The Mandela Effect: How is it Explained?
It is nearly impossible to have a perfect memory. A picture-perfect memory is desired by everyone but unfortunately, in reality, almost no one possesses it. But is it possible for a collective group of people to have a false memory regarding something? A memory that is accepted as a fact by several people where in reality, something like that never happened? It’s almost as if by some means a false memory is implanted in the brains of all these people. But the interesting fact is, the details and the specifics of this false memory are exactly the same for all of them with no distortions.
Some Notable Instances
The most prominent example of the term and after which it was named is the collective remembrance of a large group of people about the death of Nelson Mandela in prison in the 1980s. However, no such event ever took place. He died in 2013 suffering from a prolonged respiratory tract illness. The odd thing is the specific details about this misremembered fact.
Many people actually remembered his death news being telecasted on TV and his widow sorrowfully giving a eulogy. Every single person who had this false memory remembered these details where in reality nothing like this ever happened.
A paranormal researcher, Fiona Broome was talking at a conference when she realized this shocking fact of collective false memory. How could it be possible that so many people remember a certain false historical fact so accurately? She then named the incident ‘The Mandela Effect” and launched a website to discuss similar bizarre incidents.
There have been similar instances all over the world. For instance, a large number of people remember Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse wearing suspenders. Despite being one of the most popular cartoon characters in the world this fact is peculiar as he never wore a suspender in any of the renditions, just an overly pulled red short with two white spots accompanied by white gloves and bright yellow shoes.
Another famous example is many believe the title of the popular children’s book series “Berenstain Bears” is spelt as “Berenstein Bears”; with an “e” instead of an “a”.
Nonetheless, the instance of the Mandela Effect that even shocked me was the line from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” movie. I along with many others, believed the line that the Queen says in the mirror was, “Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all?” While in reality, the line is. “Magic mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” I swear heard the first line when I first watched the movie back when I was a child! But my mind tricked me.
Another misquote remembered due to Mandela Effect is from “The Star Wars” movies with the line, “Luke, I am your father.” But the real line was, “No, I am your father.”
But these misheard quotes are somehow explainable, but how do you falsely remember the geographical position of an entire country? That is exactly what happened with some tribes in New Zealand who claim that the island country is in the northeast of Australia whereas actually, it is in the southeast. Bizarre stuff, right?
Conspiracy Theory or Scientific Fact?
It’s as if our brain tends to believe what is appropriate or what it thinks should be right instead of believing the actual true fact. But why does it occur? Many believe this is linked with “The Parallel Universe” theory where similar realities with slight changes take place at the same time and often get mixed.
In neuroscience, the process by which similar memory paths are stored is called “engram” and the frameworks for storing similar memory paths are called “schema”. So, when trying to recall a certain type of memory, our mind often switches up between the traces and thus offers slightly distorted memories.
Another way of explaining this event is the concept of “Confabulation” — an unintentional distortion of memory. When our brain notices there are gaps in memories, it fills them up with relevant details to make them believable. It’s not lying, but rather a way of our brain presenting something to us as plausible information. However, recalling misinformation isn’t uncommon though. A study found that 76% of subjects made mistakes when they were told to recall information.
Tim Hollins, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Plymouth in the U.K. thinks that this effect is closely related to the “Asch Conformity” where people conform to a view in order to fit in with a group, and “Misinformation Effect,” which explains an intention for people’s memories to alter based on relevant learnings or experiences as they grow older.
Your Brain is Not Always Your Friend
Sometimes, false memories can occur when misleading information is provided. Some studies suggest this happens as a result of inflating your own imagination and the way you might receive false feedback. If someone tells you enough times, they remember an event a specific way, even if it didn’t actually happen, your brain may convince you to believe in the same memories — what’s called “memory implantation.”
Just by giving some misleading information, people can actually believe they have a memory that is different than what actually happened,” says Dr. Bonner-Jackson, a neuropsychologist in Cleveland, Ohio. This trick is often used in court where an attorney uses a leading question providing enough resources for the witness to yield to a particular answer which often results in an objection.
So, trust your brain, but don’t blindly believe it. For our brain is not infallible. It can be deceiving. Imagine, a particular memory that you hold dear to your heart, that you can confidently say you remember every little details of it, suddenly is revealed to be something else.
Something not so pleasant or the person with whom you made the memory, in reality, is not the person you thought he/she was in your head. It’s just your brain, filling in the gaps and provoking you to remember something in a certain way as a way of making you feel better.
Moreover, the fact that your vision of that person is wrong is confirmed by many others who seem to have a very opposing version of your memory. But their separate accounts of the story are similar and check out making your claim about that particular person whom you thought in your head was very likable and desirable, even less acceptable. Imagine if something like that happens. Wouldn’t that make you question your entire existence?
