What is Baader-Meinhof? Well,
Baader-Meinhof is the phenomenon where one happens upon some obscure piece of
information– often an unfamiliar word or name– and soon afterwards encounters
the same subject again, often repeatedly ( definition source: www.urbandictionary.com).
Does it sound strange? Or, did
you experience this phenomenon earlier? However, if you didn't experience it before
in your life then you will experience it soon :). Usually, people express such coincidences
by making a surprise remark like “OMG.I just heard about that or we just talked
about that.” People caught in such situation is known to have experiencing
Baader-Meinof effect. For example, you have just heard about a person or his
name and what happens is within a short period of time you start noticing that
person almost every day. But, the weird thing in such incident is that you have
never noticed or seen that person at any time in past before you have heard the
name of that particular person.
Lots of people experience this
phenomenon a few times in their lives. Now, the question arises, what can be
the underlying cause of Baader- Meinhof? The answer is very simple. It’s
somewhat like experiencing a highly meaningful coincidence, or almost bearing
similarity to synchronicity which invokes a feeling of mild surprise and
coincidental intersection of events which cause someone to think about this bizarre
reality.
Who termed this phenomenon? What
is the Baader-Meinhof history?
It is said that after hearing the
name of the German left-wing militant group Baader-Meinhof twice in 24 hours, a
commenter, on the St. Paul Pioneer Press online discussion board, has coined
the term Baader-Meinhof. And this wordsmith’s termed phrase has become popular
afterwards and with time its popularity spreads through newspapers and finally
spreads to the World Wide Web. However, earlier people used to call this phenomenon
as Baader-Meinof group.
The scientific reason behind the Baader-Meinhof
syndrome, which is also known as frequency illusion, is very simple. The human
brain is a fantastic pattern recognition engine as it collects and stores so
many words, names, and ideas each day and thus, by considering this fact, as a
result what we see is that we come across and encounter the same information
again within a short interval of time. But the interesting thing is that we
only come up with those events which has certain impact on our mind. The reason
behind Baader-Meinhof or repetitive event is nothing but it's a kind of our
brains' prejudice towards patterns and the tendency of ignoring the
uninteresting information and sticking to interesting and selective attention
which lies within our deep unconscious mind.
Wow! Learned something new today.. This Baader-Meinhof is kind of like the total inverse of Dejavu!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anil :)
DeleteI have encountered this.. Exactly like you have described...A new word coming repeatedly to our attention...A new name and it is everywhere you go... like that..
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the phenomenon has a name..Thank you for the info..
Really, Preethi?? you already experienced it. Cool!!
DeleteIt's my pleasure to share this interesting name and topic as well :)
This is interesting. I didn't know of this earlier, at least I didn't know its name. Good study done and I wonder what made you write on this. Did you experience some thing like this recently?
ReplyDeleteGlad you like this. I had experienced this phenomenon uncountable times but just came to know the name recently.
DeleteYep..strange coincidences always happen.. the history behind this coinage Baader-Meinhof is interesting..thanks for sharing..:-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Maniparna :)
DeleteThanks you.
Baader-Meinhof !
ReplyDeleteI have experience many times including places and things. Sometimes its nostalgic and sometimes frightening
And thanks for explaining the syndrome so beautifully :)
Me too experienced it a lot.
DeleteI appreciate your comment :)
New for me but interesting phenomenon :)
ReplyDeleteYes, it is :)
DeleteThank you for stopping by and making a comment :)
Baader-Meinhof!! That's a new word! Thanks for the post :)
ReplyDeleteThe Pleasure is mine, Sindhu :)
DeleteYes! I have had experiences like that! I never knew there was a word for it, though! :D
ReplyDeleteIt seems we are all like-minded people :)
DeleteVery interesting!
ReplyDeletehttp://heywaitlistenblog.blogspot.in/
Thank you :)
DeleteI echo everyone's sentiment here. I have experienced it too, but never knew it had a name. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh, so lovely. Thank you so much for dropping in and leaving a lovely comment :)
DeleteCool Bharati. Never knew of the term. Sort of Deja Vu! To encounter again and again :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anita. Yes, it's kind of Deja Vu.
DeleteSuch an interesting read Bharati :)
ReplyDeleteYes, Baaser Meinhof is an interesting topic itself. I just try to explain and share it :)
DeleteThank you so much you find it interesting :)
beautiful... the content and the way you have written it is just beautiful..
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dr. Riyaz. I appreciate your comment and thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI am glad you like my writing style :)
beautiful
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mr. & Mrs. Mukhtiar :)
DeleteVery interesting....Thanks for visiting my blog again, janey
ReplyDeleteIt's my pleasure :)
DeleteThank you.
Amazing post, Bharati. I always learn something new from your posts.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Kiran.
Thanks, Kiran :) I always try to come up with new and interesting topics in my each and every post :)
DeleteIt seems my effort is fruitful.
Very Interesting :)
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteInteresting. I myself like to write about such things on my blog. I write about 1 new thing like this everyday. Just one. Quality of the posts is world-class but mine, somehow never end up as the top posts on Indiblogger. Can you give me some tips?
ReplyDeleteHow long have you been writing?
Hello!! Anupum, First of all I want to thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment.
DeleteI visited your blog and there is nothing wrong in your content or the topic you choose to write. In fact, you always come up with something scientific base interesting topic.
Now, to answer your question i would like to suggest that please take time to read the posts of fellow bloggers in indiblogger and never forget to leave a genuine comment. Also, do vote the posts that you find interesting. you can also add the people in your network in indiblogger itself. By doing that you can develop a warm friendly relationship with your like-minded bloggers.
It's been years I have been writing. But just a year back I have started this particular blog :)
Hope you find your answers.