[[quoteright:278:[[Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brain_gremlin.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:278:Increase in intelligence and culture may be accompanied by a compulsion to wear a turtleneck sweater and smoke a DistinguishedGentlemansPipe]]

There exists a fallacy in which for some reason a "smart" person must appreciate {{opera}}, {{classical music}}, or pull [[SmartPeoplePlayChess feats of chess mastery]]. So when one pulls a FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome or UpliftedAnimal, suddenly the subject starts to quote Shakespeare, rave about a [[WineIsClassy fine old wine]], or quip about how modern art makes no sense.

One problem though, there was no UpgradeArtifact! Rather than merely improving your critical thinking skills and/or increasing your ability to ''learn'' new things, somehow your new smarts come bundled up with all sorts of useful information such as knowledge of [[{{Omniglot}} languages]], history, sciences, and even highbrow culture and art. You aren't just able to intuit [[SmartPeoplePlayChess how to win a game of chess]] -- you know all the terminology and history of the myriad strategies available, as if you'd just had an advanced-level textbook [[InstantExpert downloaded into your brain]].

On top of this, you gain an appreciation for such "high culture" topics and lose any interest in the stuff the "dumb you" used to like. The implication is presumably that people who like classical music and fine art must be seeing some deeper meaning the rest of the world is too dumb to pick up on, and once you've been thus enlightened, rock music and football lose all their appeal. However, this blessing tends to come with a generous side-helping of InsufferableGenius.

Sometimes justified with some [[TechnoBabble babble]] about NinetyPerCentOfYourBrain -- all that information was buried in your subconscious, you just weren't able to access it before. Perhaps it's somehow ''retroactively'' given you a PhotographicMemory.

Hopefully, in the process of becoming a DeadHorseTrope. Often results in SesquipedalianLoquaciousness, SmartPeoplePlayChess, and SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish. Compare/contrast GentlemanAndAScholar, SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat, ScrewLearningIHavePhlebotinum, WickedCultured, CulturedBadass, and SouthernFriedGenius.

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!!Examples:

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[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'': The Brain Gremlin. Literally seconds after ingesting a chemical that makes him a Gremlin with a genius-level intellect, he's instantly an erudite speaker with complete knowledge of human culture.
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[[folder:Literature]]
* Detritus in ''Literature/MenAtArms'' suddenly starts using words he's probably never even heard, let alone remembers. However, since the intelligence was induced by [[SiliconBasedLife a natural quirk of troll physiology]], it's possible that he knew the words but couldn't normally remember them. Trolls are not stupid, but they move to the lowlands and ''become'' stupid, because the warm climate slow the working of their silicon brains. When Detritus goes to cold {{Uberwald}}, he starts getting smarter again. When he's locked in a freezer, he almost figures out a grand unifying theory of everything.
* Montaigne had plenty to say on this topic in his ''Essays''. It would seem it was his BerserkButton (but he was so politely scathing of it).
* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig Zagged]] in ''Literature/FlowersForAlgernon'': Played straight and justified in that it takes some time for Charlie to learn and appreciate classical music when his intelligence is increasing. When his mind starts regressing again, [[{{inverted}} he loses all interest in it]].
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[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Charles Gunn on ''Series/{{Angel}}'', who got a lot of extra culture and knowledge uploaded with his brain upgrade in season 5. (Technically, it wasn't a brain upgrade -- it was emphasized that Gunn had the intelligence all along, and all the "upgrade" gave him was the knowledge and memories of a law school education.)
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In an early episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', when Homer and Marge think Bart is a certified genius, they takes him to the opera, and he is bored out of his skull.
* Classic ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' episode "Grimlock's Brain" saw the titular dinobot's intelligence increased significantly, and with it his understanding of the universe. He stopped speaking in HulkSpeak and was even able to condescendingly lecture resident TheSmartGuy Perceptor one subjects Perceptor himself was an expert on. Unfortunately, InsufferableGenius and a lack of interest in his old hobbies caused the other dinobots to declare him no fun and refuse to hang out with him. By the end of the episode, Grimlock sacrifices his intelligence to power up Combiner Computron's brain to save his friends, returning to the lovable oaf he was before.
* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS13E8OurIdiotBrian Our Idiot Brian]]", where Brian becomes progressively dumber [[spoiler:due to a brain tumor]] and gains an appreciation for "dumb" activities like football, dick jokes and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick drinking gasoline]].
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'' has a gastronomy-based variation. [[TheDitz The dung beetle brothers]] are hung upside down in a tree, and the blood flow to their brains turns them into geniuses. Their increased intelligence first shows during a game of "name things that are good to eat": they start with [[PasteEater inedible things]] like mud and sticks, then switch to actual food like hot dogs, and finally to fancy food like pate de foie gras.
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