Familiarity and people who remind you of other people - paradolia or apophenia?

Originally posted by JPhish
reply to post by Whisper67

 

how about we consider the idea of reincarnation? It seems to explain a lot.

We have - it's been mentioned in the thread. It doesn't do much to explain those odd similarities between two or more still living people though.

I like Whisper67's post. The 'school of thought' I was talking about earlier has to do with the nature of 'reality' as a 'matrix' - no, not like in the movie, but the movie is based on similar ideas. But maybe reality is actually something 'outside' the third dimension, which was created as a 'simulation' (for lack of a better term) for a small part of our pure consciousnesses to exist in. Perhaps the 'real me' has more than one 'avatar' in the 'game'. Several versions of me; some in different time periods, but some that might actually run into each other during their lifetimes.

Originally posted by JPhish
reply to post by Whisper67

 

how about we consider the idea of reincarnation? It seems to explain a lot.

That is exactly what I was talking about. For instance, I can remember events from several past lives, and know other that too remember these things. Reincarnation is real, and we of the human race are all caught in the cycle of birth/death/rebirth again and again. I have often said, and I'll say it again...time to break free.

how about like ....when i've been on the road....and i see a car in the distance....and i KNOW for a fact that in this car there is someone i know in that car b/c i feel it....and sure enough it IS someone i know....now like i said...it just from looking at the car....we all know that most cars of th same make and model look identical if not for color or some sort of bodily damage but that aside nothing to visually observe a variation. has this ever happened to someone else?

Terratoma-

I have thought about this to some extent, but while reading through the OP a thought occured to me:

The universe appears to be built using a fractal template. It is multidimensional (in that it expands in all directions, and due to time dilation seems capable of of managing different timescales simultaneously). It has multiple tiers of existence, yet each "tier" seems to emulate that above it. The same concepts are used on the grandest and most miniscule scales.

Molecularly speaking, it would seem that this is part of the design. Anyone who has taken high school chemistry would understand that a molecule can only form in so many ways. So we are bound to see these repeating patterns of design and behavior no matter where we look.

With people, there are only so many designs. Large nose, small nose. Pouty lips, thin lips. Red hair, blonde hair, or varying degrees of brown, going to black? It is the interplay of these traits that defines us physically.

Why could consciousness not also follow the same concept? Imagine that you are in charge of designing consciousness for the universe...you have hundreds of categories of behavioral characteristics. In each category there is a finite number of possibilities. For example, on overall temperment you can have only so many choices, ranging from "hot-headed" to "cool as a cucumber".

As you begin to compile all these characteristics, you begin to see how the same building blocks can create such varied results. The interplay of traits, of which there are only so many configurations, provides the finishing touches on personality.

For example, someone with a "hot-headed" temperment that is prone to substance abuse, or has a more delicate ego, would provide a much different experience than someone who is "hot-headed" and is prone sprituality. Both may become violent, but the more spiritual person would do so far less often.

Regardless, since the same "building material" is used for all instances, you will see repetition. This is the fractal nature of our universe.

i often get deja vu, and it can last for around 8 to 10 seconds. while it is happening, i can almost tell someone exactly what they are going to do or say, but it feels like im 1 second behind and by the time i go to tell them what they are going to do, they have already done it.

also, every girlfriend i have had is the exact same. everyone of them is nuts and every guy i know says all women are the same LOL !

a reply to: Teratoma

As you can tell from how recent this post is this is still relevant and I would like to shed some insight on the paradox. Although I am still young and in college I too have noticed this many times over but with different types of people. Because of my age I feel as though this different in types of people refer to a sense of trying to belong and therefore interacting with many different types of people on a more personal level thus revealing this phenomenon in different types of people.

We as people are attracted to other people that either share our similarities or are attracted by other means. We normally do not associate with all different types of people and are therefore "picky" with people. Limiting this spectrum of people we then will befriend people that are more likely to be similar and then this paradox will appear more often. I see this type of "de ja vu" to be reassuring that the person I am befriending is a good choice unlike someone that does not share similarities with me.

Because this person is similar to what we are looking for in another person and are similar to other friends we may have this paradox will happen and we will be able to predict, as DrumsRfun has stated, another persons life. This is also confirmed if one is to research types of personalities, there is a finite amount of them and also a finite amount of people with these personalities, certain ones attracting us to them. www.16personalities.com...

The way to attract can be from whatever you may notice from them. To take more specific examples perhaps from how they act, activities they condone with, their lifestyle habits, or anything else, these may give us a clue as to how they may go about other forms of their life without them having to tell us.

Now to get to the very specific example. Currently in college I have met a lab partner that is very kind and sweet. She first reminded me of a girl I once dated (another way to be picky with people) and therefore instantly attracted me. As I became friends with them, and am currently friends with them for maybe 2 months now they remind me of another person I have worked with for years. The similarities were uncanny and very predictable as I got to know them. From then on I realized that this is the type of person I like and can become friends with.

Another observation made about this is although people may remind us of other people there are distinct differences between them because all people are inherently unique by experiences, knowledge and how they think. These differences may distance us from these "similar people to ones we know" to get a more "picky" idea of what we may be looking for in either a friend or significant other.

As we narrow our range of what we may be looking for some think that this narrows it to a specific person, that person being their "soul mate". I personally cannot explain if I believe in this theory or not because there are so many aspects of a person that come into play when deciding what we are looking for.

I hope this helped with some speculation. I am still young and not a professional in this field but I feel as though my experiences and thoughts have given me this opportunity to add to this type of discussion.

a reply to: Teratoma

When you reincarnate...you reincarnate into a body similar to your past life. Also, we travel in "soul groups" so a familiar face seems normal after you know this.

Well, first you have to believe in reincarnation, then everything makes sense.

This has happened to me several times.