"When your life has been directly threatened by your boss and there's already been one unsolved murder in your office building, always work late and alone!"
The character who puts life and limb at risk by
doing things that no sane human being would do. Walking down the alley alone to tell his friend about the
Serial Killer. Telling her best friend
not to tell anybody, but she has a crush on somebody. Walking through
the streets of Sunnydale. Being
Lana Lang.
Splitting the party.
Being curious. Searching the hero's room in such a manner that no one could miss that you did it. Telling everybody in earshot he has vital evidence that he'll be taking to the authorities very shortly.
Visiting a known dangerous area. Not telling the rest of the heroes about the upcoming trap laid out for them. Bullying a Dragon. Not only possessing
Genre Blindness, but putting
Zaphod Beeblebrox's Peril-Sensitive Sunglasses on over it. Even close friends have to
facepalm upon hearing of his or her exploits. (Though it never
penetrates their own heads.) This trope is, surprisingly,
Truth in Television, as many people can attest to.
If a character is stupid, but does not put himself at an obvious risk of harm, it is not an example of this; see instead
What an Idiot,
The Ditz, or
Idiot Ball. Compare
Artificial Stupidity, the videogame equivalent of this which is a result of AI rather than the script being against them. Contrast
Death By Pragmatism and
Let's Get Dangerous. Not to be confused with
Evilutionary Biologist or
The Social Darwinist, although
they generally consider it a Moral Event Horizon to not murder the dumb in cold blood.
Note: This trope has been subject to some
misuse. If you see any examples or
pot holes to this page in which the character's stupidity does not pose any threat to his physical wellbeing, please remove them or point them to one of the alternative idiocy tropes.
No Real Life Examples, Please!. See the
Darwin Awards and
What The Fuck Is Wrong With You for those.
Examples
