Blog Post 8: Déjà vu in the Big Screen

Déjà vu is commonly known as a strange phenomenon in human lives. Because of the latest technology and creative minds of the people, they start to adapt déjà vu as a part of human culture which create new things to form a lot of brand new ideas and also newest definition of déjà vu.

Déjà Vu is an interesting topic whose existence is yet to be explained by experts. That is why some enthusiasts, including myself, is motivated to find answers to many questions about this phenomenon. But this thing has really gone up to a new height. Déjà vu has become more popular in culture because it added some twist scene in a movie, new subjected line in a song, a plot topic of a story in a book and many more.

There a lot of movies related to déjà vu like in year 2006, there is an American movie entitled “Déjà vu”. It is a story of a man who travels back in time in attempt to prevent a domestic terrorist attack that would take place in New Orleans, and to save a woman with whom he falls in love. It is a crime, action thriller with the elements of science fiction starred by Denzel Washington and Paula Patton and directed by Tony Scott. An article related to this topic is “Déjà vu: The time tripping to NewVFX Heights” by Tara Dillulo. The article explains how Scott really worked hard for the movie to show the challenging concept in the big screen. Scott, together with the creators, used new advanced technology like LIDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Raging) and some 3D Digital scanning. Also, they said that they used some multiple camera tricks like they used in the movie Matrix.

Matrix Trilogy is another amazing movie related to Déjà vu. It is an American science fiction action film that tells a story about a computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers. There is an article entitled “There’s more to déjàvu than a simple glitch in The Matrix” by Metro that explains how déjà vu is related to the said movie. In the perspective of The Matrix, déjà vu is the repeat occurrence of an event that had already taken place moments ago. It happens when the code of the Matrix is altered. In the movie, Neo sees a black cat walk by followed by another that acts exactly the same way.  This tipped off the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar that the code of the Lafayette Hotel had been changed, sealing off most exits, and those agents were in pursuit, causing the crew to be caught in trap.

Nowadays, young people have more active brain because of the advance technology. We are fascinated by déjà vu because of the unique insight it gives us into how our mind works. Déjà vu is how the French described the sensation of seeing or experiencing something you feel you’ve already seen or experienced before. Movies have created all sorts of mystical contexts or explanations for it. According to the article “There’s so much to be explored in how the brain works.", the brain is the next frontier in science, and déjà vu is a really wonderful illustration of how much we still need to learn about how the brain operates.”

It’s a rarity that a good action thriller smoothly incorporates sci-fi elements, turning it into a sci-fi movie. These movies pull it off nicely with just a hint of confusion to keep you on your toes. It may not be a real déjà vu, but the films will leave you wanting to go back and experience it again.

Blog Post 7: Déjà vu and Butterfly Effect

One of the greatest series of American thriller films is Final Destination. It is a movie series wherein the main character always experienced precognitive dreams or déjà reve and tries to save his or her love ones from death. One of the interesting concepts of this movie is the chain of death. Someone has a vision that results in a small group of people avoiding a major catastrophe that would otherwise have resulted in their deaths. Then, because it was “Death’s Design” for these people to die, one by one they start dying in freak accidents.

The death of the characters in the movie usually started with small actions and results to extremely complex effect. This phenomenon is called “Butterfly Effect”. According to the article of Wise Geek entitled “What is Butterfly Effect?”, this phenomenon explains how small things that were unrelated to different things or condition can affect large and complex systems. This concept was suggested by the mathematician and meteorologist, Edward Norton Lorenz.  This idea is most commonly used in modern parlance to suggest that one small change can cause a ripple of various effects. Also, they believe that the flap of the butterfly’s wings in South America can affect the weather in Texas.

Another article related to the butterfly effect is “Concepts:Butterfly Effect” by Yaneer Bar-Yam. It explains that the flip of the wings of the butterfly can have large, widespread consequences. For example, the large storm in England may be caused by the butterfly wing flap in China. In addition with this, the article states, “It is not established experimentally that sensitivity in weather extends as far as a butterfly flap of a wing. Even though mathematical models suggest that such things in principle might happen, there is no confirmation of this effect. Nevertheless, the lack of predictability of the weather and the existence of amplification due to feedback is clear in weather patterns. Understanding where and when and the degree of sensitivity is an active area of research.”

Like in the movie series Final Destination, the main character always experience déjà vu, and later on, he or she will try to save their friends from death. The cause of death usually comes from unrelated things then results to large tremendous accident.

As a conclusion, we imagine the butterfly effect would explain things in everyday life. However, it may also reveal more than an overeager impulse to validate ideas through science. It speaks to our larger expectation that the world should be comprehensible - that everything happens for a reason, and that we can pinpoint all those reasons, how big or small they may be. But nature itself defies this expectation. It is probability, not certain cause and effect, that now dictates how scientists understand many systems, from subatomic particles to storms. People who get small things can make a big difference.

                                                                                                                         

Blog Post 6: Déjà vu and Reincarnation

Have you ever felt like you have done a certain activity before? Have you also been to a particular place when the reality is that you have not? Déjà vu is defined as the feeling of having experienced or seen something before. Millions of individuals claim to have had at least one déjà vu experience before. With numerous people believing in this phenomenon's existence,  some people are eager to dig deeper about it.

A feeling of déjà vu can happen at just about any time. This strange feeling may come about when traveling, meeting with friends, or hearing news reports. Many people report the feeling of déjà vu when they are traveling to a new place. Even though they have never been in the area before, there is something about the surroundings that makes it seem as if they have been there before. 

Scientists, physicians, and other healthcare professional have been examining déjà vu. Their goal is to determine if the feeling is for real, why it exists, and what causes it. Different professionals have different thoughts on the subject, and according to the research, one of the reason why déjà vu exists is because of reincarnation.

Reincarnation is a belief wherein a person is reborn after death. And now, the question is, is déjà vu related to reincarnation? According to the article of Art Funkhouser entitled “Explanation of Déjà vu Experiences-Reincarnation”, he said that reincarnation was the earliest explanation to déjà vu.  It is believed that those who are reincarnated are given a new body. Even though they are now living a new life, there are many people who believe that it is possible to remember or have glimpses of their past life. This is why many individuals believe that déjà vu is related to reincarnation. The connection between déjà vu and reincarnation is one that has many skeptics, including many medical professionals. 

It is difficult to pinpoint an exact cause for déjà vu. This has caused a number of individuals to wonder if déjà vu is all in one’s imagination or dreams. Most individuals report that they are not able to remember their dreams; however, many healthcare professionals believe dreams are stored deep within the memory. This is a highly debatable, but popular theory surrounding the cause of déjà vu. 

In the other article of Dimpy Chowdhry entitled “Reincarnation”, she explains that reincarnation is the idea of karma of the Hindus. It is said that a person suffers because he or she is punished for his past sins.  "Reincarnation is not a joke. People have actually witnessed others recall facts from their past life. If a person remembers experiences from before he was born, then he had a life before his present life.”, she added.

As previously mentioned, having a déjà vu experience is something that many individuals have at least once in their life. In most cases, déjà vu is not a life changing experience, but it will make you stop in think. There may be an instance for someone to spend hours - or even days - wondering if their déjà vu was for real or just a figment of their imagination. 

Blog Post 5: An Impostor?

Imagine a family member who no longer recognized you as the person you are. Now imagine that the same family member believes you are a stand-in or an imposter of the real you: an individual who misidentifies a family member or friend. Sounds crazy right?  It sounds like something out of the 1956 sci-fi film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. In the classic 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the residents of a fictional town in California are overwhelmed by the feeling that their friends and family have been replaced by impostors. In the movie, this apparent delusion is not delusional at all. The townspeople are in fact being replaced — by aliens, no less. This classic movie is somewhat related to “Capgras Delusion”

What is Capgras Delusion? Is this some sort of hallucination or something? Is this an example of an illness or rare disease? Articles relating to this topic are “How Capgras Syndrome Works” by Kattie Lambert and “AnImpostor in the Family written by Gerry Matlack. The articles explained that this disorder is called delusional misidentification, and also, this phenomenon is the opposite of déjà vu.  People with this kind of disorder think that their close relative or friend has been replaced by an impostor or an exact double, despite recognition of familiarity in appearance and behavior. The patient may also see himself as his own double. Individuals may also not recognize their home furnishings and pets as their own, believing they are exact replicas. If the person is married, he/she will most likely misidentify the spouse as a look-alike.

This mental disorder got its name from the psychiatrist, Joseph Capgras, who described this illness in 1923. His patient, Madame M., was convinced that her family and neighbors had all been replaced by lookalikes. She said she'd had 80 husbands -- one imposter would simply leave to make room for a new one. The medical community doesn't know what exactly causes Capgras delusion. However, there are many theories about what causes it; the causes may be caused by lesions or other abnormalities of the frontal lobe of the brain. Capgras delusion may also be a manifestation of other mental and physical disorders, such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, and other physical, neurological and mental disorders. Capgras delusion is most often seen in people who have psychotic disorders and those who have suffered some kind of head trauma.

Researchers believe that Capgras delusion is caused by damage to the frontal lobe, but they are yet to explain what actually causes the social, familial and environmental disconnection which causes the misidentification of people, animals and objects in a person's life. It is not completely understood, for example, why a husband could see his wife and believe she is someone who is identical to his wife and only pretending to be her.

In the other hand, Capgras Delusion is different from “Prosopagnosia”. It is also a disorder wherein the people can see a face for the hundredth time and still not know who it is. 

The brain is the most mysterious part of the human system, and inch by inch, we are knocking our doors towards the walls of enlightenment. Although at this time, the reason behind the emotional disconnection of people with Capgras Delusion cannot be explained, technological advances may later on describe it for the information of people. So now, beware of your self-proclaimed "impostors"!

Blog Post 4: It was only just a DREAM

Dreams are amazing phenomena, and it provides a world in which we escape from reality without knowing what is going to happen. And you know what, we spend roughly 6 years of our life dreaming! Yet, why do we often brush them aside to be quickly forgotten? Night after night, our brain goes to work and bring of us some of the most incredible, bizarre and often seemingly random imagery and story lines, and sometimes, we can also foretell the future through our dreams.

One topic related to this paper is all about “Precognitive dreams”. These are unexplained phenomena that can foretell the future by means of dreaming. These precognitive dreams are also known as “Prophetic Dreams”. An article related to this one is “Prophetic

dreams" from easynight.org. There, it is said that this kind of sensation is a form of ESS (Extra Sensory Sensation), which means that a person who experiences prophetic dream can recognize information about different places and events before it actually happen, similar to precognitive dream.

Also according to the article, 42% of the people who experience this kind of dream said that their dreams actually came true. Like on what happened to former President Abraham Lincoln, there are 121 Prophetic Dreams and visions which are detailed in the Bible. On the article of Airwolf Ministry entitled “Type of Prophetic Dreams” this phenomenon can be classified in different 

categories. First is the Apparitions. It states that these dreams involve the people who already passed away. The dead appears in dream to deliver an important message. Second is the Clairaudient Dreams. It is the type of prophetic dreaming wherein it involves hearing voices or sounds that are extremely different and clear. The voices appear from out of nowhere. Sometimes you do not know the source of the voice or the sounds. It is important to pay attention to the message. Next is the Clairvoyant Dreams. It states that this kind of dreams are defined when you are dreaming of something that is happening at the exact same time in a real life situation. Fourth is the Empathic Dreams wherein you are deeply moved by an event in your dream, but you do not know why. You experience clear and sympathetic feelings and sensations. This type of dreams usually occurs amongst families, couples or very close friends. Next is the Shared dreams, in which it usually happen to many people. This happens when you and someone close to you have the same dream on the same night. Such dreams occur due to the extremely close connection of one another. The Sixth one is what we called Telepathic Dreams. These dreams involve a message that is being delivered through a "dream land". You are able to connect to someone else's thoughts through a dream. Such dreams occur with someone whom you are close to. Last is the Warning Dream. This is what happened to President Lincoln. These dreams warn of something bad that will happen to you in the future. Such dreams give you the opportunity to alter the outcome.

While Science still remains clueless and unable to prove conclusively that certain individuals can see into the future, there are also no evidences that may explain the manifestation of this phenomenon.

Unfortunately, there is no way we can stop this strange sensation.  Many who do not understand this sensation have troubles embracing this incredible ability.  If you do extensive research on the subject you will find out ways to cope with it.  For now, the quotation “Power of Prayer” goes a long way!

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Blog Post 3: ENTANGLED MINDS: Precognitive Dreams

As our consciousness expands, we begin to use many tools and methods to heighten awareness and bring about understanding. One of the tools or methods is our dream. Our nightly dreams become more significant on the path because the soul begins to use dreams as a means of communicating our progress. In other words, dream-work is dualistic in nature: it is a tool for ascension here on earth, and a doorway to the mysteries of the universe. When we experience the dream state, the attention moves into the subconscious mind - a vast inner world where things that seem impossible become possible. Unlike our experiences in waking life, these inner level experiences are not bound by physical space or time. Consequently, people who have passed away can come and visit loved ones through dreams! Dreamers can dream of past life experiences, while others can experience the phenomenon called “precognitive dreams”.

Have you ever had the experience of knowing what someone's going to say before they say it, or even finishing someone's sentence before they speak it?  Precognitive dreams are inner level experiences in which the dreamer dreams of future probabilities. While it might seem impossible, the experience of seeing probabilities is an everyday occurrence. Avid sports enthusiasts can sometimes tell from the release of a basketball shot the probability of the shot going through the basket. Others can tell the probably of a golf putt going into the hole after watching its direction for a couple of seconds. We can even see future probabilities of a student passing an exam based on how much or how little they studied. Sometimes the outcomes differ from our expectations. Nevertheless, many times the outcomes match our expectations, verifying our ability to glimpse future probabilities. According to Dr. Art Funkhouser, precognitive dreams is also known as “Deja reve” An article related to this phenomenon is “Precognitive Dreams”written by Manali Oak. Oak said that precognitive dreams are dreams that appear to predict the future. It is also known as “future sight”. Also, the article explains that precognition dreams are somehow similar to premonition dreams. Many people confuse premonition and precognition for being the same thing. There is a slight difference between the two; though similar in nature, they have the same end result.  Premonitions are mixtures of sounds, random images or feelings that flash involuntary in your mind at any given time.  Precognition on the other hand presents itself in dreams by using types of symbols, events or odd feelings. It also explains that people who have creative bent of mind, have the tendency to experience this kind of phenomena. In addition, the precognitive dreams are associated with that part of the brain which controls feelings. “Greater emotional involvement in someone or something leads your mind to imagine future occurrences pertaining to that person or object, which might give you a feel of having precognitions about them.”

Abraham Lincoln

There are also a lot of famous precognitive dreams. Like in what happened to former President Abraham Lincoln. In 1865, two weeks before he was shot dead, Abraham Lincoln had a psychic dream about a funeral at the White House. In the dream, he asked someone who was in the casket and they replied, "The president of the United States". He told his wife about the dream but neither of them took it to heart - for on the night of his assassination he gave his bodyguard the night off. Same thing happened to the American writer, Mark Twain, and his brother Henry who once worked on riverboats on the Mississippi. Mark Twain had a precognitive dream in which he had seen his brother in a casket. Unfortunately, a week later, his brother died.

Mark Twain

 In another article entitled “Our Pathway to the Truth”written by Ian Wilson, Wilson discussed that there are types of precognitive dreams. First is the Symbolic Precognitive Dream, which states that dream symbolism abstracts the precognitive information and generally is not realized until the actual event. It can be very difficult to identify it as a type of precognitive dream. However, certain symbols in the dream can match or greatly exaggerate future event when it actualizes. Second is the Literal Precognitive Dream, which is in literal detail. What you sense, think and feel in the dream can actualize in the future. This dream can bring about a strong sense of Déjà Vu. Unlike Déjà Rêve, the dreamer has working his memory of the dream where they can reflect and associate the memory to the future event. Next is the 3rd person Precognitive Dream which can take on both symbolic and literal similarities. However, it does not suggest that the information being observed will occur from a first person point of view. Lastly is the Lucid Precognitive Dream, which is a dream where a person is awake and realizes that they are dreaming. More uncommonly, lucid dreaming can emerge within the phenomena of precognitive dreams. This type of precognitive dream can have an even more pronounced déjà vu aura than a non-lucid precognitive dream”.

Nowadays, studies still can’t prove on why we get precognitive dreams. There are many theories on this subject but no substantial evidence. According to Manali Oak, “Precognitive experiences through dreams may not be a pleasant experience. Specifically so, because these dreams hint you about the hidden, they do not make necessarily make a clear indication about anything. Your understanding of what they indicate largely depends on how you interpret them. Thus, precognitive dreaming might be a curse in disguise of a blessing, but sound sleep is definitely a bliss”.

Blog Post 2: DÉJÀ VU? AGAIN?

Deja vu is an experience most of us have from time to time. If we think of deja vu as nothing more than a pleasant momentary diversion, it doesn’t seem mysterious or ‘magical’ at all. But if we recognize it for what it actually is (a glimpse into the ‘Other Side’), it takes on a whole new significance

Often, people feeling déjà vu believe that the previous experience occurred in a dream. In some cases though, people feeling déjà vu firmly believe that the past experience actually happened. Is déjà vu a sixth sense or a glimpse into the future or past? Not likely! Researchers believe the sensation of déjà vu is most likely just a trick our brains play on us, making us think that an experience we’re currently having is being remembered rather than occurring right now.

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There are a lot of theories about this odd sensation, and some researchers found out that there are different types of this phenomenon. Related to this topic are “3 Types of Déjà Vu You HaveNever Heard About” and  “Categories and types of Déjà vu” by Art Funkhouser. Also, this broad  phenomenon of uncanny familiarity can be broken down even further. According to the latter article, there are 20 types of déjà experience. Funkhouser seeks to clarify déjà vu and remove it from inaccurate associations. He claims that there are three famous forms of déjà vu: déjà vecu, déjà senti, and déjà visite. Déjà vecu is most similar to the widely acknowledged definition of déjà vu. It is the feeling that the present scenario has been experienced in the past - the details are identical, and it is possible to predict what will happen next. While in the midst of déjà vecu, the detail of the experience is astounding, and the person is conscious that the present scenario conforms to their memory of it. Déjà senti is best described an act of reminiscing, triggered by a thought or a voice. It is distinguished from déjà vecu by the following: first, it is primarily a mental occurrence; second, there are no existing precognitive aspects where the person has the ability to foretell an action, and third, it often times escapes the person's memory afterwards. Déjà visite, unlike the other forms of déjà, is overtly physical or geographical. The experience is associated with a location, familiar inanimate objects, or a particular situation. Commonly it is experienced as the feeling of a location seeming familiar, despite the fact that it is, in the present, a new experience. Furthermore, Funkhouser adds to the phenomena of déjà vu by mentioning that it is possible to experience the interplay of all three forms of déjà vu, which closely resemble this synthesis.

There are also different phenomena related to déjà vu like Jamais vu (never seen) is term psychologist use to describe the weird and strange feeling a person gets when he or she encounters a familiar scenario that nevertheless feels unfamiliar. Jamais vu is sometimes called the opposite of déjà vu. Unlike déjà vu, jamais vu involves people feeling like they never experienced a situation before, even though they rationally understand that they certainly experienced the situation previously. It is sometimes associated with “amnesia”  because a person or example might temporarily not recognize a person or place that they definitely know well. Another related phenomenon is Presque vu (almost seen). 

It is sometimes called “tip of the tounge” it’s a situation in which you can’t remember a familiar word or name momentarily. You feel like the word is on the tip of your tongue, and with effort you usually can remember it eventually.  

Although déjà vu has been studied as a phenomenon for over a hundred years, and researchers have advanced tons of theories about its cause, there is no simple explanation for what it means or why it happens. Perhaps as technology advances and as we learn more about how the brain works, we will also learn more about why we experience this strange phenomenon, and we will never say “déjà vu? Again?

Blog Post 1: What is Déjà vu?

Our mind is a wonderful thing – there is so much about it which remains a mystery to this day.There are a lot of marvelous and mysterious world inside our heads. Our brain, which controls everything in our body and communicates with thousands of other brain cells, has also the ability to experience some other kind of phenomenon. Science is able to describe these strange phenomena, but it cannot account for their origins. Have you experienced something like while you are chatting with your friends or exploring a place you've never been, and  suddenly a feeling washes over you - you've experienced this exact moment before. But the powerful feeling comes over you of familiarity, you have been here before or done this before, believing that this has genuinely happened before.  But you know that it hasn't happened and that it shouldn't feel this way. So it feels weird, wrong, and inappropriate.Many people experience this odd sensation. Because of their increase in number, déjà vu should really be explained in any means for the mere understanding of people. With this, this article can answer the question “What really happens when moments in our lives seem to repeat themselves?”  I was browsing the internet when I read the article “Explainer: what is déjà vu and why does it happen? “byAmy Reichelt, and  "Have We Met Before? Scientists ShowWhy the Brain Has the Answer" I found out that this phenomenon was poorly understood in scientific terms. Déjà vu comes from the French word that means “already seen”. The phenomenon is very complex, and there are many different theories as to why déjà vu happens.
Déjà vu has many possible causes. As much as 70 percent of the population had experienced some form of déjà vu. A higher number of incidents occur in people 15 to 25 years old than in any other age group. According to Sigmund Freud he, believe that these feelings are the dreams that we have every night, however we don’t remember them. Many scientific estimation and studies actually hold this true. They say that study of “paramnesia” is referred to the dreams that are of past experiences, while others perceive them as “remembering the future” since they happen before the actual ‘déjà vu’ moment takes place.
Others said that the phenomenon is a memory-based experience and assume the memory centers of the brain are responsible for it. Remembering requires two things to happen in our brain, first is the region responsible for memory data, the “temporal lobes” It is important in the detection of familiarity, or recognition, as opposed to the detailed recollection of specific events. Then next, the region that handles the short and long term memory namely the “hippocampus” that is inside the temporal lobes that recall the things that happen before and pulls up back that memory.Usually, this two process; the familiarity and recall work really good together, the brain register first the familiarity before it recalls the memory but sometimes it get a little bit out of control. This dysfunctional process is called “déjà vu” our brains sometimes familiarize and recall at the same time.

 There is much speculation as to how and why this phenomenon happens. Several psychoanalysts attribute déjà vu to simple fantasy or wish fulfillment, while some psychiatrists ascribe it to a mismatching in the brain that causes the brain to mistake the present for the past. Many parapsychologists believe it is related to a past-life experience. Obviously, there is more investigation to be done.

After reading many articles about déjà vu, I found it more interesting and I was motivated to research more about it.