Stupid Scientist/Playing With

Basic Trope: A (supposedly) intelligent character denies that a certain event will occur but turn out to be wrong.
 * Straight: TV Genius Professor Smith dismisses fears that a cataclysmic event will befall humanity. Shortly afterwards, it does.
 * Exaggerated: Professor Smith says obviously false things so many times that you wonder why anyone takes him seriously in the first place.
 * Justified: Professor Smith is genuinely intelligent, respected, and usually right.
 * Inverted: Professor Smith says that the horrific event will occur, and of course no one listens to him.
 * Subverted: At first Professor Smith seems to be denying the apocalypse, but it turns out that he is being blackmailed into saying this and does not actually believe what he says.
 * Doubly Subverted: And it turns out that Professor Smith was right all along.
 * Parodied: Professor Smith is an obvious idiot but everyone around him acts like everything he says is the truth.
 * Deconstructed: Everyone listens to Professor Smith, everything seems fine, flowers are growing, sunlight is pouring down, and then the meteor hits and everyone dies. Except for Professor Smith, who is now forced to live with the price of his mistake.
 * Reconstructed: Professor Smith recants his previous position, and all is forgiven until he slips up again.
 * Zig Zagged: Professor Smith at first believes his own words, and then realizes the truth, trying to convince everyone that he was wrong. No one listens to him, of course.
 * Averted: Professor Smith avoids commenting on the issue altogether.
 * Enforced: The only reason Professor Smith is in the story is to prove him wrong and/or kill him.
 * Lampshaded: "You explicitly said earlier that it wouldn't happen, Professor Smith. Nice way to doom humanity, sir."
 * Invoked: "Don't listen to him, he's a *professor*. Those guys are always wrong when it comes to life-threatening situations."
 * Exploited: The aliens only attack when Professor Smith persuades the population to let down their guard, accidentally opening the Earth to invasion.
 * Defied: "Come on, Professor Smith, you know what they say. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."
 * Discussed: "Professor Smith seems to think that nothing will happen. Let's see how long he lasts."
 * Conversed: "Say, did you hear about the alien invasion?" "Professor Smith thinks everything will be fine." "And you *believe* him?"

Back to Stupid Scientist