History Main / IknowYouKnowIKnow

* [[VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}} Boyd]] pulls a variation of this midway through The MilkmanConspiracy, much to Raz's confusion:

* Done in ''FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', where Bloo is setting up a humiliating surprise party for Mac, and all his efforts play right into Bloo's hands, even when he thinks he's doing the opposite of what Bloo thought he'd do.

* Shows up in ''{{Fringe}}'' with Milo Stanfield, a savant who can predict the future enough to cause accidents to kill people [[RubeGoldbergHatesYourGuts set off by dropping a pen]]. It's impossible for Fringe Division to outthink him, because if they try, he'll predict it, and if they predict he'll predict it and choose a different option, he'll predict that too. Astrid describes the situation with at least six recursions of "he'll predict that we predict". The ultimate solution comes when [[spoiler: Olivia DOESN'T KNOW something she should have and it throws off his entire plan long enough to capture him]].

* The ''{{Dune}}'' series is renowned for its incredibly intricate layers-upon-layers of this kind of gambit.
** The first book alone features a subverted RedHerringMole (someone suspected of being a traitor who is both too obvious to be the real mole as well as BeneathSuspicion, but actually turns out to be the traitor), followed by an elaborate mind game played by Thufir Hawat to set the Harkonnens against one another, and capped with Paul successfully bluffing and counter-bluffing the combined forces of the Bene Gesserit, the Imperium, and the Spacing Guild.
** ''Dune Messiah'' continues the pattern, only this time it's Paul's enemies pulling a ThePlan aimed at forcing him to choose between his beloved and his Imperium. He knows they are doing this, but falls into the trap anyway, only to be rescued from it by [[spoiler:the son who will later replace him as the most powerful prophet in the universe]].
** ''Children of Dune'' sets up a three or four-way struggle for control of the Imperium, with the demon-possessed Alia on one side, the Bene Gesserit on another, the remnants of the Corrinos as a third, and an unknown quantity in the form of Paul's children, Leto and Ghanima. Leto is captured by people whom he believes to be working for the Bene Gesserit, only to have it turn out that Alia is secretly calling the shots. He himself, however has a deeper plan that eventually trumps all of theirs and renders them moot.

* ''BadMachinery''. [[http://www.scarygoround.com/index.php?date=20121122 Lottie suspects]] that her mum's new boyfriend is secretly a dangerous vigilante.

* In ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4471900/7/Wreaking-Havoc Wreaking Havoc!]]'' Harry and Daphne Greengrass had a somewhat convoluted exchange concerning Nicholas Flamel.

* Characters in the LymondChronicles are prone this. A particularly risible example is in TheGameOfKings, where Lymond, who is trying to help the Scottish forces, and knows his brother will disbelieve anything he says, LIES to him about the English intentions, knowing Richard will conclude the opposite.

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* Disney's ''Disney/{{Hercules}}'' has a variation. Hades is telling The Fates his EvilPlan, but they keep interrupting him by saying they already know his plan, because they're the Fates and they ''know everything''. Hades eventually snaps and shouts ''I KNOW you know! I know! I get it! I get the concept!"

** The series finale may be the largest example of this anywhere. Light and Near are somewhere around eight deep into this, both of them believing that they are one step ahead of the other. There's an entertaining panel in the manga where other characters witnessing a conversation between Light and Near begin to wonder why neither of them is ''saying'' anything.

X also runs the risk of misjudging Y's level. If Y is playing a higher level than anticipated, then the deception is, as mentioned above, meaningless. If Y is playing a lower level, then X will be CrazyPrepared but never engaged on the higher levels, which may leave X ProperlyParanoid. The KansasCityShuffle occurs when the mark (X) is at level 2 and thinks the con (Y) is at level 1, when actually the con is at level 3.

See also most instances of the PoisonedChaliceSwitcheroo. Frequently a consideration in FeedTheMole. In many an AbsurdlyHighStakesGame this will take the form a (often internal) monolog. Sometimes circumvented by making a completely random, unrelated, or unexpected move, which is where the IndyPloy might come in handy.

X also runs the risk of misjudging Y's level. If Y is playing a higher level than anticipated, then the deception is, as mentioned above, meaningless. If Y is playing a lower level, then X will be CrazyPrepared but never engaged on the higher levels, which may leave X ProperlyParanoid.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teB_OOvmZDE&feature=related This]] ''HeyArnold!'' clip.

* On an episode of Monday Night RAW, before a scheduled match with Triple H, MickFoley's [[TheScrappy Dude Love]] and [[TheWoobie Mankind]] appeared on the screen to introduce [[AxCrazy Cactus Jack]]. (It was [[CrowningMomentofAwesome sort of a thing]].) Towards the end, Dude Love asks Mankind if "you're thinking what I'm thinking," and Mankind cheerfully replies "I think I ''am'' thinking what you think I think you're thinking!"

* Invoked in ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'s'' "A Study in Pink". The assassin tempts Sherlock into a battle of wits involving two identical pills: one poisoned, the other harmless. He tries to lure Sherlock in with this form of logic, but Sherlock refuses the terms of the argument, knowing that no matter what choice he makes, the odds of success are still 50/50. He [[TakeAThirdOption takes a third option]] and is ready to walk away from the whole thing, but gets lured back to the table because he ''has to know'' if he can win. And the twist of it is, [[EvasiveFightThreadEpisode the show never says]] if he made the right choice.

** Also used by the author in ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment'', where the NietzscheWannabe protagonist and the InspectorJavert who inspired Series/{{Columbo}} play this game.

* Vetinari plays a subtle form of this game off-screen in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''. His mail packets to and from Uberwald are always clearly tampered with, and his semaphore transmissions are always intercepted. This is all as expected, and he encrypts his communiques with codes that are ''almost but not quite'' unbreakable. He ''could'' come up with a cypher no one else on the Disc could break, but that would be far less useful. ''This'' way, only his most resourceful rivals (specifically, [[TheBaroness Lady Margolotta]] can read his messages, and then he knows ''exactly'' what they think he knows.

* In ''HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', Harry learns methods of deception at higher levels, such that this becomes invoked. If you want to pretend that you do (or don't) know something, then instead of acting the way that you would if you *really* knew, you have to act the way that you think *they* think you would act if you really did (or didn't) know. You can fool a simple person by pretending you know everything and then subtly fishing for clues. And you can make them think you *don't* know anything, by making an obvious *show* of fishing for clues. But you have to anticipate that a higher level player could realise that you're only *pretending* to bluff, when in fact you really did know all along.
** Harry succesfully pulls this off in his first interaction with Lucius Malfoy, quite possibly by accident. When Lucius makes veiled references, Harry responds by playing along... badly. His deception is so obvious that Lucius sees through it almost immediately. Then Lucius starts to think it was *too* easy - Harry must have been only pretending to be a fool that pretended to understand. He says as much, and walks away, apparantly confident that his original message was conveyed. Meanwhile, Harry doesn't have the faintest clue what's going on.

** Any duel involving [[Anime/YuGiOh5Ds Crow]] becomes this for his opponent, sometimes because he makes an appoint to flaunt his foolproof strategy (which actually works) and sometimes because his opponents think too much.

** Chapter 177 plays this [[UpToEleven up to at least ''fifteen'' layers deep]]. Zhang Fei and Chen Gong were scheming against each other; the former was trying to lure Lu Bu to Xiapi to kill him while the latter wish to drive out Zhang Fei to take Xiapi. Both of them outlines their plans, and the narrative switch back and forth between them anticipating each other.

* In the party/forum game of ''Mafia'', this is known as "WIFOM logic", stemming from the [[OutGambitted "Wine In Front Of Me"]] scene from ''Film/ThePrincessBride''. In truth it's a [[LogicBomb Logical Paradox]] that yields no useful information.

* ''{{Cerebus}}'' does this several times, usually involving Lord Julius, a Clown Prince of {{MagnificentBastard}}y. Astoria also does this to Cerebus [[spoiler:even while chained to his dungeon wall]].
* ''{{Peanuts}}'' has used this joke quite a few times, when Charlie Brown is on the pitcher's mount, trying to figure out whether the hitter is expecting his fast ball. There was another incident involving Lucy's football-pulling stunt: