Needs Help: Einstein Sue

Currently, Einstein Sue is indexed under Flame Bait, and no examples are permitted anywhere on the wiki, just like all the other Mary Sue Tropes (with the exception of Parody Sue). Unlike the other Sue tropes, however, it's easy to argue in this case that Tropes Are Tools, as the article even lists several ways that it could be used to create a legitimate conflict for a story.

In the absence of other Common Mary Sue Traits, I see no reason why a character with this trope should be called a Sue. However, it is a useful trope to have, so I propose moving the trope to another title, ideally without leaving behind a redirect, and removing the Flame Bait header. In lieu of a better suggestion, I'm proposing Obscure Expert as the new title.

I'm intentionally omitting a Wick Check for this because, as a Flame Bait trope, there is no real usage to check to begin with.

Edited by RamenChef on Apr 11th 2019 at 3:03:10 AM

Opening this.

I support a rename. Unlike other Mary Sue tropes, the article doesn't make a single mention of those tropes or even call the subject "Sue". Also, the name suggests "A character who is smarter than anyone else (with all the implied disliked-by-the-audience traits of a Mary Sue)", without describing the "underdog", "lone", or "obscure" part. According to a wick check, some pages that do link to Einstein Sue misuse it to mean just "undeservingly smart":

• Cassandra Truth: correct
• Flanderization: misuse
• Ignored Expert: correct
• Marty Stu: misuse
• Only Sane Man: correct
• Stupid Scientist: unclear
• Super-Intelligence: misuse
• The Main Characters Do Everything: correct
• What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: correct
• Characters.Ensign Sue Must Die: misuse
• Flanderization.Live Action TV: unclear
• LaconicTropeDistinctions.J To R: correct
• TropeDistinctions.J To R: correct

(4/13 misuse if you wanna get into numbers)

A passage in Ignored Expert links Einstein Sue despite otherwise being a description of an objective trope:

As does Only Sane Man:

And The Main Characters Do Everything:

Edited by Tabs on May 11th 2019 at 11:04:38 AM

Rename.

How is Obscure Expert different from The Only One?

If we turn this into a proper trope, it should go through TLP to gather examples to justify its existence.

Edited by eroock on Jun 17th 2019 at 1:31:32 AM

The Only One would seem to be a super trope, with this trope being specifically about knowledge of some fact, rather than general competence.

Clock is up with no progress; closing.