Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M6105

Déjà Vu

Déjà Vu
BehaviorHigh supportPsychology
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

A strong feeling that the present experience has happened before. It may be due to a momentary short-circuit in memory retrieval pathways, or the brain erroneously tagging current information as "old memory."

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

A system timestamp error. When you feel déjà vu, it is a debug signal from the brain. It reminds us that our perception of time (past/present) is constructed by the nervous system and occasionally glitches. Do not assign excessive mystical meaning to it.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

The present experience feels as if it has happened before, due to a momentary short-circuit in memory retrieval pathways or the brain erroneously tagging current information as "old memory." It is a timestamp bug in the nervous system, not mystical precognition.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

  • link
    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9j%C3%A0_vuZH · Explicit
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