Have you ever met someone and felt like you already knew them? Your brain may be playing a trick on you.
This phenomenon, called false familiarity, happens because our brains are wired to recognize patterns. When we see a new face, our brain quickly scans for similarities to people we’ve met before.
If someone shares features with a friend, a celebrity, or even a childhood classmate, our brain signals familiarity—even if we’ve never met them. This trick helps humans build trust faster, but it can also lead to mistakes, like falsely remembering faces in eyewitness testimony.
Some experts believe this is why we sometimes get déjà vu. So, the next time you swear you know a stranger, remember—your brain might just be filling in the blanks.
