Nelson Mandela. For him the “effect” is so called. Photo: AFP
You have most likely heard of mandala effect And I don’t really understand what it is. It happened to all of us.
In short, the Mandela effect is a phenomenon produced by collusion or false personal and collective memories that makes us believe things that are not really true.
It is worth clarifying that all possible explanations of the effect are pseudoscientific, i.e. incompatible with the scientific method. In fact, the name “Mandela effect” was given by the blogger and pseudoscientist Fiona Broome.
Mandela in 2001 with Fidel Castro. Photo: AFP
The most striking example is the one that gives the phenomenon its name: on the day of Nelson Mandela’s death, many were surprised because they believed that the South African had died in the 1980s.
At the time, Broome claimed he could describe the false recollection of news coverage of the activist’s death in the 1980s and even memorize a speech by his widow. When she realized that the same thing wasn’t happening to her alone, he called the event a phenomenon.
We said: collusion, false memories Y false collective memories.
In the first case, the effect occurs when many people agree (almost as a joke) to lie together about something; in the second, when we cannot accurately describe a memory; the third, when a group of people collectively say something or have a particular memory which, in reality, is not true.
Darth Vader and a Star Wars scene with the Mandela effect.
The general explanation for the “Mandela effect” is somewhat lacking the point of collusion. It focuses more on the other two, on memories modified through internal and external stimuli that are nothing more than references that modify personal experience and shape the original memories.
Examples of “Mandela Effect”
There are several examples that have nothing to do with the African activist. A known related to Star Wars contains a major spoiler, so if you’re one of the few who haven’t seen The Empire Strikes Back, beware.
Many people believe that in the end of Star Wars: Episode V Darth Vader says to his enemy: “Luke, I am your father”, but in reality the villain says the phrase: “No, I am your father”.
Not even the queen Snow White says “Mirror, mirror”, nor inside White House Humphrey Bogart blurts out the famous “Play it again, Sam”.
Humphrey Bogart and Dooley “Sam” Wilson in the Casablanca scene.
On the other hand, it can be said that, even if you don’t believe it, the phrase “Sancho barks, signal that we are riding” does not derive from The ingenious gentleman Don Quijote de La Mancha. Very few know that it is more likely to come from a poem by goethea Turkish proverb or Ruben Dario about what Cervantes.
Another example could be that of thief emoji. There is no shortage of people who think they have used or seen a thief emoji when in reality it doesn’t exist.
There are also those who mistakenly believe that the character who appears on the cover of the board game monopoly wearing a monocle.
The Monopoli logo, in the center.
Source: Clarin