History Main / AwesomenessByAnalysis

** [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]] and [[ComicBook/LadyShiva her mother]] both possess an ability to "read" body language, allowing them to perfectly predict every move made by their opponents. Cassandra has gained this ability by undergoing TrainingFromHell that left her with severe disabilities as a consequence, while Shiva has it from [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower simply being that good at martial arts]].

* The new ''{{Comicbook/Ms Marvel|2014}}'' has a quite impressive shapeshifter powerset, but is also a nerdy teenage girl, so her superheroing style is based around exploiting the laws of physics.
* The ComicBook/{{New 52}} version of ''ComicBook/{{Superboy|New52}}'' taught himself to talk and communicate by watching others do it.

* In ''ComicBook/WarWorld'' Franchise/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} deduce the way to beat super-villain Mongul by observing a mass graveyard located at the titular weapon-satellite.
-->'''Superman:''' Do you remember that mountain of graves we noticed on Warworld? That's what gave me the answer! The Warzoons weren't buried in a mass grave as there'd be if the race was destroyed by some great illness!\\

* ''ComicBook/TopTen'''s Detective King Peacock has the ability find a weakness in any object, although his justification is [[SatanIsGood rather odd.]] (He talks to Satan. Apparently.)
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'':
** Shockwave in the Marvel series (not to be confused with Shockwave in the cartoon series, who was different) was like this, able to calculate probabilities of situational outcomes to exact percentages. It didn't hurt that he was, y'know, an actual computer.
** The [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries IDW Shockwave]] is no slouch at this either, and not just for calculating probabilities or discovering weakness, either. During a fight with the Dinobots, he is astonished by the irrationality of their attack and deducts that it's driven by anger, an emotion that he finds irrational and normally pointless. However, once he sees how it seems to drive up their ability to fight, he patches together a "rage" emulator into his mind and goes absolutely berserk, singlehandedly dominating the Dinobots, and then puts this so-called "anger" on the back-burner for later analysis.
** Skids of ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' has the ability to learn and master new skills quickly. He has used this to analyze an opponent's fighting styles and overcome numerous, powerful enemies. However, there is a drawback: Because he learns skills so quickly, he gets bored once he learns everything he can about a subject.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' gives us the player character, Robin, whose skill as a tactician translates into being able to see the statistics and hit percentages and so on of yours and your enemy's units. Basically, it's their knowledge that gives the player all the useful information in the user interface.\

* ''Fanfic/HeroClaseCivilWarfare'': Izuku, assigned to be the leader of the Villain Team in the game, turns in an entire booklet to their teacher before the exercise that, to their teacher's astonishment, describes everything that is about to happen in the game, every tactic Izuku suspects the other side may use, [[CrazyPrepared every backup plan for his backup plans]], who each of his teammates should fight or flee from based on their abilities, fighting style, and psychology, and an ''intensive'' analysis of every single player in the game, along with their strengths, habits, and weaknesses. The booklet is titled [[AllAccordingToPlan "Stage Directions."]] [[spoiler:Armed with this knowledge, Izuku proceeds to become the first InvincibleVillain the exercise has ever had.]]

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', a late-game goblin enemy will actually scan itself, revealing its weakness to lightning. Needless to say [[SchmuckBait using lightning attacks on it is a bad idea]].

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' gives us the player character, Robin, whose skill as a tactician translates into being able to see the statistics and hit percentages and so on of yours and your enemy's units. Basically, it's their knowledge that gives the player all the useful information in the user interface.

* ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'': [[FluffyTheTerrible Biscuit]], an orc who's over [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld six hundred winters old]], has quite the bonus to his Wisdom score (to the point of being a GeniusBruiser). He's been shown to apply it a few times, notably [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/06152012/ here]].

* Literature/SherlockHolmes is this trope's Patron Saint. At least once in every single story Sir Creator/ArthurConanDoyle wrote and every other story after that. [[FollowTheLeader Also, every copycat and fanfic with a halfway-decent mystery at least tries]]. Because he wouldn't be {{Sherlock|Scan}} Holmes without it.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' gives us the player character, Robin, whose skill as a tactician translates into being able to see the statistics and hit percentages and so on of yours and your enemy's units. Basically, it's his knowledge that gives the player all the useful information in the user interface.
* The Copy power (power, not ability) from ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar''. Once Kirby has this ability, he obtains an optical scanner that analyzes an opponent (complete with computer readouts and targeting reticule shown onscreen, no less) and replaces Copy with whatever ability the opponent has. If the enemy you try this on has no copy-able ability, [[LethalHarmlessPowers you can analyze them to death.]]

** Characters with the Blue Magic ability can learn enemy magic by simply observing the ability in action or survive getting hit by an attack.

* Libra makes its return in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' as an ability available to Noctis, allowing him to analyse enemy weaknesses and resistances to elements and weaponry. It even comes with a (timed) TimeStandsStill option. Upgraded sufficiently, it can instantly scan all enemies on the battlefield like a SherlockScan. [[TheSmartGuy Ignis]] also has this ability, and he uses it much more creatively and liberally (i.e. planning battle strategies and exploiting enemies' weaknesses as well as turning enemies' own strengths against them) than [[LeeroyJenkins Noctis]], whose strategy amounts to [[AttackAttackAttack hitting the enemy with his weapons until they die]]. Ignis' analytical abilities don't just extend to combat: he can recreate dishes from a single taste as well.

* ADHD/ADD can cause one to develop this way of thinking -- it's sometimes seen as both its [[CursedWithAwesome best and worst]] symptom. On one hand, it compensates for the lower attention span caused by the disorder, and thus lets those who zoned out during an important activity to catch up by analyzing the surroundings. On the other hand, since people with it are always subconsciously absorbing information, it makes it even more difficult to focus on one thing.

* Toddlers and young children are like this by default. This is what helps them learn how to learn. Disabilities like Down's Syndrome and some forms of autism result in the child lacking this ability.

* A common sight in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/1633756 For The Want of a Nail]]'':

** This is part of the core of Strange's ''modus operandi'' - he figures out exactly what makes people tick, aided by his powers as a {{Seer}}, and then proceeds to use both sources of knowledge [[BatmanGambit to play]] ''[[BatmanGambit everyone]]'' [[BatmanGambit like a harp]] (which, since he was a literally legendary bard as a ''hobby'' when he was known as [[spoiler: Taliesin]], means he's ''really'' good at it).

* Franchise/SherlockHolmes has always had shades of this, but the [[Film/SherlockHolmes2009 2009 movie]] makes it explicit by showing his analysis, step by step, of how to beat the living shit out of an opponent. The 2011 sequel, ''[[Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows A Game of Shadows]]'' takes this even further with [[spoiler:Holmes and Moriarty deadlocked in an Awesomeness by Analysis duel ''in their minds'' before a single punch is thrown.]]

* Hinata's new technique in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4573620/17/A-Drop-of-Poison A Drop of Poison]]'' relies heavily on trigonometry to calculate how her chakrams will ricochet around an area, eventually building in dozens of the blades flying through the air as she catches and flings them around. While it has a bit of build-up time, once she gets going, it's near impossible to approach her due to all the razor-sharp metal flying around.

* In a ''FanFic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'' [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/64/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality omake]] about what it would look like if it was about ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Frodo implied that even if [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Evil Could Not Comprehend Good]] intuitively, that won't keep Sauron from figuring it out this way.

* In ''FanFic/AHistoryOfMagic'', Queen Himiko studied other Puella Magi to learn their skills and abilities.

* Pretty much the Omega's main advantage in ''FanFic/LeftBeyond'': the distributed AI are capable of generating excellent, although not perfect, probability spreads for the sysadmins' plans. Somewhat subverted in that the Omega are fighting God in-universe... and the dice out-of-universe, in that God keeps getting ridiculously good rolls.

* Akane and Shampoo show this in a later chapter of ''FanFic/DesperatelySeekingRanma''. It results in Akane screwing over some crooks before they can even start their heist.
* ''FanFic/TheTotallyAmazingSpiderMan'': Sam is able to pick up on Spider-Man's spider-sense by noticing how he was able to shoot his web- or from her perspective, "fire his cable", without even looking where he was firing.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'': This is Callum’s forte. Despite having no magical training or education, he is able to learn new spells simply by seeing them performed once. His ability at observation also extends to more mundane activities; he’s able to perform a dancing ritual ‘’perfectly’’ despite only seeing it one time.