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Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.md

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Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon

what is that psychological effect where you google something and you found a animal you never heard before as if was recently invented

You're likely thinking of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, also known as the Frequency Illusion. This cognitive bias occurs when you learn about something new—such as an unfamiliar animal—and then suddenly start noticing it everywhere, as if it just recently appeared in existence.

Why Does This Happen?

  1. Selective Attention – Your brain subconsciously prioritizes the new information, making it seem more common than it actually is.
  2. Confirmation Bias – Once you've noticed it, you start encountering more instances of it, reinforcing the idea that it’s suddenly everywhere.

However, if you feel like the animal itself was "recently invented" in some eerie way, you might also be experiencing a Mandela Effect, where a group of people misremember details about something or believe something has changed in an unexplained manner.

Would you happen to remember what animal you found?