Update: Per TRS
, Critical Research Failure is now a disambiguation page, so wicks should be sorted between at least one of the pages listed there, or deleted if they don't fit anywhere else.
, Critical Research Failure is prone to misuse. Given how many entries we have for the trope, on-page and off-page, as well as consensus reached in the TRS thread, entries should be sure that they fit the following criteria.
- They are obvious to the layman according to contemporary standards.
- If you are an expert on the subject at hand, check if a non-expert would know that fact. Ask here if you need help.
- "Contemporary standards" refers to the time and place the work was made. Evaluating a work based on standards in a different time and/or place than it was made can and will lead to Values Dissonance, so the author(s) cannot be held accountable.
- They are about facts regarding the real world.
- Errors about other works belong on Cowboy BeBop at His Computer.
- Errors about Internal Consistency go under things like Series Continuity Error or Plot Hole.
- They are not intentional decisions.
- Intentional inaccuracies go under Artistic License and its sub-tropes; some of these may include unintentional cases, too.
In-Universe examples are less problematic and thus do not need as much attention.
If you feel tempted to add a Justifying Edit explaining how the authors would not have known better, just delete the example.
Please ask if you have any questions. Answers may be posted here for reference.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Oct 13th 2022 at 12:08:26 PM
It also has needless reference to reviewers.
Edited by UFOYeah on Apr 8th 2022 at 1:42:59 AM
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Carseat laws are created on the state level in the United States. According to this list, not all states specify that a baby has to be in the back seat. While Artistic License – Law would be the best fit, I'm not sure if it applies.
- Critical Research Failure: The protagonists are worried about the 4B3TT3RL1F3 program getting a million dollars worth of tanks. Since they're apparently the antagonists, this fear would be justified... but $1 million USD isn't nearly enough for a single modern MBT.
This is also currently under Writers Cannot Do Math, but that seems misuse as it's about specific stated sums not adding up as opposed to underestimating real life values. Artistic License – Military is not tech but tactics and protocol, Artistic License – Economics is about economic systems not costs. SciFiWritersHave.No Sense Of Units might fit but the work doesn't seem like sci-fi.
Found this on Infinity Train: Blossomverse:
- Critical Research Failure: The authors have Shown Their Work on several subjects to try and make an accurate to life and realistic story, but that just means that when a mistake is made, it's really hard to ignore it.
- Most stories have Vermillion City in shambles after a big scandal is made at the school. However, Vermillion City is big, to the point several thousand people would need to suffer in order to have a chance of destroying the city. In fact, a tragedy involving a couple hundred people would mainly lead to a few really active news cycles for the city at large. As for Chloe’s disappearance and the Calling Chloe hashtag, it certainly isn’t impossible that it would make that big of a splash, but for most people it would probably amount to a single human interest story, easily forgotten within a week. In general, while the effects would be devastating, the stories blow the actual damage done way out of proportion.
- This also applies to The Apex's reputation on the Infinity Train. Everybody, even the heroes, act like they're the worst thing to appear since badly sung Christmas carols, and are utter scum. This completely ignores the fact that the Train is not only infinite, with several new Cars and Denizens being added, thus it shouldn't be possible everybody knows about them, but the Train houses Passengers who have done worse things (like a cyber terrorist whose group once tried to kill all AI) and that one of the main characters, Amelia Hughes, has a number that's canonically as big as The Apex's.
- The series tries to paint Goh saying that Chloe isn't into Pokémon as a sign that he didn't care about her. Upon looking at the episode where he says this, he was merely answering a question from Ash, one where adding something like "she's into writing" wouldn't make any sense.
- The stories try to portray Professor Cerise as a neglectful father who doesn't pay attention to Chloe, and instead focuses on Ash and Goh. The series seems a bit too eager to forget that Ash and Goh work for him, and that most of the times he focuses on them are while they're working. And the whole "Professor Cerise doesn't pay attention to Chloe" thing only works if one assumes nothing happens offscreen, which is something the verse has a bad habit of claiming with little evidence.
- A subsection of commentary has it say that Goh going to school would've helped mitigate Chloe's bullying problem. Ignoring the fact the argument most often used for it makes no sense whatsoever ("Goh going to school would help Chloe deal with the bullying better"), there's enough reason to believe it would make things worse: Goh's lack of social skills and inability to read the room would make him a perfect Bully Magnet, meaning the only thing it would do is give the bullies two targets instead of one.
- In fact, the whole school situation is grossly misinterpreted. The only scene we see with them in early Journeys has them talk over Chloe over how she should become a Pokemon Professor because her father is one. And while this is definitely bad, the verse takes this to mean that Chloe's classmates are bullies who bully her constantly and single her out for not being into Pokemon, which is nowhere to be implied in the original series.
- Not only that, but the way certain things happen require a lot of willing suspension of disbelief: A thing that's consistent across a few stories is the fact that Yeardley once broke Chloe's arm, but nobody found out about it until after the fact. This would be literally impossible since everybody knows her as the daughter of the local Pokemon Professor, and anybody of that status who appears with an injury wouldn't be so easily disregarded and forgotten.
- Ash's character in general is greatly misunderstood. Him logically not knowing what Chloe likes is taken as a sign that he doesn't care about her, he's lambasted over seemingly not doing enough to get to know her, and is made out to be a hypocrite because he didn't treat his previous female companions like this... Except if one looks back at his past companions, not only does he use the same tactic with them (ask them to go travel with him), but he doesn't treat them any differently than he treats Chloe, making it seem like the story's complaining over nothing.
- Chloe in most stories she's featured in will refer to her situation back at home as her being "caged" and "unnoticed" by her peers and family. Closer inspections will reveal that she's actually spending the afternoon at her father's workplace and most of her problems come from her own inactivity and passivity.
- While a bit more debatable than the others, the stories tend to have the Train be capable of creatings items that can revive the dead. Infinity Train lore proper never even hints that the Train can do this. In fact, it's implied that All Deaths Final applies there, as One once claims that Min-Gi and Ryan will stay dead if they die on the Train, with no indication of a revival being possible.
- The stories really like to try claim that Pokémon Trainers and Goh are privileged compared to most people, especially Chloe. However, beyond certain trainers being praised and clamored, canon never shows any indication they're seen as better than the average people; The only real difference between them and normal people is that they get some support sometimes to make their journeys or catching Pokémon easier, and even that's like trying to claim a construction worker is "privileged" because they get to use heavy machinery and most people don't. Goh is a particularly bad case, because not only does he also apply, but the stories more often than not portray his situation as the exact opposite of being priviledged: in that he more often than not has it worse than even Chloe, having no friends by his side and generally being used as a scapegoat when things go wrong.
Since CRF is a disambiguation now, is there any entries that might fit elsewhere?
Edited by Super_Weegee on May 12th 2022 at 1:49:58 PM
The first example can be moved to Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale (which has many non sci-fi examples). Everything else is complaints about inconsistencies/deviations from canon which we can't tell if it's intentional changes as opposed to supposed to be accurate with canon so just cut.
Whether or not an 8.8 furor is justified is up for debate. On one hand, a reviewer shouldn't just automatically go along with the crowd, even for nigh-universally-loved games, and they don't represent the opinion of the entire company they work for. On the other hand, sometimes you get the feeling that they're doing it intentionally to [[{{Troll}} create controversy]] and [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity attract attention]], [[CriticalResearchFailure forgot to do their research on the subject]], or were downgrading the game for the wrong reasons.[[note]]Such as by driving a BiasSteamroller.[[/note]]
Would Dan Browned be a valid replacement here as by reviewing it they are proclaiming they did due research into the work to judge it's quality?
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
Since this thread is still open, I'm deferring cleanup from its TRS thread here. This is now a disambiguation page, so once the only wicks left are the ones on Ambiguity Index and archived pages, this thread can probably be sent to the Projects Morgue.
the Retromancer
YMMV.Gods Not Dead A Light In Darkness
- Critical Research Failure:
- While the film tones down the propaganda aspects, it still makes a key problem with its plot. The idea is that when a church on the grounds of a college burns down, the college attempts to use eminent domain to seize it and tear it down. Only a city or state government would have that power, not a school. Plus, it was on their grounds to begin with, meaning they technically already owned the building and thus have no need to seize it.
- Additionally it's apparent that none of the filmmakers have visited any public or 'liberal' universities and colleges, as many of them have chapels or churches on their campus (often holdovers from days when Christianity was the sole religion among students aside from a few Jews) and instead of demanding their demolition, school administrations have usually just made other changes (such as multi-faith worship spaces) as the student population diversified. In reality as well you would be hard-pressed to find a college, university, or any public school where no Christian students or groups exist and trying something like this would cause huge negative publicity.
Is this like Artistic License – Education?
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel
Maybe the second one. The first one seems to be covered by Hollywood Law.
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
I forgot to close this when I reopened the TRS thread. Locking since neither thread will need to be opened when dewicking is done.
Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
The kids might not notice this, but most parents would. It could be artistic licence if there are plot reasons to not have her in the back seat. It might make framing shots easier.