people who know how to play are playing, and [[TrialAndErrorGameplay when you get penalized for getting something wrong]]. Oh, and a new rule is added by the winner of each round.
** Interestingly this game is often described as a good glimpse into what trying to learn etiquette feels like for autistic people.
* Many parents take this approach to child rearing, in hope that they'll end up with smart and independent kids.
** Likewise with teachers sometimes. They'll only give enough of the basics with a few examples. The rest is up to the student to understand and get a better appreciation for what they've learned, rather than just regurgitating the material.
* Youngsters [[ComingOutStory coming out]] are sometimes surprised to find their parents knew all along. [[EverybodyKnewAlready As did their friends, neighbors, that person they met once seven years ago...]]"But I've only just realised it myself!" "Yes, but you needed to figure it out for ''yourself''."
* Often invoked (many times as a HandWave) in technical lectures and discussions, especially in math and science: "The proof is left as an exercise for the reader." In general, the lower the quality of a textbook or the shorter a lecture is on time, the more frequently you can expect the sentence to occur.
** It's sometimes more of a focus thing. As engineer, you don't really need the whole mathematical proof behind most things. You need to understand what you're doing and why and apply it to practical things like building bridges. As a doctor, there is knowledge needed about what the body is made of, but you don't need all the exact chemical reactions. A race car driver doesn't need to know all the formulae and mathematical models that make his car go 3 milliseconds faster than his opponents' cars. There is a vast sea of knowledge and it's become impossible for one person to know it all.

* There are things in life that can only be learned/believed through experience, some because they don't quite make sense logically at the time ("Careful - the [unchanged-looking] stove is hot now."), and some because they're something no one really knows how to explain, and you can't really comprehend unless you've learned it by experience. ("Love conquers all.")

* It's doubtful that they are doing it to teach or improve the user, but it's amazing how many computer programs state that "an error has occurred" or "a required file is missing" without considering ''what''error or ''which'' file to be something that they need to mention.
* People under nondisclosure agreements can sometimes seem like this: they admit to having information or it is otherwise obvious they have it, but they will not give it. Sometimes they can not even admit to the existence of the agreement (confidentiality about the agreement being a clause of some of these agreements), so they can not tell you why they can not tell you. However, these agreements usually leave them free to talk about anything that you already know or have figured out.

* It's doubtful that they are doing it to teach or improve the user; but it's amazing how many computer programs state that "an error has occurred" or "a required file is missing" without considering What Error or Which File to be something that they need to mention.

* There are things in life that can only be learned/believed through experience, some because it doesn't quite make sense logically at the time ("Careful - the [unchanged-looking] stove is hot now."), and some because it's something no one really knows how to explain, and you can't really comprehend unless you've learned it by experience. ("Love and hate are not opposites.")