Line #45 Main/ButIReadABookAboutIt


1	->''"I did read a flight training manual in my grandmother's library. There were a couple of pages missing, but I'm sure nothing vital... And I'm guessing that there are a lot of similarities between a Sopwith Camel and today's light aircraft."''
2	-->-- '''Benton Fraser''', ''Series/DueSouth''
3
4	You have a friend, who has never actually done whatever task you need to do, but hey, they have read all about the subject so they are going to attempt it anyway. {{What could possibly go wrong}}... right?
5
6	This trope is the literary equivalent of IKnowMortalKombat and TaughtByTelevision -- that is, the character in question gets their knowledge by reading about it. A character with only book knowledge of a subject may be the ClosestThingWeGot in an emergency situation. Contrast TaughtByExperience, where a person lacks formal knowledge but dives in headfirst into the thing to be learned.
7
8	----
9	!!Examples:
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11	[[foldercontrol]]
12
13	[[folder:Advertising]]
14	* "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV."
15	** Similar to this is a hotel series, where someone steps up to a problem, is asked if they're an X, and replies "No, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night."
16	[[/folder]]
17
18	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
19	* ''Manga/BattleRoyale'' uses this for two of [[TheUnfettered Kazuo Kiriyama's]] Crowing Moments Of Awesome, both in {{Flashback}}. [[spoiler: The first has him breaking the arms, nose, and jaw of a bunch of bullies, with the explanation that "I simply used the information I learned from this book" * shows a human anatomy text* . The second has a [[SadistTeacher mean judo coach]] with a penchant for humiliating his students pick Kiriyama, reading a book in back, for the next spar. Kiriyama closes his book with the title facing the reader: "[[OhCrap Introduction to Judo]]".]]
20	* When Gohan of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' has to play baseball in high school, he notes that he has read about it after admitting that he never played it before. Of course, being a superhuman half-alien who spent a sizable portion of his life in TrainingFromHell, any physical activity is pretty much a cakewalk for him, once he understands what he's supposed to be doing.
21	* ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'': The Amino Cyborgs team do only a middling amount of training, and spend more time getting juiced up and reading books on how to play football. This leaves them with low stamina and a poor grasp of football fundamentals when they play the Devil Bats.
22	* Yuu from ''Manga/{{Holyland}}'' first learnt boxing from a book. As this manga has a very realistic slant, he trained ''a lot'' before even thinking to use the most basic moves.
23	* In ''Anime/{{Noir}}'', the ActionGirl Kirika reads a book on making tea and henceforth enjoys it to no end. Which is kinda cute, once you consider that making tea is the only thing she can do well besides killing people, and the only thing she ever learned on her own.
24	* Max from ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphire'' is a bit of a KnowNothingKnowItAll -- he actually knows a lot of Pokémon facts and statistics from reading about them, but his total lack of battle experience means that he gets his butt kicked when he tries to conduct an actual battle.
25	* In ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', the main reason Platinum went on her journey was to try out first-hand the many things she read about. That said, sometimes she initially sucks at whatever she's trying out even when she recites whatever the book told her on the subject, like when she kept falling down when she was on a bike for the first time in her life.
26	* During sports day in ''[[Manga/ShinozakisanKiWoOtaShikaNi Don't Become an Otaku, Shinozaki-san!]]'', Kaede thinks she can play baseball after reading manga about it. She quickly gets beaned in the head by a fly ball.
27	* In ''Manga/Zom100BucketListOfTheDead'', Shizuka is an avid reader and wanted to become a doctor ever since she was a child. Although she has no formal medical training, she's able to diagnose and treat the various ailments of Gunma's elderly, for which they're so thankful for that they rush to her aid when she's in trouble. She's also able to use some aikido against a zombie after reading a book about it.
28	[[/folder]]
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30	[[folder:Comic Books]]
31	* This was the shtick of the GoldenAge Creator/DCComics character Genius Jones (created by Creator/AlfredBester). Jones was stranded on a desert island with 734 books. He read all of the books and memorised all of the information in them, before eventually setting fire to them to attract the attention of a passing ship. Once back in civilisation he sets himself up as the Answer Man, a costumed hero who answered questions and solved crimes for one dime, using the information he had gained from the books.
32	* ''ComicBook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool'': This is literally one of Gwenpool's powers. She has read many of the comic books starring the characters she is now physically interacting with. She gains a momentary advantage over [[ComicBook/Thor2014 the current Thor]] by shouting out her real name.
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35	[[folder:Fan Works]]
36	* In ''Fanfic/ADelicateBalance'', [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Twilight Sparkle]]'s attempt to ask Applejack out is informed by copious amounts of How-To-Pick-Up-Girls style advice books. [[EpicFail It goes about as well as one would expect.]]
37	* [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Twilight Sparkle]] finds out that this also applies to magical combat in ''Fanfic/DuelNature''.
38	* DJ Croft of ''Fanfic/NeonExodusEvangelion'' is suspiciously good at sex, considering he's supposedly a virgin -- he learned the how-to from a book and filled in the gaps with just-that-awesomeness.
39	* Ume from ''Fanfic/SugarPlums'' uses this as an excuse for the skills she learned from her previous life. She's called out on it at least twice by another character, though the second time she actually throws a user manual at the character to explain that she did indeed read a book about what she was going to do.
40	* In ''Fanfic/TheFlashSentryChronicles'', Rarity claims to be an expert on romance due to having read many romance novels, and explains to Twilight everything someone does on a date when helping her prepare for her first official date with Flash. Though Fluttershy questions this, pointing out Rarity has never actually been on a date herself before.
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43	[[folder:Films – Live-Action]]
44	* ''Film/{{Aliens}}''. Gorman's only been on two real drops. Counting this one.
45	* ''Film/AmericanBeauty''. [[spoiler:The 14-year old isn't the slut she makes herself out to be.]]
46	* Creator/AnthonyHopkins plays a millionaire publisher in ''Film/TheEdge''. He knows all about survival, but only from books, and finds himself having to put his theoretical knowledge to use when his plane crashes in the woods. It serves him surprisingly well.
47	* The climax of ''Film/ExecutiveDecision'' involves two of the protagonists having to [[FallingIntoTheCockpit land a Boeing 747]] after the pilots are killed by terrorists. One of them has incomplete private pilot training, and they rely on the aircraft's manual to run through the process of landing the aircraft. Incidentally, such manuals being kept aboard planes is TruthInTelevision because modern aircraft are very complex, and experience has shown that forgetting a step either in flight or in maintenance can have disastrous consequences.
48	* ''Film/FlashGordonSerial''. Before [[MadScientist Professor Zarkov]] takes off in the rocketship he's built, we have this exchange with TheHero.
49	-->'''Flash:''' Sure this thing will work?
50	-->'''Zarkov:''' I have experimented with models.
51	-->'''Flash:''' Ah. ''(beat)'' They ever come back?
52	-->'''Zarkov:''' [[NotHelpingYourCase They weren't supposed to.]]
53	* TheReveal in ''Film/TheFlightOfThePhoenix1965'' (movie and novel). Dorfmann doesn't actually design commercial aircraft, just scale models operated by remote control. However, the basic principles are the same, and he notes to Towns and Lew that there are extra challenges in designing model aircraft, as they have no pilots and so cannot rely on them for stability. Unfortunately he only mentions this (quite casually) the night before the plane they've constructed is due to fly; Towns and Lew naturally assume he's mad and only go ahead with the plan because they're run out of both water and other options.
54	* ''Film/TheMuppetMovie'':
55	-->'''Kermit:''' Where did you learn to drive?\
56	'''Fozzie:''' I took a CorrespondenceCourse.
57	* ''Film/ShortCircuit'': Number 5 reads everything in Stephanie's house (including the entire encyclopedia) before his adventures. The next day he reads the User's Manual (Not Driver's Training) for Stephanie's van immediately before driving it.
58	* In ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014'', Master Splinter learned ninjutsu [[spoiler:from a book he found, unlike in most continuities where he's either ninjutsu master Hamato Yoshi or his pet rat who picked up ninjutsu from watching his moves.]] Shredder lampshades this during his fight that it might not be the best way to learn. [[spoiler:Of course, Splinter is still able to put up a good fight despite this.]]
59	* In ''Film/ThreeDaysOfTheCondor'', based on the novel ''Six Days of the Condor'', Joe Turner's job for the CIA is to read books, newspapers, and magazines from around the world, looking for hidden meanings and new ideas. When the CallToAdventure comes to him, he uses his book learning to survive.
60	* In ''Train of Life'', the driver of the locomotive had to teach himself from a book. Actually, it works.
61	* Julius Benedict in ''Film/Twins1988'' knew all about driving from reading about it, and having read the car's manual, he knew he could shut off the alarm by lifting it up from the back, thereby tricking it into thinking it was being towed. Of course it only worked because of his extraordinary strength.
62	* In ''Film/ThoseMagnificentMenInTheirFlyingMachines'', Colonel Manfred von Holstein attempts to teach himself how to fly by reading the official German army handbook on piloting; while he is flying. He does surprisingly well until he drops the book.
63	[[/folder]]
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65	[[folder:Literature]]
66	* ''Literature/BlackTideRising:'' One short story from ''We Shall Rise'' has the survivors at a Catholic school depending on books from the school's library to guide them through their mechanical maintenance and gardening.
67	-->''With a little help from one of the middle school girls, Emily fixed all things mechanical for us--as long as the thing that needed fixing had an owner's manual.''
68	* ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' is constantly reinforcing his BadassBookworm status by reading. That and the fact that he is very GoodWithNumbers. The ''Midshipman'' stories in particular often have young Hornblower comparing his new, actual experiences of sailing and war to what he's read about in books.
69	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''
70	** In ''Literature/{{Wintersmith}}'', Roland believes that he will be an expert swordsman because he has read the fencing manuals and fought many imaginary swordfights in his mind.
71	** The Rupert in ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'' does the same thing. He actually cuts his own hand practicing out of a book.
72	*** His sword hand, in fact. Do not ask how.
73	** King Verence and Queen Magrat order a lot of text books, too. Misreading the word "martial" makes for all sorts of fun.
74	* ''Literature/DonQuixote'' is a very old example; he read tons of books about knights and then thought he could be one.
75	* Scriber Jaqueramaphan from ''Literature/AFireUponTheDeep'' by Creator/VernorVinge; he also tends to be pretty incompetent in most of the things he's read about. Terrifying the hell out of his friend when they're about to sneak through the army of a feared warlord; Scriber is a spy, and is therefore assumed to have experience in this until he says:
76	-->'''Jaqueramaphan:''' Don't worry. I've read all about doing this sort of thing!
77	* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', Dolores Umbridge states that just having a theoretical basis in Defense Against the Dark Arts should be enough to prepare the students to successfully take their exams. (In a subversion, though, the ''real'' reason for the dumbed-down, book-taught Defense Against the Dark Arts class is to ensure the students ''don't'' have any practical knowledge.)
78	** Hermione gets a few of these. Most of the time, it actually ''is'' enough.
79	* David from the novel version of ''Literature/{{Jumper}}'' when he finally loses his virginity. Millie asks if he's really a virgin, and he replies, "I told you, I read a lot." (It's a running gag, the "read a lot" thing).
80	* In ''Literature/MaskedDog'' by Raymond Obstfeld, the villain is a convicted criminal used to test an experimental drug which gives him SuperStrength and the ability to retain vast amounts of information. After using his skills to escape, he decides to become a master assassin, but while his new powers make him dangerous, his application is often flawed. For instance, he reads a book on lockpicking, but when trying to pick a lock, he loses patience and just smashes down the door.
81	* ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'''s Edward Cullen. While the rest of his family was having housebreaking sex, he was by his lonesome spending his sleepless nights studying everything there is to study. For example, he cooks perfect meals for Bella on his first try, despite never having a reason to cook before.
82	** He often {{Lampshade}}s this fact when he talks about human emotions like jealousy and lust.
83	* In ''Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids'' by Creator/JohnWyndham, a character known only as "the radio man" learns to fly a helicopter by reading books and practicing for half an hour.
84	--> He seemed to have complete confidence that his instinct for mechanism would not let him down.
85	* Thoroughly averted in ''Literature/TheLayOfPaulTwister''. Paul is from modern-day America, and he's stranded in a StandardFantasySetting. He's read books about a lot of things, but he only has about as much understanding of how modern technology works as any modern person would pick up from PopculturalOsmosis. So when he wants to get something new invented, he has to get some researchers and engineers who actually know what they're doing and point them in the right direction.
86	* In ''Literature/WaxAndWayne'', when Waxillium started his career as a lawman, he was woefully naïve about how life in the Roughs actually worked and based all of his efforts on fictional novels he read about lawmen and outlaws. Lessie, a native to the Roughs, is rightfully exasperated by his belief in all of the clichés he takes at face value. Fortunately, he gets TaughtByExperience and shapes up.
87	* ''Literature/TheScumVillainsSelfSavingSystemRenZhaFanpaiZijiuXitong'': When he starts to fall for Su Xiyan, Tianlang-Jun asked Zhuzhi-Lang why she wasn't acting the same way as the blushing maidens in the books he read or the plays he saw, wondering if he didn't look handsome enough for her to act in that way.
88	* ''Literature/TheMurderbotDiaries''. When the eponymous RogueDrone has to start acting as a 'security consultant' instead of a [=SecUnit=] it finds itself having to base a lot of its actions on the media it watches obsessively. This is because Murderbot had its memory wiped and so only remembers what happened since then, or if the appropriate information module has been downloaded into it. [=SecUnit=]s are basically told what to do and seldom consulted even in their area of expertise, so things are different when Murderbot has to conduct investigations or tell TooDumbToLive humans what they shouldn't do.
89	* Much to Myne's frustration in ''Literature/AscendanceOfABookworm'', just because you read a book that talked about how to do something is made doesn't mean you can do it yourself. Several of her attempts at making something to write on are eventually abandoned as being too impractical or because she knows too little about the process to actually succeed. Most explicitly, at one point she vaguely remembers something about papyrus being made of layered reeds or something and just has to try to make it based off that knowledge. She eventually gives up when it fails to meet her expectations, unsure as to whether she was doing it wrong[[note]]She was.[[/note]] or if it really is just that annoying. Another time she tries to make clay tablets, but they just explode when she tries to dry them in an oven.
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92	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
93	* In the ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' episode "Edith Writes a Song," Mike tries to placate two African American burglars whom Archie has racially insulted, by explaining that Archie doesn't know what it's like to grow up in the inner city. One of the burglars responds, "Oh, and you do?" Mike sheepishly replies that he learned about it in his sociology course.
94	* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory''
95	** Sheldon Cooper attempted to learn to swim on the internet. And to rock climb. He's actually pretty good at the climbing. It's when he looks down that it all goes wrong. (He's afraid of heights).
96	** He also tries to find a book on how to make friends. All he can find is a children's book, ''Stu the Cockatoo is New at the Zoo'', but he figures he can extrapolate the skills to fit his needs.
97	* {{Invoked\|Trope}} unsuccessfully in ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'' when they try to fly a plane with no experience, not even reading about it.
98	-->'''Hugh:''' Right now, Sir Peter, you've never flown an aeroplane before?\
99	'''Stephen:''' Never flown in my life, Johnny, no.\
100	'''Hugh:''' '''And you've never had any lessons?'''\
101	'''Stephen:''' Oh, I've had lessons, maths, geography...\
102	'''Hugh:''' But not in flying?\
103	'''Stephen:''' No.\
104	'''Hugh:''' And I've never flown before. Is this something you've always wanted to do?\
105	'''Stephen:''' Not particularly. So, when you rang up, I just leapt at the chance.\
106	'''Hugh:''' Right.
107	* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Wesley bragged that in the new Watcher training, he had even taken on two vampires "under controlled circumstances, of course". Giles quickly countered that he wouldn't encounter those in [[CityOfAdventure Sunnydale]]... controlled circumstances, that is.
108	* Manuel in ''Series/FawltyTowers''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5035TY5RSpg "I speak English well. I learn it from a book."]]
109	* Parodied with Dave in ''Music/FlightOfTheConchords'', who acts like an expert in all things, especially being a ladies' man. Judging by his tendency toward [[{{Malaproper}} malapropisms]] and the way he (deniedly) lives with his parents...
110	** Also taken to a logical extreme:
111	-->'''Jemaine:''' You'd better watch out. Bret knows karate.\
112	'''Bret:''' Yeah, I've got a book on karate. But I haven't actually read it yet.
113	* In ''Series/{{House}}'' Season 4, one of the applicants for House's team is Henry Dobson, a doctor in his mid-sixties with an encyclopedic knowledge of medicine rivaling that of House himself. However, House gets suspicious when he notices that Dobson always delegates medical procedures, no matter how trivial, to junior doctors. House eventually discovers why: Dobson is not a real doctor, but rather a Columbia admissions officer who audited 30 years worth of medical school lectures. He could not perform basic procedures because he never got any hands-on experience.
114	* ''Series/NewTricks'': Dan Griffin is widely read and has a lot of esoteric knowledge. But this trope really comes into play when he demonstrates mad skills at five-a-side football despite never having seen a match. He explains that when he learned they were going to be playing, he read several books on the subjects and the rest was "basic physics". However, he does fall for an obvious feint, because he has no way of knowing what one is.
115	* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. Quark trolls Odo with this in "Babel". He offers to use the transporter to get Odo onto a spacecraft, citing his service aboard a Ferengi freighter. Quark then says "I must have ''witnessed'' the procedure a hundred times!", enjoying the OhCrap look on Odo's face as he dematerializes.
116	* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', "Rise." When trying too hard to impress Tuvok, Neelix claims to know everything about orbital tethers (flexible columns going from a planet to an orbiting station, so you can take a SpaceElevator to it). Tuvok is not impressed when Neelix eventually admits that he really only worked with models. Very detailed models as he's quick to claim, but still models. The practical knowledge he has is more than everyone else's put together, though--and it's enough to avert disaster.
117	* ''Series/TheXFiles'': "I play ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. I know a thing or two about courage"
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120	[[folder:Music]]
121	* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw7d4pVKHyo Read About Love]]'' by Music/RichardThompson would be an inversion: the character portrayed has [[TitleDrop "read about love"]] and doesn't understand why he makes girls cry.
122	* Figures into the plot of "Counting Out Time" from the Music/{{Genesis\|Band}} album ''Music/TheLambLiesDownOnBroadway''. The main protagonist, Rael, has read a book about erogenous zones, and he thinks that's all he needs to get his date to sleep with him. [[SubvertedTrope However, all he ends up getting is a slap.]]
123	[[/folder]]
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125	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
126	* The Factotum class (dungeonscape) in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has this as its premise. As a result, its class skills are "All", even obscure class-specific ones are treated as class skills for a factotum.
127	* This is actually a knack in ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}''. Basically means that the Scion has read so much about stuff they can try them even if they have no training.
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Video Games]]
131	* Pretty much any CRPG will contain skill books for those all-important extra skill points.
132	* ''VideoGame/BookOfHours'': The Librarian's main method of acquiring and gaining more understanding of skills as diverse as surgery or glassblowing to reading omens in the sky is... to read books about them. [[DownplayedTrope It is implied that practice is required to actually level up skills with the understanding you acquire by reading books, however]].
133	* In ''VideoGame/DragonBallOnline'', Gohan writes a book called "Groundbreaking Science," which explains the concepts of ki control, helping Saiyan hybrids to learn how to fly/shoot ki blasts/etc by reading a book.
134	[[/folder]]
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136	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
137	* The protagonist of ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', in his flashback about [[spoiler:hacking into Lainie’s family’s lawyer’s computer, says that he'd never hacked a computer before, but he’d read books about it to prepare]].
138	* Averted with the protagonist of ''VisualNovel/{{Melody}}''. Every musical instrument he teaches Melody how to play (not just the “cool” ones that get played in rock bands), he has at least some experience playing himself.
139	[[/folder]]
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141	[[folder:Web Animation]]
142	* WebAnimation/JaidenAnimations grew an obsession with birds through reading the ''Literature/MaximumRide'' book series when she was in 6th grade, and never truly grew out of her bird phase, culminating in her eventually adopting her pet conure, Ari.
143	-->'''Jaiden:''' Everyone say a big thanks to Creator/JamesPatterson for creating ''this'' bird-obsessed monster.
144	[[/folder]]
145
146	[[folder:Webcomics]]
147	* ''Webcomic/FateTypeRedline'': When Tsukumo Fujimiya gets her fingers chopped off, Kanata Akagi surgically reattaches them. She asks how he did it with such skill, and he thinks to himself that he's lucky he reads ''Manga/BlackJack''.
148	* A guard in Paris in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' seems to think that having read about Reverents will prepare him for a fight with a large group that's surfaced in Paris. An older veteran disagrees saying there's nothing which could prepare the uninitiated.
149	[[/folder]]
150
151	[[folder:Western Animation]]
152	* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
153	-->'''Peter:''' I'll handle it, Lois, I read a book about this sort of thing once.\
154	'''Brian:''' Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't... ''nothing?''\
155	'''Peter:''' Oh yeah.
156	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', "Fall Weather Friends": Grade-A bookworm Twilight Sparkle enters a big marathon, the Running of the Leaves, alongside her more athletic friends Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The two of them scoff when Twilight claims she's read a book on running techniques in preparation for the race, but in the end she manages a respectable fifth place for a first time race by pacing herself, while Applejack and Rainbow Dash end up tied for dead last because the two of them were too preoccupied with making sure the other doesn't win.
157	** This is a large part of Twilight's personality. Between her being ObsessivelyOrganized, checklists to track checking her checklists, and apparent access to [[Literature/DiscWorld L-Space]] to be able to find a book on anything anywhere. She has a rule book for a "goof-off", for example with Spike claiming that Twilight has a rule book for everything.
158	* Ted from ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' turns out to be good at a VR game because he read manuscripts on swordplay. It's almost the inverse of IKnowMortalKombat.
159	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'', Baloo's pilot's license is suspended, so Rebecca keeps the business going by teaching herself to fly the Sea Duck from a book.
160	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Peridot has only read up on a few hundred years worth of gem history reports on Earth (Gems as a species can be so old that the ''younger'' ones can fall under TimeAbyss). Despite this, she didn't know there were still gems on the Earth other than [[spoiler:The Cluster and its prototypes]].
161	* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': Everything Kipo knows about the surface world comes from books that have been out of date for about 200 years and don't cover the hyper evolution that almost everything has undergone.
162	[[/folder]]
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164	[[folder:Real Life]]
165	* The entire reason for the ''Dummies'' (Wiley), ''Complete Idiot's Guide'' (Alpha Books), ''Teach Yourself'' (Hodder & Stoughton), and ''Everything Guide'' (Adams Media) series' success, as well as websites like eHow and Howcast. Don't underestimate the value of practice though -- "instinct" isn't.
166	* There was a parable in the Eighteenth century about the need for this in a military officer and the fact that street smarts aren't necessarily enough. It goes roughly like this, "There was a mule who served in the army for ten campaigns. At the end it was-a mule."
167	** [[AnalogyBackfire But mules don't learn military tactics by experience on the battlefield; people do.]]
168	*** For the matter of that, the mule probably did learn how to carry stuff around which is of course what mules are for.
169	* Subversion. According to Creator/CSLewis in ''Literature/TheDiscardedImage'' (a series of lectures about the cultural background of Medieval literature) many medieval beliefs, even those that sound like holdovers from primeval superstition were in fact simply because somebody had read a book about them. Books were so expensive and such fine pieces of craftsmanship that no one could really quite make themselves believe that a book could actually be wrong.
170	* Among the many lesser-known things the U.S. government habitually does is pay for the creation of (often mind-numbingly) detailed publications and manuals on pretty much any random thing a citizen might need to know how to do. For example, cooking a turkey or safely cutting down an evergreen tree with a chainsaw. Said publications are cheaply (cost of printing and postage) or freely available, especially with the rise of the Internet, and there have been accounts of people (usually in the bureaucracy, who know about them and can ''find'' given topics) who learn skills mainly from these.
171	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_argument Mary's Room]] is a philosophical thought experiment. Suppose Mary lives in a room where ''everything'' is black-and-white -- the furniture, the books, the computer screen connected to the internet, everything she ever sees so that she has never seen color. However, she has access to and learns about everything that can ever be known about the physical properties of color: that they are slightly-different wavelengths of light interacting with different receptors within the human eyeball that transfer this information to the brain which interprets it and so on. If her monitor's black-and-white filter were to suddenly break and she sees, say, an apple in red color for the first time, would she learn anything new?
172	* One of the famous stunts by special forces commander [[MilitaryMaverick Larry Dring]] during the Vietnam War was organizing a private 'invasion' of a beach where some VC would take [[DisproportionateRetribution occasional pot-shots at a passing Navy vessel]]. When hauled up before his CO to explain, Dring could only reply, "Well sir, I once saw a movie about World War 2." You can [[http://vietnamveteransmemoral.homestead.com/dringlarry.html read the story here]] (Story #1, pages 6-8).
173	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ButIReadABookAboutIt