Have We Run This Story Before?

by Becca Hafter

Déjà vu is very confusing because it makes you feel like you can see the future but only after you have experienced the future in the present. Scientist Anne Cleary is also confused by déjà vu and sorted through her various déjà vu theories with The Sims:

Using the life simulation game The Sims, Cleary and her team built two scenes, different in their features but identical in their layout. The first was a courtyard setting featuring a potted tree in the center, encircled by various plants, and hanging plant baskets on the walls. The second was a museum setting that swapped the tree for a large statue, the floor plants with rugs and the hanging baskets with sconces.

When participants explored the second room, they reported experiencing a feeling of déjà vu, but they couldn’t connect that to their time spent navigating the first room.

Silly participants! Confusing déjà vu! I was convinced I had prophetic dreams when I was little that stopped once I was bat mitzvahed. I also used to play The Sims for three hours after school everyday until around the 6th grade. Cleary seems to be on to something.