Baader-Meinhof phenomenon

The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon occurs when a person, after having learned some (usually obscure) fact, word, phrase, or other item for the first time, encounters that item again, perhaps several times, shortly after having learned it. This is a specialized version of the effect of serendipity.

Origin

The "Baader-Meinhof phenomenon" was coined by a reader of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The Minnesota newspaper runs a daily column called "Bulletin Board," for which readers, using pseudonyms, submit humorous or interesting anecdotes. The term was coined when a reader submitted a story around 1986, [ [http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=417#comment-9365 damninteresting.com] ] about how he or she first heard about the terrorist group known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang and then heard about it again a short while later from a totally different source.

Readers suddenly piled on with their own versions of the phenomenon, which quickly came to be known as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. Today, all similar stories are published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press Bulletin Board under the heading "Baader Meinhof Phenomenon."

Editors of the section distinguish between "Baader-Meinhof" and "Joy of Juxtaposition," as related categories. A B-M, as it's popularly named, requires that the item not be seasonal, e.g. two references to St Nicholas in December, and not be especially commonplace. Technically, a B-M occurs in a 24 hour space, although there can be some leeway on this requirement. When readers submit a possible B-M, the editors rule on its acceptability. Their ruling cannot be appealed.

Theories

There are several theories about the psychological explanation of the phenomenon, including a popular one that cites its primary cause as being the recency effect, in which the human brain has a bias that lends increased prominence to new or recently acquired information.

The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon is sometimes confused with the idea of synchronicity, which is similar but nonetheless different.

According to the reputable social scientist Brian Townsend, of the Mississippi Townsends, this 'phenomenon' as it were, is merely a result of our limited perception of our surroundings. Take the concept of "Schadenfreude", which is a German word for "taking joy in the misfortune of others". This concept is discussed periodically in mainstream media and other sources. If one does not know what it is, and has no intention of learning what it is, one may hear the term and easily forget about it, as it does not 'fit' into the person's conceptions of reality. They may even rationalize that they heard a different word. However, once the person understands what the concept means, they will then notice it when the concept comes up in day-to-day life. It is a logical error to assume that because one has learned of the concept, that now the world is talking about it. Rather it is much more correct to assume that before understanding the concept, the person made few or no memories concerning the concept, as it was beyond their ability to explain. This seems to be the most logical theory concerning the 'Phenomena'.

References

External links

* [http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=417 "Damn Interesting" article about the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon]
* [http://www.twincities.com/bulletinboard Online Edition of The Pioneer Press' "Bulletin Board"]
* [http://www.baader-meinhof.com "baader-meinhof.com" detailed site about the history of the Baader-Meinhof Gang]
* [http://jennydagle.blogspot.com/2007/02/baader-meinhof-phenomenon.html "Jenny Dagle's blog entry" that cites the text of the Pioneer Press explanation]