Does anybody else experience this super weird feeling?

Lalaloopsy · Nov 13, 2015

It's hard to explain what I mean. You know when you hear an uncommon word that you've never heard before, then suddenly you hear that word multiple times that day.
For example, the other day I was watching some TV show about the economy and somebody on screen said the word "fiduciary". I'd never heard that word before in my life, but then suddenly I was hearing it be randomly said all through the next day. At the store, on multiple TV shows, at college and just randomly around town. Almost as if I was supposed to hear it.

Also, do you believe in the Mandela effect? Here's a definition:

The Mandela Effect is a theory put forth by writer and “paranormal consultant” Fiona Broome that shared false memories are in fact glimpses into parallel worlds with different timelines.

_________________________________________________________________________________

An example of this would be the episode of "The Simpsons" where Homer goes to New York. He really has to pee so he goes to the top of the World Trade Center but discovers the bathrooms are full. He runs ACROSS THE CONNECTING BRIDGE over to the South tower to use those bathrooms.
Some people say there was never a bridge in that episode but many people believe there was.

Helix · Nov 13, 2015

Lalaloopsy said:
It's hard to explain what I mean. You know when you hear an uncommon word that you've never heard before, then suddenly you hear that word multiple times that day.
For example, the other day I was watching some TV show about the economy and somebody on screen said the word "fiduciary". I'd never heard that word before in my life, but then suddenly I was hearing it be randomly said all through the next day. At the store, on multiple TV shows, at college and just randomly around town. Almost as if I was supposed to hear it.

So you notice a word and then notice it again. Not paranormal.

Lalaloopsy said:
Also, do you believe in the Mandela effect? Here's a definition:

The Mandela Effect is a theory put forth by writer and “paranormal consultant” Fiona Broome that shared false memories are in fact glimpses into parallel worlds with different timelines.

Memories are faulty. Not paranormal.

Lalaloopsy said:
An example of this would be the episode of "The Simpsons" where Homer goes to New York. He really has to pee so he goes to the top of the World Trade Center but discovers the bathrooms are full. He runs ACROSS THE CONNECTING BRIDGE over to the South tower to use those bathrooms.
Some people say there was never a bridge in that episode but many people believe there was.

See above.

SWest · Nov 13, 2015

Here are some more words your brain is likely to notice a lot from now on: Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.

:greenie

Sage · Nov 13, 2015

SWest said:
Here are some more words your brain is likely to notice a lot from now on: Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.

That car thing totally happened to me when I was shopping for cars, but I still swear that my car was nowhere to be found until I first "heard" about it My eyes always catch Priuses and Fits on the road, two cars that I have always really liked. And now that Prius has brought out other versions of the car, I've noticed that I can ID them all from the front. But I didn't see one of the Prius Cs until I was doing research on all the hybrids out there, and found out there was a compact Prius, about the size of the other hatchbacks that I liked and within my price range. The very next day, I was behind a very slow truck and noticed a Prius (from the front) was at the crossroad in the intersection. It pulled out and got between me and the slow truck, but I had never seen a Prius with a back like that before. It was a C! It seems impossible that I wouldn't have had the same experience -- recognizing a Prius but then finding out it was different in the back -- if they had really been all around before that day. I have always perked up at the sight of a Prius. But it also seems absurd that that it would be a coincidence that the first one I ever came across was the day after I saw the report on it.

SWest · Nov 13, 2015

Well, your brain loves you the most in the whole world. You happen to mention to it "Hey, I kinda like the features of that car!" And your brain, loving it as it does, goes "OK - look! There's one. And, hey - we've parked right next to one here! That's the car you like, right?" :greenie

And so forth.

This heightened noticing thing isn't all there is to all instances of in-your-face repetitive viewing, but it's a decent explanation for a great many.

ETA: Similar to always seeing a 'meaningful' date on a digital clock.

MakanJuu · Nov 13, 2015

Huh. I never knew there was an actual name for that, lol.

As to the Mandela Effect, I've heard the term before & the idea intrigues me. However, I find it unlikely that it's real, especially because I've had my share of similar moments myself, it's usually when I'm distracted & I usually realize after I've sorted it out that I was wrong, not the other way around.

But, if interdimensional or time travel are/ were possible, I'd be something I'd love to try. When I'm stuck at work at night, I sometimes imagine or entertain the idea that they might be time travelers in disguise. Especially when they know my name, say things that sound vaguely cryptic or look like older versions of myself or other people I know. I actually got creeped out one night because a man & woman walked in, the man looked & acted like me with grey hair & they paid with a brand new 30 year old $20.

Mary Love · Nov 13, 2015

Lalaloopsy said:
the word "fiduciary". I'd never heard that word before in my life,

What? Haven't you ever seen Mary Poppins? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxyB29bDbBA
:ROFL:

I agree that this phenomenon happens tho, at least to me!

Lalaloopsy · Nov 13, 2015

Mary Love said:
What? Haven't you ever seen Mary Poppins? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxyB29bDbBA

I agree that this phenomenon happens tho, at least to me!

Mary Poppins? Never.

Roxxsmom · Nov 13, 2015

I call it the "Camry" effect, because I didn't notice how many Camries there were on the road until my parents bought one. Now, I don't think my parent's purchase of the car coincided with an abrupt spike in their popularity. It's possible, of course, but the car had been a popular model for years before they purchased theirs, so it's unlikely in this case.

I just had a better sense of what they looked like after my parents got one, so I noticed them more. Before that, Camries were simply one of many bland, generic smallish sedans on the road.

I've had the same thing happen with words. We're exposed to unfamiliar words all the time, but we most often don't notice them. Why not? Because we're only tuned into a small fraction of the things people say, and we're more likely to tune in to something that is of interest to us, or at least familiar. But if we just learned a new word, we're more likely to notice it being used the next time we hear it. It jumps out at us, so to speak.

So if I hear an unfamiliar word in a context where I actually elucidate its meaning and remember it, then my ears are more likely to prick the next time I hear that word in a conversation somewhere, or in a book, or on TV. I suspect we're wired that way, actually, because it would be really beneficial to young children who are acquiring language--reinforcing the acquisition of vocabulary via context.

kennyc · Nov 14, 2015

I believe in peanut butter.

shizu · Nov 15, 2015

Our brains are wired to do this kind of thing. Finding patterns and connections -- especially when it comes to unusual things you're not consciously aware of noticing before -- is a Big Deal as far as your brain's concerned. It probably saved us from lions back in the day; maybe there was a pattern of events that suggested the proximity of something that would eat us and we learned that patterns were serious business. The problem is that in today's world, there's so much information coming into our brains (and so much we've already processed and recorded) that patterns are inevitably everywhere, and the vast majority of the time they don't mean anything at all.

Your brain doesn't know this, however. A significant part of your brain (your amygdala, the 'lizard brain' that's responsible for the fight-or-flight response, and teaching you that things are dangerous and scary -- even when they aren't -- among other things) still thinks it needs to keep you safe from lions.

When you consciously notice something new, you're drawing your brain's attention to it. Your brain might have subconsciously noticed this thing a hundred times before without paying the slightest bit of attention, but by imprinting the anomalous nature of this unusual thing you're programming it to make that Big Deal of it every time it happens again in future. And when it invariably does, then you're reinforcing "this is important!" That's the confirmation bias at work; you don't notice all the times it doesn't happen, just the few times it does.

I deal with this stuff a lot thanks to a fabulously awful anxiety disorder, but sometimes I think the way we work as writers (dealing in "what if?" so much) makes us notice this kind of thing more often too.

kennyc · Nov 15, 2015

shizu said:
Our brains are wired to do this kind of thing. Finding patterns and connections -- especially when it comes to unusual things you're not consciously aware of noticing before -- is a Big Deal as far as your brain's concerned. It probably saved us from lions back in the day; maybe there was a pattern of events that suggested the proximity of something that would eat us and we learned that patterns were serious business. The problem is that in today's world, there's so much information coming into our brains (and so much we've already processed and recorded) that patterns are inevitably everywhere, and the vast majority of the time they don't mean anything at all.

Your brain doesn't know this, however. A significant part of your brain (your amygdala, the 'lizard brain' that's responsible for the fight-or-flight response, and teaching you that things are dangerous and scary -- even when they aren't -- among other things) still thinks it needs to keep you safe from lions.

When you consciously notice something new, you're drawing your brain's attention to it. Your brain might have subconsciously noticed this thing a hundred times before without paying the slightest bit of attention, but by imprinting the anomalous nature of this unusual thing you're programming it to make that Big Deal of it every time it happens again in future. And when it invariably does, then you're reinforcing "this is important!" That's the confirmation bias at work; you don't notice all the times it doesn't happen, just the few times it does.

I deal with this stuff a lot thanks to a fabulously awful anxiety disorder, but sometimes I think the way we work as writers (dealing in "what if?" so much) makes us notice this kind of thing more often too.

Yes! Great post and also as writers we can make use of this in our writing....perhaps not easily....but it can be used to 'influence' the reader....(maybe/perhaps moreso in mystery stories?)

MakanJuu · Nov 15, 2015

Why do I see any book that tries that turning into some kind of urban legend?

swachski · Nov 15, 2015

SWest said:
Here are some more words your brain is likely to notice a lot from now on: Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.

Which is the opposite of the Bernie-Madoff Phenomenon. When someone tells you your going to make a ton of money, then you discover that it doesn't pop up anywhere.. :greenie

kennyc said:
I believe in peanut butter.

You know, since I read this, I've been seeing peanut butter everywhere!

Vito · Nov 15, 2015

Sometimes when I walk through a crowd of people I hear someone mutter the word "sketchy", then I hear that same word over and over until I'm done walking through the crowd. "Watch your wallet", too. I hear that phrase a lot, for some reason. A lot!

:Shrug:

Does anybody else experience this super weird feeling?

Lalaloopsy

Helix

socially distancing

SWest

In the garden...

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

SWest

In the garden...

MakanJuu

Mary Love

Lalaloopsy

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

kennyc

shizu

kennyc

MakanJuu

swachski

checking the 'reset' box

Vito

Recalled to life