‘I knew that was going to happen:’ Déjà vu and the ‘postdictive’ bias
Science Daily/ Nov 6, 2019/ Colorado State University
Memory researchers have a new theory on why déjà vu is accompanied not only by feelings of prediction, but also an ‘I knew that was going to happen’ feeling.
For many, déjà vu is just a fleeting, eerie sensation that “I’ve been here before.” For others, it gets even eerier: In that moment of unsettling familiarity, they also feel certain they know what’s going to happen next — like, a girl in a white shirt is going to pass me on the left.
And when the girl in the white shirt really does pass by, well, what can explain it? Cue theories of past lives, clairvoyance, and the supernatural.
Not so fast, says Anne Cleary, a memory researcher at Colorado State University who is one of the world’s experts on déjà vu. A dogged scientist who uses laboratory experiments to induce déjà vu in human subjects, Cleary has a new theory on why déjà vu is accompanied not only by feelings of prediction, but also an “I knew that was going to happen” feeling a minute later.
Dying for a better life: South Koreans fake their funerals for life lessons
More than 25,000 people have participated in mass “living funeral” services at Hyowon Healing Center since it opened in 2012, hoping to improve their lives by simulating their deaths.
“Once you become conscious of death, and experience it, you undertake a new approach to life,” said 75-year-old Cho Jae-hee, who participated in a recent living funeral as part of a “dying well” program offered by her senior welfare center.
Dozens took part in the event, from teenagers to retirees, donning shrouds, taking funeral portraits, penning their last testaments, and lying in a closed coffin for around 10 minutes.
University student Choi Jin-kyu said his time in the coffin helped him realize that too often, he viewed others as competitors.
“When I was in the coffin, I wondered what use that is,” said the 28-year-old, adding that he plans to start his own business after graduation rather than attempting to enter a highly-competitive job market.