About: Centipede's Dilemma   Sponge Permalink

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A trope named for the folk tale of a centipede who had no trouble walking until asked how he managed all those legs. He started thinking about the process and immediately became unable to do it anymore. Often encountered during the Bizarre and Improbable Golf Game, when one player attempts to induce a dilemma in his (usually winning) opponent by asking, "Do you breathe in or out on the backswing?" That said, this can show up in any context featuring a complex activity that requires one "get into the flow". Examples of Centipede's Dilemma include:

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  • Centipede's Dilemma
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  • A trope named for the folk tale of a centipede who had no trouble walking until asked how he managed all those legs. He started thinking about the process and immediately became unable to do it anymore. Often encountered during the Bizarre and Improbable Golf Game, when one player attempts to induce a dilemma in his (usually winning) opponent by asking, "Do you breathe in or out on the backswing?" That said, this can show up in any context featuring a complex activity that requires one "get into the flow". Examples of Centipede's Dilemma include:
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dbkwik:all-the-tro...iPageUsesTemplate
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abstract
  • A trope named for the folk tale of a centipede who had no trouble walking until asked how he managed all those legs. He started thinking about the process and immediately became unable to do it anymore. Often encountered during the Bizarre and Improbable Golf Game, when one player attempts to induce a dilemma in his (usually winning) opponent by asking, "Do you breathe in or out on the backswing?" That said, this can show up in any context featuring a complex activity that requires one "get into the flow". The trope is sufficiently well-known that sometimes the writer will just have someone comment, "Oh, he's got Centipede's Dilemma," or the like, rather than actually explaining what the problem is when Mr. Awesome starts messing up. Warning: reading the examples below may well cause you to have the same problem that the characters are having. Compare Achievements in Ignorance, Puff of Logic, Performance Anxiety, Don't Think. Feel, and Magnum Opus Dissonance. Attempting this on a group of people simultaneously may lead into someone biting into the Apple of Discord. Should not be confused for the Centhuen Prototype's Dilemma, nor should you ever think it has anything to do with The Human Centipede. Examples of Centipede's Dilemma include:
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