Have you ever visited a store for the first time and had it feel eerily
familiar? Or maybe you're deep in conversation with a friend and you
suddenly get the feeling that you've had the exact conversation before,
even though you know that you haven't.
If you've ever found yourself in either of these situations, you've experienced déjà vu. Sixty to 70 percent of us admit to getting this feeling at least once in our lives. The sight, sound, taste or even smell of something makes us think that we've experienced it before, although we know that we couldn't have.
Déjà vu describes the strange experience of a situation feeling much more familiar than it should. Young people experience déjà vu the most. Many of us report our first experiences between the ages of 6 and 10.
Déjà vu, pronounced day-zhaa voo, is French for “already seen.” It describes the fascinating and strange experience where you feel that something is very familiar but you also know that this feeling of familiarity should not be as strong as it is. For example, you might be walking to school when you suddenly feel like you have been in exactly this situation before. Of course, you have been in the situation before – you have walked to school many times – but the feeling is so strong and so connected to right now, that you know it should not feel as overwhelming as it does
Have a look at this small video to clear your mind about the theory behind the strange feeling
By the time you reach an age between 15 and 25, you will probably be having déjà vu experiences more often than you will ever have them after that. The number of déjà vu experiences people report steadily decreases after 25 years old. This is puzzling for researchers because we are used to thinking of memory problems increasing with age, not decreasing with age! This may actually tell us something really important about déjà vu – that déjà vu is not a memory problem at all. If you think about the stage of déjà vu where you realize that your feeling of recognition should not be as strong as it is, you will probably recognize this is actually a really helpful response. It lets you know that while you may feel really strongly that something is familiar, this feeling is wrong and you should try to ignore it.
If you've ever found yourself in either of these situations, you've experienced déjà vu. Sixty to 70 percent of us admit to getting this feeling at least once in our lives. The sight, sound, taste or even smell of something makes us think that we've experienced it before, although we know that we couldn't have.
Déjà vu describes the strange experience of a situation feeling much more familiar than it should. Young people experience déjà vu the most. Many of us report our first experiences between the ages of 6 and 10.
Déjà vu, pronounced day-zhaa voo, is French for “already seen.” It describes the fascinating and strange experience where you feel that something is very familiar but you also know that this feeling of familiarity should not be as strong as it is. For example, you might be walking to school when you suddenly feel like you have been in exactly this situation before. Of course, you have been in the situation before – you have walked to school many times – but the feeling is so strong and so connected to right now, that you know it should not feel as overwhelming as it does
Have a look at this small video to clear your mind about the theory behind the strange feeling
By the time you reach an age between 15 and 25, you will probably be having déjà vu experiences more often than you will ever have them after that. The number of déjà vu experiences people report steadily decreases after 25 years old. This is puzzling for researchers because we are used to thinking of memory problems increasing with age, not decreasing with age! This may actually tell us something really important about déjà vu – that déjà vu is not a memory problem at all. If you think about the stage of déjà vu where you realize that your feeling of recognition should not be as strong as it is, you will probably recognize this is actually a really helpful response. It lets you know that while you may feel really strongly that something is familiar, this feeling is wrong and you should try to ignore it.
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