Armor-Piercing Question: Difference between revisions

[[File:Piercing_question_1206Piercing question 1206.jpg|link=Slightly Damned|frame|The injury is imaginary,<br />but the [[Harsh Word Impact|pain]] is very real.]]

{{quote|'''Detective Del Spooner:''' You are [[Just a Machine|a machine. An ''imitation'' of life]]. [[Creative Sterility|Can a robot write a symphony? Can a robot turn a canvas into a beautiful masterpiece?]]<br />

'''Sonny:''' ... [[Armor-Piercing Question|Can you]]?|''[[I, Robot (film)|I Robot]]''}}

[[Older Than Feudalism|Ever since]] [[Socrates]], the power of the question to [[Epiphanic Prison|provoke insight]] has been well acknowledged. This sometimes translates into people using a continued line of questioning to upset or enlighten other characters. Among the most powerful forms of this is finding a single question, formulating it so the answer forces your target to face something difficult to admit, and keep pounding it.

The [[Constantly Curious]] often comes up with an [['''Armor-Piercing Question]]''' in [[Children Are Innocent|total innocence]], being, like many children, [[Too Dumb to Fool]].

This is, in fact, a real technique occasionally used in psychotherapy, education, religious groups, and even [[Flame War|debates]]; it's occasionally known as the "Socratic Method"

* ''[[Death Note]]'': After 25 episodes trying to get rid of each other, L knows he's lost and Kira (Light) will kill him at any moment. Up until this point they never openly admitted their mutual antagonism (at least Light didn't) until L asks him "Tell me, Light, from the moment you were born, has there ever been a time where you've actually told the truth?" In the anime the sound of the rain stops and the focus is on Light's shocked face to show how earth-shattering the question is.

** Earlier, Naraku's own subordinate asked him what he was going to wish for on the Shikon Jewel once all of his enemies were dead. This made Naraku realize for the first time that he didn't know what he really wanted, leaving him open for the [[Armor-Piercing Question]] mentioned above.

** The whole story actually builds to this one question. {{spoiler|It is asked as Superman, who has been able to spread his dictatorship peacefully up to this point, is finally forced to use force to take over the rest of the world. It both references his (only) failure to reenlargere-enlarge a shrunken city and compares him to fellow alien conqueror Brainiac, who shrunk the aforementioned city in the first place, and who is being used as a tool by Superman at this point to maintain his dictatorship (which actually makes "putting the whole world in a bottle" a valid option for him).}}

* In the ''Extremis'' run, [[Iron Man|Tony Stark]] manages to double this up with a sort-of [[Shut UP, Hannibal]] when he delivers this to John Pillinger, an anti-war activist/documentarist who is interviewing him in regard to the weapons Tony designed for the military ''over a decade ago'', when Tony was ''nineteen''.<ref>Albeit an area denial weapon that sprays BB-sized bombs everywhere, each with the explosive power of ''three sticks of dynamite.'' Eighteen percent of them had timer failures, so people in those areas are ''still'' finding the damned things and getting blown to salsa dip. Well, it was his first military project... at nineteen...</ref> Over the course of the interview, Pillinger is clearly determined to make Tony out to be as unsympathetic as possible to the point of insinuating that he is [[Not So Different]] from any current arms dealer; he interrupts Tony at every turn, gives Tony no chance to expand on his answers, and more or less dismisses ''incredibly'' significant medical breakthroughs as meaningless just because they aren't available in ''third-world countries''.<ref>Also, he asks (paraphrasing here) if a kid in Iraq with no arms would be impressed by the [[Iron Man]] armor, completely ignoring the fact that [[Iron Man]] has repeatedly saved/played a large hand in saving ''the planet'' and routinely helps keep New York from being turned into rubble.</ref> He also brushes aside the fact that Tony hasn't designed weaponry for the military in over ten years, and has in fact put his efforts and resources into venues that could improve the world.<br />The real kicker comes when Tony, rather than attempt to make excuses for the damage the weapons he once designed have done, flat-out admits that he knows that no matter what he does, he will always have blood on his hands -- andhands—and Pillinger reacts as if Tony ''has'' given some long, rambling explanation to excuse himself from responsibility. Tony ends his statement by saying, with obvious sincerity, that he's trying to be a part of making the world a better place regardless. Pillinger responds with a caustic "...I see."<br />However, at the end of the session, Pillinger asks Tony why he agreed to the interview. Tony responds ''beautifully'' with an [[Armor-Piercing Question]] of his own.

** The two '''menchesmensches''' shake hands amicably before parting.

* In ''[[With Strings Attached]]'', the Hunter confesses to Paul that he's envious of the friendship between the four, and that his life, while rewarding and exciting, has left him without anyone he could trust with his soul. Paul then asks him a series of probing questions about whether he actually likes his life, ending with, “Don't you think if you were really keen on your life, four days with us wouldn't've made any difference?”

* Twilight Sparkle manages to do this to [[Prince Charmless|Prince Blueblood]] in ''[[Getting Back on Your Hooves]]'' during a [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]. After explaningexplaining how [[God-Emperor|Celestia and Luna]] seek such a close relationship with their subjects, a stark contrast to the self obcessedobsessed, high and mighty Blueblood, she asks him a question that, for once, actually makes him think about his actions.

'''Light''': [[A God Am I|Yes, I am a God.]]<br />

== [[Film]] ==

* ''[[I Heart♥ Huckabees]]'': "How am I not myself?" Notable in that it is an [[Armor-Piercing Question]] to the person who asked it in the first place, completely unintentionally unhinging his ''entire life''.

* ''[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier|Star Trek V the Final Frontier]]'': "What does God need with a starship?"

** ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home|Star Trek IV the Voyage Home]]'': "How do you feel?.....How do you feel?.....How do you feel?"

{{quote|'''Smith''': [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|Why, Mr. Anderson, why?]] Why, why do you do it? Why, why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting ''for'' something, for more than your ''survival''? Can you tell me what it ''is'', do you even ''know''? Is it ''freedom'' or ''truth'', perhaps peace - could it be for ''love''? Illusions, Mr. Anderson, vagaries of perception. Temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or ''purpose''. And all of them as artificial as the ''Matrix itself''. Although, only a ''human'' mind could invent something as insipid as ''love''. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson, you must know it by now! You can't win, it's pointless to keep fighting! ''Why'', Mr. Anderson, why, ''why'' do you ''persist''?<br />

{{quote|''"What did she do, Angela? You know what she did. What did she do, Angela? You know what she did. What are you afraid of? What did she do?''; '''What did she do? '' What are you afraid of?!?'''''"}}

* ''[[The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother|The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother]]''. Sigerson does the "repeatedly ask a question" bit with Jenny Hill twice: "What was in the letter, Miss Hill?" and "What does your father do, Miss Hill?".

* ''[[Chinatown]]'' (1974).

* From ''[[Wanted (film)|Wanted]]'' - "Why did you come here?".

== [[Literature]] ==

* In [[John C. Wright]]'s ''[[The Golden Oecumene|The Golden Transcedence]]'', Diomedes cites the Silver-Gray cultivation of such questions -- suchquestions—such as, if a philosopher tells you it's right to lie, why do you not suspect him of lying when he says it? Loading such questions into the gadfly virus proves crucial.

* In the ''[[Star Trek]]'' [[Star Trek Novel Verse|Novel Verse]], we have "Are you Whole?" for the Andorians. Supposedly asked of the mythical hero Thirishar by all-powerful Uzaveh (AKA Andorian God), the question drives the modern Andorian culture in its entirety. To be truly Whole requires both reassembling in unity the four genders derived from Thirishar (essentially, bonding with three others in an marriage quad) and gaining knowledge of the "missing piece", an elusive aspect of racial knowledge hidden to the Andorian people. See the [[Star Trek Deep Space Nine relaunchRelaunch]] in particular.

* The original ''[[Fisher King]]'' could only be healed by being asked the right question. In some tellings, this is explicitly an [[Armor-Piercing Question]] that jolts him out of his self-centeredness; in others it just has unexplained magical properties.

** In ''[[Discworld/Jingo|Jingo]]'', Nobby, of all people, asks some questions that puncture the anti-Klatchian rhetoric going around Ankh-Morpork.

* Perhaps the biggest [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] in ''Sarum'' goes to Captain Wilson's wife Nellie, who upon her return to Salisbury is immediately accused by [[Holier Than Thou]] Abigail Mason of being a harlot. Not only does the Captain denounce Abigail by asking the crowd, "And who's this pasty-faced scold?", but Nellie -- quicklyNellie—quickly sizing up the situation, in which Abigail and her brother-in-law have been watching her spouse Peter Mason being executed for heresy -- declaresheresy—declares the Armor-Piercing Answer, before the ''entire town'':

{{quote|"Why, {{spoiler|'tis Abigail Mason who's just burned her husband so she can get another.}}"}}

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

* ''[[Babylon 5]]'': "Who are you?" by the Vorlons, "What do you want?" by the Shadows; both of them are asked until the subject stops giving superficial answers and starts revealing things about themselves. [[J. Michael Straczynski]] has a degree in psychology and cited Synanon as an inspiration.

'''The Doctor:''' Appreciate it? ''Appreciate it?'' You commit mass destruction and murder on a scale that's almost inconceivable, and you ask me to ''appreciate it??''' Just because you happen to have made a brilliantly conceived ''toy'' out of the mummified remains of planets?

'''The Captain:''' [[Large Ham|Devil storms, Doctor!]] It is ''not'' a toy!<br />

'''The Doctor:''' '''''[[Armor-Piercing Question|THEN WHAT'S IT FOR?!]]''''' What are you doing? What could ''possibly'' be worth all this?! }}

* One prominent instance in ''[[Malcolm in the Middle]]'' were commandant Spangler asks Francis "Can you name one thing wrong with your life that you don't blame on your mother?". Having blamed his mother for every problem he's ever had regardless of how much [[Insane Troll Logic]] used to do so, Francis is stumped.

* During season 2 of ''[[Legend of the Seeker]]'', Richard became affected by a magic-induced rage, and to help him control it, the wizard Zedd kept asking Richard "What are you angry at?", knocking down each of Richard's answers until they got to the real answer: {{spoiler|Richard was angry at Zedd for lying to him about heritage and bringing him into the conflict in the first place}}

* The second-to-last episode of Season 1 of ''[[The Wire]]'': D'Angelo Barksdale decides to quit the Game:

* In ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'', [[Arc Words|"Will you join us?"]] - pierces through ''Cameron's'' literal armor, which is saying something. This prompts, amongst other things, an [[Oh Crap|Oh Shit Moment]] for her, with John even bewilderedly pointing out ''she's'' upset, not him.

* In the classic James Newcomer ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' episode, "The Measure of a Man,", Picard is forced to defend Data's rights when Commander Bruce Maddox claims he is not sentient and is Starfleet's property, giving Maddox the right to disassemble Data against his will to study and replicate him. Picard's defencedefense is one giant [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] where he [[Armor-Piercing Question|questions]] the [[Unfortunate ImplicationImplications|real implications of Maddox's work]] that eventually leaves Maddox shaken and silent.

** The [[Fridge Logic]] here is that if Picard is so careful about the slippery slope that he is pressing to err on the side of caution, warning that it could lead to ''servitude and slavery'' to deny rights to something that might possibly show the signs of the aforementioned criteria, then why exactly does he have no similar attachments to other advanced computers, like the Enterprise's (he never asks the ship if it wants to go where he wants it to go), or any other form of equipment? It was even brought up that the only reason there was such a fuss over Data was just because Data looks human(ish). These tough questions never are answered again in the series, of course (though ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]]'' does take a crack at it with the new Doctor).

*** Except of course in the episode "The Quality of Life", when the exact same issues were brought up regarding the emerging sentience of the Exocomps, and both Moriarty holodeck episodes ("Elementary, Dear Data" and "Ship in a Bottle"). Plus there was an episode where the ship DID''did'' become sentient ("Emergence"), although it was a temporary condition caused by the presence of an alien lifeform, and the crew spent most of the episode unable to communicate with it.

'''Picard:''' [shaken] That will be all, Mr. Data. }}

* ''[[Law & Order|Law and Order]]'': Ben Stone's cross-examination of an anti-abortion activist who had tricked a woman wanting an abortion into carrying a bomb to the clinic. After the woman self-righteously declared what she had done was just, and that the victim, a former follower of hers who had become pregnant, deserved what had happened, the question came that left her speechless.

** ''Law and& Order'' has tons of examples of these on the witness stand.

* ''[[The Prisoner]]'' episode "The General" shows Number Six defeating a highly advanced computer by [[Logic Bomb|Logic Bombing]]ing it with a question which he is certain its predictive and logic circuits will not be equipped to answer: "'''Why?'''"

* Linus does this in one ''[[Peanuts]]'' strip when he asks a doomsday prophet who has been terrorizing (or boring) the camp kids for a week: "Have you ever considered that you might be wrong?".

* In one strip of ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'', Calvin asks his father, "Dad, how do soldiers killing each other solve the world's problems?" His father has no answer for him.

== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==

== [[Theater]] ==

== [[Video Games]] ==

* These are a critical element of Wadjet Eye Games' ''[[The Shivah]].'' Rabbinic Q&A duels come up multiple times in the game.

** In ''[[Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth|Ace Attorney Investigations]] 2'', the new "Logic Chess" system involves having a verbal battle of wits to draw a secret out of someone by way of [[Dialogue Tree|Dialogue Trees]]s rather than presenting evidence and pressing statements. Hits hardest with the final opponent, {{spoiler|Yumihiko Ichiyanagi}}, when the point of the final round turns out ''not'' to be a push to acquire any case-relevant information, but to help find a cause that's enough for a completely broken individual to go on living for.

* ''[[Mass Effect]]'' has a question that spurs a centuries-long worldwar that drove an entire species from their planet: "Does this unit have a soul?"

** ''[[Mass Effect 2]]:'' A Paragon Shepard has an absolutely ''brutal'' one to a racist asari [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] on Illium, after she describes her alien-loving, high-achieving, prematurely-dead family:

** In general, Shepard uses a LOT''lot'' of these when persuading people, and sometimes regularly in dialogue to keep events moving.

* In ''[[Resonance of Fate]]'', this happens to several people at various points, actually, but perhaps the harshest of which is- again- the bridge scene, posed by Lagerfield to Zephyr.

* ''[[RunescapeRuneScape]]'' has one from the finale of the goblin quests. The god of war has possessed your friend, Zanik. During the fight, she can regenerate indefinitely thanks to said god's power. At one point, she says she has to kill you because humans are the enemy. The player asks her: "but am ''I'', ''your'' enemy?"

* In ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]'', Paarthurnax will respond to the Blades' demands that he be killed with dignity and admits that {{spoiler|Dragons like himself}} aren't exactly trustworthy beings {{spoiler|and that he is trustworthy only due to tremendous effort -- he fights his tyrannical urges ''every day''}}. He invites the Dragonborn to ponder one question, one that has actually made many players hesistate to kill him: "What is better - to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"

* In ''[[Star Wars]]: [[The Force Unleashed]]'', Juno Eclipse asks Starkiller why he defied his master Darth Vader and saved her. Starkiller awkwardly answers that he needed her to fly his ship, but she retorts that they both know that isn't true. This foreshadows that Starkiller has feelings for Juno, and that he is slowly becoming a hero instead of Darth Vader's servant.

== [[Web Visual NovelsComics]] ==

* ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]:'' After Galatea [[Monologuing|outlines her latest plans for conquest,]] Bob asks, [http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20101002.html "And that'll make things better?"] She starts to answer, realizes she can't think of an answer, stops silent, and then asks dejectedly (he has [[Talking the Monster to Death|done similar stunts to her before),]] "How do you ''do'' that?'' Bob: "Hm? Oh, I dunno. You O.K.?" Galatea: "Yes."

{{quote|<span style{{=}}"color|:#b536de| ;">TT: Have you ever looked into the sky without your shades?}}</span>}}

** When Terezi starts sharing her concerns and doubts with Dave, he is unsure how to respond. He finally asks "Do you want me to tell you to be a better human or a better troll?" She avoids actually answering the question.

* ''[[Freefall]]'': This is all it takes for Florence to finally catch a break in her quest to save Jean - because [[Rousseau Was Right]], and the [[Bad Boss]] is infamous [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2000/fc01959.htm]:

{{quote|'''Florence''': ''[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2000/fc01959.htm Have you met Mr. Kornada?]''

'''RandomMr. EURaibert employee''': ''[[OhAh, CrapYou Know Him|Yes]]. [[Oh Crap|Hmm... Yes.]] It is possible that [[This Is Gonna Suck|It is possible that we have a problem here.]]'' }}

== [[Web Original]] ==

== [[Western Animation]] ==

** Also: "Then I have a question for you... what are you gonna do when you face my father?"

*** Although the real [[Armor-Piercing Question]] there comes in this exchange:

{{quote|'''Iroh''': What do you plan to do now that you have found the Avatar's bison? Keep it locked in our new apartment? [[Sarcasm Mode|Should I go put on a pot of tea for him?]]<br />

'''Zuko''': First I have to get it out of here.<br />

* In the ''[[Sonic Sat AM]]'' episode "Sonic and Sally" Tails [[Wise Beyond Their Years|turns out to be right about]] {{spoiler|the character who looked and sounded like Sally but wasn't Sally. When Sonic goes to confront said character...}}

* In the episode "A Bird In The Hoof" on ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'', Twilight bursts out at Fluttershy "You have no idea what the Princess is gonna do when she finds out you're the one who took her pet, do you?!" Fluttershy replies just by asking "Do ''you?''" This makes Twilight actually pause in her speech before she can continue speaking normally.

* Kilowog delivers one to [[Anti-Villain|Razer]] in the pilot of ''[[Green Lantern the Animated Series|Green Lantern: The Animated Series]]'', calling him out on his [[He Who Fights Monsters]] hypocrisy:

== Journalism[[Real Life]] ==

*** Conversely, a person who can easily give a bald-faced lie has an advantage, as people don't expect that.

** Possible response: "Yes. [[Artistic License Biology|Straight is the default.]] Gay is an aberrant choice."

* Not an attack on anyone, but [[Abraham Lincoln]] came up with a doozy when he and a colleague visited Niagara Falls. His associate, floored by the sight, rambled at length about how this vast cascade was surely the most awe-inspiring display of Nature's grandeur in all creation. Lincoln listened, thought about it, and then summed up something still grander -- thegrander—the sheer scope of the vast St. Lawrence watershed, that encompasses much of North America -- byAmerica—by asking: "Where did all the ''water'' come from?"

* According to psychologists who specialize in suicide prevention, people do not often directly admit their suicidal intent, but instead give vague hints as to it, with statements such as, "I won't be around for this much longer." The proper response to any suspicion of the comment should immediately be, "What do you mean?" If there is further reason to believe suicidal intent, one should ask directly, "Are you talking about suicide?" If the answer is yes or the equivalent of a yes, then one should ask in a normal tone and without hostility or distress, "Are you planning on killing yourself?" Suicidal people often want to be saved from their seemingly impossible situation from which they want to escape, and they themselves do not feel capable of it. To ask if they are considering suicide in this way is as [[Armor-Piercing Question]] as they get to many ambivalently suicidal people, often inciting an honest confession. To ask sympathetically if they are planning suicide when there is reason to believe so from their own behavior or statements is often enough to elicit a desperate confession, and proper follow-up suicide prevention techniques.

* [[wikipedia:Russellchr(27)Russell's paradox|Russell's paradox]] was an armor-piercing question for the mathematician Frege, who was just on the point of publishing his great work on Set Theory when Bertrand Russell posed the question: "Is the set of all sets that are not members of themselves a member of itself?" Since, in Frege's system, it can be proved that such a set exists, this meant that his system contained an ineradicable contradiction. Frege could do no more than add a note at the end of his work acknowledging the paradox.

* Many conspiracy theories often have gaping holes in their logic that can be exposed with a single question.