Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman
Ep69 "Why do you see something everywhere after you've seen it once?"
Jul 29, 2024
Discover why you suddenly notice things everywhere after seeing them just once. Explore the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon and how it relates to attention and memory. Uncover the science behind selective attention, using captivating examples like inattentional blindness from thrilling Olympic moments. Dive into the complexities of human perception, including cognitive biases and the intriguing ways our brains recognize patterns. Finally, unravel how psychological factors influence our interpretation of reality and the frequency illusion.
37:06
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Quick takeaways
- The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon illustrates how selective attention can create the illusion of frequently encountered concepts in our environment.
- Confirmation bias amplifies perceptions of frequency, leading individuals to believe certain ideas or items are more prevalent after first learning about them.
Deep dives
Understanding the Bader-Meinhof Phenomenon
The Bader-Meinhof phenomenon, named after a 1970s West German terrorist group, describes the quirk of suddenly noticing something frequently after first encountering it. This pattern often occurs when a person learns a new name or concept, subsequently feeling overwhelmed by its presence in their environment. For instance, after hearing about a specific car model, an individual may notice it everywhere on the road, despite never having seen it before. This phenomenon highlights how our perception can create an illusion of increased frequency based on selective attention rather than actual prevalence.
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