History Main / RationalFic

One of the first authors to use aspects of rational thinking and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-classical_logic non-Aristotelian logic]] as the basis of their world-building and character interactions was Creator/AEVanVogt, specifically in the ''Null-A'' series. One of those authors who built upon the success of Van Vogt's works to arguably create the genre known as 'rational fiction' was Creator/EliezerYudkowsky, who wrote the popular piece of Harry Potter fanfiction Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality and put his own views on the subject into [[http://yudkowsky.tumblr.com/writing The Abridged Guide to Intelligent Characters]]. A sizeable community of people who write or enjoy this type of fiction exists on {{Website/Reddit}}: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational. Because [[Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsofRationality HPMoR]] marked the emergence (or at least, codification) of the genre, the name uses Fic instead of fiction; some fans use the terms Rational Fiction, Rationalist Fic, and Rationalist Fiction interchangeably, though most use Fiction for published/non-derivative works, and Rationalist for works that not only aim for realistic intelligence, but try to teach principles of rationality.

A Rational Fic is one which makes a deliberate effort to reward a reader's thinking. It's the opposite of BellisariosMaxim. The world-building is intended to stand up to careful thought; the plot is driven by characters or circumstances that themselves are part of the story, the heroes generally think clearly (in ways the reader can follow), and a clever reader can deduce what's hidden or what's coming. Very often, the fic is also intended to teach the reader something about rationality.

The number of tropes Rational Fic attempts to avoid which are on the BadWritingIndex might suggest that it is some sort of universal principle of good writing, which is not the case. Even Those TropesAreNotBad, and many Rational Fics fail to avoid them in any case, or fall into other traps (AuthorTract, InvincibleHero[=/=][[InvincibleVillain Villain]], TalkingIsAFreeAction, ex.). ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' would not necessarily have benefited from a clearly explained magic system, nor ''Theatre/TheThreepennyOpera'' from a logical DownerEnding, nor ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' from making ComicBook/TheJoker a WellIntentionedExtremist.

* Played with on Abed's InUniverse horror tale on the ''Series/{{Community}}'' Halloween episode "[[Recap/CommunityS3E05HorrorFictionInSevenSpookySteps Horror Fiction In Seven Spooky Steps]]", as well as showing (InUniverse and out) why the NecessaryWeasel exists: in his attempt at defying all of the typical Slasher film tropes (specifically those labeled under "TooDumbToLive"), Abed instead makes the story utterly boring by having the characters rationalize aloud ''why'' they shouldn't be doing things that could trigger those tropes, then not doing those things... and then doing ''absolutely nothing else'' (seriously, the escaped mental patient just becomes an InUniverse AbortedArc). Understandably, everybody else on the study group is frustrated and irritated after hearing it. This also deconstructs the concept of the Rational Fic to begin with; there are valid reasons that "illogical" things can happen in stories, and the fact that a story is rational doesn't automatically make it ''good''.

The number of tropes Rational Fic attempts to avoid which are on the BadWritingIndex might suggest that it is some sort of universal principle of good writing, which is not the case. Even Those TropesAreNotBad, and many Rational Fics fail to avoid them in any case, or fall into other traps (AuthorTract, InvincibleHero[=/=][[InvincibleVillain Villain]], ex.). ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' would not necessarily have benefited from a clearly explained magic system, nor ''Theatre/TheThreepennyOpera'' from a logical DownerEnding, nor ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' from making ComicBook/TheJoker a WellIntentionedExtremist.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9794740/1/Pokemon-The-Origin-of-Species Pokemon: the Origin of Species]]'': [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Red's]] goal isn't to become a Pokemon master, but rather a respected Pokemon researcher.

* Played with on Abed's InUniverse horror tale on the ''Series/{{Community}}'' Halloween episode "[[Recap/CommunityS3E05HorrorFictionInSevenSpookySteps Horror Fiction In Seven Spooky Steps]]", as well as showing (InUniverse and out) why the NecessaryWeasel exists: in his attempt at defying all of the typical Slasher film tropes (specifically those labeled under "TooDumbToLive"), Abed instead makes the story utterly boring by having the characters rationalize aloud ''why'' they shouldn't be doing things that could trigger those tropes, then not doing those things... and then doing ''nothing else''. Understandably, everybody else on the study group is frustrated and irritated after hearing it. This also deconstructs the concept of the Rational Fic to begin with; there are valid reasons that "illogical" things can happen in stories, and the fact that a story is rational doesn't automatically make it ''good''.

* Played with on Abed's InUniverse horror tale on the ''Series/{{Community}}'' Halloween episode "[[Recap/CommunityS3E05HorrorFictionInSevenSpookySteps Horror Fiction In Seven Spooky Steps]]", as well as showing (InUniverse and out) why the NecessaryWeasel exists: in his attempt at defying all of the typical Slasher film tropes (specifically those labeled under "TooDumbToLive"), Abed instead makes the story utterly boring by having the characters rationalize aloud ''why'' they shouldn't be doing things that could trigger those tropes, then not doing those things... and then doing ''nothing else''. Understandably, everybody else on the study group acts disgusted after hearing it. This also deconstructs the concept of the Rational Fic to begin with; there are valid reasons that "illogical" things can happen in stories, and the fact that a story is rational doesn't automatically make it ''good''.

You can also see this [[https://www.facebook.com/groups/rationalfic/permalink/734963876653969/ poll on the Facebook group "Rational Fic"]] where people have voted for their favorite stories. As of February 2019, the top 5 are: ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', ''Literature/ThreeWorldsCollide'', ''Literature/Worm'', ''[[Literature/CrystalSociety Crystal Society]]'', and ''[[FanFic/TheMetropolitanMan The Metropolitan Man]]''.

You can also see this [[https://www.facebook.com/groups/rationalfic/permalink/734963876653969/ poll on the Facebook group "Rational Fic"]] where people have voted for their favorite stories. As of February 2019, the top 5 are: ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', ''Literature/ThreeWorldsCollide'', Worm, ''[[Literature/CrystalSociety Crystal Society]]'', and ''[[FanFic/TheMetropolitanMan The Metropolitan Man]]''.

One of the first authors to use aspects of rational thinking and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-classical_logic non-Aristotlian logic]] as the basis of their world-building and character interactions was Creator/AEVanVogt, specifically in the ''Null-A'' series. One of those authors who built upon the success of Van Vogt's works to arguably create the genre known as 'rational fiction' was Creator/EliezerYudkowsky, who wrote the popular piece of Harry Potter fanfiction Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality and put his own views on the subject into [[http://yudkowsky.tumblr.com/writing The Abridged Guide to Intelligent Characters]]. A sizeable community of people who write or enjoy this type of fiction exists on {{Website/Reddit}}: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational. Because [[Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsofRationality HPMoR]] marked the emergence (or at least, codification) of the genre, the name uses Fic instead of fiction; some fans use the terms Rational Fiction, Rationalist Fic, and Rationalist Fiction interchangeably, though most use Fiction for published/non-derivative works, and Rationalist for works that not only aim for realistic intelligence, but try to teach principles of rationality.

The number of tropes Rational Fic attempts to avoid which are on the BadWritingIndex might suggest that it is some sort of universal principle of good writing, which is not the case. Even Those TropesAreNotBad, and many Rational Fics fail to avoid them in any case, or fall into other traps (AuthorTract, InvincibleHero[=/=][[InvincibleaVillain Villain]], ex.). ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' would not necessarily have benefited from a clearly explained magic system, nor ''Theatre/TheThreepennyOpera'' from a logical DownerEnding, nor ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' from making ComicBook/TheJoker a WellIntentionedExtremist.

The number of tropes Rational Fic attempts to avoid which are on the BadWritingIndex might suggest that it is some sort of universal principle of good writing, which is not the case. Even Those TropesAreNotBad, and many Rational Fics fail to avoid them in any case, or [[VillainSue fall]] [[AuthorTract into]] [[InvincibleHero other]] [[MarySue traps]]. ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' would not necessarily have benefited from a clearly explained magic system, nor ''Theatre/TheThreepennyOpera'' from a logical DownerEnding, nor ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' from making ComicBook/TheJoker a WellIntentionedExtremist.

* {{Foreshadowing}} ([[http://yudkowsky.tumblr.com/writing/solvable-mysteries advice]])

* {{Munchkin}}ism

* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Person]]

* {{Transhuman}}ism

* [[DeusExMachina Deus]] / DiabolusExMachina

** ''[[https://wertifloke.wordpress.com The Waves Arisen]]'': A rational ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'' fanfic.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11090259/1/r-Animorphs-The-Reckoning The Reckoning]]'' is an ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' AU where "Visser Three is competent, the Yeerks are moving rapidly, and the Animorphs are actually trying to win (but are inexperienced and unprepared)."

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9380249/1/Rationalising-Death Rationalising Death]]'': ''Manga/DeathNote'' fanfiction trying to show what more realistic standards of reasoning would allow the main characters to achieve.
(All but one chapter was taken down in 2016 for a rewrite.)

** Started in 2013 and only has one chapter so far.

One of the first authors to use aspects of rational thinking and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-classical_logic non-Aristotlian logic]] as the basis of their world-building and character interactions was Author/AEVanVogt, specifically in the ''Null-A'' series. One of those authors who built upon the success of Van Vogt's works to arguably create the genre known as 'rational fiction' was Creator/EliezerYudkowsky, who wrote the popular piece of Harry Potter fanfiction Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality and put his own views on the subject into [[http://yudkowsky.tumblr.com/writing The Abridged Guide to Intelligent Characters]]. A sizeable community of people who write or enjoy this type of fiction exists on {{Website/Reddit}}: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational. Because [[Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsofRationality HPMoR]] marked the emergence (or at least, codification) of the genre, the name uses Fic instead of fiction; some fans use the terms Rational Fiction, Rationalist Fic, and Rationalist Fiction interchangeably, though most use Fiction for published/non-derivative works, and Rationalist for works that not only aim for realistic intelligence, but try to teach principles of rationality.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', a MegaCrossover that started as simply between ''Literature/HarryPotter'' and ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'', is written at least partially in this style (it helps that the magic is drawn heavily from ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''), with [[Creator/NimbusLlewelyn the author]] noting that his main interest was in exploring the consequences of mixing worlds, with the reactions to the premise (Thor was James Potter, as part of a first run at the whole humility thing), and the reactions to those reactions, driving the plot. Additionally, it ticks most of the rest of the boxes for a fic along these lines; {{Foreshadowing}} and, to a lesser extent, FridgeBrilliance, abound, the most successful characters deploy out-of-the-box thinking, and the most successful character of all, resident MagnificentBastard Doctor Strange, practically redefines CrazyPrepared and takes a very coldly rational approach to matters (despite, or even because of, being at least slightly mad). However, we say 'partially', because the author also repeatedly emphasising that he writes characters as people, and they are therefore as prone to doing stupid, irrational things, because that's what people do - however, they always have some personal reason for such actions, meaning that generally ItMakesSenseInContext.

Rational Fics often have these tropes as their foundation:[[index]]

[[/index]]The number of tropes Rational Fic attempts to avoid which are on the BadWritingIndex might suggest that it is some sort of universal principle of good writing, which is not the case. Even Those TropesAreNotBad, and many Rational Fics fail to avoid them in any case, or [[VillainSue fall]] [[AuthorTract into]] [[InvincibleHero other]] [[MarySue traps]]. ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' would not necessarily have benefited from a clearly explained magic system, nor ''Theatre/TheThreepennyOpera'' from a logical DownerEnding, nor ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' from making ComicBook/TheJoker a WellIntentionedExtremist.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}: [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9794740/1/Pokemon-The-Origin-of-Species The Origin of Species]]'', a retelling of the ''Pokemon'' games from a rationalist standpoint by Daystar Eld (a well-known writer in the genre).