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?