Friday, November 2, 2007

An Inexplicable Feeling

I’ve found the answer! Yes, I’ve found it – it’s “jamais vu.”

Have you heard of this term? Well, if you haven’t, then read on!

Today, I came across a Medical Update article in Reader’s Digest. After reading it, I realized that it was the answer to a “mysterious situation” I’ve been trying to explicate a few years back. It’s not THAT important, but it’s still worth telling you because I find it strangely but interestingly, odd. Here’s a brief summary of the article:

Have you ever stared at something for so long until it seemed unreal? UK researchers have shown that “jamais vu” – a temporary sensation in which familiar situations and objects seem new and strange – does exist, and can be induced. An estimated 60 per cent of people have experienced jamais vu – the reverse of déjà vu.

Dr Chris Moulin of the University of Leeds described how 90 students were asked to write a word 30 times and found that at the end of the exercise, the word had lost meaning. “The more common a word, such as ‘door’, the more it gave rise to this strange unfamiliarity,” he said.

Now I shall relate to you MY experience of jamais vu. Whoopee, I’ve finally found the proper term for this inexplicable sensation! :D

A few years back, I remember I overheard my mother and sister talking about buying pajamas. For some reason, the word PAJAMAS stuck in my mind and I started repeating it over and over again. The more I thought of the word pajamas, the more I began to think it didn’t make sense at all. It started to sound like meaningless gibberish. Then I thought:

Why is a pajama called a “pajama”?

If you were to repeat the word “pajamas” 30 times, you will begin to experience jamais vu also. Try it. After that bizarre experience, I began to wonder: Do other people feel this as well? If so, have researchers found an answer to this weird feeling?

It’s baffling, really. In conclusion, I have another point I want to make:

Reader’s Digest is the best magazine in the world!!! Read it, read it, read it! =D

Hahaha, seriously weih. But I guess only smart people will read Reader’s Digest lar… :P Haha, kidding. But I wasn’t AS smart before I read it, you know…

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