Frequency Illusion (Baader-Meinhof)
After noticing something for the first time, we encounter it seemingly everywhere.
The Baader–Meinhof phenomenon (or frequency illusion) is the illusion in which a word, a name, or other thing that has recently come to one's attention suddenly seems to appear with improbable frequency shortly afterwards. It consists of two components: selective attention (you are now unconsciously looking for the thing) and confirmation bias (each sighting reinforces your belief in the phenomenon).
What it looks like in the wild.
- Everyday life New Car Noticing After buying a red Toyota, you suddenly see red Toyotas everywhere on the road.
Recognising a definition is not the same skill as spotting it.
Two scenarios from the app, with distractors drawn from the same family of biases — which is what makes them hard.
After hearing a rare name for the first time, a person starts encountering that name in books, news articles, and social media posts, creating the feeling that this name has suddenly become popular when their awareness has simply been newly activated for it.
After moving to a new neighborhood, a person starts noticing all the other new residents and new businesses opening, while long-time residents and established shops fade into background, because their own newness makes them attuned to similar changes.
Biases rarely arrive alone.
Understand more. Assume less.
188 biases, 18,869 scenarios, and a record of how you actually decide.
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