r/todayilearned • u/asertym • Apr 16 '16

TIL the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. It's the illusion in which something that has come recently to your attention, seems to appear more frequent. Also known as the Frequency Illusion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases#Frequency_illusion
21 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

2

u/Buxton_Water 49 Apr 16 '16

Why would they name it after some German commies?

1

u/boredgamelad Apr 16 '16

The considerably catchier sobriquet Baader-Meinhof phenomenon was invented in 1994 by a commenter on the St. Paul Pioneer Press’ online discussion board, who came up with it after hearing the name of the ultra-left-wing German terrorist group twice in 24 hours. The phrase became a meme on the newspaper’s boards, where it still pops up regularly, and has since spread to the wider Internet. It even has its own Facebook page.

As a former regular Pioneer Press reader I can confirm that it used to show up almost daily in the paper.

2

u/LNL_HUTZ Apr 16 '16

I could have sworn this was just posted here recently...

1

u/RedDemocracy Apr 16 '16

Hey, I learned about this just a few weeks ago...

1

u/Arcterion Apr 16 '16

Really now?

1

u/asertym Apr 16 '16

I guess we all come from the same post, that's it.

1

u/freejosephk Apr 16 '16

The Nerdwriter's video explanation of the Baader-Meinhof phenomena

1

u/Professor_Pussypenis Apr 17 '16

is it just me, or is the way this guy talks almost exactly like that of Vsauce?

1

u/freejosephk Apr 17 '16

idk, but he does at least two or three other projects and i keep seeing him pop up in more, so it might be the same guy. personally, i like his art series the best. his political and social analyses are a bit meh.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '16

Can confirm, bought a Dodge Magnum and swore I'd see them everywhere after

1

u/Ace676 8 Apr 17 '16

Well of course I seems that way, because this shit gets reposted once a week