History Main / TwoPlusTortureMakesFive

* {{Portal}}: [[spoiler:At the end, where [=GLaDOS=] is undergoing what she would describe as torture says "Two plus two equals f-f-f-f-ten. [[LastSecondWordSwap In base four!]] I'm fine!"]]

* In the children's book ''Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver'' (''Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer'') by MichaelEnde, the dragon Mrs. Grindtooth (Frau Mahlzahn) tries to use this technique on her pupil/slave Li Si. Li Si, being both very intelligent and very brave, refuses to fold.

** At the end, when King Mob escapes, he returns the favor: "How many fingers do you see, Sir Miles? [[FlippingTheBird Just two.]]"

Most often used as a torture trope, probably influenced by the famous scene from ''NineteenEightyFour'', the villain has the hero in his clutches, but the hero Simply... Won't... ''Crack''. Sometimes the villain has to do more, i.e., he has to make the hero's mind break. This means making the hero see things that aren't there or being forced to acknowledge things that are illogical or contradictory. The villain needs to make him believe that [[TwoPlusTortureMakesFive 2 + 2 = 5]]. It is said that the Truth will set you Free, and when truth loses all meaning, it becomes just another method of Orwellian control.

Perception is Truth. Black is White. Wrong is Right. Right is Left.

* Variation in ''HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. While interrogating a Muggle-born witch for "stealing" magic, Umbridge demands to know who she stole her wand from, refusing to acknowledge the obvious fact that Muggle-borns could purchase their own wands before the new regime, which is all of one month old at this point.
** It's implied that according to Voldemort's regime, all Muggle-born wizards somehow stole magic from a "real" wizard, and possibly their wand as well. They wouldn't have been invited to Diagon Alley unless they had already proved to have magic in some way. This still doesn't make sense, of course.

** Essentially an inversion, as here it's ''lying'' setting Kryten free.

* LivingColour's "Cult of Personality" also refers to the concept with the lyrics, "I'll tell you one and one makes three," if that has anything to do with the trope as opposed to just being effective at instilling ideas in others.
** [[MoreThanMindControl Both.]]

* This is part of the treatment Petruchio gives Katharine in order to "tame" her in ''{{The Taming of the Shrew}}'', when he insists that the food is bad and the clothes are ugly and refuses to allow her to eat or keep them.
** Also, when he obstinately claims that it is 7 o'clock, when it is only 2. "...it shall be what o'clock I say it is." She later gives in to his game, agreeing with Petruchio that, in spite of it being broad daylight, that the moon is shining, and shortly after agrees with him that it is not the moon after all, but in fact the sun.
*** According to some [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretations]], though, this is a subversion; Katharine takes Petruchio's lies and stretches them even further, coming up with speeches so patently ridiculous it's hard to think she's not making fun of him. And this may be where they reach an understanding with each other - from this point forward, they start teaming up to terrorize other people instead of each other.

*** Even older than that - supposedly Hasan ibn Sabbah, the founder of the order of Hashishim spoke those words with his dying breath, though the recorder didn't hold him in high regard, and declared that he immediately fell to Hell after that passage. It's generally not considered a moral code, but a fancy way of saying "nothing is impossible to an enlightened mind."

** [[JustifiedTrope Cosmo then says, "He's right, you know!"]]

* Possibly a reference to the ''RedDwarf'' example above, in the ''AmericanDad'' episode where Deputy Director Bullock(PatrickStewart, ironically enough, partial TropeNamer ''and'' big ''RedDwarf'' fan) is sleeping with Hayley, Stan tries to make her ex-boyfriend Jeff more assertive by beating him up and getting him to say various fruit are something else.

Perception is Truth. True is False. Black is White. Left is Right. Right is Wrong.

Perception is Truth. True is False. Black is White. Two plus Two makes Five.

Most often used as a torture trope, probably influenced by the famous scene from ''NineteenEightyFour'', the villain has the hero in his clutches, but the hero Simply... Won't... ''Crack''. Sometimes the villain has to do more, i.e., he has to make the hero's mind break. This means making the hero see things that aren't there or being forced to acknowledge things that are illogical or contradictory. The villain needs to make him believe that TwoPlusTortureMakesFive. It is said that the Truth will set you Free, and when truth loses all meaning, it becomes just another method of Orwellian control.

* In an episode of ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', a Cardassian TortureTechnician tries to force Picard to state that there are five lights on the wall, when there are really only four. Every time Picard insists that there are four, he gets tortured. Picard later admits that, in the very end, he did break under torture and actually saw five lights, but he's released just in time to defiantly proclaim, "[[ThisIsSparta There! Are! Four! Lights!]]"

** [[JustifiedTrope Cosmo then says, "He's right, you know!"]]

** Also in Fairly OddParents, Timmy imagines if Tom Saywer got into and control of a physics textbook, "he could turn gravity into gravy!" Cut to [[CrowningMomentOfFunny people on the street getting covered in 2 feet of gravy and then start floating off the ground]].

** Which TheJoker actually did, according to [[{{Steel}} John Henry Irons]], in a {{Superman}} [[ComicBooks]] storyline from the previous year, after stealing Mr. Mxyzptlk's powers.

* Possibly referenced in ''[[{{Disney/Aladdin}} The Return Of Jafar]]''. During the "[[VillainSong You're Only Second Rate]]" number, Jafar produces a blackboard which reads "2 + 2 = 5".

* In an episode of ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', a Cardassian TortureTechnician tries to force Picard to state that there are five lights on the wall, when there are really only four. Every time Picard insists that there are four, he gets tortured. Picard later admits that, in the very end, he did break under torture and actually saw five lights, but orders to release him come just in time for him to defiantly proclaim, "[[ThisIsSparta THERE! ARE! FOUR! LIGHTS!]]"
** Back on the ''Enterprise'', however, he admits to Troi that right at the end, for a moment, he saw five lights.

*** According to some influential [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretations]], though, this is a subversion; Katharine takes Petruchio's lies and stretches them even further, coming up with speeches so patently ridiculous it's hard to think she's not making fun of him. And this may be where they reach an understanding with each other - from this point forward, they start teaming up to terrorize other people instead of each other.

*** According to some influential interpretations, though, this is a subversion; Katharine takes Petruchio's lies and stretches them even further, coming up with speeches so patently ridiculous it's hard to think she's not making fun of him. And this may be where they reach an understanding with each other - from this point forward, they start teaming up to terrorize other people instead of each other.

--> --'''GeorgeOrwell''', "Looking Back on the Spanish War," [[OlderThanTheyThink four years before]] ''[[NineteenEightyFour 1984]]''

Most often used as a torture trope, probably influenced by the famous scene from ''[[NineteenEightyFour 1984]]'', the villain has the hero in his clutches, but the hero Simply... Won't... ''Crack''. Sometimes the villain has to do more, i.e., he has to make the hero's mind break. This means making the hero see things that aren't there or being forced to acknowledge things that are illogical or contradictory. The villain needs to make him believe that TwoPlusTortureMakesFive. It is said that the Truth will set you Free, and when truth loses all meaning, it becomes just another method of Orwellian control.

* As shown above, George Orwell used this for ''[[NineteenEightyFour 1984]]''. Winston Smith writes that freedom is the ability to say "two plus two is four," then later tries to make himself believe in Doublethink by changing it to five. During his torture by [[spoiler:O'Brien, O'Brien]] forces him to see [[HowManyFingers five fingers]] when there are only four.

* {{Radiohead}} has a song titled "2 + 2 = 5" that was inspired by ''1984''.

* Possibly a reference to the ''RedDwarf'' example above, in the ''AmericanDad'' episode where Deputy Director Bullock(PatrickStewart, ironically enough, partial TropeNamer ''and'' big ''RedDwarf'' fan) is sleeping with Hayley, Stan tries to make her ex-boyfriend more assertive by beating him up and getting to say various fruit are something else.

* Possibly a reference to the ''RedDwarf'' example above, in the episode where Deputy Director Bullock(PatrickStewart, ironically enough, partial TropeNamer ''and'' big ''RedDwarf'' fan) is sleeping with Hayley, Stan tries to make her ex-boyfriend more assertive by beating him up and getting to say various fruit are something else.