The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon is when you never noticed something or saw something before, and then you see it everywhere.

For example say you see a chipmunk in an area you never noticed them before, and now you just see chipmunks everywhere.

  • Cracks_InTheWalls@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    4 days ago

    It’s a fun phenomenon, especially if discussing with New Age types who will start dropping numerology interpretations.

    If you can rein in an immediate “this is stupid bullshit and so are you” reflex, it’s interesting from an for-entertainment-purposes-only perspective.

    • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      4 days ago

      Some friends and I that hung out in college had this with 11:11 on the clock. Felt like we’d look at the time and it would be 11:11 once or even both times every day.

      • Iunnrais@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 day ago

        Mine was just all repeated digits of whatever hour. 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44, 5:55, 11:11 all “counted” in my mind when I was entering university, and it happened so freaking often it was really weirding me out. It seemed like anytime I glanced at a clock without other intention, it would be one of those times. There were probably times I looked at a clock normally, but of course confirmation bias reinforces things. But it really did seem far more often than you’d expect. My bet is that my inner clock was prompting me to look at those times because I got an adreneline or dopamine or something spike, so my subconscious got trained into finding it.