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Comment by estrabd | Hacker News Reader

I have had a situation where I had what was I thought deja vu, only to realize that I accurately "knew" what was about to transpire for at least 1 minute after. I've had regular deja vu before, and this was not it. I was interacting with another individual, so I don't think I was having a weird seizure or was mentally detached in any way. It was not a lucid dream either.

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Consider that your recollection of the event is itself uncertain. Could it not be that although you now remember having known what was about to happen, you did not actually know that when the situation took place, and only subsequently formed that memory?

I am sure this is exactly what is happening. It is just hard to find out and believe that something is wrong with your own memory. It is about the same as using infected OS to run AntiVirus scan. Maybe it is a coping mechanism? I would prefer to hope it was a prophetic dream than that I can't trust my memory as Déjà Vu/random brain hiccup can rewrite it without leaving any trace.

Same here. I sometimes dream about situations, conversation with people I do not know to have it re-happen 1-2 years later. The dreams are extremely realistic and very specific. They happen only ~once a year. They are very strong so whenever I have one I wake up and remember it. When Deja Vu happens, its usually a bit longer than few seconds and I know it is happening and I know what will happen next and I dont feel like changing it for some reason.

I changed it once, and I felt bad since I wasnt sure if I should.

And here I thought this only happened to me. I have sometimes dreams of very specific conversations with someone else, and then days or weeks later it happens. I'm sure its just an interesting psychological phenomenon, but still.

How would a psychological phenomenon work in this case? Do you mean that you unconsciously act out the dream in real life?

Yes, that is one possibility. Another is that the dream and actual events do not match as closely as you believe. Your memory of the dream is rewritten, after the fact, to more closely match what actually happens.

i've had similar experiences before as well.

Heard a similarly strange anecdote from consciousness researcher Anthony Peake on a podcast recently:

He was was sitting in a cafeteria eating lunch with a female friend who has a seizure disorder. During the meal, this friend went into a "freeze" (where they essentially detach from reality, blank stare - catatonic) - and while frozen she said "What is he doing here?" while looking at the door behind Peake.

Peake thought this odd, because normally people don't speak while in a freeze - she came out of the freeze a few seconds later and he was telling her that she said something --- and not 1 minute later, the female friends' son walked through the doors, to which she exclaimed "What is he doing here?"

Calling this guy a "consciousness researcher" seems very generous if this website is accurate...

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Anthony_Peake

This is why I described it as an "anecdote"...

Without any recordings of this conversation, it's entirely possible that this conversation is entirely a lie, or simply embellished to match the world views of the people involved.

Again - this is why I describe it as an anecdote.

Do you think that everything can be divided into "evidence" and "anecdotes"?

There is at least a third category: Outright lies. The speaker in this case is incentivized to lie to increase their listenership and make more money.

If this is a lie, it isn't an anecdote:. "A short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person."

How would I know if it is a lie? Until that is elucidated - anecdote is perfectly sufficient for speaking informally.

I notice you also left out (conveniently) the 2nd definition: "an account regarded as unreliable or hearsay."

Reminds me of that Feynman story where he had the strongest impression that his grandmother just died. Just then, the phone rang. He tentatively picked it up, to discover that it was for his roommate. His grandmother was fine. People strongly remember the coincidences, but they tend to forget all the times that they had some feeling and nothing came of it.

Next time write it down. Because otherwise it could be your brain rewriting its own memory after the fact.

I once knew what was about to happen to have enough time to sketch and annotate it, and then show it to a coworker. I predicted exactly the image the boss would draw on the board and the words he would say. I have no explanation. But my coworker saw it too, so it wasn't all inside my head.

I've had the same experience, maybe three times in my life so far. Super weird.

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