Do you believe in Mandela Effect?

[Danaluet 4]

Mandela effect could be real or just collectively misremembering things? But there are indeed some strong real-life examples. 

1. Was there 4 or 6 seats in JFK's car when he was assassinated? There are very old photos and footages showing its 4 seats but there are also other high pixel photos showing its 6 seats. 

2. Publishers clearing house says on its website that they never hired Ed Mcmahon, the guy that everyone remembers giving out publishers clearing house checks on TV! 

(3:52) is the Ed McMahon part

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkjrE1TCvpA

 

You guys must have more, welcome to add to the list. 

[Dashy 4 Ever 4,835]

It might be, but what you said is really interesting.

[Tacodidra 61,163]

I think the Mandela effect is an interesting phenomenon. But the only things I find interesting are how large groups of people can misremember something the same way and determining the possible causes for this. The theories about alternative universes and such are where it goes too far for me.

[The Recherche 29,968]

It is certainly an interesting phenomena, but I do not believe in any of the supernatural overtones whatsoever. The entire idea of these situations being in a parallel universe (or something of the kind) hinges on the human mind being flawless in remembering objects and situations... which it's not. I do, however, enjoy hearing the stories of folks who remember certain situations differently, such as the Monopoly mascot having a monocle, or others remembering "Mirror, mirror on the wall" in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

[cmarston1 5,959]

Not really.  However I do find it interesting how many people can misremember something in the exact same way.

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

Oh god no. Things like this drive me up the wall.

What's more likely, really? Human brains are imperfect and memories can contain errors, or we grew up in an alternate universe from the one we exist in now? There's a simple answer to this phenomenon, and a--quite frankly--ridiculous one.

 

 

Edited August 10, 2018 by Admiral Regulus

[Elyrse 168]

It’s interesting to speculate but it would start plenty of political disagreements 

[cuteycindyhoney 13,307]

Misprints and uncertain memories. Sorry, but I don't believe.

[Ganondox 899]

Another problem with the alternative universe nonsense, aside from the fact that there is an  easier explanation and that alternative universes aren't really separate if you can slide from one to the other, is that if you were to move from one universe to another so that substantial facts have changed, there would probably be many more changes as well. You would probably notice the difference fairly easily in the small things in your life that you are most familiar with. 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Ganondox

[Shadowfax 68]

There's also a social aspect to it.  It could be the error was just easier to remember for whatever reason, and people reinforced the error via social interaction (e.g. a positive feedback loop).

[Compeador 101]

I'd say this phenomenon do really exist, but I'm not sure what's the "believe" you asked, believe our brain do really sometimes misremember something or the ridiculous supernatural theories? The former one, yes for sure; later one, no.

In actual scientific verification, most conspiracy/weird supernatural theories can be simply rip off by Occam's Razor, i.e. the whole question/theory itself is heavily bugged and it'll be meaningless to discuss, verify it's reality, even if we can't prove it is fake. Yes, it's interesting to discuss the phenomenon, but it tends to end nowhere

[Brony Number 42 10,069]

I don't believe it is real. But here is my experience. When I was a kid I saw Star Trek VI, and I remembered a scene at the end where the assassin falls out of the window and lands on the floor. It is a Klingon and someone peels off his mask and it is a human. Many years later I watch the movie on Bluray and that scene comes up. But no one pulls off a mask. I was 100% sure someone did that. A while later I got the movie on DVD and that scene is in it. So they took it out of the Bluray.

Edited August 11, 2018 by Totally Spicy BronyNumber 2A

[Prospekt 11,018]

I blame @Stormfury for really getting me hooked on this phenomenon. 

While I think the most plausible explanation is flawed memories--which are very common with things like eyewitness testimony--I'm not gonna lie... I think the multiverse theory is fascinating.

[Gestum 2,493]

Obviously it's not real. What's more likely: Some people misremembering minor details or two (or more) universes colliding and the only effect is minor details like the name of kid books changing?

[CheeryFox 23,821]

4 hours ago, Prospekt said:

I blame @Stormfury for really getting me hooked on this phenomenon. 

While I think the most plausible explanation is flawed memories--which are very common with things like eyewitness testimony--I'm not gonna lie... I think the multiverse theory is fascinating.

Well...it's not my fault. It's been happening to me forever.  And I believe the truth is out there. 

[Anneal 2,197]

17 hours ago, cmarston1 said:

Not really.  However I do find it interesting how many people can misremember something in the exact same way.

It's mostly because as we grow up, we rely more often on schemas to help process our memories into meaningful information, but sometimes, they don't prove to be reliable all the time. Memories are quite vulnerable to change as you attempt to recall it, and usually through some factors, people will end up following the same schemas. For example, at school, people would have learned in history class that Alexander Hamilton was one of the Founding Fathers, but over time, more people begin to believe that Hamilton was one of the presidents of the US, even if he wasn't – this is mostly because neurons encoding information about Hamilton would have happened when neurons encoded information about former presidents, possibly due to certain trigger phrases, such as "history class", "American history", "Constitution", or so on. 

There's also a few incorrectly, yet commonly remembered quotes. People remember that Sherlock Holmes said "It's elementary, my dear Watson", even if he had never said it word by word in any of Doyle's stories. But, Sherlock had said "Elementary!" and occasionally referred to Watson as "my dear Watson" – people have simply pieced these two memories together to form one phrase. The same can be said for a lot or incorrect quotes: "Beam me up, Scotty!" or "Do you feel lucky, punk?" 

Also, our brains have the tendency to fill up information the memory is simply missing and attempt to rationalize the connection between the fabricated memories and the existing one. That's why some people believed that they have remembered something in great detail when, in fact, most of these details are wrong. Misinformation can also spread quickly, and in particularly suggestible people, it can even override their correct memories and fill it with false ones.  

[Jeric 46,851]

No I do not believe on the Mandela effect. At least not in the way presented. I believe that things get mispoken and become part of a public memory, such as the PCH thing. I never mispronounced Berenstain (I actually would be that know-it-all who would correct people), I know what Kit Kat lables looked like, and I used to smile when Carson and company would make fun of Ed by mistakenly affiliating him with PCH (it was a running gag and with PCH being more popular that AF, it was continuously run as if they were affiliated). 

 

You see, memory is a funny thing. Humans are insanely easy to manipulate through suggestion, and every time we access a memory, we actually are changing it. What people call the Mandela effect, I call human neurology and psychology. 

 

[Jeric 46,851]

1 hour ago, Anneal said:

It's mostly because as we grow up, we rely more often on schemas to help process our memories into meaningful information, but sometimes, they don't prove to be reliable all the time. Memories are quite vulnerable to change as you attempt to recall it, and usually through some factors, people will end up following the same schemas. For example, at school, people would have learned in history class that Alexander Hamilton was one of the Founding Fathers, but over time, more people begin to believe that Hamilton was one of the presidents of the US, even if he wasn't – this is mostly because neurons encoding information about Hamilton would have happened when neurons encoded information about former presidents, possibly due to certain trigger phrases, such as "history class", "American history", "Constitution", or so on. 

There's also a few incorrectly, yet commonly remembered quotes. People remember that Sherlock Holmes said "It's elementary, my dear Watson", even if he had never said it word by word in any of Doyle's stories. But, Sherlock had said "Elementary!" and occasionally referred to Watson as "my dear Watson" – people have simply pieced these two memories together to form one phrase. The same can be said for a lot or incorrect quotes: "Beam me up, Scotty!" or "Do you feel lucky, punk?" 

Also, our brains have the tendency to fill up information the memory is simply missing and attempt to rationalize the connection between the fabricated memories and the existing one. That's why some people believed that they have remembered something in great detail when, in fact, most of these details are wrong. Misinformation can also spread quickly, and in particularly suggestible people, it can even override their correct memories and fill it with false ones.  

To add to this, most lessons in public school, and many pop culture moments are experienced in similar ways which could lead to similar gaps being completed since the schemas are fairly similar. Your example of Hamilton is pretty on the nose because most textbooks and presentations carry the same facts and structure. We all see ten dollar bills in the US. When individuals are only passively absorbing this information, we are open to this phenomenon. 

What tends to break these patterns are unique ways of learning (see Hamilton the musical) or a personal interest in which we aborb clear information actively and not just passive background information. You notice almost all the strongesr instances of the Mandela Effect are based around slightly known properties and elements of history? I doubt PCH commercials had much of a fan following that made people engage the material presented. Berenstain Bears were known, but known isn't the same as extremely popular. Misquoted dialog is usually generated through another popular film and enters the public consciousness that way (Tommy Boy with Vader's quote was a popular film in my teenage years for instance). 

[Nightfall Gloam 18,258]

I don't personally believe in the Mandela Effect, however, I do find some of the theories to be particularly interesting, namely the alternative universe theory.

[EpicEnergy 23,218]

I do believe in the Mandela effect, but I don't go too far and say this is a result of a parallel universe, because that has no logical proof and seems more of a belief than as a fact. Rather, I think the Mandela effect occurs because of everyone's brains being tricked because of faults in collective memory, simply put.

Edited August 13, 2018 by EpicEnergy
re-worded

[SparklingSquirrels 21,341]

Nah, most people don’t remember small details anyway so when they hear those examples of misremembering, they just go along with the crowd.

[Justin_Case001 4,889]

Well, of course I don't really believe in any sort of dimensional swapping, but it's a really fun thing to think about.  There are some really strange examples, for sure.  The truth is rather underwhelming, though.  Memory is just a fickle thing.

[CheeryFox 23,821]

Due to the lack of understanding of a metaverse--it's easy to dismiss it as anything more than hypothetical. But that won't stop enthusiasts and the scientific individuals from their works and study. 

I've posted on this subject before...here's a reply of mine: *

Quote

Let me explain offhand how memory works. I'm not gonna get into this much because ya can research it yerself. Memories can have strong ties. For instance, if I wanna remember something as much as possible---if it were a [book], I would read it a few times and recall the information. ... And read enough, I should be able to memorize vast amounts. Pictorial interpretation also the same. For the information to be different from what you recollect from the same source--your brain would notice this without hesitation. Because the neural connections are there. ~

 

[Danaluet 4]

On 8/10/2018 at 3:59 PM, Sondash Studios said:

It might be, but what you said is really interesting.

Thanks, love to share interesting stuff

[RDDash 19,173]

For the most part I do think that many examples of the effect are just a human error. I do find some rather interesting, and some others I do outright reject them.

Edited August 14, 2018 by R.D.Dash