Written by Christabelle Valerie
Designed by Jessica Chelsea
Until today, scientists and cognitive psychologists are still unable to comprehend the odd sensation of having been in the same situation, knowing full well that this is the first occurrence. More than 40 theories have answered the ‘how’ question on déjà vu, but none have been absolute. The word déjà vu comes from a French word, meaning ‘already seen’ in English. Déjà vu can be described as a memory phenomenon. When going through the theories, one that stood out was dual processing.
As we all know, our brain is continuously acquiring new information from our surroundings. Asyou read this article, the bright light that flashes from the monitor of your screen, the sound of the rain pouring down, the delightful scent of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven, and the humid air filling the room are all processed by your brain. Your brain processes this event as one single event. Dual processing theory suggests that déjà vu happens when thereis a slight delay, or you can say glitch, in one of the two cognitive pathways of our brain that usually run in sync. Due to this delay, the information is processed as if the events aren’t happening simultaneously. So by the time your brain could comprehend information from the second, delayed pathway as a single event, it will feel like it would have already happened, leaving that odd sense of familiarity.
As intriguing as this theory sounds, déjà vu is one of the most complex feelings for researchers to study because there isn’t exactly any warning for this occurrence, and when it does happen, it only lasts for a few seconds. We're still no closer to knowing why this uncanny phenomenon happens, so the next time you encounter this situation don’t forget that it’s still one of life’s biggest mysteries.