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doneforlife

Arcanist
Jul 18, 2023
427
Off late , I have been seeing a particular number consistently. Whenever I look at the watch it's hh : number. I would like not to believe in anything, but it's annoying now. I do understand the concept of confirmation bias. But that is not the case in play here. Has anyone else experienced this?
 
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Darkover

Darkover

Angelic
Jul 29, 2021
4,202
What you are describing is a form of memory bias. You see numbers all over the place but think some number is odd. You forget all of the numbers except for when you see this odd number, and you pay attention to that. It reinforces itself.

It's the same thing that happens when you buy a new car or shop for a new car. Suddenly you see your car or the car you are interested in EVERYWHERE. Tons of them. In reality, the makeup of traffic or the cars hasn't changed, just your brain is paying attention to your car or the car you are interested in where it wouldn't have before.
 
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D

doneforlife

Arcanist
Jul 18, 2023
427
What you are describing is a form of memory bias. You see numbers all over the place but think some number is odd. You forget all of the numbers except for when you see this odd number, and you pay attention to that. It reinforces itself.

It's the same thing that happens when you buy a new car or shop for a new car. Suddenly you see your car or the car you are interested in EVERYWHERE. Tons of them. In reality, the makeup of traffic or the cars hasn't changed, just your brain is paying attention to your car or the car you are interested in where it wouldn't have before.
Thanks! It's understandable in case of cars. But why would I shop for a number? It was the other way round. When I look at watch , I almost always see that number. Like let's say in a 12 hour span , I might see number 4 only twice , but that number I see atleast 10 times. This was not noticeable until it came up so much that it finally caught my attention.
 

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