id: 2101,16
title: Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, also known as frequency illusion.
date: 2022-08-27

Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, also known as frequency illusion.

The term comes from a 1994 submission to a local newspaper in which the author comments on the “spooky” phenomenon of seeing a word, phrase, or idea again after first exposure to it within 24 hours. The name comes from a German terrorist group whose name had been noticed in one instance of the effect.rT1 This is the result of two cognitive processes interacting: Selection attention shapes what we do/do not notice, and confirmation bias which causes us to be on-alert for things deemed noteworthy.rZ1 Sensitization is an intelligence practice that takes advantage of this phenomenon.