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9[[quoteright:303:[[ComicStrip/FoxTrot https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AchievementsInIgnorance_8659.png]]]]
10[-[[caption-width-right:303:Well, he ''[[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum did]]'' [[FunnyBackgroundEvent open the wrong end of the bag]].]]-]
11
12->''"In the course of my life, I have more than once been too ignorant to know that something was impossible before I did it anyway."''
13-->-- '''Antillar Maximus''', ''Literature/CodexAlera''
14
15In a world bound by laws of physics, some things are just impossible. Even when magic is involved, there are often [[MagicAIsMagicA limits]].
16
17Despite this, somehow there's someone [[BeyondTheImpossible who can do things thought impossible]], because they were unaware it was supposed to be impossible. Any of the characters might occasionally be AndYouThoughtItWasAGame, but it can be a recurring trait for a GeniusDitz or a BunglingInventor. This trope focuses on the times a character will achieve some amazing feat due to either not knowing how hard it should have been or was aiming for something else entirely and stumbled upon the answer.
18
19In contrast to many cartoons, which consistently (and inconsistently) apply and dismiss physics for the RuleOfFunny, this trope is typically meant to occur when the act in question goes against whatever physics are firmly established within TheVerse. Generally, the best way to tell the difference is whether or not the Achievement in Ignorance can be {{lampshade|Hanging}}d or not.
20
21This can be played either seriously or for laughs. If for comedy, it is often TheDitz who does the undoable deed. If for drama, the character in question may be a genius or prodigy in their particular field.
22
23This happens in RealLife, usually with things like math or physics equations and occasionally with feats of daring that the accidental daredevil hasn't been told are life-threatening. On the more mundane side of things are people learning or successfully trying things their more learned peers were taught couldn't be done.
24
25Compare with these tropes:
26
27#AccidentalDiscovery -- to which the adage "not knowing it was impossible, he went and did it" is usually applied
28#AccidentallyRealFakeAddress -- a fake address (or similar) that a person makes up ends up being real after all.
29#AutopilotArtistry -- someone succeeds at something they normally fail at when they aren't thinking about it.
30#BeginnersLuck -- being new to this business, and really, really good at it.
31#BeyondTheImpossible -- for impossible events or people trying to break the rules
32#CentipedesDilemma -- someone is able to do something but stops being able to once they start thinking about it
33#ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve -- devices powered by believing they'll work
34#CrazyEnoughToWork -- the craziest plans always work
35#{{Determinator}} -- the person knows it's impossible, but tries anyway
36#HowDidYouKnowIDidnt
37#IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat -- thinking that their Achievement is a feat anyone could do
38#MagicFeather -- an object gives people confidence to do things they only ''think'' are impossible for themselves
39#PowerBornOfMadness -- person ''does'' the impossible deeds because he no longer cares they're supposed to be impossible
40#ReminderOfImpossibility -- if they can't do it anymore once it's pointed out that they shouldn't be able to it
41#RightForTheWrongReasons -- the intended goal succeeds despite the assumptions made were faulty
42#RunsOnIgnorance -- devices that work only if you don't know how they work
43#ScrewTheRulesTheyreNotReal -- breaking the rules because you just don't care about them
44#SpringtimeForHitler -- actively trying to fail and succeeding despite your best efforts
45#StrategySchmategy -- no one can counter your moves because you have no idea what you're going to do next
46#TooDumbToFool -- a fool immediately sees through a lie or other treachery because they're too stupid to even know what either of those would imply
47
48May lead to a HowUnscientific moment. A SnipeHunt may occasionally end this way. See also MagicAIsMagicA, which the perpetrators of this trope tend to violate. This trope may be the reason for the idea that IdiotsCanNotCatchColds.
49
50Please note that this trope ''[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant is not]]'' just doing something despite not knowing how, willful ignorance in an effort to BeYourself or doing something by accident / blind luck. It is specifically succeeding in a task because there was no preconceived notion that the task was deemed impossible by the experts.
51----
52!!Examples:
53[[index]]
54* AchievementsInIgnorance/AnimeAndManga
55* AchievementsInIgnorance/FanWorks
56* AchievementsInIgnorance/{{Literature}}
57* AchievementsInIgnorance/VideoGames
58* AchievementsInIgnorance/{{Webcomics}}
59* AchievementsInIgnorance/WesternAnimation
60* AchievementsInIgnorance/RealLife
61[[/index]]
62[[foldercontrol]]
63[[folder:Audio Plays]]
64* Discussed in the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' story, "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho029TheChimesOfMidnight The Chimes of Midnight]]", as the Doctor investigates the suspicious death of the house servant, Edith, who drowned from having her head held down in a kitchen sink. [[TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch The other members of the house staff try to insist that Edith's death must have been a suicide, but the Doctor retorts that it would be physically impossible for Edith to drown in the way she did by herself.]] The staff then try to suggest that since Edith was "very stupid", she managed to kill herself anyway because she didn't know it was physically impossible.
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Card Games]]
68* '' TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'':
69** A meta example: Santa Guise's variant is incredibly easy to unlock by accident in the digital version, but the official community game surrounding the unlocks also requires as one of the rules figuring out what the specific unlock conditions are, and it took more than six months to accomplish that part.
70** As a more story oriented example, due to the nature of his powers, Setback tends to do this, as implied by the flavor text.
71* ''TabletopGame/StarWarsCustomizableCardGame'' has the following flavor text on Han's Modified Heavy Blaster: "In theory, you can't modify a DL-44 Heavy Blaster. No one told Han that."
72[[/folder]]
73
74[[folder:Comedy]]
75* From a Creator/SarahSilverman routine: "Stop telling girls they can be anything they want when they grow up. I think it's a mistake. Not because they can't, but because it never would have occurred to them that they couldn't."
76[[/folder]]
77
78[[folder:Comic Books]]
79* ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'': In one story, the [[TheKlutz klutzy]] Archie [[EasyAmnesia loses his memory]] following an athletic mishap. Reggie toys with him by telling him he's the school's champion athlete, expecting that Archie will humiliate himself, only to be astonished when Archie proceeds to accomplish incredible athletic feats, such as a record-breaking pole vault ''without using a pole.'' When Archie throws a javelin beyond school property, accidentally puncturing a guy's tire, he gets a [[InjuryBookend memory-restoring punch in the head]] and [[StatusQuoIsGod reverts to his usual clumsiness]].
80* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'':
81** Why can giant ants exist despite the SquareCubeLaw? Because they don't know there's a square-cube law.
82** At one point, one character thwarts an invasion of vampires from another dimension by using a plan that depended on the use of a Xenon laser. When he explains this, Robo informs him that the laser he used was not, in fact, a Xenon laser, and he doesn't think their facility even has one, leaving the guy baffled about how his plan worked.
83** Taken to its extremes by Dr. Dinosaur, whose inventions just plain don't make sense even within the context of a comic that once used the Large Hadron Collider as a proton cannon. This causes ''extreme'' frustration in Robo, who gets to watch the laws of reality bend into pretzel shapes because of a delusional dromaeosaurid inverting gravity with a spanner, a light bulb, two car batteries, and a broken calculator. And crystals. Let's not forget crystals.
84* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'':
85** When [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] met Batman-expy Midnighter, Midnighter, whose {{Stock Phrase|s}} is "I've fought this fight X thousand times in the supercomputer in my head so you've already lost" can only stare at the Joker with utterly no idea what to do next.
86** ''ComicBook/Batgirl2000'': When Cassandra Cain was fighting the Joker, Cassandra was initially losing. Cassandra is able to analyze her opponent's fighting style to predict their next move, but the Joker has no fighting style - [[ConfusionFu even he doesn't know his next move]].
87* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsTaskmaster Taskmaster]] was on the receiving end of this in his fight with [[Characters/MarvelComicsDeadpool Deadpool]]. Taskmaster has the ability to analyze and duplicate any physical action, so he can instantly master any combat style just by observing it. Deadpool starts acting completely at random and kicks his ass.
88* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': In one Creator/CarlBarks comic, the Beagle Boys trick [[WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} Super Goof]] into ingesting a formula that makes him ''so'' hungry he [[BigEater eats everything in sight]], gaining a ''huge'' amount of weight. When he finally gets his act together and goes after them, he's so fat he can barely stay airborne. But he still apprehends the villains when he ''falls'' on them.
89* ''ComicBook/{{Excalibur|MarvelComics}}'': Tweedledope is a member of a group of villains called the Crazy Gang who can somehow create AppliedPhlebotinum by just tinkering with junk. No doubt the most miraculous piece of machinery he created this way was the sapient portal-creating robot Widget. It should be noted that Widget's sapience derived from the amnesiac and temporally displaced mind of [[spoiler:Kate Pryde, the ''ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast'' version of Kitty Pryde]] (it takes a very long time for Widget, let alone else, to figure this out), and later examination suggested that there's a mystical element involved.
90* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': This has been used as an explanation for why RealityWarper Franklin Richards is so much more powerful as a young child than various adult versions of him (introduced via TimeTravel) have been: he doesn't realize that all of the things he's doing are impossible. An adult Franklin who actually understands the laws of physics needs to think of ways to work around them, even though based on the way his powers work that's only a psychological limitation.
91* ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'':
92** When Kyle Rayner first got the Green Lantern ring, his first-ever battle was against Mongul. Naturally, Mongul assumed his yellow skin meant Kyle's ring couldn't work and was shocked when Kyle was able to beat him down. Aiding Kyle, Superman was also surprised, bringing up the yellow weakness and Kyle brushing it off with "News to me." [[note]]It would later be revealed the yellow impurity was because the entity Parallex had been in the Central Power Battery. With Parallax having possessed Hal Jordan and the Battery destroyed, the yellow weakness no longer worked for Kyle.[[/note]]
93** Simon Baz can ignore the limitations on his ring's capabilities because no one told him about them.
94** In the Elseworlds ''ComicBook/SupermanAndBatmanGenerations'', an aged Alan Scott and Hal Jordan are attacked by Sinestro. When a Green Lantern falls, Scott picks up his ring and Sinestro is stunned Alan can combat his yellow-colored attacks. After Sinestro is defeated, Alan and Hal confront the Guardians, who reveal that the "yellow impurity" was a fiction to [[YourMindMakesItReal create a"mental block" to prevent]] Green Lanterns from misusing their power. They bring up that in Alan's first outing with his own ring, a thug got in a lucky shot with a bat which convinced Alan his ring couldn't work on wood. Thus, because Alan instinctively reacted as he would have with his original ring, he never thought yellow was a weakness and could overcome it.
95* Alfred E. Neuman of ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' fame displays this on various classic covers -- sitting on a swing hanging from a branch he is holding, painting a white stripe down the middle of a road by painting a white road black and not painting the middle, etc..
96* ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'': Dream and Death meet Hob Gadling, a 14th-century peon who believes that people only die because they accept death as inevitable. By choosing to reject death, he believes he can live forever. Now, Hob's premise is completely, horribly wrong, but Death is so amused by his ignorance that she grants his wish. In a roundabout sort of way, this also makes him completely correct, [[RightForTheWrongReasons just not for the reason he thinks]]. Hob ended up becoming one of Dream's few friends.
97* ''ComicBook/ScoobyDooTeamUp'': El Kabong can swing around until someone points out there's nothing holding the rope.
98* ''ComicBook/SevenPsychopaths'': This is the in-story rationale for recruiting a RagtagBunchOfMisfits to assassinate Hitler--all the sane people in the military have long since dismissed the notion of assassinating Hitler as impossible, so the only ones who stand a chance of succeeding are those who are [[CrazyEnoughToWork too crazy to realize it's impossible]].
99* ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'': In a comic book story based on the animated series, Dick Dastardly believes the other racers can cross the [[PaintedTunnelRealTrain painted tunnels]] he makes because they don't know it's not real.
100* ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'': {{Discussed|Trope}} by Wonder Girl and Superboy.
101-->'''Wonder Girl:''' But he sure can't keep it up!\
102'''Superboy:''' ''You'' know [[ComicBook/{{Impulse}} Bart]], Wondy. If we don't ''tell'' him he can't, he may ''forget'' that he can't and go in circles forever.
103[[/folder]]
104
105[[folder:Comic Strips]]
106* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'':
107** In one Sunday strip, Calvin was daydreaming in class that he was Spaceman Spiff, being attacked by an enemy craft. He dreamed that his ship was hit, and he started plummeting towards a planet's surface. '''"This spells disaster!"''' screams Calvin/Spiff. Then Miss Wormwood yells at Calvin to pay attention, and he quickly says, "Uhm, 'disaster', D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R." Fortunately, that was ''exactly'' the word Miss Wormwood had just asked him to spell.
108** The same thing happened when Spiff was doing a countdown and hit 7 right when Miss Wormwood asks Calvin what 10 minus 3 is.
109** And again when Spiff had just fired on some aliens ('Krakow! Krakow! Two direct hits!') when Suzie asks Calvin about the name of Poland's former capital.
110* ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'':
111** Parodied when a CEO with no experience is hired because "someone who doesn't know anything doesn't know what can't be done." When he goes to shake hands with the Pointy-Haired Boss (who is right-handed), he extends his left...
112** This happened in ''Dilbert'' again with Ratbert, who was told he was so stupid that he had telekinetic power.
113--->'''Ratbert:''' I have the power to watch television!
114** In another series of strips, Ratbert decides to fly simply by flapping his arms. Dilbert insists it can't be done. Bob the Dinosaur gives Ratbert some advice that turns out to work, resulting in him flying near an annoyed Dilbert and remarking "This must be so embarrassing for you."
115** One time Dilbert tells someone from Marketing that he reprogrammed his DNA into that of a weasel's. The poor dope is so gullible that he actually starts changing!
116* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'':
117** A Sunday strip has Paige nodding off in class, [[EroticDream dreaming she's being romanced]] by the [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench handsome, dashing Pierre]]. She repeats "Oh, Pierre" in reply to everything he says, until she wakes up, discovering she just answered her teacher's question - "What is the capital of South Dakota?" - correctly.
118** There's also the time when Roger somehow made the charcoals for the grill burn upside down because [[HadTheSillyThingInReverse he put them in that way]]. Jason even says that he'd deem it impossible if anyone other than Roger did it.
119* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'':
120** Odie chases Garfield up a tree, resulting in both of them sitting on a high branch. Jon immediately tells Odie that "dogs can't climb trees". Garfield's response? "It's amazing what one can accomplish when one doesn't know what one can't do."
121** In fact, in one of the early comics, this is how Garfield himself learned to walk on his hind legs. Until it stuck, he'd promptly face-plant when Jon reminded him it's not possible.
122** One strip shows Odie sleeping on the underside of a hammock, and Garfield notes that he doesn't even understand the laws of gravity.
123* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'':
124** Schroeder can play extremely difficult piano pieces on a toy piano where the black keys are simply painted on ([[MindScrew or are they...]]).
125** Similar to the above-example in ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'', there was one week-long series where Snoopy and Linus climbed a ''very'' large tree to investigate a "strange creature" in Woodstock's nest [[spoiler:which turned out to be an egg]]. Eventually, Lucy came along, and Charlie Brown explained what was going on. Lucy shouted to them that dogs can't climb trees; Snoopy replied, "You're right!" before [[PuffOfLogic falling out with a crash]].
126** In early strips where Linus was still shown as an infant, he often displayed this trope. Examples included stacking blocks off-center well past the point they should fall over, and blowing up balloons cube-shaped. While Charlie Brown kept trying to figure out how he did it, Lucy was just embarrassed that her brother didn't know how to do things right.
127* In one story from Wally Wood's ''[[ComicStrip/SallyForthWood Sally Forth]],'' the characters are riding in a battle-scarred helicopter -- until one of them points out that it should not be able to fly, causing it to fall immediately.
128[[/folder]]
129
130[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
131* In ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'', Sherman and Penny are in Creator/LeonardoDaVinci's workshop and find his flying machine, and Penny urges Sherman to take it for a joy ride. With her "Just do it!" encouragement, Sherman gets it airborne and is actually piloting it with skill until Mr. Peabody sees them and reminds Sherman that he doesn't know how to fly. The instant Sherman hears this, he freaks out, loses control and crashes it.
132* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'': While he's completely oblivious to the fact he's a toy who can't actually fly, Buzz manages to actually "fly" around Andy's room with his eyes closed by bouncing on a ball, riding the loop-de-loop and getting his wings hooked on a toy airplane.
133* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', Woody manages to leave Sunnyside in broad daylight with minimal effort. When he offhandedly mentions having been there to Bonnie's toys, they're horrified and ask how he managed to escape - and only then does Woody learn of Sunnyside's [[CrapsaccharineWorld true nature]] as a cruel, oppressive dictatorship from which escape is supposed to be impossible. Sure enough, when the rest of Andy's toys attempt to break out, they have a ''much'' harder time.
134* In ''WesternAnimation/WakkosWish'', [[BadlyBatteredBabysitter Buttons]] runs straight up a tree to save Mindy, only to fall when she tells him "Puppies can't climb trees."
135[[/folder]]
136
137[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
138* In ''Film/BeingThere'', this is a possible explanation for [[spoiler:the final shot in which Chance walks on water]]. It's also the reason he gets as far as he does in the film with the people around him - [[MistakenForProfound he doesn't actually realize what he's doing most of the time]].
139* During the SpinningPaper montage that ends ''Film/BillAndTedsBogusJourney'', ''Road & Track'' reports that [[DontFearTheReaper Death]] [[ThrowTheDogABone managed to win the]] [[UsefulNotes/Indianapolis500 Indy 500]] ''on foot''. His response? "I didn't know I could run that fast."
140* In the 2005 ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', Mike Teavee sees Willy Wonka's Television Chocolate setup as this on Mr. Wonka's part -- Mr. Wonka was merely looking for a new way to get his chocolate to market and wound up creating a ''teleporter'' without realizing the true significance/potential of such an invention.
141* ''Film/EdgeOfTomorrow'' is centered around William Cage, an [[ArmchairMilitary inexperienced soldier]] who becomes trapped in a GroundhogDayLoop after being splattered in alien blood. But how did he get that in the first place? Well, he ran out of ammo, saw a soldier strapping a Claymore to his armor and pulled it towards the alien, not knowing said mine is guaranteed to kill ''anything'' within a few feet of it (the soldier was clearly aiming for a [[TakingYouWithMe suicide attack]]), meaning the Claymore killed them both, but Cage was splattered with the blood that enables him to revive by looping. In short, he became TheOnlyOne capable of defeating the aliens because of being literally TooDumbToLive!
142* ''Film/GalaxyQuest'':
143** The Thermians construct a fully functional, space-worthy Starship, complete with powerful weapons, WarpDrive, and {{Teleportation}}, based on the design of a ship seen in "Historical Documents" intercepted from space. Unbeknownst to them, [[AliensStealCable these "Historical Documents" were actually episodes]] from [[ShowWithinAShow the TV Series]] ''Galaxy Quest'', broadcast from Earth by humans not remotely capable of producing these technologies. It's important to note that this also included the [[MacGuffin Omega-13]], an alien device that was ''not'' part of the original ship schematics and that ''nobody even knew what function it had'', only educated (and conflicting) guesses. [[spoiler:What's even more baffling is that the Omega-13 turned out to be ''a time machine''.]]
144** Nesmith actually manages to defeat the BigBad in the first act of the film, while he still believes that he's on a television show. Wanting to end the "show" as quickly as possible because of his hangover, he orders an immediate attack that takes the villain completely by surprise. Unfortunately, he promptly leaves, allowing the villain to recover and come back later.
145* In ''Film/PippiOnTheRun'', the final Literature/PippiLongstocking movie with Creator/IngerNilsson as the eponymous character, this trope becomes a RunningGag. Over the course of the movie, Pippi does several completely impossible things, and then afterward claims that the reason why she could do them was that she forgot they were impossible. The entire thing is {{subverted|Trope}} at the very end of the movie when Pippi rides a broomstick around Tommy and Annika's house, and when Annika once again claims that this is impossible, Pippi cheerfully yells back that it's not impossible to ''her.''"
146* In ''Film/SupermanIII'':
147** Gus writes a program in his computer class, then shows it to the instructor after hearing the instructor explain to another student that what the program does is impossible.
148** Later on while working for Ross Webster, Gus is told to synthesize kryptonite to kill Superman. Gus manages to get part of the way there... but there's a catch: there's an element of kryptonite that isn't found on Earth and therefore can't be used. Gus fills in the blank by adding tar after reading his pack of cigarettes, figuring that since tar is unhealthy for humans, it's probably unsafe for Kryptonians. The result? While the synthesized kryptonite doesn't kill Superman, it causes just as much trouble by causing Superman to [[TookALevelInJerkass spiral into]] {{Superdickery}} for a time.
149* ''Film/{{Synchronic}}'': A doctor who was just trying to create designer drugs ends up accidentally creating the titular Synchronic; a time-travel drug.
150[[/folder]]
151
152[[folder:Jokes]]
153* An adage of unknown origin: "Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently determined fool."
154* Often seen in Polish jokes ([[SelfDeprecation more often than not]] [[NWordPrivileges told by Poles themselves]]). One such joke: {{Satan}} locks an American, Russian, and Polish scientist each in their own sealed room in Hell, and gives each one a pair of one-tonne solid steel balls, saying whoever can come up with the most impressive feat after seven years may be permitted to leave and go to Heaven. After seven years he returns to see their progress. The American has made the balls hover in the air and glow, which impresses the Devil. Next he goes to see the Russian, who has made [[HehHehYouSaidX his balls]] roll around the floor whilst playing [[Music/PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky Tchaikovsky]]. But the Pole impresses him the most: he's broken one of the balls in half and lost the other.
155* It's sometimes joked about that before UsefulNotes/IsaacNewton discovered gravity, people had the ability to fly.
156[[/folder]]
157
158[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
159* ''Series/AntFarm'': Paisley, sometimes to RealityWarper levels. She's made a helicopter out of balloons that worked and did a full body gift wrapping of herself!
160* Parodied in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' when [[spoiler:Rita]] walks across a pool after suggesting that Michael [[spoiler:visit her in England by walking across the ocean, "if it's not too deep". As it turns out, it's one of Gob's [[strike:magic tricks]] illusions]].
161* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'':
162** In the episode of ''Blackadder II'' themed around Elizabethan-era exploration, Blackadder launches an exploration mission to improve his standing in court. His actual plan is just to channel-hop to France, relax for a while, and come back with made-up tales of adventure. The captain he hires, however, is almost completely insane and no-one else on board knows how to navigate or operate a ship. As revealed at the end of the episode, they somehow made it to ''Australia'' and back within two years.
163** At the end of the final episode of ''Blackadder the Third'', Prince George announces he's alive because [[PocketProtector the bullet hit the cigarillo box in his pocket]]. As soon as he realizes the cigarillo box is in his other jacket, he dies.
164* In ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'', nobody thought that it was possible for an [=RBMK=] reactor to explode. Several of the plant workers remain in denial for hours because they can't get it to make sense in their heads. Only later, after Khomyuk's extensive interviews with the dying technicians, do the pieces fall into place. There was a FailsafeFailure in which reactivity would momentarily increase when all the control rods were reinserted--but Soviet officials decided to hush it up because it would only become dangerous if someone recklessly disregarded every safety precatuion. That was what Anatoly Dyatlov, head of the night shift, did--he unknowingly created the exact set of circumstances that would turn AZ-5 from an emergency shutdown to a ''detonator.''
165* In one episode of ''Series/CornerGas'', Oscar offers to help destroy a barn and says he's more than qualified for the job. Cue a montage of him accidentally destroying various things, with the last thing being a bowl of salad, which spontaneously explodes in his face for absolutely no reason.
166-->'''Hank:''' How do you blow up a salad?\
167'''Oscar:''' Happens more than you think!
168* In one episode of ''Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit'', all four contestants were playing VideoGame/PacMan, with the rules being that the one to survive the longest won. Sam Pamphilon, one of the series regulars known as a "Gaming Muggle", was the one who managed to survive the longest, despite believing himself to have already run out of lives.
169* ''Series/{{Eureka}}'':
170** Basically the premise of the series. In a town full of the world's top geniuses, the average-intelligence-having sheriff often saves the day by not knowing enough about science.
171** Which is sometimes invoked after a while, especially by Sheriff Carter's friend Henry Deacon, since he has seen how many {{Eureka Moment}}s have come from it. Henry is one of the few that doesn't immediately dismiss Carter's intelligence and treats his "dumb" questions more as teaching moments.
172* ''Series/GilligansIsland'': Gilligan once ''flew'' by attaching a pair of artificial wings to his arms and flapping them until the Skipper told him it was impossible.
173* ''Series/TheGoodies'': In "The Lost Tribe", Graeme builds a canvas television that works perfectly. Then he is told that a canvas television is a scientific impossibility so he throws it away.
174* A gag in ''Series/TheGoodPlace'' reveals that every religion and theologian's idea of the afterlife was pretty inaccurate, with most of them getting only about 5-10% right - except for an EruditeStoner named Doug Forcett from Calgary, who got really high in the '70s and started rambling about life after death. Somehow, by pure chance, he got ''over 90%'' of it right. He's something of a revered figure in the afterlife as a result.
175** However, this same example is played with later in the series. [[spoiler:When Michael and Janet [[ChekhovsGag meet Doug Forcett]] in Season 3, they find that Doug has [[GoMadFromTheRevelation run himself ragged]] trying to act on the principles he derived from his fugue state. He is neurotically obsessed with [[NatureLover doing as little harm as possible to anything and everything around him]] so as to qualify for The Good Place, to the point where he causes great [[FacialHorror pain]] and [[AgonyOfTheFeet discomfort]] to [[ExtremeDoormat himself]]. To make matters worse, in the very next episode it is revealed that he did it AllForNothing, as it would still be impossible to reach the threshold for good behavior before he dies. This is thus a rare example of [[DeconstructedTrope an achievement in ignorance making a person's]] ''[[DeconstructedTrope entire life]]'' [[DeconstructedTrope worse rather than better]], however, it also provides the main characters with the clues they need to suggest how best to change the afterlife, and [[ReconstructedTrope he is completely unaware of how important he is to the fate of the universe until he reaches the afterlife himself]].]]
176* On ''[[Series/KevinCanFuckHimself Kevin Can F**k Himself]]'', Patty supplied a couple of old ladies with generic oxycodone, thinking she was just helping a few people. She's completely stunned when a gangster comes up to her, demanding more from the person the local underworld considers a key dealer. It turns out those people started selling pills to others who, in turn, sold them to others. Thus, to her own amazement, Patty has become the biggest oxy supplier in Worchester.
177* ''Series/LazyTown'': Pixel invents an automatic tooth-brushing machine, apparently without knowing what a toothbrush is.
178* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': Kelly will do this on occasion. One episode had Bud distracting her by giving her a ''[[Literature/WheresWally Where's Waldo]]?'' book. She runs all over town trying to find Waldo and, at the end of the episode, he's sitting next to Kelly at the dinner table.
179* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' has the UpperClassTwit of the Year Show, in which Oliver Sinjin-Mollusk (whose father was a cabinet minister and his mother [[BestialityIsDepraved won the derby]]) manages to not run over the old woman, but instead runs over ''himself'' with a car.
180* Discussed in an episode of ''Series/MyFavoriteMartian'', when [[HumanAliens Uncle Martin]] explains to Tim why he's so concerned about their landlady's new private detective hobby:
181-->'''Uncle Martin:''' An amateur is infinitely more dangerous than a professional. If Alexander Graham Bell had been a professional electrician, he would never have invented the telephone -- he would have known it was impossible!
182* ''Series/NewsRadio'': A FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome episode features Matthew, a very stupid person, drinking what he thinks is an intelligence-boosting formula and, because he is so stupid and gullible, he believes it works and therefore it actually does. Until he became smart enough to realize it was only a placebo and immediately [[StatusQuoIsGod reverted back to his old stupid self]].
183* In an episode of ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'', [[ButtMonkey Bulk and Skull]] are able to defeat a group of Cogs, [[MechaMooks foot soldier robots]] of [[BigBad King Mondo]]. The Cogs usually analyze fighting style and predict movement but because Bulk and Skull are [[TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket not trained in combat]], their "style" is erratic, so the Cogs cannot defeat them.
184* ''Series/QuantumLeap''. Children under five can see Al and the real Sam. So can animals. This was probably a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot, since a director couldn't tell small children or animals to pretend that Dean Stockwell wasn't there.
185* ''Series/RedDwarf'':
186** Rimmer is advised to invoke this trope in the episode "Cassandra", being told that if he doesn't know enough to ''know'' that he doesn't know enough, there's no fear holding him back.
187--->'''Kochanski:''' He's got the power of ignorance.\
188'''Kryten:''' And with the ignorance ''he's'' got, that makes him one of the most powerful men who ever lived!
189** At the beginning of that season, Rimmer mentioned that anyone who couldn't fix the drive plate had to have a brain the size of a newt's testicle. Apparently, it's really, ''really'' hard to botch the job.
190* On ''Series/TheRookie'', everyone is stunned when dim-witted cop Smitty reveals that while tripping on a combination of cough syrup and diet pills while writing ''Series/ThisIsUs'' fan fiction, he ''accidentally founded [=QAnon=].''
191* On ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', the Todd once revived a flatlined patient... with a high-five.
192-->'''Dr. Cox:''' Great moment, there, dumbass. It starts out with a profound misunderstanding of how the human body works, and winds up with you shattering some old man's hand.
193* In the ''Series/SmartGuy'' episode "TJ Versus the Machine", TJ beats the unbeatable chess computer Socrates by taking a lead from Marcus. Marcus doesn't have a clue what he's doing, and TJ realizes that a computer designed to compete against expert players won't be able to formulate a strategy against random, unpredictable play.
194* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' has the RookieRedRanger John Sheppard, who's only just begun to learn about the Stargate and the Lost City. In the first episode, he happens to sit in a chair...and turns out to have the genetic mix from the Ancients necessary to operate the technology. He had pretty much no clue what was going on.
195* In the ''Series/StickStickly'' TV special ''Stuck'', Stick becomes a natural at ice-skating completely by accident when he slips and tries to right himself.
196* In the sketch "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ6_GdODuww Poker Face]]" by ''Series/StudioC'', Matt somehow got to the final four of a poker tournament despite having no clue how to play the game. Or what "call" even means.
197* Played with in the ''Series/Supergirl2015'' episode "[[Recap/Supergirl2015S3E3FarFromTheTree Far From the Tree]]". Supergirl pretends this. She claimed she took a WrongTurnAtAlbuquerque, accidentally ending up on Mars.
198* ''Series/SweetGenius'':
199** Some winners have been primarily self-taught and have won largely because they didn't cook by the same rules the trained professionals did, resulting in unusually creative desserts.
200** One chef in the infamous bone marrow challenge decorated her plate with the bone the marrow came in, not realizing Chef Ron has [[BerserkButton a thing]] about inedible decorations. However, the way she used it was creative enough to actually earn his praise, and she won the episode.
201* ''Series/WandaVision'': The Hex only comes into existence because of Wanda's emotional outburst right outside her would-be home in Westview. When Agatha Harkness questions how she managed to create something so big and intricate without any training, Wanda flat-out admits that she doesn't know how she did it.
202[[/folder]]
203
204[[folder:Music]]
205See the AchievementsInIgnorance/RealLife section for out-of-universe examples.
206* This is the topic of the Music/CollinRaye song "What They Don't Know", where the narrator sees boys fishing in a tiny puddle and decides not to tell them they're not going to catch anything.
207* This is apparently part of the premise of Music/BlueManGroup's act: the eponymous Blue Men have re-created alt-rock and contemporary pop music by tapping PVC pipes and beating up pianos without realizing they shouldn't be able to create those sounds without synthesizers and digital studio equipment.
208* ''Music/KidsPraise'': This happened in-universe in one of the albums: Psalty tried to invent a machine that stretches time, and instead invented a machine that travels through time... and did this ''by accident''!
209* Lee Murdock wrote the song "Just Five Minutes" about a man who fell overboard from a vessel on the Great Lakes and successfully swam to shore; he commented in the liner notes that the guy was young and didn't know that you can only survive five minutes in the ice-cold waters of the lakes.
210[[/folder]]
211
212[[folder:Podcasts]]
213* This happens a lot as a result of the Creator/McElroyBrothers (and their dad, Clint) having a tenuous grasp on the rules of TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons in ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance''. Merle consistently casts spells above his spell slots because his player, Clint, has no idea how they work. Zone of Truth, instead of forcing the target to not lie, instead inexplicably causes people to spout their secrets. Taako uses Phantom Steed, a spell that summons a ghostly horse, to summon a bicorn named Garyl. Most egregious is the moment dubbed "Arms Outstretched", from the arc ''The Suffering Game'': Magnus [[spoiler:has his soul knocked out of his body]], and Taako, in an effort to save him, uses Blink to travel to the Ethereal Plane, where [[spoiler:Magnus' soul]] is. Merle then casts Planar Ally to summon a being from a different plane - namely, Taako and [[spoiler:Magnus' soul]]. Needless to say, that's not how any of those spells work, but [[GameMaster Griffin]] allows it because of RuleOfCool. It's acknowledged by Griffin in ''The The Adventure Zone Zone'', who states that they're basically playing [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes Calvinball]] with the standard D&D rules. At live shows, he insists that the audience ''not'' call him and his family out on not knowing the rules.
214* After ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale's'' former mayor Pamela Winchell retires, she takes up several hobbies which go horribly wrong. Her attempt at birdwatching somehow causes massive fires, tropical fishing results in a flash flood, and her coin collecting crashes the economy, just to name a few. Even [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror Cecil and the other locals]] find all this both astonishing and alarming.
215[[/folder]]
216
217[[folder:Radio]]
218* In a story from "X Minus One" entitled "Project Trojan" a British intelligence agency enlists the help of a science fiction writer to come up with plans for a fictional "Death Ray" that they will feed to Nazi Germany in order to pull top-level German scientists to try to finish the Ray before the British do. Unfortunately even though the Ray was considered impossible to build, the Germans managed to complete it anyway, resulting in an entire mountain being blown apart. [[spoiler:This was the writer's plan the whole time. The Ray was impossible because it would always eventually backfire, and when it did, it took out the entire German base, along with dozens of their top scientists, making this more of a subversion of this trope.]]
219[[/folder]]
220
221[[folder:Roleplay]]
222* A roleplaying website had an event that featured an organization based around a large number of superhumans. Two of them explicitly manifested this as a superpower; the second one became an OmnidisciplinaryScientist who could play around and break virtually any field of science over her knee because she believed she was a supergenius without peer who could just figure things out no one else could. The first one, on the other hand, was a butler to the group's ruling council, because in trying to figure out what his powers were and how they worked, they made his powers stop working.
223* The title character's player in ''Roleplay/TheBalladOfEdgardo'' arguably deserves Pantheon status for this trope. When the story's narrator is building his character, he instinctively picks the coolest-sounding options without consulting anyone else for advice, and only learns too late from the other players that the abilities he's chosen are considered by the other players to be pathetically underpowered and strategically useless. He'd made an [[BareFistedMonk unarmed brawler]], but fists do zero damage against any kind of armor. He'd set up his stats to give himself a [[ManaMeter Spirit]] {{Cap}} of five (not terrible, but not great either), then picked the {{Perk}} "Overflowing Spirit" to remove the cap, not realizing it also locked him out of using elemental attacks, which would at least let his fists do ''some'' damage. He was stuck using the NonElemental "Raw Spirit", which does far less damage, [[ArmorPiercingAttack but cannot be resisted by anything]]. Those same players learn too late that Edgardo's supposedly useless stat build, thanks to brilliant exploitation of a limited field effect, is actually ''the'' most overpowered GameBreaker in the entire setting. The city of Haven is home to the Spirit Well. While in Haven, your Spirit automatically and instantly recharges "up to the cap." With no cap, Edgardo has literally infinite Spirit to spend on every action, and thus can use Raw Spirit to deal infinite irresistible damage with every punch.
224* ''Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG'' plays this for laughs constantly with Enter and Return. Where to begin, they firmly believe that sharks, trees, and umbrellas are appropriate equipment for surgery, successfully used ''a shark'' to revive a patient after conventional CPR and a defibrillator already failed, and in one instance after being sent on a SnipeHunt, they managed to leave a hospital, buy a fishing pole, go to the harbor, ''catch a shark'' and get back in roughly 30 seconds.
225* Happens in the ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' game of ''Podcast/CoolKidsTable''. Thanks to Josh's great piloting roll, his character Mickey is able to dock a shuttle while passed out.
226[[/folder]]
227
228[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
229* ''TabletopGame/{{Arduin}}'': This is exaggerated with the ibathenes, which have the ability to keep fighting for a number of rounds after they're killed because they're genuinely ''too stupid to realize that they're supposed to be dead''.
230* ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'': There are three ways to enter the PocketDimension of a ''[[EldritchLocation regio]]'' -- perform the correct ritual, guide yourself in with SupernaturalSensitivity, or ''get so lost you stumble in somehow''.
231* Everybody who has learned to play TabletopGame/{{Chess}} has probably encountered this from both directions. Especially when grade schoolers are involved.
232* ''TabletopGame/DontRestYourHead'': It's implied that not only do the normal people [[WeirdnessCensor ignore anything related to Mad City]] (for example, when they ''stole an entire district'', they thought it was destroyed in a fire), they can literally NoSell anything the Nightmares do. Most of the time.
233* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
234** Shadow Conjuration spells summon things that function as real if the defender fails to disbelieve in them. Normally, they are used offensively, but when used defensively, the recipient has to choose to ignore knowing that he knows it's not real in order for it to be real enough to give him or her the full benefit.
235** With the right PrestigeClass combination, disbelieving [[BeyondTheImpossible makes it more than 100% real]].
236** Psionics in 3.X had a rather bizarre meta example based on how people played them. Since Psionic Characters used a pool of points rather than Vancian Spell Slots, their powers were enhanced by pumping a power with more points, either by raising the parameters in the power (Eg: 1 point per 1d6 extra damage with Energy Ray) or by powering their metamagics. A common phenomenon in the game was known as "Going Nova" where a Psionic character would hoard their power points until the big boss and then pump them all into a single power to deal absurd amounts of damage and end the fight quickly. This gave rise to a false reputation of Psionic Classes being overpowered and many people issued house rules to "Cap" their power... except there was already a Balancing Factor to this built into the game: Psionic characters could not spend more points on a power than their current manifester level. In other words, it was mistakenly labeled as overpowered because players ''didn't read the rules carefully enough.'' This phenomenon was so widespread that a popular house rule was ''implementing the limits that they already had.'' In fact, when Dreamscarred Press released their Psionics Books, they made sure to label this limit "The Golden Rule of Psionics" and repeat in several times throughout the book ''just to make sure people actually read it this time.''
237* ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'':
238** The premise is implied to be this. Since the Inspired put the "mad" in "MadScientist", they have a tendency to veer into InsaneTrollLogic. They're still able to make inventions using that logic, however, often achieving impossible feats.
239** Indeed, one of the defining conflicts of the game is between "normal" Geniuses (who know it isn't possible and do it anyway) and Unmada: Geniuses who truly believe science works according to their paradigm. Around an Unmada, it does...
240* Zig-zagged in cosmic religious horror game ''TabletopGame/{{Kult}}''. It has a similar feature to Don't Rest Your Head. Briefly, HumansAreCthulhu and [[BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu the cosmic horror angels broke their arm punching us]]. These angelic horrors pale before humanity's real power. However, individually, humans are usually torn apart in places these beings come from. These otherworldly, nightmarish parallel dimensions are just about the last place you want to go. Individual player characters who are in a positive mental state are shielded by our own ignorance -- but also trapped in a false reality that imprisons us. To see the real reality -- the one so lethal to player characters but where humanity can become nigh-omnipotent again, they have to shed their ignorance. One way is to be a saint. The other way -- the easier way -- is to be so thoroughly traumatized the illusion crashes down about you in an fit of madness. So safety - being able to almost NoSell the cosmic horror -- is an achievement in ignorance, but as a player character, you are all but guaranteed to have that veil of ignorance torn away to confront beings that are terrified of our nascent godhood but basically godlike compared to most of us.
241* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Cayden Cailean managed to ''[[DeityOfHumanOrigin ascend to godhood]]'' by attempting the Test of the Starstone on a bet... while completely blackout drunk during a three-day bender. [[WhatDidIDoLastNight Even he has no idea how he pulled it off.]]
242* ''TabletopGame/{{Toon}}'':
243** Steve Jackson Games' role-playing system, which takes place in a cartoon universe, gives appropriately cartoony reasons for being able to do this sort of thing. If a character wants to walk off a cliff and on thin air or breathe underwater or whatever, he can roll to intentionally try to ''fail'' an intelligence roll. If he fails, it's considered that he's too dumb to realize it's impossible. This is a reference to all the times cartoon characters do just that. It's actually considered a law of ToonPhysics that [[GravityIsAHarshMistress gravity does not affect a character until they realize it's supposed to]]. This is demonstrated in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures''.
244** The "Star Toon" setting in the ''Tooniversal Tour Guide'' sourcebook features the Bozonians, an alien race so monumentally stupid they can build outlandish architectural wonders and incredible scientific devices [[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum because they're too dumb to realize the things they build should be impossible]]. Visitors to their home planet of Bozok are strictly forbidden because all it would take is [[NiceJobBreakingItHero one smart-ass]] telling the locals "That's impossible!" to [[PuffOfLogic bring down a civilization]].
245* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Daddallo was inspired to create the wingsuits used by the Birdmen of Catrazza when he discovered a set of documents and schematics on the subject written by Leonardo da Miragliano. These later turned out to be forgeries, but Daddallo built working wings anyway.
246* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
247** This is how a lot of humanity's technology operates in the dark days of the 41st millennium. After thousands of years of scientific regression, the [[MachineWorship Adeptus Mechanicus]] not only has a monopoly on mankind's LostTechnology, they worship it and wrap all but the simplest of mechanical tasks into a religious ritual. So activating an ancient plasma reactor or whatnot involves a great deal of chanting, incense, the application of sanctified engine oil, and some specific taps with a wrench that just so happen to hit the "on" switch. DependingOnTheWriter this is all a scheme to keep the common people from learning how to maintain their own devices, while other sources have the [=AdMech=] genuinely clueless of the scientific principles behind their shiny toys. In yet others, much of it is ''real'', the Machine Spirits the worship is meant to appease exist, and advanced Tech Priests are essentially [[TechnoWizard wizards]].
248** The Orks are an even more pronounced example. Greenskins don't have scientists that we'd recognize, but "Meks" and "Doks" with mechanical and medical knowledge hard-wired into their DNA. They can put together an engine block or perform an organ transplant purely on instinct, but wouldn't be able to explain how they did it. For the Orks' weirder, physics-defying inventions, the devices function to some extent [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve because the Orks expect them to]] -- Orks are latent psykers, but aren't conscious of this fact. This is why captured Greenskin technology is so temperamental or nonfunctional when used by a non-Ork, and why when it comes to Orky vehicles, the RedOnesGoFaster.
249** An even more extreme example are the Jokaero. Similar to the Orks, these orangutan-like aliens are capable of creating technology on an instinctual level. ''Unlike'' the Greenskins, though, these aren't piles of junk randomly slapped together and brought to life through sheer willpower. The Jokaero can make some of the most advanced, highly miniaturized technology in the galaxy, utilizing advanced techniques and seemingly natural phenomena that the best minds in the Imperium can't wrap their heads around, which they can do with pretty much [[MacGyvering any bits of junk that happen to lie around]]. A Jokaero can sit on a pile of technological scrap and assemble a spacecraft that is more advanced than almost anything any other race can put together. Another difference from the Orks is that anyone can use Jokaero tech. In spite of this, there is great debate if Jokaero are sentient, as they don't appear to have any discernible language or culture, with everything they do motivated only by their will to survive. The evident lack of sentience, their innate technological prowess and the non-exclusivity of their tech means that the Imperium is willing to make them an exception to their policy regarding Xenos, and Jokaero technology is highly sought after by both Rogue Traders and Inquisitors. That said, their creative process appears to be entirely random. Handing a Jokaero a bolt pistol could result in it having enough firepower to vaporize a tank in one shot, or an otherwise normal bolt pistol with some high-tech but ultimately useless flourish, with no way to discern which you are going to get.
250* ''Franchise/TheWorldOfDarkness'':
251** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'': This is a very real thing at a collective level -- because reality is [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve strongly defined by what people think it is]], a sufficient portion of humanity not knowing or believing that something is impossible or has certain consequences can very much alter reality to make this belief correct.
252*** The ignorant and blind Sleepers -- that is, all of non-mage humanity -- constantly keep the [[FantasyKitchenSink terrible demons, gods, monsters, etc]] at bay, and away from our tasty souls, day in and day out. This is done through the amazing, awe-inspiring power... of ''[[SelectiveObliviousness disbelieving and desperately ignoring]]'' that these things could possibly exist.
253*** Clever mages can get around disbelief by convincing sleepers that there is a logical explanation and it's not magic they're seeing. A true mage posing as a stage magician could get away with separating their lovely assistant in half for real so long as the audience stays convinced that there's a hidden trick for them to try guessing, or giving scientific-sounding technobabble for an impossible device.
254*** It works even better to play on the staggering ignorance of the general population. Things that should only work in action movies are a great way to disguise magic that static reality would otherwise reject, mainly because most people aren't bright enough to know it isn't possible. A can of hairspray and a lighter is enough to make basic fire effects coincidental, even if the resultant stream of fire outclasses any actual flamethrower in power. It's suggested that the unrealistic aspects of popular fiction are deliberate attempts to subvert the dominant paradigm.
255** ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'': Creating new vampiric powers is supposed to be something only very old and powerful vampires can manage. However, the weak 14th- and 15th-generation vampires seem to be able to do it with ease. They grew up on stories that said, for example, that vampires could fly; therefore, they managed to find the magic that let them do it, simply because they were too unimportant for elder vampires to explain to them that it was impossible.
256[[/folder]]
257
258[[folder:Visual Novels]]
259* In Chapter 4 of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'', ForgetfulJones Monotaro suddenly becomes a whiz with computers... [[InsaneTrollLogic because he forgot that he was bad with computers]]. Of course, he eventually forgets that he forgot and goes back to being a computer-illiterate dumbass.
260* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'':
261** Shirou was told that Projection magic was useless, so he stopped pursuing it as his primary magic and simply uses it as a warmup before he tries other types of magic. This is roughly equivalent to performing surgery on someone as a warmup to fixing a radio: painful, dangerous, has little to do with what you're gearing up to do, and something that a non-expert should never do. And no one is an expert in Projection because it's seen as incredibly difficult and incredibly useless. ''However'', Shirou doesn't know this, so he basically creates matter from nothing, which is supposed to be an impossible feat even in this universe. At best, most people can only keep their projections around for a few minutes and they're of shoddy quality, but Shirou shows the ability to replicate items that never seem to disappear as well as legendary weapons. ''And he doesn't even realize this is amazing.''
262** To his credit, this isn't entirely an achievement in ignorance so much as it is no one realizing how Shirou's magic actually works or recognizing that he's doing something other than what it looks like. [[spoiler:He has internalized a Reality Marble -- basically a cheat in otherwise consistent natural law -- that specializes in the knowledge and tracing of swords and sword-like weapons, though he can't properly utilize it due to his poor magecraft skills. Archer calls it Unlimited Blade Works. That said, he didn't only practice Projection with swords--because it's more like he's drawing the blade from inside himself, it could be said that his "Projecting" swords is almost a different form of magic entirely.]]
263* Okabe Rintarou of ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate'' somehow managed to turn a microwave into a ''freaking time-machine'' by fiddling with it enough in an attempt to get it to operate remotely. Subverted when he eventually realizes this and reacts just as one might expect.
264[[/folder]]
265
266[[folder:Web Animation]]
267* In ''WebAnimation/CampCamp'', the Flower Scouts spend their ADayInTheLimelight episode setting up and running a powerful drug cartel ''without even realizing it''. It all started when their leader told them that the crystal meth she had possession of was [[BlatantLies "Mexican sugar cane"]], and it all escalated from there.
268* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'':
269** This may explain the title character's use of the "telekinetic powers/invisible arms" that the fans are still debating over. Homestar may not realize that he should be unable to manipulate objects or coat sleeves or [[spoiler:stay airborne between two shackles in Trogdor's Dungeon in ''8-Bit Is Enough'']]. However, suggesting the same of Marzipan might be pushing it.
270** Quite a few characters have InvisibleAnatomy. It could be that the characters grew up with it and so don't think it's unusual (or impossible).
271** According to the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail "4 branches", Strong Bad has classified a whole list of "So Stupid It's Smart-ities" Homestar has accomplished, like accidentally reciting Coulomb's Law when asked, "What's two plus two?"
272* ''WebAnimation/TheMostEpicStoryEverToldInAllOfHumanHistory'': [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Ridiculously Epic Fail]] is somehow able to turn [[BigBad Ridiculously Epic]]'s "Evil Mobile", the one that he [[RunningGag insists is not an armadillo]], into an actual armadillo when he drives it, only because he actually thinks it is an armadillo.
273* In ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', when Church [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind enters Caboose's mind]], he finds that everything inside there is based on how Caboose understands the world around him. At one point, he needs to use Tucker's sword -- the sword [[LoyalPhlebotinum can't be used by anybody but Tucker]], but Caboose is too dumb to understand this, so the sword works for Church inside Caboose's mind.
274* ''WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers'': Karen's son, Corey, started flying because his brother told him he was a helicopter. And apparently [[NotAgain it's not the first time it's happened]].
275[[/folder]]
276
277[[folder:Web Original]]
278* ''Website/{{Cracked}}'':
279** [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/how-to-solve-the-healthcare-debate-with-violence/ This article]] has Brockway acquire [[PsychoElectro the power to shoot lightning]] due to misunderstanding a side-effect of Celexa.
280--->''When asked to explain this in simpler terms, he elaborated that I was "so retarded that it crossed the line into the supernatural".''
281** At one point in ''WebVideo/AgentsOfCracked'', Swaim gets President UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield and [[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} Garfield the Cat]] mixed up. Despite this, he somehow manages to invite [[CompositeCharacter President Garfield the Cat]] to a teleconference, who indignantly states that he was promised [[TrademarkFavoriteFood lasagna]].
282* On Website/NotAlwaysRight, a man tries to buy a bird from the pet store... [[https://notalwaysright.com/catcher-in-the-sky/4417 a wild bird that he'd caught just outside the store]], mistaking it for an outside display.
283* On Website/NotAlwaysWorking, three pranksters in a video game store fill an empty console box with water bottles to fool any would-be shoplifters, [[https://notalwaysright.com/box-of-stolen-stupid/60198/ and end up accidentally catching an assistant manager with a history of stealing games and money from the store]], indirectly getting him fired.
284* Website/{{Reddit}}:
285** On the subreddit [[https://www.reddit.com/r/ShittyAskScience /r/ShittyAskScience]] a user once asked, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/shittyaskscience/comments/4l53u3/if_the_sun_were_to_instantly_disappear_would_it/ if the sun were to instantly disappear, would it take 8 minutes for the earth to stop orbiting it?]] However, this ''is'' actually what would happen if the sun were to spontaneously disappear, as the force of gravity travels at the speed of light. The page exploded when they realized that someone asked a question [[BeyondTheImpossible so unreasonably stupid]] it became reasonable.
286** As a joke, a male reddit user decided to urinate on a pregnancy test to see what would happen. The pregnancy test came out positive and the user discovered that he had testicular cancer via a tumour. Turns out pregnancy tests can detect beta human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone in the blood and the urine produced by the developing placenta, beta hCG can also signal testicular cancer. It should be noted that this method isn't reliable and if people are concerned about their health then they should consult a medical professional for advice and a proper examination.
287* Website/SFDebris: Parody Janeway is capable of solving any kind of NegativeSpaceWedgie by shooting it, mostly by failing to realize that they should not be susceptible to phaser blasts. This includes resolving time paradoxes with gunfire and even breaking the event horizon of a black hole, a procedure which, scientifically speaking, is about as plausible as becoming able to fly by hunting down gravity and stabbing it through the heart with a tuning fork.
288[[/folder]]
289
290[[folder:Web Videos]]
291* ''WebVideo/AchievementHunterMinecraftSeries'': In episode 159, the crew is playing with a mod that adds dinosaurs. Ryan and Geoff are looking at a machine that creates eggs and embryos from DNA, and Ryan's wondering why it doesn't seem to be working. Geoff puts a chicken egg in the machine as a joke, and it turns out that eggs are the "fuel" for the machine.
292** Alfredo has been given the nickname "WesternAnimation/MrMagoo" due to the fact that he has bumbled across the Minecraft server, somehow avoided monsters and death traps that have taken out other Hunters numerous times and discovered places that the others failed to by complete accident. [[spoiler:This is how he ends up winning the second "Ya Dead Ya Dead" series.]]
293* ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'' has a Commodore 64 computer in his game room and among the games he has played on it include ''VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing'', ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdAdventures'' among a few other PC fan games, and an SNES Emulator to play ''VideoGame/HongKong97''.
294* In ''WebVideo/CodeMENT'', Lelouche is able to corner Clovis in his G1 base and has absolutely no idea how he managed it (which he tells Clovis when asked).
295** He also manages to fly a helicopter by randomly pushing buttons.
296* ''LetsPlay/DashieGames'': Towards the end of Dashie's playthrough of ''Life Is Strange Episode 2: Out Of Time,'' he gets to the part where [[spoiler:Max tries to convince Kate not to commit suicide]]. The point is, he has no prior knowledge of this. The decisions he chooses is [[spoiler:"Things will get better," "It was in silent mode," "I'm gathering proof," "Be strong," "Your mother," and finally, because Dashie knows someone named Matthew and that it was 11:30 at this point, "Matthew 11:28."]] After all of these decisions due to having no prior knowledge and no walkthrough to guide him as a result, in the end, [[spoiler:Dashie ultimately ends up saving Kate]]. Due to his success in this, ''Life Is Strange'' became one of his requested games and it racked up a lot of likes.
297* ''[[WebVideo/LifeSMP Double Life SMP]]'': On Day 4, Martyn and Joel end up accidentally killing the "Ranchers' Revenge" [[BossInMooksClothing Warden]] with fall damage while playing around with [[RodAndReelRepurposed fishing rods]]. In their defense, it had already lost most of its health in the previous episode from drowning when Tango brought it up to the surface, making their job much easier that it would otherwise have been.
298* ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'':
299** Goku is able to obtain a blueberry muffin during a space voyage because of his deluded belief that there's a button which makes muffins onboard the spaceship (despite being ''repeatedly told earlier'' there ''wasn't one''). In the 21st episode, the power of the muffin button allows him to ''read minds''. It's implied later that the Muffin Button may have actually been real, since Goku [[spoiler:finds a muffin button on Freeza's ship when Namek is exploding. The Muffin Button in Goku's pod was a leftover bit of technology from when it was one of Freeza's]].
300** Dr. Gero apparently has no idea how he put his brain inside his android body which he immediately questions himself when 18 asks this.
301--->'''17:''' Wait a sec, are ''you'' an android? Holy shit, you're an android! How did you even ''do'' that?\
302'''Gero:''' I took my brain out and put it inside this body.\
303'''18:''' ''How!?''\
304'''Gero:''' I... huh, how ''did'' I do that?
305* ''WebVideo/EpicNPCMan:'' In "Missing an obvious game mechanic", two Skycraft players, played by Rowan and Ben, come across a crime scene in the woods. Rowan bemoans the expected lengthy duration of trying to find clues, meanwhile Ben's confused as to why Rowan's picking around the scene instead of following a set of footprints leading away. Rowan's equally confused about what Ben's talking about, and he asks if Rowan's using "Detective Mode". This confuses Rowan even more and Ben urges him to use R3 to turn it on, whereupon Rowan is utterly flabbergasted at learning that he had not only never realized there was a Detective Mode, but that Ben says it was both introduced in the ''first quest of the game'' and is a ''core mechanic'' as well. It's to the point that Rowan took 18 hours doing a quest that took Ben only ''5 minutes''. Both are equally baffled and impressed that Rowan was able to reach his character's high level despite this self-inflicted handicap.
306* ''WebVideo/TheFunniestMinecraftVideosEver'': Quackity manages to [[spoiler:kill the [[FinalBoss Ender Dragon]]]] at the end of the "Extreme Jump mod" video, despite doing nothing but switch personalities and ramble incoherently the entire video.
307* ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'' and ''WebVideo/SteamTrain'':
308** When engaging in a ''Games Grumps Vs.'' match, {{WebVideo/Jon|Tron}} often does better going in blind, which frustrates [[Creator/{{Egoraptor}} Arin]] to no end.
309** When the guys played ''[[VideoGame/{{Trine}} Trine 2]]'' on ''Steam Train'', Ross attempted to [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer solve any and all problems]] by conjuring boxes, and in so doing actually bypassed several puzzles that would otherwise have required actual problem solving. In response, the developers sent him some swag, including a certificate of excellence in the art of boxing from Amadeus the wizard.
310** On Jon's own channel, ''WebVideo/JonTron'', this happens [[RunningGag quite a lot]], by way of managing to play games inserting them into the wrong consoles. Or the wrong ''machines'' entirely. And playing episodes of ''Goosebumps'' by inserting the ''books'' into a console. In his ''Titenic'' (sic) video he plugs the correct cartridges into the correct console, but then ''submerges the console in a fish tank'' before playing it. He also somehow manages to recut a total disaster of an episode into something actually good in post-editing, apparently just by pushing a couple of buttons on his [=FitBit=].
311** For half of the playthrough of ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' for the Wii, Danny did not know that he could duck or regain health. Instead, he developed ridiculous timing skills that allowed him to exploit brief moments of vulnerability before his opponents could hit him with moves he thought were unblockable.
312** During their playthrough of ''VideoGame/{{Besiege}}'' Ross keeps building utterly ludicrous kill machines like a "tank" that literally just drives around spinning a big arm in an attempt to kill enemy soldiers. The soldiers effortlessly overwhelm it, smash the arm off rendering it helpless, and proceed to bust it to shreds... which hurls it into a mine, blows it apart, and ignites all the scattered pieces which in turn kill enough of the soldiers to complete the level. Naturally, Ross is completely blown away by this.
313--->'''Ross:''' Wait, woah! T-they all died! Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait! WAIT!!! That counted?! THAT FUCKING COUNTED?!\
314'''Danny:''' Congratulations, Ross!
315* On ''WebVideo/TheGuild'', it turns out that Kwan is a champion-level competitive gamer in Korea. The guildees probably wouldn't stand a chance against him, but [[spoiler:Mr. Wiggly]] defeats him by [[spoiler:using spells an experienced player would never use]]. Kwan didn't bother defending against them.
316* In one the ''Raising Corpse'' skits, a young [[Creator/CorpseHusband Corpse]] summons his {{Fratbro}} [[IntergenerationalFriendship friend]] Kyler by chanting Kyler's catchphrase three times. Kyler apparently didn't know this was possible, as he is confused when he gets teleported to where Corpse and his mother were.
317* In ''WebVideo/UltraFastPony'', it's impossible to kill Rainbow Dash because she's so stupid she doesn't know how to die.
318* In ''WebVideo/VisionOfEscaflowneAbridged'', when Van is first magically transported to earth, he furiously asks where he is and how he got there. Later, he seems perfectly confident in how to get home.
319-->'''Van:''' Now, to return home the way I got here.\
320'''Hitomi:''' I thought you didn't ''know'' how you got here?\
321'''Van:''' Right, that way.
322[[/folder]]

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