Almost everyone has experienced déjà vu—that strange, fleeting feeling that what’s happening right now has somehow already happened before. It can be subtle or intensely vivid, sometimes even a little unsettling. For a moment, it feels like your brain is replaying reality. But is it just a glitch in memory… or something more?
Scientists have been trying to understand déjà vu for decades, and the answers are more fascinating than you might expect. Is it a sign your brain is working correctly—or a sign something is off? Why does it tend to happen in certain situations and not others? And why can it feel so real, even when you know it isn’t?
Anne Cleary, professor at Colorado State University and one of the leading researchers studying this phenomenon, joins me to explain what’s really going on inside your brain during a déjà vu experience. She is the author of The Déjà Vu Experience (https://amzn.to/3ErC6Fm), and in our conversation she breaks down the science behind this eerie sensation, why it happens, and what it reveals about how memory actually works. She also has a fascinating TED Talk on the subject you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFAvUkjba-Q
If you’ve ever paused mid-moment and thought, “Wait… I’ve lived this before,” this is an explanation you won’t want to miss.
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