-->''Reason is, and ought only to be, the slave of the passions''
-->-'''David Hume'''

A [[TheWarOnStraw straw man]] used to show that emotion is better than logic.

It starts by having characters who think "logically" try to solve a problem. And they can't. Either they can't find any answer, or they're caught in some kind of standoff, or they're even stuck in a LogicBomb-type loop. Once this is established, someone who uses good old human emotion comes up with a solution that the logical thinker can't. This proves AnAesop that emotion is superior and that the logical thinker shouldn't trust logic so much.

This is, of course, completely [[BrokenAesop broken]]. Fiction often [[YouFailLogicForever gets the concept of logic wrong]] in a number of ways.

The most common mistake is to assume that logic and emotion are somehow naturally opposed and that employing one means you can't have the other. Excluding emotion doesn't make your reasoning logical, however, and it certainly doesn't cause your answer to be automatically true. Likewise, an emotional response doesn't preclude logical thinking -- although it may prevent you from thinking in the first place -- and if an emotional plan is successful, that doesn't make logic somehow wrong.

Fiction often mixes up ''logical'' with other concepts as well. For one thing, authors sometimes say "illogical" when they mean "counter-intuitive." Correct logic is ''very often'' counter-intuitive, however, which is to be expected, as logic is meant to prevent errors ''caused'' by relying on intuition. As such it has more in common with mathematics than with CommonSense.

Authors also routinely conflate "logical" with "reasonable" or "rational". To be logical, something has to meet very strict requirements. For a plan to be ''reasonable'' or ''sensible'', it just has to get you in the direction you want to go by avoiding the stuff you don't want to happen. The ''rational'' plan, in the strictest sense of "rational", is the one that ''best'' achieves this. It is therefore ''by definition'' impossible for the plan with the best chance of working to be irrational.

Logic ultimately exists to make sure you can never arrive at a ''wrong'' answer from ''true'' premises. As such it is supposed to make sure that you don't make errors in your reasoning, for example by contradicting yourself. It won't, however, make up for incorrect or incomplete information. If the premises you start with are false, like "[[AlienSky the sun is green]]" or "Comicbook/{{Superman}} isn't [[SuperDickery a dick]]," then logic can't be relied upon to give you a true answer; as computer scientists say: "Garbage in, garbage out".

Because neither the Straw Vulcan [[BadWriting nor the author]] [[DidNotDoTheResearch know what logic is about]], they will [[DanBrowned misuse and distort the concept]] to create contrived examples where it doesn't work. Examples of these include:
* The Straw Vulcan will only accept a guaranteed success. A plan that only has a chance of success is not "logical", even if the chance is the highest possible. This is called the "perfect solution fallacy".
* The story assumes a "logical" plan is one where every step makes the goal visibly closer, and accepting a short-term disadvantage for a long-term advantage is not "logical". In fact, if that's what has the best chance of working then ''by definition'' it's perfectly rational, which is often what the writer means be "logical".
* The Straw Vulcan will be completely unable or unwilling to plan for unexpected and even illogical behavior from other parties.
* The story assumes that self-sacrifice isn't "logical", even though logic is about how to achieve goals based on your premises, not about what those goals and premises are -- if you value other people's lives more than yours, self-sacrifice ''is'' logical.
* The story assumes that anything which doesn't fit a particular mathematical model of logic isn't "logical".
** For instance, assuming that "logic" means "using syllogisms". Even speculation and testing hypotheses can then be called "illogical", despite being the foundation of modern science. Hell, even logicians don't use syllogisms all the time.
** Or assuming that all logical choices must make one side better off on an individual basis, without considering cooperation; this is known as a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_equilibrium Nash equilibrium]], although you'll never find the actual term mentioned, mostly because the word "equilibrium" is far too logical-sounding for authors claiming its inferiority.
* The Straw Vulcan, and by extension all logical thinkers, will be uncreative, or at least less so than [[HotBlooded emotional people]]. He will be unable to come up with an [[TakeAThirdOption imaginative answer]] to an unusual problem, while the [[TheKirk emotional protagonist]], often despite having no real experience with this kind of situation, will be able to save the day. This is supposed to show that "logic" is inferior to "emotion" in that emotion can provide a third and more favorable option to the logician's bad and worse options.
** This is usually done by having the "emotional" character deny or ignore one of the premises. In fact, it is very logical -- or rather, rational -- to carefully identify and question the premises of a logic problem. Many puzzles revolve around forcing the player to break an implied premise. (For example, in the famous connect-nine-dots puzzle, most people will assume that they're not allowed to draw lines outside the nine-dot box.) Of course, sometimes the premise they wind up breaking is "You must follow the rules."
* If there is no clear reason or benefit to taking one option over another, the story will assume that the Straw Vulcan sees no logical answer and will default to inaction as the only option, even when inaction will clearly be worse than either. This may even go so far as to completely freeze the Straw Vulcan in a [[TooDumbToLive life-threatening situation]]. He will, for example, be unable to flee from a pursuing enemy on a crossroad because he can go either left or right with no added benefit to either. This ignores the fact that making an arbitrary (random) decision is perfectly rational in a situation where there is no logical basis for choosing.
* A Straw Vulcan will have to consider everything about the problem in full detail even in time-critical situations, while the emotional person will make the snap second decisions necessary in this sort of situation. This will demonstrate how the "logical" Straw Vulcan is useless under pressure and therefore inferior to the emotional protagonist.
* There's also the case where the emotional person suggests a course that shouldn't work, period, but the Straw Vulcan's ideas all involve [[SomeoneHasToDie sacrificing someone]], using tactics that seem below the belt, or something else that [[TheKirk Captain Emotion]] and the [[TheMcCoy Emotioneers]] object to. So Straw Vulcan is outvoted, they go with the dumb emotional plan, and lo, it works... due to sheer dumb luck. This is then lauded as a victory for emotion, when in fact it's a victory for the MillionToOneChance principle.
* Any of these can be combined with an argument [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_pity ad misericordiam]], an appeal to the viewers' pity which seeks to make the StrawVulcan a less sympathetic character by tugging on the viewers' heartstrngs. [[ShootTheDog A dog has to be shot?]] Make the dog an adorable little puppy and the viewers will see the dog shooting as a MoralEventHorizon, even when there was no other way.

See DumbIsGood, YouFailLogicForever. Contrast TheWatson, who could be a StrawVulcan, but also often doubles as MrExposition. Compare StrawHypocrite.

TheOtherWiki has an article on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_economicus Homo Economicus]], which is a related concept.

Opposite to EmotionsVsStoicism.
----
!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:{{Anime}} & {{Manga}}]]
* Rossiu in ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' touches on this after the time-skip; when the citizens are rioting over the destruction caused by [[spoiler:the Anti-Spirals]], he tries to placate [[DyingLikeAnimals the populace]] by having Simon arrested and scheduled for execution, since Simon is technically responsible for the actions that led to the villain's attacking them (even though everyone else did just as much) and caused a lot of property damage by destroying an enemy in a populated area. He also wants to have the Ganmen and Lagann destroyed [[LawfulStupid because it's outdated technology]], and tries to save humanity by having them hide underground or evacuate on a spaceship. When this turns out to be futile... Simon saves the day by kicking reason to the curb and breaking through the impossible. Because that's what the show's about, baby!
** Oddly, the leader of Rossiu's old village was an aversion: since it was a small village they wanted to avoid overpopulation and any time there were more than fifty people there they would draw lots to exile the extra people. However, he isn't needlessly antagonized because of this, and the ending even suggests he was doing the right thing (it helped that he left Gimmy and Darry with Team Gurren instead of just throwing them out).
* Thomas Norstein from ''DigimonSavers'' often turns into one, though Masaru's abuse of DumbIsGood doesn't help.
** [[DigimonAdventure02 Takeru Takaishi]] was occasionally ''treated'' like this, mostly because he had to serve as the foil to the resident gogglehead. The idea that a temporary retreat could lead to a future victory seemed abhorrent to TheDeterminator.
*** It should be noted, however, that unlike most examples of this trope Takeru actually has rather [[NotHimself poignant]] [[BerserkButton emotional]] [[UnstoppableRage outbursts]] of his own. Related mostly to seeing his [[DeadSidekick Digimon die]] in the previous season.
* Kyoya from OuranHighSchoolHostClub averts this to a degree; his actions are based purely upon what he can gain, and he acts exactly as a truly logical person would. In one manga chapter, Haruhi hypothesizes that emotional gains might be part of these. Kyoya is intrigued.
* Stein Heigar from ''InfiniteRyvius''. He starts out as one of the most competent members of the Zwei, but as [[ItGotWorse things get worse]] his inability to control the situation leads him to JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and eventually having a total breakdown.
* Taiki may count as this in episode 177 of SailorMoon Sailor Stars, unless this more counts as an example of GrumpyBear. In this episode, Taiki looks down on Ami for believing that dreams and romance are needed in academics, and when the prospect of rain clouds the possibility of seeing a waited-for comet, he challenges her with "can your dreams and romance beat the rain?" This being Sailor Moon, the rain stops in time for the girls and Taiki to view the comet, and Taiki concedes that he can see the dreams and romance while viewing the comet.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:ComicBooks]]
* One of Brainiac 5's roles in the LegionOfSuperHeroes is to be a Straw Vulcan for the more emotional superheroes, like Dream Girl and Bouncing Boy.
* Oddly enough, [[AvertedTrope averted]] in the ''{{Transformers}}'' comics with regard to Shockwave. Shockwave is a cold, calculating Decepticon warrior who embraces pure logic... but his definition of logic ''is'', in fact, "the course of action with the highest possibility of victory." In the old Marvel Transformers comics, he ceded leadership of the Decepticons to Megatron, convinced that Megatron's logic was superior.
** In IDW's recent comics, the trope is played with when he's confronted with the raw, animal fury of the Dynobots (known in most other continuities as the ''Dino''bots); his usual cold, calculating strategy unable to stand up against the savage assault, he decides to think like the enemy... and goes ''berserk'' simply to match their brutality pound-for-pound, allowing an emotion to become a factor in his logic. That emotion was ''rage'', and it served Shockwave well, winning him the fight. An unforseen weapon on the Dynobots' ship incapacitated him by causing a volcanic eruption once he'd switched off his anger program, but note that he gave in to emotion ''simply because it was logical to leave cold reasoning behind and embrace fury.''
* In one issue of ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'', the team faced Count Nefaria (a crimelord/mad scientist who had gained powers [[CaptainErsatz suspiciously similar]] to Superman's). The SmartGuy, Goliath (who'd recently had his [[PersonalityChip emotions removed]] as part of a StoryArc) states that they have no chance of defeating him, since it would take three weeks of continuous fighting to wear down his energy reserves. One of his teammates then exclaims, "But you gotta psych yourself up when the game's at its worst! Otherwise, how're you gonna win?" Goliath questions his logic, leading the team to force him to get his emotions back afterwards.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Film}}]]
* Not even ''RobotMonster'' could calculate [[MarsNeedsWomen love]]...
* An example that [[ZigZaggingTrope may or may not be an aversion]]: In the InNameOnly movie ''IRobot'', part of the backstory of the protagonist is that earlier in his life, a robot was faced with a choice of saving him or a young girl. He had a 68% chance of survival, and she had a 14% percent chance of survival, so the robot chose to save him. His complaint is that the ''wrong kind'' of logic was applied; her life was worth more than his, so she should have been saved. This became the main reason for the protagonist's hatred of robots.
* Roy calls Deckard's leap of faith near the end of ''Blade Runner'' "irrational"; Deckard himself immediately agrees. Considering it was his only real hope of survival, clearly neither of them knows what "irrational" means.
* Used in the 2009 StarTrek film (probably as an intentional ShoutOut) when Spock seeks to regroup with the rest of the surviving fleet, yet the seemingly invincible ''Narada'' is headed to destroy Earth; Kirk takes the opposing ''emotional'' side, notes the Earth will be doomed while the fleet rallies and opts to face the ''Narada'' in a head on, likely suicidal confrontation. This time, however, Spock is captain, and outranks Kirk.
** Later oddly averted when Spock willingly removes himself from command because he's being emotionally involved with the mission and regulations say an officer must be level-headed and logical to serve as captain.
* Any zombie film. There will be someone who is bitten and begins to turn and/or dies. Someone will then sensibly suggest shooting them in the head, and someone else will argue against it and call the other person heartless. Of course, the dead person then *does* come back as a zombie and they have to shoot them anyway, but everyone still treats the "shoot them now" person like crap for a while.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]
* Frank Herbert's ''{{Dune}}'' [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this]] a lot, especially considering that almost all the characters are highly intelligent and rational. Then there are the Mentats, whose '''job''' is to think logically.
** The Mentat Piter makes several correct predictions of Duke Leto Atreides' actions, but wrongly predicts that his Bene Gesserit concubine Jessica will have a daughter rather than a son; his logic was actually correct (this was the Bene Gesserit plan), but he (and they) failed to take into consideration the possibility that Jessica would defy her orders out of love for her husband.
** Duke Leto, on the other hand, tries to go up against [[BigBad Baron]] [[MagnificentBastard Harkonnen]]'s XanatosGambit head on instead of swallowing his pride and going into exile, which, while perhaps cowardly, would ensure the safety of his family.
** Paul's final XanatosGambit against the Emperor and Space Guild is a hefty subversion of the first example in that it is risky and could have possibly resulted in the stagnation of their civilization; Paul himself calls out the Space Guild in that they chose the safe course and never took a chance at taking control of the spice like he did.
*** This is actually a very logical course of action if you are willing to accept the consequences, one of Paul's [[ArcWords maxims]] is that "He who can destroy a thing, controls that thing." He is willing to destroy civilization as he knows it, and knows the Guild is not.
* TerryPratchett's ''Discworld/TheLastContinent'' provides a nice page quote but it must be pointed out that the {{Discworld}} is a place where million to one chances crop up nine times out of ten, logic really can only take you so far in that world.
* Parodied in ''Discworld/TheWeeFreeMen'' by TerryPratchett. Tiffany Aching, having gone to enormous trouble to get into fairyland to bring her brother home, finds him sitting in a pile of candy, wailing his head off, because he has arrived at the conclusion that he cannot eat any of it based on Buridan's Ass logic: he can grab any piece of candy he wants, and eat it, but any piece he chooses means he's not choosing another piece, and that's just not acceptable. Justified in that A) he's approximately three, and B) it's implied he's been fed so much candy the sugar rush has addled his little three-year-old brain already.
** That, and he's in the Fairyland that tends to drive people insane if they spend too much time there.
* Ponder Stibbons in TerryPratchett's books that involve wizards is often assigned this role, and gets to express frustration because he lives in a world where thunderbolts really are signs of gods' annoyance instead of massive bursts of static electricity.
** The books often lampshade this outlook as neither rational nor healthy by describing it as a "curse".
* The ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novel ''[[SoulDrinkers Soul Drinker]]'' features a version in which an Adeptus Mechanicus Archmagos steals the holiest relic of the eponymous Space Marines, then [[IdiotBall expects them]] to do the logical thing and back down when threatened with a floating space artillery piece. Two things went wrong:
** Space Marines ''don't'' work on logic. They run entirely on HonorBeforeReason - let's not forget that these are people who were designed largely to fight and die in battle. These particular Space Marines descend from Rogal Dorn, who was noted for being headstrong. And they are ''pissed'' at the Adeptus Mechanicus for stealing a relic they've spent 1000 years trying to find after it was lost.
** [[DidntSeeThatComing The starfort the Soul Drinkers were occupying proved to have a wing of fighter craft onboard]].
* Possible example in ee cummings's poem ''[[http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/feeling.html since feeling is first]]'', although it doesn't say logic is wrong per se, simply that it's less important than love.
* Subverted by Paul Redeker in WorldWarZ. While his rather [[EmotionsVsStoicism amoral]] plans to save [[spoiler: parts of]] the white population of South Africa during a black uprising make him universally despised, these plans end up [[spoiler: saving millions]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* Happened more than once in ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', where Spock often was the literal Straw Vulcan.
** For instance, in "The Galileo Seven", Spock has to commit an "emotional" act by burning a stranded shuttlecraft's fuel in the hope that the Enterprise will notice it and rescue them, even though no other plan has a chance of working at all. Spock's claim that he had "logically" deduced that the only thing left to do was resort to an "illogical" action is played off as a desperate justification.
** Spock once led crewmen in their fight to survive an attack by savage aliens. His "logical" solutions consisted of assuming that the barbaric aliens would react in a "logical" manner to the actions of the crew. When the aliens acted on their emotions instead, Spock was baffled. How logical is it to assume that all other beings will ignore emotion for rationality?
*** To be fair, Spock may have just been ignorant or misinformed
** However, the trope is notably averted at the end of the second film, when Spock makes a HeroicSacrifice on the basis that he alone can survive the radiation exposure long enough to make needed repairs to the warp core, under the premise that "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one." In the same film, Spock argues that Kirk accepting promotion is illogical ("a waste of material") because he makes a better starship captain than an admiral. In most scenarios, choosing to do what one loves over accepting a higher rank is presented as the "emotional" response.
** Also subverted in "A Piece of the Action".
--->'''Spock:''' It would seem that logic does not apply here.\\
'''[=McCoy=]:''' You admit that?\\
'''Spock:''' To deny the obvious would be illogical.
** Subverted ''and'' inverted in an episode of ''[[StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space 9]]''; Sarkona, a Vulcan, joins the Maquis because she agrees with their position and believes their rather crude and barbaric actions to achieve "peace" to be logical... but she's called out by ''Quark'', locked in the brig with her after her plans are exposed, noting that, as the Federation had caught the Cardassians (the Maquis' enemies) red-handed supplying their people with weapons to fight against the Maquis, sitting down with them and hammering out an arrangement would bring the peace in better and "at a bargain price" compared to continuing the fight.
** In another episode from ''[[StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space 9]]'', Captain Solok has been hassling Benjamin Sisko across the known galaxy for the past two decades, all in the name of proving that emotional, illogical humans (like Sisko) are inferior to emotionless, logical Vulcans (like himself). Somewhat subverted by the end of the episode, when the DS9 crew successfully goad Solok into losing his temper.
** In one episode of ''[[StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]'', Troi beats Data at chess. She then explains to him that chess isn't just a game of logic, but also emotion and intuition. As the Nitpicker's Guide puts it, "Try playing 'intuitive' chess against a computer and you'll lose in no time flat" (and then suggests that perhaps she had his DifficultyLevel set to "below novice").
** In early episodes of both ''The Original Series'' and ''The Next Generation'', humans who have uploaded their minds into android bodies discover that they have lost some ineffable, illogical, ''human'' quality in the transfer. Despairing at this loss, they choose to terminate their existence -- a strangely emotional reaction for [[TinMan beings which now supposedly have none.]]
*** Not necessarily, to a certain mindset suicide is perfectly logical - if there's no inherent purpose to life except consumption and self-replication, there's no reason to continue living. So, that's depressing...
*** If consumption or replication are the purpose, they can easily enough be a reason if you enjoy them. These people may have lost the ability to enjoy anything, and to a human, that may be reason enough for suicide.
*** Ironically, this is referenced and deconstructed by ''Data'', of all people, in an episode of ''The Next Generation''; a scientist wants to disassemble him and dump his memory into a computer so he could study him and learn how to create more like him, and Data refuses, fully believing in that same ineffable quality to memory and believing he, himself would lose it in the transfer, despite ''himself being an android''. In an attempt to explain this, he compares it to how learning how to play poker from a book isn't the same as actually playing the game, in person, implying that the "ineffable quality" being lost is the personal importance and significance of those experiences, the context which makes the event special for that individual, which - when read out of that context as a mere descriptive text readout - cannot be fully understood or appreciated - an actually logical argument when you think about it.
** The ''[[StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries Animated Series]]'' episode "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" neatly subverts or perhaps averts this. In a parallel universe where magic works, [=McCoy=] scoffs at Spock's attempt to perform a magical ritual. His reply? "It must work, Doctor. It is ''logical'' -- here."
** Tuvok on ''[[StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' often acted as a StrawVulcan.
*** Played with in this dialogue (when captured):
---->'''Tuvok:''' Resistance is illogical.\\
'''Seven:''' Logic is irrelevant.
***This from one usually quite logical person.
***In one episode of Voyager Tuvok is being impersonated, and when he encounters the imposter, they are at a standoff.
---->'''Impostor Tuvok:''' Logic would dictate that neither of us is at an advantage.\\
'''Tuvok:''' Your logic is flawed. ''{Shines a light in his eyes}''
*** At least the writers seemed to acknowledge that Tuvok was a joyless, robotic tightass even by Vulcan standards. From the episode "Flashback":
---->'''Sulu:''' Mr. Tuvok, if you're going to remain on my ship, you're going to have learn how to appreciate a joke. And don't tell me Vulcans don't have a sense of humor, because I know better.
* ''StarTrekEnterprise''. Over the course of four years T'Pol undergoes a MindRape that brings up traumatic memories of losing her emotional control in a jazz nightclub, remembers repressed memories of a line-of-duty killing (that also led to a loss of emotional control), suffers from Pa'nar Syndrome that degrades her neural pathways (leading to loss of emotional control), becomes addicted to Trellium-D (which causes loss of emotional control), and is infected by a microbe that makes her undergo a premature ''pon farr'' (leading to loss of emotional control and clothing). It seems that the writers believed that the only way T'Pol's character could develop was to take away the characteristics that made her different from humans.
** While T'Pol is probably the queen of all {{Straw Vulcan}}s, she's also [[TheStrawmanStrikesBack often proved completely right]] for [[IdiotPlot all of the wrong reasons]].
* ''KamenRider Ryuki'' has Kagawa Hideyuki (Alternative Zero). He intends to stop the war of the Kamen Riders and its resultant bloodshed by killing the innocent Kanzaki Yui, who unwittingly acts as a reverse BarrierMaiden. Kagawa argues that is is acceptable to sacrifice one innocent life in order to save many. His opponent is DumbIsGood hero Kido Shinji, who wants to stop the war with no one getting hurt, but with no plan to accomplish this. Kagawa is portrayed as a creepy SmugSnake MadScientist surrounded by AxCrazy madmen in a feeble attempt to disguise the fact that ''he is right''. He even gets a HostageForMcGuffin situation where he lets [[spoiler:his own family]] die for his cause (Shinji butts in and saves them, though). At the end, [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll everyone dies, including Yui]]]], further proving that Kagawa was right.
* ''{{Farscape}}'' takes delight in simultaneously subverting and playing this trope straight whenever a protagonist's crazy plan ''works'' despite the logical objections of others, but also leads to lasting consequences which ''always'' come back to bite them in the arse. Characters will continually point out this trend, but usually concede to the fact that they're screwed either way and really don't have a choice.
* ''DoctorWho'', "Destiny of the Daleks", has the Daleks and Movellans, two "perfectly logical" races, at war in a perpetual stalemate because neither of them, each knowing the other will anticipate and compensate for their logical strategies, can find the best time to attack. This is possible if there's a ColdWar-type mutual assured destruction, but it's written as Straw Vulcan "logic", including the "logical" computers not accepting short term losses (losing some soldiers) and not accepting other than a guaranteed success. The groups want Davros and the Doctor respectively to use illogic to help them win, and Davros eventually orders some Daleks to sacrifice themselves to destroy the Movellan ship. The story ends with AnAesop about making mistakes leading to winning.
** This one is especially weird because the Daleks are shown elsewhere to be anything but a "perfectly logical" race, being very emotional indeed (albeit the usual emotion being "hate"). And they don't even have the excuse, such as it is, of falling into DidNotDoTheResearch; this story was written by Terry Nation, the Daleks' creator and the writer of over half the other Dalek stories to this point.
*** The real {{Wallbanger}} is when the Doctor demonstrates the problem of perfect logic by getting two Movellans to take part in {{Rock Paper Scissors}} and noting that they always draw? Why should they draw? The game is a game of pure chance, there is no logical reason to chose any option so purely logical beings should just produce random choices. (Unless their random number seeds were all set to the same value).
** The more recent episode, ''Evolution of the Daleks'', works the logic/emotion debate more realistically, as Sec's newly acquired ability to feel emotions other than hate makes him far more "logical". This is a genuine HeelFaceTurn (considering [[spoiler: his HeroicSacrifice]]), but there was pragmatism here, as the recurring flaw of the Daleks, especially in the post-time-war era, is their tendency to let genocidal xenophobia trump their logic. Sec reasoned, quite logically, that the best way to ensure the survival of your race was not to carry the VillainBall everywhere.
** The Cybermen in particular suffer from this trope; they've removed all of their emotions and are supposed to function completely by logic, as according to them, emotion is weakness; the fact that they don't have any emotions often completely scuttles them, because their logic is thus totally flawed.
*** It's cruelly subverted, however, in a ''DoctorWho'' comic strip, in which an army of invading Cybermen are confronted by a military leader who tells tham that, for all their claims of logical superiority, the emotional strength of the humans they are facing will defeat them. The Cyberleader's response is to douse everyone present with a hallucinogenic agent that sends all of the humans into complete emotional breakdown. Completely crushed and driven half-insane, the humans present ''beg'' to be converted into Cybermen; against such a weapon, emotion really ''is'' a weakness.
*** Also, in most of their 80s appearances, it was heavily implied that they hadn't been entirely successful with the removal of emotion. While this was never used to its full extent, it was recurring enough to not just feel like bad writing, and some of their defeats can, partially, be attributed to emotional CyberLeaders. Excellent, indeed. In ''Earthshock'' in particular, the Cyber Leader takes a curious gloating pleasure in Tegan's pain at the possibility of her planet's entire destruction.
**** The New Model Cybermen don't seem to have worked all the emotional kinks out either, judging from [[spoiler: Yvonne Hartman's HeroicSacrifice]]
** The effect of this trope on the viewer was made visible with the "new" Cybermen in "Doomsday": when the Cybermen propose an alliance with the Daleks, they claim to bring "elegance" of design to the table, and manage a subtle dig about the lack of it in the Dalek physical form. As noted above, logic is about how to ''achieve'' goals, not about what those goals are, so there's nothing illogical about the Cybermen prizing "elegance", as they pursue it in a logical fashion. This did not stop a number of fans from shouting "That's not ''logical''!" about the exchange. In fact, "Elegance is good. Cybermen are elegant. Therefore, making more Cybermen makes more elegance, and, by extension, more goodness" is actually a ''far more logical'' motive for their actions than the traditional Cyberman strategy of "Survival is good. Therefore let's send ''our entire race'' off on incredibly risky invasions of Earth following pretty much the same strategy that has failed and led us to near extinction several times already" used repeatedly through the classic series.
*** The 20th century British physicist Paul Dirac would doubtless have had some very stern words to say in response to the suggestion of logic and elegance being mutually exclusive.
*In ''SuperSentai'', TheHero is almost always a loudmouth with more adrenaline than brains (similar to the ''{{Digimon}}'' franchise's [[GogglesDoNothing goggle-wearer]]). In an episode of ''Magiranger'' in which TheHero and his mentor switch roles, the very FamilyUnfriendlyAesop was to not waste your time thinking, and just [[ScreamingWarrior charge in yelling]] as TheHero does. RightMakesMight, and thinking only gets in the way.
** This exact plot was copied over in ''PowerRangersMysticForce'', the Americanized version of ''Magiranger''.
* ''{{Bones}}'' lives on the OddCouple relationship between emotional and intuitive Booth and logical and rational Brennan: she's frequently shown as being wrong in the end, or being right for the wrong reasons.
**It get's really jarring when you consider that Bones is very rarely rational or logical at all.
** Speaking of ''{{Bones}}'', [[spoiler: Zack's decision to work for a cannibalistic serial killer because "his logic is unassailable".]] Really? Even accepting all his premises, where exactly does eating people and making a skeleton from their remains fit in to this plan?
***He joined a secret society whose purpose was to rid the world of secret societies. I think we can safely throw logic out the window.
* TheBigBangTheory. [[TheSpock Sheldon]] vs. Penny. Full. Stop.
** To be fair, most of Sheldon's problems arise from the fact that he ''thinks'' he understands the situation (including the desired end result) rather than ignoring "illogical" factors. In that case, as pointed out in the main trope summary above, it doesn't matter that his logic is perfect--he's still going to come to the wrong conclusion.
* ''{{Stargate SG-1}}''; the hyper-logical Asgard, having reached a stand-off in their war against the Replicators, come to Earth seeking ideas from a more primitive, more savage race. Immediately averted by Jack saying "You're actually saying you need someone dumber than you are?" Carter, as it turns out, is indeed dumb enough to win that battle. The fact that the Asgard, practically alone among SufficientlyAdvancedAliens, are able to acknowledge they are not perfect and, more importantly, humanity and Earth in particular actually have something to contribute is one reason they are such great guys.
* Averted in an episode of ''StargateAtlantis''; there's a Ticking TimeBomb scenario, and one of a daunting number of identical circuits will save the day. Since there's no penalty for guessing, TheSmartGuy is methodically trying each one, but there won't be time for ''all'' of them, so a more empathic, intuitive type tells him to start trying them at random. Smart Guy, quite sensibly, points out that that would mean a chance of trying some of them twice, thus wasting precious seconds.
** Played straight in the first meeting with the Genii. While they were in a Wraith Hiveship, Teyla was with one of the Genii left behind to watch over the human prisoners. She becomes emotionally moved and wants to free them... except that they're in a covert operation that should leave the Wraith unaware they ever broke in, or the Wraith would instantly suspect of the Genii and attack them. The Genii with Teyla points this out to her, but she doesn't listen. The Genii, as the Straw Vulcan of the day, "logically" shoots down the prisoner with his ''unsilenced'' firearm to disencourage Teyla. Doing so obviously alerts the Wraith; the Genii is shot and paralysed just after, and is left behind by Teyla. This scene is also highly hypocritical since Teyla, after the covert part of the mission is in the trash anyway, doesn't even consider saving the Genii, also, the main characters (save [=McKay=], in his best moments) are always ready to go an extra mile in suicidal odds to save the men they leave behind. The Genii was just beside Teyla and she didn't even hesitate to leave him to his death, and he was an old friend of hers. But hey, that's the price you pay for being logical and trying to avoid the deaths of many of your people.
** It's hard to say whether the Genii are meant to be [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkasses]] or Jerkass Straw Vulcans. While they may be said to be overly pragmatic (They do believe in the importance of the Genii people and society over individuals, to rather harsh, but somewhat justified means and ends) they aren't paragons of wisdom, nor are ever said to be logical. On the other hand, Teyla's behavior comes after the man is shot with an unsilenced weapon in the middle of a wraith ship. She'd likely have to carry him, which is suicide, and then there's a good chance he'll die of the gunshot wounds anyway. What was once a risky course of action was severly complicated by those gunshots.
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[[folder:{{Music}}]]
* In the GratefulDead song ''Terrapin Station'', a potential love interest [[SecretTestOfCharacter tests]] the [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan worthiness]] of the heros, a [[TheSpock soldier]] and a [[TheMcCoy sailor]], by [[MoralDissonance throwing her fan into the lion's den]] and promising her love to whoever would retreive it for her. The sailor [[MadLove decides to]], while the soldier refuses, and says "Strategy is my strength, not disaster." The sailor [[MillionToOneChance succeeds, and gets the girl, rather than getting his ass handed to him by the lions]].
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[[folder:VideoGames]]
* Averted with First Lieutenant Lin from ''AdvanceWars: Dark Conflict'' (AKA "Days of Ruin", outside of Europe), a highly logical tactician who nevertheless concedes command of the army to Ed (Will in ''Days of Ruin''), on the grounds that he is better respected by the troops and civilians and will therefore be a more effective leader. At one point, she even commends Ed for giving an emotional speech to motivate the troops.
* The New Enlightenment in the InteractiveFiction ''Square Circle'' embodies this.
* Arguably the ''entire court system'' falls prey to this in ''Apollo Justice: AceAttorney''. Not that the justice system of the AceAttorney world was ever logical in the first place, but in the final case [[spoiler: the jurist system is implemented. Phoenix says that the purpose of this is to allow the common people into the courts so that they can use their ''feelings'' to judge people, in spite of a lack of evidence. Obviously the court system of the games is bizarre and twisted, but making emotional judgements without evidence is ''not'' the purpose of the jurist system by any stretch.]]
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[[folder:WebComics]]
* [[http://www.angryflower.com/whichb.html This]] episode of ''Bob The Angry Flower'' exhibits typical straw logic.
** Meanwhile acting ''extremely'' emotional. "Stop trying to control me!" indeed.
* Parodied in ''{{Fans}}!'', where one of the BigBad's plots was to go back in time and insert more instances of this trope into fiction -- thus making all of humanity stupider as a whole.
* ''{{Shortpacked}}'' parodies an instance of this from ''[=~GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra~=]'' in [[http://www.shortpacked.com/d/20090817.html this strip]].
** Willis labeled the strip "Is this something already covered by TVTropes? I haven't checked yet." in his update blog.
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[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* Averted in, of all places, ''TheReplacements''. One episode revolves around the problems of Riley displaying some "Straw Vulcan" behavior.... however, it's never labeled as "logical", and in the end, it's determined that it's not innately inferior to more impulsive behavior... but just that each is better-suited to certain problems and situations.
* Dr. Perceptron in ''{{Futurama}}'' is utterly crippled as a psychoanalist by his adherence to "logic". For example, he ignored Fry's claims of humanity solely because he was in an institution for robots, thus meaning he was clearly a robot. Later, in ''Bender's Game'', his head explodes when Nurse Ratchet says she loves him; he simply cannot comprehend the simplest emotions.
** As this troper remembers it she says that AFTER his head explodes, as a homage to people only expressing their love in soaps after someone dies. His head actually exploded from Bender dissapearing with no explanation, hence his whole "Illogical, illogical" line.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:RealLife]]
* The Stalin era Soviet Union followed the 'everything but this specific model is not really logic'. For example, probability mathematics was declared a 'bourgeois pseudoscience' and the Law of Large Numbers a 'false theory'. The idea of anything less than [[YouCantFightFate perfect and total determinism]] just somehow ''irked'' them. Things improved a bit after Stalin croaked, and but the damage had already been done.
** Bear in mind, this is a government which banned ''genetics and Darwinian evolution'' because things like "natural selection" and Mendel's laws were incompatible with their politics. Hmm... [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything where have we heard]] [[TheFundamentalist this one before]]?
*Some mentally ill people suffer from versions of this in real life. For example, they might be unable to decide between two options without spending an enormous amount of time looking for miniscule benefits of one option over the other "logically." Just picking one of the two choices at random simply isn't in the cards.
** According to brain scans, it appears the cause of this neurological disorder is injury to the prefrontal cortex (part of the frontal lobes of the brain), whichs governs decision making, volition and emotional response. Emotion thus actually ''helps'' in decision making, as a "normal" person, when faced with two equally appealing options would simply say "Screw this" and either chose one at random, or abandon the fruitless endeavor entirely and do something else. Patients with this sort of brain damage, however, will spent inordinate amounts of time on the most mundane things, like picking a dish from among all the dishes on the menu at the restaurant.
*** Also involved for those without brain damage is the emotional tagging of concepts so that they have a short-hand for choosing between options without having to consider all the pros and cons individually. So more than just randomness is enabled by emotions.
***The neurologist Antonio R. Damasio talks about this. Can also be called 'hyper rationality'.
*There is a well known paradox called ''Buridan's Ass'', which tries to show the problem with relying too much on logic. The eponymous ass (donkey) is positioned equidistantly between two equally sized piles of hay. It wants to eat one of them, but can't choose between them, since there is nothing to distinguish between each one, and hence, no reason why the option "Eat haystack A" should be considered better or worse than "Eat haystack B". The idea is that a logical answer is an answer which is better than all others, and thus, when there's no "better" choice, you can't choose at all. However, since "Stand here forever and starve to death" is obviously a less favourable option than either choice, the answer that's actually most logical is to pick one at random and start eating.
** This problem, of course, is a false dilemma, a situation where it appears that all the options are equally undesirable, but there is actually another option that's desirable that you refuse to consider.
** [[TakeAThirdOption Option C:]] Eat them both.
*** But which one first?
*** Neither. Just make 'em one big pile, and chow down.
* Pythagoras' response to the challenge "find root 2", which requires an irrational number, was so confounding to a man who thought all numbers were integers or ratios of integers, he killed the man who suggested and swore all present to secrecy. Legend tells.
** Legend also suggests the same fate befell the man who dared point out the fifth Platonic solid, ruining Pythagoras' mathematical mysticism in which each Platonic solid represented one of the four elements. The Pythagoreans were actually almost as bizarre as ''Reign: the Conqueror'' makes them out to be.
*** That still works. The fifth solid represents [[{{Discworld}} Surprise]].
*** Or possibly [[QuestForGlory Pizza]].
** The also actively suppressed the concept of "zero" because it didn't fit properly into their world view.
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