Did Not Do The Research

[mrblakemiller]

You've probably been on TV Tropes and seen this marker plenty of places, but there are simply so many examples of writers and commentators making false assumptions and other mistakes about science, philosophy, religion, and general facts that it's an ordeal to try to read them all. So tell me What's your favorite/What's the most egregious example you've seen of someone Not Doing The Research?

I'm sitting in the library of Abilene Christian University right now, so I'll share a few about Christianity:

-A lot of people think there's a line in the Bible that goes something like "better to spill your seed in the belly of a whore than on the ground to be trampled by men." It seems to say that having extramarital sex is still better than masturbation. There is no such verse in the Bible.

-The Bible never says Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. She had seven demons and saw the resurrected Jesus. That's about all we know about her.

-The word "prodigal" in "The Parable of the Prodigal Son" doesn't mean "given to going away and returning" or anything like that. It means "wasteful with money."

I was hoping to have more interesting examples (maybe later), but it's early, I'm sleep-deprived, and I have to go read about a guy who thought Jesus was to literally reign on Earth for 1000 years. He was still a nice guy, though.

So what are the most annoying mistakes writers and other thinkers make about the things you like?

 

[Shockolate]

All the Engrish in anime. For instance, in Yu Yu Hakusho, one of the characters is going to see a band called "Megallica." You'd think they could have gotten it right, unless they were changing the name for copyright reasons, but then why is the font and everything exactly like Metallica's?

I don't really know of any others at the moment...

That's actually because of this trope.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BlandNameProduct

Yes, it was done intentionally.

 

[VoidWanderer]

Is this really a problem? I mean if the cop investigation shows (pretty much anything with the letters C S and I somewhere in the title) were accurate, wouldn't it make their jobs harder. It would literally be a tutorial for murderers and the like and how NOT TO GET CAUGHT.

By making deliberate inaccuracies, there is a chance that they will make a mistake and get caught. It's also why I will never touch any virtual reality game. People can barely tell the difference now and that is just scary!

 

[Sir Shockwave]

Anyone who claims the Terrans from Starcraft or similair did the whole "Space Marine" first. In truth (especially in the case of Starcraft), GW's Space Marines came out first. This is one I can even provide DATES to.

 

[Spectral Dragon]

Glass. As usual. The whole "glass is a liquid!" thing.
The one argument: There are a few windows from like 200 years ago that look like that!
Well, considering we have glasses from even further back that look like they did then...
"But it's a VERY slow process."

Just... Bothers me. EVERY time. Expecially since few accept counter arguments.

 

[PieceOfEden]

Some of the science in Fringe is ridiculous. "The thermite in his skin sealed all his breathing orifices.." LOL WUT?

 

[Richardplex]

All the Engrish in anime. For instance, in Yu Yu Hakusho, one of the characters is going to see a band called "Megallica." You'd think they could have gotten it right, unless they were changing the name for copyright reasons, but then why is the font and everything exactly like Metallica's?

I don't really know of any others at the moment...

It's enough to avoid copyright. For example, in The World God Only Knows, the main character uses a "PFP" which looks identical to the PSP, and the font is the same, but it's enough to avoid copyright infringement. WcDonbalds being another infamous 1, Japan does this a lot.

Edit: Goddamn ninja'd.

 

[Shoqiyqa]

What's the most egregious example you've seen of someone Not Doing The Research?

Outbreak. It was fine until they got within 15 minutes of the end and about a quarter of the way through the plot and had to Deus Ex Faecem Torii the ending.

All the automatically-checked password strengths. "Jordan2" is not a secure password. "timehawkjimmyduncanleftlagoburning" is a much, much stronger password. The computer accepts the first one.

Any article that uses "bacteria" and "virus" as synonyms. That one's a bugbear ... or germbear, of you prefer.

 

[Furioso]

Every time a grenade causes some massive explosion, that's not how they work! Also, I think this clip from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia applies


Couldn't find a better quality video

 

[FreakSheet]

Anything Fox news does?

To be specific, Mass Effect.

 

[Vhite]

Obviously... Video Related.
At first I thought you were someone who was asking for help because you didn't research something.

I have seen top 8 of those on cracked. While this is really bad, two people hacking (read: randomly pressing buttons on keyboard very fast) on one keyboard is what made tears come down from from eyes.

WARNING! IF YOU HAVE SPENT MORE THEN 1 HOURS IN YOUR LIFE ON COMPUTER, FOLLOWING LINK CAN MAKE YOU CRY OR CAUSE UNCONTROLLABLE RAGE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
This:
http://www.cracked.com/article_19160_8-scenes-that-prove-hollywood-doesnt-get-technology_p1.html

 

[superstringz]

Every thread on evolution ever. No exceptions.

 

[steeple]

Obviously... Video Related.
At first I thought you were someone who was asking for help because you didn't research something.

Spoiler: I'm actually a bigger fan of this one

see, if a person doesnt know how to use a keyboard, but knows how to hack computers, then something is not right in this world...

 

[mrblakemiller]

Obviously... Video Related.
At first I thought you were someone who was asking for help because you didn't research something.

I have seen top 10 of those on cracked. While this is really bad, two people hacking (read: randomly pressing buttons on keyboard very fast) on one keyboard is what made tears come down from from eyes.

But... but... but keyboards are designed to be used by one person, as in, they are specifically made so that a mere ten fingers is all it takes to type anything.

Where did you see that? Who writes this crap?

 

[Something Amyss]

-The word "prodigal" in "The Parable of the Prodigal Son" doesn't mean "given to going away and returning" or anything like that. It means "wasteful with money."

That's largely because the word has evolved with time. Though it's interesting that our understanding of the parable has also changed to meet the definition, it's hardly a shock that a word means something different now than when the Bible was first brought into English.

 

[Vhite]

But... but... but keyboards are designed to be used by one person, as in, they are specifically made so that a mere ten fingers is all it takes to type anything.

Where did you see that? Who writes this crap?

I have already edited my original post to include link with 8 such horrors.