What is déjà vu? What is déjà vu? - Michael Molina
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0:06 - 0:08Have you experienced déjà vu?
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0:08 - 0:13It's that shadowy feeling you get
when a situation seems familiar. -
0:13 - 0:16A scene in a restaurant plays out
exactly as you remember. -
0:16 - 0:18The world moves like a ballet
you've choreographed, -
0:18 - 0:21but the sequence can't be based
on a past experience -
0:21 - 0:23because you've never eaten here before.
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0:23 - 0:25This is the first time you've had clams,
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0:25 - 0:27so what's going on?
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0:27 - 0:30Unfortunately, there isn't
one single explanation for déjà vu. -
0:30 - 0:33The experience is brief
and occurs without notice, -
0:33 - 0:37making it nearly impossible
for scientists to record and study it. -
0:37 - 0:40Scientists can't simply sit around
and wait for it to happen to them -- -
0:40 - 0:41this could take years.
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0:41 - 0:43It has no physical manifestations
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0:43 - 0:45and in studies,
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0:45 - 0:48it's described by the subject
as a sensation or feeling. -
0:48 - 0:49Because of this lack of hard evidence,
-
0:49 - 0:52there's been a surplus
of speculation over the years. -
0:52 - 0:55Since Emile Boirac introduced déjà vu
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0:55 - 0:57as a French term meaning "already seen,"
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0:57 - 1:00more than 40 theories attempt
to explain this phenomenon. -
1:00 - 1:05Still, recent advancements in neuroimaging
and cognitive psychology -
1:05 - 1:07narrow down the field of prospects.
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1:07 - 1:10Let's walk through three of today's
more prevalent theories, -
1:10 - 1:12using the same
restaurant setting for each. -
1:12 - 1:14First up is dual processing.
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1:14 - 1:15We'll need an action.
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1:15 - 1:17Let's go with a waiter
dropping a tray of dishes. -
1:17 - 1:19As the scene unfolds,
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1:19 - 1:22your brain's hemispheres process
a flurry of information: -
1:22 - 1:23the waiter's flailing arms,
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1:23 - 1:24his cry for help,
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1:24 - 1:26the smell of pasta.
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1:26 - 1:29Within milliseconds, this information
zips through pathways -
1:29 - 1:31and is processed into a single moment.
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1:31 - 1:34Most of the time,
everything is recorded in-sync. -
1:34 - 1:35However, this theory asserts
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1:35 - 1:38that déjà vu occurs
when there's a slight delay -
1:38 - 1:40in information from one of these pathways.
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1:40 - 1:42The difference in arrival times
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1:42 - 1:44causes the brain to interpret
the late information -
1:44 - 1:46as a separate event.
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1:46 - 1:48When it plays
over the already-recorded moment, -
1:48 - 1:50it feels as if it's happened before
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1:50 - 1:52because, in a sense, it has.
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1:53 - 1:55Our next theory deals
with a confusion of the past -
1:55 - 1:57rather than a mistake in the present.
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1:57 - 1:59This is the hologram theory,
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1:59 - 2:02and we'll use that tablecloth
to examine it. -
2:02 - 2:03As you scan its squares,
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2:03 - 2:06a distant memory swims up
from deep within your brain. -
2:06 - 2:07According to the theory,
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2:08 - 2:09this is because memories are stored
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2:09 - 2:11in the form of holograms,
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2:11 - 2:12and in holograms,
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2:12 - 2:14you only need one fragment
to see the whole picture. -
2:14 - 2:17Your brain has identified the tablecloth
with one from the past, -
2:17 - 2:19maybe from your grandmother's house.
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2:19 - 2:23However, instead of remembering
that you've seen it at your grandmother's, -
2:23 - 2:25your brain has summoned up the old memory
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2:25 - 2:26without identifying it.
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2:26 - 2:30This leaves you stuck with familiarity,
but no recollection. -
2:30 - 2:32Although you've never been
in this restaurant, -
2:32 - 2:35you've seen that tablecloth
but are just failing to identify it. -
2:35 - 2:37Now, look at this fork.
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2:37 - 2:38Are you paying attention?
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2:38 - 2:40Our last theory is divided attention,
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2:40 - 2:42and it states that déjà vu occurs
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2:42 - 2:44when our brain subliminally
takes in an environment -
2:44 - 2:47while we're distracted
by one particular object. -
2:47 - 2:48When our attention returns,
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2:49 - 2:50we feel as if we've been here before.
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2:50 - 2:52For example, just now
you focused on the fork -
2:52 - 2:55and didn't observe the tablecloth
or the falling waiter. -
2:55 - 2:57Although your brain has been
recording everything -
2:57 - 2:59in your peripheral vision,
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2:59 - 3:01it's been doing so
below conscious awareness. -
3:01 - 3:03When you finally pull yourself
away from the fork, -
3:03 - 3:06you think you've been here before
because you have, -
3:06 - 3:07you just weren't paying attention.
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3:07 - 3:11While all three of these theories
share the common features of déjà vu, -
3:11 - 3:13none of them propose to be
the conclusive source -
3:13 - 3:14of the phenomenon.
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3:14 - 3:17Still, while we wait
for researchers and inventers -
3:17 - 3:19to come up with new ways
to capture this fleeting moment, -
3:19 - 3:21we can study the moment ourselves.
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3:22 - 3:25After all, most studies of déjà vu
are based on first-hand accounts, -
3:26 - 3:27so why can't one be yours?
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3:27 - 3:31The next time you get déjà vu,
take a moment to think about it. -
3:31 - 3:32Have you been distracted?
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3:32 - 3:34Is there a familiar object somewhere?
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3:34 - 3:36Is your brain just acting slow?
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3:36 - 3:39Or is it something else?
- Title:
- What is déjà vu? What is déjà vu? - Michael Molina
- Speaker:
- Michael Molina
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-deja-vu-what-is-deja-vu-michael-molina
You might have felt it -- the feeling that you've experienced something before, but, in reality, the experience is brand new. There are over 40 theories that attempt to explain the phenomenon of déjà vu. Michael Molina explains how neuroimaging and cognitive psychology have narrowed down the theories that could explain that feeling you're having...again.
Lesson by Michael Molina, animation by Josh Harris.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 03:55
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for What is déjà vu? What is déjà vu? | ||
Krystian Aparta commented on English subtitles for What is déjà vu? What is déjà vu? | ||
TED edited English subtitles for What is déjà vu? What is déjà vu? | ||
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Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for What is déjà vu? What is déjà vu? | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for What is déjà vu? What is déjà vu? | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for What is déjà vu? What is déjà vu? | ||
Andrea McDonough edited English subtitles for What is déjà vu? What is déjà vu? |
Krystian Aparta
The English transcript was updated on 2/13/2015.