Have you ever experienced deja vu (French for 'already seen') - the feeling that something has happened before, when in fact it is happening for the first time? Deja vu is more common in younger people, in people with a certain form of epilepsy, and also when you are ill, tired or stressed. It may last for just a few seconds or several minutes. How your mind can fool you in this way is still a mystery although there are several theories about it.
One side of your brain is usually 'in charge' of a particular skill - for example, in most people, the left side of the brain deals with language. One explanation for deja vu is that there is a split-second delay in transferring information from one side of the brain to the other. One side of the brain would then get the information twice - once directly, and once from the 'in charge' side. So the person would sense that the event had happened before.
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