Pseudoscience Dictionary: Mandela Effect

Pseudoscience: Consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that are claimed to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method (unproven, not testable, or opposed to the consensus of traditional science).

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Mandela Effect

Definition: Refers to something used to explain why the past was different than what was remembered. Believers in the Mandela effect claim that there exist parallel universes and over time we have switched universes. For example, some people remember Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s. The bottom line is that the past did not change and we did not switch “universes.”

Reasoning: Some scientists suggest that these examples of false memories were shaped by social reinforcement of false memories or false reports and misleading photographs that influence the formation of false memories.

More Information

• The ‘Mandela effect’ and the science of false memories
• Collective False Memories: What’s Behind the ‘Mandela Effect’?
• The “Mandela Effect”

Conclusion: There is no such thing as parallel universes. While people have memories of the past that differ from reality, there was no switch in parallel universes. Finally, the Mandela Effect is a conspiracy-type reason as to why our memories of the past were different from reality.

Last Updated on March 26, 2021 by Media Bias Fact Check

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