The Déjà Vu Theories

  I don’t exactly remember when I got introduced to this phrase for the first time in my life, but it was only recently, in the first year of my graduation, that I understood what it meant. I guess it was some weekend days. My roommate sat on her bed, with her eyes swollen by that excess weekend sleep and I sat just opposite her on my bed. Just then one of our friends entered the room and sat next to me, unpacking things that she just received. Suddenly my sight fell on my roomie. Starring at the wall behind us, she was looking at the word on the wall. TIME... it was written there in red. Before I could turn back, her voice fell on my ears. She said, “I... I have experienced this incident before, you two, sitting and gabbering about something in those exact pyjamas and that TIME... written above your head, on that wall” What!!!!! Seriously, it scared the hell out of me. I literally sprang upon my bed and instantly pulled my legs together with knees close to my chest. Everyone in the room was quite for a minute or so. Then one voice echoed, “Chill babe, no ghost stories here, it’s just a déjà vu”. What? DE...JA...VU??

 Déjà vu is a French term which literally translates to “already seen”. It is used to describe the odd and inconsistent state of feeling when a fresh incidence somehow feels familiar, experiencing old and new both at the same time. It is estimated to happen with about 70% of the population on earth and, people aged between 15 to 25 years old are said to be experiencing it the most. (Business Insider) The sensation may be so fleeting that if you don’t know much about déjà vu, you may not even realize what just happened. But now that you know it, the next question swirling around in your head may be why does this happen...? Same thing happened with scientist and researchers all round the world which gave rise to over 40 theories explaining the reasons behind déjà vu.

 Don’t panic, here we are not going to make you read all those. We pulled out 5 of it which fascinated us the most. So, Let’s begin.

1. Parallel Universe theory

 Believers in this theory claim that déjà vu can be explained as having lived a moment before as a crossover with a parallel universe. It means that whatever you are experiencing as déjà vu in your present universe is being done by a version of you simultaneously in the other parallel universe thereby inducing a feeling of familiarity in you. Though this theory appears to be fascinating it is till date not backed by any scientific proof. But there are certain researches showing the presence of multiple universes existing and that we feel can assist this hypothesis.

2. The Hologram theory

 This theory was proposed by Hermon Sno. According to this theory our memories are formed like 3D images and so they have structured frame network to them. Its like the live images which we see in any light show. Hence entire formation of our memory can be reconstructed by one element. So, if one of the sensations (like sound, smell etc.) in your environment reminds you of any previously experienced moment, the entire image can be recreated by your memory like a hologram. This explains déjà vu by suggesting that when something in our surroundings reminds us of the past and creates a hologram of the memory making us feel that we are reliving it. You may experience a déjà vu when you smell the jasmine scent sprayed by someone because the olfaction here will be same as a real jasmine flower you once took close to your nose.

3. Precognitive dream

 Precognitive dream is that dream which predicts something that happens in future – the person finds himself in a situation he previously dreamt about. This explains déjà vu by suggesting that the familiar feeling that we get is due to its previous occurrence in our dream. For example you may have a dream of you driving on a certain road and then later you drove on the same road that you dreamt of. Now dreaming is not  a conscious process, so what happens here is your brain projects those blur precognitive recollections of the road in your dream and helps you to recognize it. Hence, even if we don’t consciously remember the road but still feel it to be familiar.

4. Reincarnation

 The general theory of reincarnation, as we all know, says that we lived as someone else in the previous life before we were born into this life. Believers say that we carry no direct memories from our old life. We come into our new life with memories set on certain states of consciousness. Memories created on one level of consciousness cannot be retrieved in another. just like being unable to recall things that happened when you are drunk or stoned. This explains déjà vu as a moment when you experience some signals from your previous life (Needless to mention Bollywood movies here). Perhaps certain stimulus in the present environment trigger the transition of our consciousness and momentarily reminds us of our previous life. However, there is no proof to approve or disapprove this theory. It all comes down to matter of faith.

5. Brain’s dual processing

 This theory is based on the hypothesis that the human memory uses higher-processing. When we originally perceive something our brain puts it into the box of short term memory. If we continue to revise it again and again, the brain eventually shifts that processed information into the box of long term memory, which is more accessible for us and hence helps us to recall that piece of information whenever needed. ( That’s why revision is said to be necessary to remember your answers in the exam).  This theory suggest déjà vu to be some sort of malfunctioning between the long and short term memory circuits in the brain, meaning new information may take a shortcut straight to long-term memory box. This skips over the mechanisms the brain normally uses to store information, so it could feel like we are experiencing something from the past.

What is déjà vu to you?

 The fact that there are multiple theories about déjà vu provides us with an evidence of that feeling of dissatisfaction among the scientists and philosophers over the same subject. This leaves us with vast amount of theories to explore. The trouble is that each theory was formed through the biased knowledge and belief system of its creator.

 To a medical student, the theory of brain’s dual processing probably makes the most sense, while to someone religious, the theory of past-lives may seem relatable.

 Just like déjà vu, the meaning lies in the eye of the observer. It’s a difficult thing to study, as the incident is usually very short, occurs randomly and only to one person, therefore leaving no tangible evidence or witnesses to examine and hence making it even more difficult to reach out for some solid conclusions. It’s up to the individual to decide how to explain it.  Which one do you choose? Let us know in the comment section below and also share this to those déjà vu members in your gang, make them feel supernatural!

Author                                  Shruti Ramteke

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