• Question: Why do people have da ja vu?

    Asked by gekogeorgie to Ben, Dave, Ed, Sam, Susana on 24 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Sam Horrell

      Sam Horrell answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      There are lots and lots of theories about this and they have a pretty wide range from past memories from a reincarnation to simple glitches in the process of making a memory.

      The scientific definition of Deja Vu is the feeling that you’ve seen or experienced something before when you know you haven’t. It’s pretty difficult for scientists to study DejaVu as it occurs randomly, with no physical or phisioloical signs and not everone gets it. The brain is pretty complex (under statement) and there is still a lot we don’t understand about it. Maybe one day we will have a better understanding.

    • Photo: David Briggs

      David Briggs answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      We don’t know – as Sam said there is an awful lot that we don’t know about how the brain works – and this is one of the things we don’t know!

    • Photo: Susana Teixeira

      Susana Teixeira answered on 27 Jun 2013:

      I would guess people have “deja vu” because our brain is wired to detect patterns, for that it needs to memorise many facts, so it can find relations between things. The exact mechanism behind it is still not clear, and as Dave and Sam mentioned there are many theories.

      It can happen through a mechanism similar to familiarity, which is when your brain is familiar with something but you cannot pinpoint in the past when did that happen before. Like when you see someone on the street that you are sure you have met, but don’t know where or when!
      Maybe it can happen through the same mechanism as familiarity, which is when your brain is familiar with something but you cannot,… having a deja vu? 😉

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