Memory, Myth, and Mandela: Understanding Collective Memory Distortions
People have an annoying habit of remembering things they shouldn’t. ― Christopher Paolini, Eragon
The Mandela Effect refers to a phenomenon where a large group of people remember something in a significantly different way than its actual reality. The phenomenon was named after Nelson Mandela, as a significant number of people believed he died in the 1980s in prison, although he actually passed away in 2013. This discrepancy in collective memory has sparked interest in various fields, including psychology, neuroscience, and even pop culture.
Understanding the Mandela Effect
The Mandela Effect is not just about misremembering facts or details. It’s a collective misremembering on a large scale. This phenomenon gained widespread attention in 2009 when Fiona Broome, a self-identified “paranormal consultant,” launched a website detailing her observation of the phenomenon. She noted that she, along with other people, remembered Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s, which was contrary to the actual events of his life.
Psychological Foundations
From a psychological perspective, the Mandela Effect can be linked to how memory works. Memory is not a perfect recording of events but a reconstructive process. As described by…
