Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

This Ain't Rocket Surgery

 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
type
FeatureClass
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
label
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
page
ThisAintRocketSurgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
comment
The brain surgeon and rocket scientist are often held as the benchmark for careers that require highly intelligent, skilled, and successful people. They get this accolade not only for their obviously complicated and specialized jobs but also for the importance of their roles. The brain surgeon spends hours with a scalpel to the body's most vital organ, where even just the tiniest mistake can cause serious damage, which can also mean countless lawsuits if not going to jail for the rest of your life. The rocket scientist deals with sending multibillion-dollar projects into the loftiest frontier — and, as amply demonstrated by the U.S.'s earliest space rockets, as well as more recent interplanetary probes, one mistake can result in disaster.
A high standard of success is applied to anyone who becomes one of these two roles. Their intellect is not associated with absent-mindedness nor cold villainy using science with malicious intent. They are obviously able to accomplish great feats. So the level of rocket surgeon or brain scientist can leave a big empty gap when one fails to live up to it.
As a benchmark, then, they become a synecdoche for all smart, difficult jobs. If something is to be implied to be easy, it will be unfavourably compared to them. "It's not like it's rocket science." may be muttered, while "You're hardly a brain surgeon." may be used to break the bad news to The Ditz that they didn't get into Harvard's med school.
This doesn't mean the job is easy. For instance, being President of the United States is generally agreed to be quite difficult, only forty-five mennote Grover Cleveland was President twice. have managed to get the job at all, but it ain't rocket surgery. Now Mr. President may be able to console himself, but in general, if there is a surgeonnote Note that this refers specifically to the brain surgery or similar, for not all surgery branches are made equal: orthopedic surgery, for example, has long been stereotyped within the medical profession as a province of brutes with far more brawn and bloodlust than brains. or aeronautical engineer in the family, the shadow can loom over a younger member's head — especially if they have a Jewish Mother.
A common punchline is for the user to realize or be reminded immediately after saying the phrase that what he's describing actually is Rocket Surgery. A variant is to claim that an instance of rocket science "isn't brain surgery", or vice versa, with obligatory Lampshade Hanging.
Sadly, this trope is about two different things — Rocket Science or Brain Surgery, and has nothing at all to do with the actual combination of Rocket Surgery, which is either performing surgery while upon a rocket or performing surgery with rockets, either of which would be intensely more cool than either alone. As such, the scenarios where one is used will usually differ. Brain surgery will usually be brought up when a character is performing a task that requires exceptionally precise control of your actions; rocket science will more often than not be brought when a character is either designing or making something that includes egregious amounts of math and a complicated layout.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
fetched
2024-02-05T11:45:50Z
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
parsed
2024-02-05T11:45:50Z
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
processingComment
Dropped link to CrazyEnoughToWork: Not an Item - FEATURE
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
processingComment
Dropped link to GeniusDitz: Not an Item - FEATURE
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
processingComment
Dropped link to ObligatoryJoke: Not an Item - FEATURE
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
processingComment
Dropped link to OpenMouthInsertFoot: Not an Item - FEATURE
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
processingComment
Dropped link to PublicServiceAnnouncement: Not an Item - FEATURE
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
processingComment
Dropped link to RealLife: Not an Item - FEATURE
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
processingComment
Dropped link to TheBoondockSaintsIIAllSaintsDay: Not an Item - UNKNOWN
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
processingComment
Dropped link to TheMovie: Not an Item - FEATURE
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
processingComment
Dropped link to TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket: Not an Item - FEATURE
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
processingUnknown
TheBoondockSaintsIIAllSaintsDay
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
isPartOf
DBTropes
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_14f9297e
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_14f9297e
comment
One The Far Side cartoon showed a group of people in lab coats looking at a cracked, misshapen rocket, with the caption, "Gentlemen, I think we should face the fact that we're not exactly rocket scientists."
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_14f9297e
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_14f9297e
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Far Side (Comic Strip)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_14f9297e
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1a262ab5
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1a262ab5
comment
In a Get Fuzzy Bucky the cat tries to make a trap for their neighbor's ferret. This trap required blueprints on several sheets of paper. Bucky claims this is not rocket science. Rob claims that figure six dares one to say otherwise.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1a262ab5
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1a262ab5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Get Fuzzy (Comic Strip)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1a262ab5
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1b9abae6
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1b9abae6
comment
A Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego level set in The Space Race has the player trying to help the first cosmonaut get into orbit on schedule. The cosmonaut claims fixing the ship is rather simple and "not rocket science", leaving the helper character to point out that yeah, it is rocket science.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1b9abae6
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1b9abae6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1b9abae6
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c34acd2
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c34acd2
comment
In Rocketship Voyager, B'Elanna Torres finds herself up against the all-male clique of Voyager's engineering crew and gripes, "I've got a Master's degree in rocket science, and your Acting-Chief Engineer had me stripping asbestos off the heat vents because he says it's not safe to work on the Cochrane Drive!"
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c34acd2
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c34acd2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Rocketship Voyager (Fanfic)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c34acd2
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c5e55fc
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c5e55fc
comment
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension: Buckaroo Banzai, when he's not playing at a concert or fighting off the Red Lectroids, has to test the rocket car he helped engineer - just after completing brain surgery on an Eskimo.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c5e55fc
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c5e55fc
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c5e55fc
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c7b4c37
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c7b4c37
comment
Inverted in Ender's Game, where the child proteges are chewed out because only three of them solved an orbital slingshot problem, described as basic rocket science.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c7b4c37
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c7b4c37
featureConfidence
1.0
 Ender's Game
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1c7b4c37
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1f0fe64e
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1f0fe64e
comment
Completely averted in Monster, despite the protagonist being a brain surgeon. Apart from referencing his skill as a doctor, there is no mention of his intelligence.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1f0fe64e
featureApplicability
-1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1f0fe64e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Monster
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_1f0fe64e
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_261c8d3f
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_261c8d3f
comment
The Simpsons
In a Halloween special, Smithers is initially startled when Mr. Burns plans to remove Homer's brain using an ice cream scoop. Mr. Burns retorts, "This isn't rocket science. It's brain surgery."
Then, in "Viva Ned Flanders", Homer agrees to take part in a Lance Murdoch stunt. Lance tells Homer that it's dangerous...
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_261c8d3f
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_261c8d3f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Simpsons
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_261c8d3f
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3436775c
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3436775c
comment
Averted on Medium, where Joe IS a rocket scientist (ie, an aerospace engineer), but never calls attention to it.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3436775c
featureApplicability
-1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3436775c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Medium
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3436775c
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_375e8f14
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_375e8f14
comment
In The Last Hero, Ponder Stibbons is drawn wearing a shirt with the words "Actually, I Am A Rocket Wizard" on it.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_375e8f14
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_375e8f14
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Last Hero
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_375e8f14
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3d8baf13
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3d8baf13
comment
Sarcastically employed in RoboCop 3. A thug tries to rob a donut shop but forgets about the stereotypical customer of late-night donut shops and gets several dozen laser sight dots painted on him. The store clerk smugly puts icing on the donut by asking the hood, "What's it like, being a rocket scientist?"
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3d8baf13
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3d8baf13
featureConfidence
1.0
 RoboCop 3
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3d8baf13
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3fbd173e
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3fbd173e
comment
An exchange from Freefall:
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3fbd173e
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3fbd173e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Freefall (Webcomic)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_3fbd173e
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4617a9f2
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4617a9f2
comment
Married... with Children has Kelly masquerading as a scientist from "the National Aeronautics and Space Administration". Upon being told that it's impressive that someone as young as her is working there, she replies, "Well, you know, it isn't exactly rocket science."
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4617a9f2
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4617a9f2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Married... with Children
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4617a9f2
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_468bebb0
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_468bebb0
comment
Discworld:
Archchancellor Ridcully once commented that something should be quite simple. "It's not rocket magic."
In The Last Hero, Ponder Stibbons is drawn wearing a shirt with the words "Actually, I Am A Rocket Wizard" on it.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_468bebb0
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_468bebb0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Discworld
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_468bebb0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4e45b093
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4e45b093
comment
In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon gets insulted when his sister says that she proudly tells everyone he's a rocket scientist. He's a theoretical physicist, and looks on rocket science as no different than mindless manual labor. Another character, Howard Wolowitz, is an aeronautical engineer who has designed components for the International Space Station, which makes him the closest to an actual rocket scientist, but other characters look down on him as "inferior" because he only has a Masters and not a Doctoratenote a Masters degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, mind you.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4e45b093
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4e45b093
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Big Bang Theory
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4e45b093
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4fc4dc7a
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4fc4dc7a
comment
In The Sims 4, the achievement for maximizing the Rocket Science skill is named "It's Not Brain Surgery".
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4fc4dc7a
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4fc4dc7a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Sims 4 (Video Game)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_4fc4dc7a
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_55ef2655
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_55ef2655
comment
Kel's unseen parents in Kenan & Kel are a Rocket Scientist and a Brain Surgeon despite him being an apparent moron.
According to a later episode's IQ test, Kel is also apparently categorized as a genius.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_55ef2655
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_55ef2655
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kenan & Kel
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_55ef2655
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_5c897f4a
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_5c897f4a
comment
An example from Schlock Mercenary, when two non-medics contemplate performing battlefield brain surgery:
And later in the same arc, when two non-pilots contemplate performing a complex spacecraft rendezvous:
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_5c897f4a
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_5c897f4a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Schlock Mercenary (Webcomic)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_5c897f4a
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_5e033e45
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_5e033e45
comment
In Roxanne, Chris remarks about the titular love interest, regarding her approachability, that "It's not like she's a rocket scientist!" C.D. responds that actually, that's exactly what she is.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_5e033e45
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_5e033e45
featureConfidence
1.0
 Roxanne
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_5e033e45
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_64341267
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_64341267
comment
Herman's Head. When Herman and Jay appear on a TV dating show, Jay enters Herman as "unemployed" because he says it makes him more realistic, but enters himself as a "racing car driver and brain surgeon".
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_64341267
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_64341267
featureConfidence
1.0
 Herman's Head
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_64341267
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_654eafeb
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_654eafeb
comment
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Baxter Stockman gets annoyed at being demanded to deliver results quickly.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_654eafeb
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_654eafeb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) (Comic Book)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_654eafeb
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_664b5d51
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_664b5d51
comment
In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Scotty hands Bones some very important parts from the Starship Excelsior's warp drive with the words "From one surgeon to another".
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_664b5d51
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_664b5d51
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_664b5d51
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_677fd618
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_677fd618
comment
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! includes a side mission called "It Ain't Rocket Surgery". In it, you fulfill a brief quest to obtain body parts and brains, which you then install into several rockets as guidance systems, under the instruction of a rather ebullient Dr. Spara. Hilarity ensues.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_677fd618
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_677fd618
featureConfidence
1.0
 Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! (Video Game)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_677fd618
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6c3c2216
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6c3c2216
comment
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: Sheen asks Jimmy a question while they're all working on spaceships to pursue the Yolkians.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6c3c2216
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6c3c2216
featureConfidence
1.0
 Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6c3c2216
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6c9193a1
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6c9193a1
comment
The Venture Brothers: When Dr. Venture is showing off his Walking Eye:
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6c9193a1
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6c9193a1
featureConfidence
1.0
 TheVentureBrothers
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6c9193a1
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6e91edcb
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6e91edcb
comment
One episode of Bounty Hamster revolved around Marion the hamster being split into varying personalities aligned with the Seven Dwarves. The "Dopey" specimen said both "it isn't rocket science" and "it's not brain surgery" at varying times. And yes, he said "it's not brain surgery" two seconds before finding out it was. Ditto with rocket science.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6e91edcb
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6e91edcb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bounty Hamster
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_6e91edcb
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_71ac2098
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_71ac2098
comment
This exact quote appeared in the 1999 film Mystery, Alaska:
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_71ac2098
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_71ac2098
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mystery, Alaska
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_71ac2098
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_74fb542e
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_74fb542e
comment
A sketch on That Mitchell and Webb Look provides the page quote - an obnoxious brain surgeon at a party shoots down everyone's job descriptions with "well... it's not exactly brain surgery, is it? And I would know!" Until he meets "a scientist" who "works mainly with rockets"...
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_74fb542e
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_74fb542e
featureConfidence
1.0
 That Mitchell and Webb Look
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_74fb542e
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7698b31d
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7698b31d
comment
What If? has a variant—"Hitting a comet" compares remotely landing a probe with remote laser surgery.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7698b31d
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7698b31d
featureConfidence
1.0
 What If? (Blog)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7698b31d
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_79a548b4
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_79a548b4
comment
Forgotten Weapons' video about the AN-94, a very complex rifle, has the title Rocket Surgery: Inside the Russian Nikonov AN-94
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_79a548b4
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_79a548b4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Forgotten Weapons (Web Video)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_79a548b4
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7af252ef
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7af252ef
comment
For All Mankind. NASA runs into a snag with the female astronaut program because the piss tube on the lunar module has only been made for men. When they suggest that Molly Cobb wear a diaper the entire trip, Ed Baldwin is not impressed and orders them to come up with a better idea. "You're NASA, you're rocket scientists. Figure it out."
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7af252ef
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7af252ef
featureConfidence
1.0
 For All Mankind
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7af252ef
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7c60fb0f
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7c60fb0f
comment
A The Simpsons comic B-plot has Lisa and Homer discover people faking footage of the Mars rover. A government lady explains that two-thirds of all space missions fail horribly, and because people don't like to see a billion-dollar project their taxes paid for go up in smoke, they just film fake footage of what should have happened to please everyone. Lisa asks why they can't simply make probes and ships that work, and a scientist exclaims "Oh right! It's that easy! You know why they say "it isn't rocket science"? This is rocket science!" The government lady apologizes on the scientist's behalf, explaining that he's been grumpy ever since he lost a big probe on Uranus, which he's been understandably mocked for.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7c60fb0f
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7c60fb0f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Simpsons (Comic Book)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7c60fb0f
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7df661c5
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7df661c5
comment
Brought up in No Straight Roads when DJ Subatomic Supernova is berating an NSR employee over the phone how to launch a satellite. It should be noted that DJ Supernova was an astrophysics professor before taking up music, so of course he'd know a good amount about space and such.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7df661c5
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7df661c5
featureConfidence
1.0
 No Straight Roads (Video Game)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7df661c5
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7e88ac08
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7e88ac08
comment
The Equalizer. The leader of a race hate group is pitching to several radical right-wing organizations for support. They sneer over the fact that he's a refrigerator salesman. He mentions the rocket scientist trope when pointing out that the other members of his group are all blue-collar workers, so he's entirely qualified to lead them.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7e88ac08
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7e88ac08
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Equalizer
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_7e88ac08
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_81692f99
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_81692f99
comment
Star Trek:
In both Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek Into Darkness, Bones actually performs surgery on a rocket. Repeatedly. (Technically it's a torpedo, but still..)
In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Scotty hands Bones some very important parts from the Starship Excelsior's warp drive with the words "From one surgeon to another".
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_81692f99
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_81692f99
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek (Franchise)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_81692f99
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_85c41bc6
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_85c41bc6
comment
Lampshaded during Peter David's run on The Incredible Hulk, when "Professor" Hulk comments, "It's not rocket science. Of course, I am a rocket scientist..."
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_85c41bc6
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_85c41bc6
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Incredible Hulk (Comic Book)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_85c41bc6
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_87b55b5d
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_87b55b5d
comment
The Onion had a headline that was, "Suborbital Ballistic-Propulsion Engineer not exactly a rocket scientist."
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_87b55b5d
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_87b55b5d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Onion (Website)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_87b55b5d
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_8ee65bc
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_8ee65bc
comment
Averted in Space Cadet (Heinlein) when the protagonist it told that astrogation is actually an easy subject because like all knowledge-based subjects it can be taught via Sleep Learning. Applying that information is the hard part.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_8ee65bc
featureApplicability
-1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_8ee65bc
featureConfidence
1.0
 Space Cadet (Heinlein)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_8ee65bc
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_90a3a7f4
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_90a3a7f4
comment
In Kim Possible, the titular character is the daughter of a rocket scientist (her father) and a board-certified neurosurgeon (her mother). In one episode, where her parents come up with the idea of a summer job at a fast-food place to ease her money issues, she remarks:
Also, on the subject of her annoying younger twin brothers, at that moment firing a rocket of their own invention through the house (in So the Drama):
And in another episode, Kim's father is struggling with his tax forms and trying to call an accountant to help him.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_90a3a7f4
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_90a3a7f4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kim Possible
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_90a3a7f4
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_924bb56e
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_924bb56e
comment
Dollhouse. On one engagement, Echo's Neural Implanting gives her the personality of a ditzy college student. The man who created the persona quips: "So, not exactly a rocket scientist. Normally that would be irony, but here one never knows."
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_924bb56e
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_924bb56e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dollhouse
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_924bb56e
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_9e375bf6
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_9e375bf6
comment
Played for laughs in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, where Sherman, whose mind is decaying rapidly and is just about to meet Denise's parents, assures himself that he won't make a fool of himself because Denise's parents are probably not rocket scientists. Turns out that's exactly what they are.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_9e375bf6
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_9e375bf6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_9e375bf6
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a068f8a1
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a068f8a1
comment
Doctor Strange is one of the seven most intelligent people in the Marvel Universe, and he was a brain surgeon before he became a wizard.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a068f8a1
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a068f8a1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Doctor Strange (Comic Book)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a068f8a1
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a2482670
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a2482670
comment
On a comedy edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Jack Black was unsure of an answer, so he called his rocket scientist parents. He wound up walking, not wanting to risk the $125K he had won for charity. However, since this wasn't exactly rocket science, it was revealed that his mom had given him the correct answer.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a2482670
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a2482670
featureConfidence
1.0
 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a2482670
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a32b6a64
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a32b6a64
comment
The West Wing. A Jewish Mother joke from Bradley Whitford. She points at a picture of the president, "See that guy? The guy standing next to him is a doctor."
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a32b6a64
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a32b6a64
featureConfidence
1.0
 The West Wing
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a32b6a64
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a52def46
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a52def46
comment
A webcomic based off of Kerbal Space Program is actually called It's Hardly Rocket Science.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a52def46
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a52def46
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kerbal Space Program (Video Game)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_a52def46
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_aa88317d
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_aa88317d
comment
Ricky from the Trailer Park Boys in reference to an easy task: "It's not rocket appliances."
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_aa88317d
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_aa88317d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Trailer Park Boys
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_aa88317d
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ac67074d
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ac67074d
comment
Teen Titans: A dismembered Cyborg loses his temper over Beast Boy's inability to follow his instructions to rebuild their rocket:
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ac67074d
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ac67074d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Teen Titans
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ac67074d
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_af7de67f
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_af7de67f
comment
Gold Rush!: One eighth season episode has Parker's mechanic mention this trope by name while repairing a loose battery connection on a water pump.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_af7de67f
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_af7de67f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gold Rush!
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_af7de67f
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b1f4c403
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b1f4c403
comment
Extreme Prejudice. Two of the black ops team fake a racist confrontation at an unemployment office as a Get into Jail Free ploy.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b1f4c403
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b1f4c403
featureConfidence
1.0
 Extreme Prejudice
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b1f4c403
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b3f687d1
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b3f687d1
comment
In FoxTrot, Roger explains in one of his Must Have Caffeine scenes that anything one does before 8:00 AM qualifies as brain surgery.
In a story arc where Roger gets the flu, he asks a busy Andy to make him some chicken soup:
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b3f687d1
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b3f687d1
featureConfidence
1.0
 FoxTrot (Comic Strip)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b3f687d1
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b8b584cf
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b8b584cf
comment
In Zits, Jeremy's dad Walt names this trope exactly while being congratulated. The congrats die down quickly.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b8b584cf
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b8b584cf
featureConfidence
1.0
 Zits (Comic Strip)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_b8b584cf
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_bc3e398b
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_bc3e398b
comment
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles had a funny example where John compliments Cameron on getting better at using eyeliner before pointing out that it isn't exactly brain surgery. Cameron being Cameron states that it would have to be a lot sharper for brain surgery.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_bc3e398b
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_bc3e398b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_bc3e398b
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_bddc4ebe
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_bddc4ebe
comment
Subverted in an exchange from Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, where Hayley states about Tommy "A rocket scientist, he ain't." "And you are? "Among other things, yes."
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_bddc4ebe
featureApplicability
-0.3
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_bddc4ebe
featureConfidence
1.0
 Power Rangers: Dino Thunder
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_bddc4ebe
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_c43df4d8
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_c43df4d8
comment
Doctor Who. In "The Girl Who Waited", the Doctor Motor Mouths some complex instructions to Rory on how to rewire a console. When he looks confused, the Doctor says, "Come on Rory, it's not rocket science, it's basic quantum physics!"
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_c43df4d8
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_c43df4d8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Doctor Who
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_c43df4d8
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_c9633211
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_c9633211
comment
Interesting example, the final boss of No More Heroes (a really hard fight and a freaking ton of crazy plot twists) has a kickass battle theme called, appropriately: "Rocket Surgeon".
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_c9633211
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_c9633211
featureConfidence
1.0
 No More Heroes (Video Game)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_c9633211
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ca5d97f1
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ca5d97f1
comment
Monty Python's Flying Circus - Mr. Gumby sees Dr. Gumby:
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ca5d97f1
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ca5d97f1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Monty Python's Flying Circus
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ca5d97f1
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_dc25de3f
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_dc25de3f
comment
Portal: "We're not banging rocks together over here!"
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_dc25de3f
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_dc25de3f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Portal / Videogame
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_dc25de3f
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_e4732abc
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_e4732abc
comment
Stargate Atlantis used the "actually it kind of is" variant at least once, when Dr. Keller is trying to remove a parasite from McKay's brain.
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_e4732abc
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_e4732abc
featureConfidence
1.0
 Stargate Atlantis
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_e4732abc
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_eb611766
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_eb611766
comment
Referenced by Kerbal Space Program's tagline: "How hard can rocket science be, anyway?"
And when you go into the VAB for the first time in a save, the help dialog contains: "It's not like we're rocket sc... er"
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_eb611766
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_eb611766
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kerbal Space Program (Video Game)
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_eb611766
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ed0803a7
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ed0803a7
comment
In both Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek Into Darkness, Bones actually performs surgery on a rocket. Repeatedly. (Technically it's a torpedo, but still..)
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ed0803a7
featureApplicability
1.0
 This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ed0803a7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
hasFeature
This Ain't Rocket Surgery / int_ed0803a7

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 This Ain't Rocket Surgery
processingCategory2
Intelligence Tropes
 Zits (Comic Strip) / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 Danny Phantom: Blackmailed (Fanfic) / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 The Simpsons: Team L.A.S.H. (Fanfic) / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 Armageddon / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 Armageddon (1998) / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 Ender's Game / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 Nutty Professor II: The Klumps / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 RoboCop 3 / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 DeceasedCrab (Lets Play) / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 The Last Hero / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 TheDeadliestMushroom
seeAlso
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 For All Mankind / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 That Mitchell and Webb Look / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 Kerbal Space Program (Video Game) / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 No More Heroes (Video Game) / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 No Straight Roads (Video Game) / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 Freeman's Mind (Web Video) / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 Awkward Zombie (Webcomic) / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 Bounty Hamster / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery
 Fanboy and Chum Chum / int_1fb77f70
type
This Ain't Rocket Surgery