Discussion Main / AchievementsInIgnorance

Ugh. I can't be bothered to start a new discussion - I don't even know how, and I don't have time for, like, even this what am I even doing here? - but I'll just register my disapproval that the page image at the moment (charcoal upside down) is a clear example of Epic Fail but not this.

Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Rename?, started by SalFishFin on Sep 4th 2011 at 9:19:35 PM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

A lot of people seem to think that this trope is "Doing something in spite of not knowing how to" instead of "doing something which is supposed to be impossible." I'd like to add a note at the bottom of the description explaining that.

Mentioning that here instead of just doing it, because I don't know if there's any sort of permission required before inserting such a note.

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Removed this because of its debate:

• A group of engineers at General Electric would present new hires with the supposedly impossible task of designing a light bulb with no uneven hotspots. One day, a new engineer created just that, much to the surprise of the veteran staffers.
  • This is interesting. Can anyone find a source for this?
    • General searches have turned up very little information on the subject, though it may be connected to the invention of the halogen lamp by GE engineers in 1959.

Removed this:

• The Matrix. The only reason Neo or anybody can use their powers is to trick themselves into rejecting the laws of Physics.

If anything its closer to Power Born of Madness but its not really either of those tropes. Neo and the others can accomplish super human feats in the virtual world because of what they know, not because of what they don't know.

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• A lot of people got rich in the Great Depression, and business actually grew. What made it so bad was that for a decade, businesses were hedging their bets and doing everything to cut costs, which meant that the job market was in relative stasis. In general, economic downturns lasting for any significant amount of time can be mostly psychological. Confidence (consumer, employer, etc.) can be used to overcome problems, but it takes credible signs of others' confidence to apply this in the real world.
  • This troper once heard the entire stock market crash compared to the above mentioned Wile E Coyote running off a cliff and only falling once he realised there was nothing supporting him anymore; if only he kept on running he'd have reached the other side with no problem. Similarly, if nobody realised that the economy couldn't support their various businesses, they'd keep on going, and the economy would get back to a level where it could support them. A combination of this trope and Your Mind Makes It Real.

Justifying edits removed.. the second is iffy, so if you disagree with my judgement feel free to reinstate.

Cut this:

* Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic. Since her bizarre abilities — such as the ability to predict future events — don't fit into the Magic A Is Magic A rules of the setting, Twilight nearly drives herself insane trying to explain/disprove them. She gives up at the end of the episode.

** According to the fandom, Derpy Hooves can do anything as long as she doesn't realize she shouldn't be able to do it.

Because it's not a valid example. There is nothing to suggest that Pinkie's unusual abilities stem from the fact that she doesn't know that what she does should be impossible. Rather, she simply has unusual abilities that Twilight refuses to believe in because she cannot explain them. Pinkie's own belief in her abilities seems to have nothing to do with whether they work.

Edited by RTanker

The early Fallout games let you play a character so stupid he can barely talk. There HAS to be an example somewhere. It's the perfect hand-wave for letting them do something they need to do that they would otherwise be incapable of doing.