History Main / TheWorldIsNotReady

* It's for this reason that ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet'''s Dr. Morbius doesn't release Krell technology to the rest of humanity. Commander Adams accuses him of wanting to horde the technology for himself. As it turns out, Morbius was righter than he knew-- [[spoiler: nobody could control the Krell device: not humanity, not the Krell themselves... and not Morbius.]]

* In ''[[Film/DeathNoteTheLastName Death Note: The Last Name]]'' and it's [[Interquel]], ''Film/LChangeTheWorld'', L burns the two notebooks that once belonged to Ryuk and Rem. He knows that man cannot handle the power, even while knowing a Shinigami could bring a new one every time.

* In ''[[Film/DeathNoteTheLastName Death Note: The Last Name]]'' and it's [[Interequel]], ''Film/LChangeTheWorld'', L burns the two notebooks that once belonged to Ryuk and Rem. He knows that man cannot handle the power, even while knowing a Shinigami could bring a new one every time.

* ''A Quantum Murder'', a sci-fi murder mystery by Creator/PeterFHamilton, involves a murder commited via a laser mind-programming device (originally developed as a learning tool) and solved through a neurohormone that enables someone to look back in time. Alarmed by the implications of both devices, Julia Evans, the idealistic but powerful CEO of Event Horizon, arranges for the destruction of all records, and gives a generous job offer (of the accept-or-else kind) to the scientist who witnessed these events so she can keep an eye on him.

** Actually this really only applies in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''. The [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom stones]] are either (re)lost in the final battle or returned to its proper village, [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade the grail's]] security system triggers a cave collapse preventing anyone from having it, and [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull the skulls]] reveal ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow. The US government, not Indy, decide this trope applies to the Ark, and given what it did to the Nazis, they are undoubtedly correct.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS4E105ValleyOfTheShadow Valley of the Shadow]]", the alien scientist who provided the people of Peaceful Valley, UsefulNotes/NewMexico with the equations to create AppliedPhlebotinum in 1859 instructed them not to share their technology with the outside world until mankind learns the ways of peace.

* Deconstructed in the comic series ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}'', in which an evil version of the Franchise/FantasticFour shows what happens when less than noble people use this excuse. They only claim the world isn't ready for technology so they can keep it all to themselves. They also actively kill and suppress anyone who tries to oust their secrets and take any super discoveries for "safe keeping".

However, the trope is not ''automatically'' unreasonable. It is possible to conceive of specific situations where the genie, in whatever form, could be put back into the bottle, and under the current circumstances such would be wise. The secret keepers may in fact be ''right all along'', with disastrous consequences ensuing if the knowledge becomes common. If the people who get their hands on use the knowledge use it for violence, crime or conquest, then [[JerkassHasAPoint the supposed jerkasses who were keeping the secret actually had a point.]] Even if it isn't actively abused, advanced knowledge without a proper understanding of its background concepts or the infrastructure to properly apply it is can be a dangerous thing. For example: if you got the plans for a rocket and tried to build it without the right tools, materials, training, and study, you'll learn the hard way that the line between "rocket to the moon" and "giant bomb" is very thin.

However, the trope is not ''automatically'' unreasonable. It is possible to conceive of specific situations where the genie, in whatever form, could be put back into the bottle, and under the current circumstances such would be wise. The secret keepers may in fact be ''right all along'', with disastrous consequences ensuing if the knowledge becomes common. If the people who get their hands on use the knowledge use it for violence, crime or conquest, then [[JerkassHasAPoint the supposed jerkasses who were keeping the secret actually had a point.]] Even if it isn't actively abused, advanced knowledge without a proper understanding of its background concepts or the infrastructure to properly apply it is can be a dangerous thing. Without the right tools, materials, training, and study, you'll learn the hard way that the line between "rocket to the moon" and "giant bomb" is very thin.