Explaining the Mandela Effect

If you’re like me, one of your favorite childhood books was the “Berenstein” Bears. You read each of them front to back, and your childhood basement is full of the classic series. Returning to clean out dusty memories, I rediscovered these books. But when I picked one up, the title instead read “Berenstain Bears.” This didn’t make sense. My vivid recollections from years ago disagreed with what was in front of me. This is the Mandela Effect.

Origination

The term, Mandela Effect, was coined by paranormal consultant Fiona Broome. She confidently recalls Nelson Mandela passing away in prison in the 1980s and cites details of the funeral and a heartfelt speech from his wife regarding the tragedy. Sharing her confusion, Broome found that others thought the same thing. In reality, Mandela did not pass away until 2013. Broome was fascinated by the multitude of people with the same memory of the same false recollection as her, and so the Mandela Effect was born.

The Intrigue

Finding something of mystery in a world of solution is quite rare and exciting, and remembering an aspect of your life completely wrong shakes trust in what you know to be true. Because the Mandela Effect is a fairly new phenomenon, the disbelief in these memories has attracted many people to dive into various explanations, including scientists, psychologists, conspiracy theorists, and plainly curious individuals alike. At the end of the day, there is no concrete explanation for this effect. But this does not stop people from trying to find one.

Notable Examples

Like the Berenstain Bears, there are many other resonating examples. The iconic quote from Star Wars, “Luke, I am your father,” is plainly, “I am your father.” Or famously from Snow White: “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all,” instead starts with “Magic mirror on the wall.” The Warner Brothers’ cartoon is remembered by many as “Looney Toons,” but is actually “Looney Tunes.” The monkey, Curious George, does not have a tail, though he is widely remembered with one. The Monopoly man also does not have a monocle, and the brand “Sketchers” is actually “Skechers,” without the “t.”

If you have experienced any of these popular misconceptions, you have also experienced the Mandela Effect.

Explanations Rooted in Psychology

Like any effect or theory, a story is woven from many opposing explanations. To psychologists, it is nothing more than a neural slip-up.

They begin with the fact that human memory is unreliable. We can mistakenly remember events or experiences that have not occurred, or distort the information of genuine memories, which is referred to as “false memory.”

False memories take shape through confabulation, where the mind fills in the missing gaps of a memory. The Deese Roediger- McDermott paradigm supports this, stating that from hearing related terms, such as bed and pillow, you can produce a false recollection of similar words, such as sleep. So, let’s take Curious George for example. He is a monkey, and we know that monkeys have tails. Therefore, we assign him a tail. You probably have not found reason to analyze Curious George’s appearance in depth and will fill this detail in as a result.

Source monitoring errors and the misinformation effect are also cited explanations for the Mandela Effect. With source monitoring errors, it is difficult to distinguish between real and imaginary events. Details can be added later into a story or misremembered entirely. For instance, say you dream that a certain incident occurred. It feels so real that it is incorporated into your mind as an actual event. With the misinformation effect, information learned later on can interfere with the memory of the event. In conversation with friends or hearing something on the news, your hindsight can frame an experience with information you had not known at the time. This is also used to explain incorrect eyewitness accounts.

When growing up hearing, “Luke, I am your father,” or stories of other iconic quotes and events, we absorb what we hear, especially if we have little prior knowledge on the subject. In a domino effect of someone experiencing a factor of false memory, a collective false memory can be generated as conversation continues. Broome could have dreamt of Mandela’s death, and through a source monitoring error, took the fabricated memory as her own. But, there is such a large number of people recalling identical false memories. Psychology incorporates sound evidence, but is it sound enough to be applied on this great of a scale?

Possibility of Alternate Universes

If you are still not satisfied with an explanation, conspiracy theorists and quantum physicists open the door to multiple or alternate universes. Space is a largely undiscovered realm, and is a fascinating field to look into, which is why I wanted to dig deeper.

In the many-worlds interpretation, all possible outcomes from a situation occur, each in a different Universe. Meaning, there is an infinite number of universes for each possibility. For example, when waking up to start your day, you are faced with many choices. One version of you wakes up bright and early and gets to work ahead of schedule, one hits snooze but rushes out and still makes it on time, one arrives late, another gets caught in traffic stopping for coffee, one decides to sleep in instead. Each of these individuals is taken down a trajectory based on the decision made and every decision after, each with another number of outcomes. So, there is a universe where Curious George has a tail, and “Berenstain Bears” is “Berenstein Bears.”

String Theory takes a different approach. It states that the universe operates with small, one dimensional strings that vibrate in ten or eleven invisible dimensions. These strings twist and turn, looking like particles to us. As particles are slammed together, debris and energy are ejected off of our membrane into greater space, to a separate membrane. This theory opens up the conversation for additional dimensions than the three we know, as well as the possibility for a multiverse.

Looking at this in the case of parallel universes, scientists theorize that the interaction between these universes function similar to a radio station. All of these frequencies exist, but you tune into one at a time, which is the universe we live in. Sometimes, when switching the channel, you can catch the fusing of both stations’ sound. Scientists believe this is how information, the examples of the Mandela Effect, are transferred.

So, quantum physicists tell us of these other dimensions where different stories are present. The variations referenced in the Mandela Effect already exist somewhere, and are transferred into our universe, creating these contrasting memories.

These theories extend far beyond what we currently know and are difficult to pin down. The mystery behind them alludes to countless possibilities and room for new discoveries, which I, among many, am interested in exploring.

Boiling Down the Effect’s Importance

What each of these origins of explanation have in common is that reality is subjective. We each experience life through a different lens, remembering events, quotes, and conversations differently. Through word of mouth, we learn about so many varying perspectives, each holding their own truth. Through my research on the Mandela Effect, I find myself asking, is there any one ultimate truth?

Life moves at such a fast pace, and society craves succinct answers and explanations. It makes things tangible and digestible, allowing us to find solace so that we chug on to the next pressing issue. Whether the Mandela Effect is a psychological flaw or a glitch in universe theory, it is something that is experienced across the globe. I invite you to question what you believe, even if it seems farfetched.

How you define reality defines how you experience the world.