History Main / BreakTheScientist

* Used twice in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', once seriously with the curator for the Jebediah Springfield museum, was so dismayed upon finding evidence that Jebediah was actually a vicious pirate that he stole and hid the evidence to stop others from knowing the truth, and once more amusingly with science-minded Lisa Simpson when they went to Africa and saw [[WhaleEgg a rhinoceros hatch from an egg]].
--> '''Lisa''': Wait, rhinos aren't born from eggs!
--> '''Homer''': What did you just see, Lisa?
--> '''Lisa''': I know, but--
--> '''Homer''': ''What did you just see?!''

* This is actually a plot point quite often on ''{{Series/Fringe}}''. In a season 3 episode, Walter was confused and upset when the heaviest element was used by another scientist (who stumbled upon it and has no idea why it's doing this either) to make people float in the sky. Yes, it makes no sense. As it turns out, this lapse in the laws of physics is a sign that our universe is about to collide with another one and destroy them both.

* In ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', Harry took the revelation of the existence of magic in stride, because once he realised that [[MagicAIsMagicA magic follows certain rules]] he realised he could [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic apply the scientific method to reconcile it with the known laws of physics.]] But when he sees Professor [=McGonagall=] turn into a housecat, which starts by breaking the Law of Conservation of Mass and just goes on from there, he tends to struggle a bit. (Presumably he's never read the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series, which did eventually get around to addressing the issue.)

* Used twice in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', once seriously with the curator for the Jebediah Springfield museum, was so dismayed upon finding evidence that Jebediah was actually a vicious pirate that he stole and hid the evidence to stop others from knowing the truth, and once more amusingly with science-minded Lisa Simpson when she discovered that apparently, rhinos are born from eggs when she sees it happen in Africa.

--> '''Lisa''': I know, but-

* Ellie and Alan's miniature freakout the first time they see a dinosaur in ''Film/JurassicPark''.

[[folder: Fan Fiction ]]

* In ''Fanfic/ChallengeOfTheSuperFriendsTheEnd'', ComicBook/LexLuthor repeatedly underestimates [[EldritchAbomination The Benefactor's]] claims of ruling an entire universe, reasoning that the distances would be just too great. Apparently such claims are true.
* In the final chapter of [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6575772/1/Yabba_Dabba_Joes Yabba Dabba Joes]], a paleontologist working on Sue the T-Rex's skull before she goes on display goes into a temporary brain shutdown when he pulls a nine millimeter bullet out of a pockmark on Sue's jaw.
* Ritsuko in ''Fanfic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40K'' suffers a serious blow to her sanity after repeatedly witnessing Shinji playing RealityWarper with his AT-field wizardry and psyker abilities without finding ANY scientific explanation for it. She learned to cope via ranting and publishing scientific papers on the latest proof-by-Evangelion that physics don't work; the hate-mail keeps her going.
** In the [=Anime/Addventure=] thread "Switching Places/Eva", she has a similar reaction to Ranma. And to his habit (which most of the rest of the cast has picked up) of calling the Angels "kaiju."
* In ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', Harry took the revelation of the existence of magic in stride, because once he realised that [[MagicAIsMagicA magic follows certain rules]] he realised he could [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic apply the scientific method to reconcile it with the known laws of physics.]] But when he sees Professor [=McGonagall=] turn into a housecat, which starts by breaking the Law of Conservation of Mass and just goes on from there, he tends to struggle a bit. (Presumably he's never read the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series, which did eventually get around to addressing the issue.)

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[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Used twice in the Simpsons, once seriously with the curator for the Jebediah Springfield museum, was so dismayed upon finding evidence that Jebediah was actually a vicious pirate that he stole and hid the evidence to stop others from knowing the truth, and once more amusingly with science-minded Lisa Simpson when she discovered that apparently, rhinos are born from eggs when she sees it happen in Africa.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* One of the planet travel guides in ''VideoGame/{{Tyrian}}'' reads "Many a scientist comes here after retirement to watch all their fundamental mathematical theorems fall apart as they watch the landmasses floating in apparent defiance to their life's work."

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* This actually has happened to a lesser extent with rival theories. One notable example was Fred Hoyle whose steady state theory was discredited once sufficient evidence was more accurately explained by the Big Bang theory. After it was proven, Fred Hoyle still wasn't in favor of it because he saw a universe with a finite beginning as bad due to the fact that it meant that the universe would also have a finite ending. (Admittedly, cosmologists have [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_inflation come to something resembling Hoyle's Steady State]] [[RightForTheWrongReasons for other reasons]].)

* This actually has happened to a lesser extent with rival theories. One notable example was Fred Hoyle whose steady state theory was discredited once sufficient evidence was more accurately explained by the Big Bang theory. However in this case an element of the steady state theory is largely correct, that stellar fusion does in fact create the heavier elements. After it was proven Fred Hoyle still wasn't in favor of it because he saw a universe with a finite beginning as bad due to the fact that it meant that the universe would also have a finite ending. (Admittedly, cosmologists have [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_inflation come to something resembling Hoyle's Steady State]] [[RightForTheWrongReasons for other reasons]].)
* In general the problem with this concept is that in reality a theory can still be partially accurate even is elements of it are shown incorrect. The reason for this is the way in which scientific theories are developed. A scientific theory cannot be proven, it is merely accepted once it is failed to be disproved. What this means is that a well accepted former theory is never completely discredited as we see with Newtonian physics versus relativistic physics. While Newtonian physics are inaccurate at relativistic speeds (those approaching the speed of light), it is still accurate enough within normal speeds and masses that make up most interactions on Earth and is still used in most engineering on Earth.
** The best analogy for this relationship is that of a mathematical curve fit. If some element of a fit is shown to be wrong, even if it is drastically wrong in areas, some part of it must be accurate otherwise it would never have been accepted in the first place.
** Creator/IsaacAsimov wrote an essay on this issue once titled "The Relativity of Wrong", using the analogy of a flat earth vs a perfectly spherical earth vs an oblate spheroid which is that due to its spin the Earth is actually slightly thicker at the equator. While the earth is neither flat nor perfectly spherical, being spherical is closer than being flat.
[[/folder]]

** In the AnimeAddventure thread "Switching Places/Eva'', she has a similar reaction to Ranma. And to his habit (which most of the rest of the cast has picked up) of calling the Angels "kaiju."

* In ''Discworld/TheLastContinent'', Ponder Stibbons has some difficulty adjusting to the idea that the deserted island he and the rest of Unseen University's senior faculty are trapped on is actively supplying them with the means to live. Further, he's pretty disillusioned to learn that evolution not a wonderfully elegant self-driving force, but is driven by an inept god like everything else on the Disc.

* During an episode of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', Creator/StephenHawking pointed out a mistake that Sheldon had overlooked. Upon noticing it, Cooper passes out.
-->'''Hawking''': [[SarcasmMode Oh great]]. Another fainter.

* This actually has happened to a lesser extent with rival theories. One notable example was Fred Hoyle whose steady state theory was discredited once sufficient evidence was more accurately explained by the Big Bang theory. However in this case an element of the steady state theory is largely correct, that stellar fusion does in fact create the heavier elements. After it was proven Fred Hoyle still wasn't in favor of it because he saw a universe with a finite beginning as bad due to the fact that it meant that the universe would also have a finite ending.

* Ritsuko in ''Fanfic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40K'' suffers a serious blow to her sanity after repeatedly witnessing Shinji playing RealityWarper with his AT-field wizardry and psyker abilities without finding ANY scientific explanation for it.

So, we all know that [[TheFarSide every time you show dinosaurs and cave-people together]] in the same era [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology a palaeontologist cries]]. Probably not literally, of course. You'd have to be fairly unstable to be brought to tears just because some TV show took some artistic liberties. After all, [[MST3KMantra it's just a show]]...

* In ''Fanfic/ChallengeOfTheSuperFriendsTheEnd'', SelfDemonstrating/LexLuthor repeatedly underestimates [[EldritchAbomination The Benefactor's]] claims of ruling an entire universe, reasoning that the distances would be just too great. Apparently such claims are true.

--->'''Hawking''': [[SarcasmMode Oh great]]. Another fainter.

* In ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', Harry took the revelation of the existence of magic in stride, because once he realised that [[MagicAIsMagicA magic follows certain rules]] he realised he could [[SufficientlyAnalysedMagic apply the scientific method to reconcile it with the known laws of physics.]] But when he sees Professor [=McGonagall=] turn into a housecat, which starts by breaking the Law of Conservation of Mass and just goes on from there, he tends to struggle a bit. (Presumably he's never read the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series, which did eventually get around to addressing the issue.)

* In ''Discworld/TheLastContinent'', Ponder Stibbons has some difficulty adjusting to the idea that the deserted island he and the rest of Unseen University's senior faculty are trapped on is actively supplying them with the means to live.

** There's also a high school physics teacher [[ShoutOut named]] "[[{{Nukees}} Mr. Bleuel]]" who gets rather peeved when he spots one of his students floating down the hallway out of habit.

* [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-790/ Luckily for Dr. Lee in]] SkinHorse, the ancient, mystic order of notaries has a special couch just for scientists.

* Harry goes through this a couple times in HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality. He took the revelation of the existence of magic in stride, because once he realised that [[MagicAIsMagicA magic follows certain rules]] he realised he could [[SufficientlyAnalysedMagic apply the scientific method to reconcile it with the known laws of physics.]] But when he sees Professor McGonagall turn into a housecat, which starts by breaking the Law of Conservation of Mass and just goes on from there, he tends to struggle a bit. (Presumably he's never read the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series, which did eventually get around to addressing the issue.)

* In Discworld/TheLastContinent, Ponder Stibbons has some difficulty adjusting to the idea that the deserted island he and the rest of Unseen University's senior faculty are trapped on is actively supplying them with the means to live.
* In Ted Chiang's story [[http://www.fantasticmetropolis.com/i/division/ Division by Zero]] a mathematician tries to commit suicide after she [[spoiler:proves that arithmetic is inconsistent and that through formal mathematics, one can make any two numbers equal each other.]]

* JulesVerne's ''JourneyToTheCenterOfTheEarth'' pits CrazyAwesome geologist Otto Lidenbrock (who clings to a hollow earth theory) against our narrator, Otto's nephew Axel (who knows that [[ScienceMarchesOn Science Has Marched On]] and that the Earth is heated from the inside, and thus that the journey makes absolutely no sense and will inevitably end in heat suffocation). HilarityEnsues when Axel is forced to change his mind.

* Physics grad student Chris Parsons in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "Shada" does a lot of this.
* This is actually a plot point quite often on ''{{Fringe}}''. In a season 3 episode, Walter was confused and upset when the heaviest element was used by another scientist (who stumbled upon it and has no idea why it's doing this either) to make people float in the sky. Yes, it makes no sense. As it turns out, this lapse in the laws of physics is a sign that our universe is about to collide with another one and destroy them both.
* StephenHawking did this rather hilariously to Sheldon Cooper in an episode of TheBigBangTheory, pointing out a mistake that Sheldon had overlooked. Upon noticing it, Cooper passes out.
--->'''Hawking''': [[DeadpanSnarker Oh great]]. Another fainter.

* [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil Null Mysteriis]] is an academic organization devoted to [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic the scientific study of supernatural creatures and phenomena]], believing that things like [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]], [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]], and [[FunctionalMagic mages]] all have rational, scientific explanations. Problem is, they live in the [[TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness World of Darkness]]. [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on the GM]], either they're correct, and [[ScienceMarchesOn science simply hasn't advanced to the point where study of the supernatural is possible]], or [[DoingInTheScientist they have it all wrong]], and the supernatural completely defies all attempts at explanation. Understandably, this tends to drive more than a few Null M. scientists insane.

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has a professor who [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-10-04 starts crying]] whenever the laws of physics are [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-10-11 violated]] hard enough. Whether he's actually present or not! The second link provides the alternate trope name (TheProfessorIsCryingAgain).

* The Infinite Summation Honeybee Professor in ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'' gets upset whenever the characters abuse the properties of [[PortalPicture windows]] in order to generate matter or discharge energy.
** Although that's partly because if it's done badly, it results in infinitely massive or infinitely dense objects and nasty things happen.

* An old WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoon had a professor giving a lecture where he refuted the existence of UFO's and "Little green men". Just as he's laughing at the very idea, a flying saucer with a baby green Martian flies in and hovers before his face for a few moments, causing the laughter to turn into tears.

* Used twice in the Simpsons, once with the curator for the Jebediah Springfield museum, who had this reaction upon finding evidence that Jebediah was actually a vicious pirate, and once with science minded Lisa Simpson when she discovered that apparently, rhino's are born from eggs when she sees it happen in Africa.
--> '''Lisa''': Wait, rhinos arent born from eggs!

* Harry goes through this a couple times in HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality, but mostly when [[ItMakesSenseInContext Professor [=McGonagall=] turns into a cat.]]

* This angers Homer of all people in TheSimpsons comic edition where Professor Fink uses his latest device to grant [[FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome Homer increased intelligence]]. He rails on the impossibility of dinosaurs co-existing and fighting humans while watching a {{B-Movie}}, much to Bart's surprise.

* [[http://skin-horse.com/comics/11052011/ Luckily for Dr. Lee in]] SkinHorse, the ancient, mystic order of notaries has a special couch just for scientists.

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has a professor who [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-10-04 starts crying]] whenever the laws of physics are [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-10-11 violated]] hard enough. Whether he's actually present or not!

So, we all know that [[TheFarSide every time you show dinosaurs and cave-people together]] in the same era [[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying a palaeontologist cries]]. Probably not literally, of course. You'd have to be fairly unstable to be brought to tears just because some TV show took some artistic liberties. After all, [[MST3KMantra it's just a show]]...

* Lex Luthor in ChallengeOfTheSuperFriendsTheEnd repeatedly underestimates the story's EldritchAbomination claims of ruling an entire universe, reasoning that the distances would be just too great. Apparently such claims are true.

** Issac Asimov wrote an essay on this issue once titled The Relativity of Wrong using the analogy of a flat earth vs a perfectly spherical earth vs an oblate spheroid which is that due to its spin the Earth is actually slightly thicker at the equator. While the earth is neither flat nor perfectly spherical, being spherical is closer than being flat.