The Mandela Effect, Part 3

Perhaps I beat this topic to death in Part 1, and was whipping a dead horse in Part 2, but I am rather captivated by the fact that something I experienced and thought was very strange actually has a name and that many people seem to have had similar experiences.

I beg the good reader's indulgence while I take one more pass at it before moving on.

In surveying the internet, I have found a great number of claimed experiences.  Everything from changing movie lines and titles to islands and continents being in the wrong place or misaligned.  In many instances, I have thought long and hard on whether I recall any memory from at least 20 years ago (figuring the effect began within the past two decades) that would invalidate or call into question claimed effects.

There are examples, like New Zealand being out of place or having been one island instead of two.  The "two island" issue is easy.  I distinctly remember from grade school geography that New Zealand is composed of a North and South island.  As for its location, it is precisely where I always remember it being, so no issue there.

In a related issue, Australia hasn't moved either.

Another common one is the color Chartreuse.  This one is easy.  First, I knew a man in my neighborhood in the Houston Heights back in the early 90s who had a small shop that only sold items that were Chartreuse in color.  The vibrant yellow-green is emblazoned on my brain.  More than that, though, the color takes its name from a very old brandy liqueur of that name and color.  It is similar in color and composition to another liqueur called Beckerovka, produced in the Czech Republic.  One may forget entire evenings while drinking the stuff, but one never forgets the color.

A rather common issue attached to the Mandela Effect is the name of a popular series of children's books called the Berenstain Bears.  Since I was an avid fan of the series as a child, I distinctly remember the spelling being "Berensain" and not "Berenstein."  I remember because I had a mnemonic to help be remember: Remove a Berenstain from the shelf.  It worked, so don't ask.

As for movie lines, people often alter them because taken out of context, they rarely make sense.  By adding, changing or dropping words, they become more iconic.  

Take, for instance, "No, I am your father," the line often cited in relation to the Mandela Effect.  This line, as it occurs in the film, seems incomplete without the context of the battle between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in Empire Strikes Back.  Without any identifying information, the line could be from anything, really; however, by modifying it to, "Luke, I am your father," it takes on much more depth and meaning, since the words "Luke" and "father" together immediately recall the film within the context of the culture surrounding it.  This could originally have been an emulation of a popular parody, or simply a subconscious paring of two terms to clarify the allusion.

One of the most famous misquotes of all time is "Play it again, Sam."  This line is probably one of the most commonly used when doing impersonations of Humphrey Bogart, but as I mentioned previously, it was never spoken, by Bogart nor anyone else in the film Casablanca.  Below are as close as it gets:

Ilsa: Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake.

Ilsa: [whispered] Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By.

Rick: If she can stand it, I can!  Play it!

As you can see, the closest line to the famous "quote" is Ilsa's line to "Play it once, Sam."  So not only has the line been misquoted, it's even attributed to the wrong actor - in this case Ingrid Bergman.  This has been a topic of trivia since I can remember, so we know the Mandela Effect had nothing to do with the misquote, and therefore, it is more likely that, as with the other examples, this may just be a case of popular impersonations being better remembered than the actual event.

As for Interview with a/the Vampire, this one can be deduced simply from the context.  Anne Rice wrote a very popular series of books based on the character Lestat.  This particular title dealt with Louis, another vampire who was close to Lestat and was being interviewed by a slack-jawed reporter.  Since the interview is with a specific, definite vampire, then it makes sense the title would use the definite article, which adds also a certain drama and anticipation, much more than the indefinite article would.

In the final analysis, the sheer number of people who remembered Nelson Mandela's death being in the 80s/90s, and similar types of events, it is very difficult to explain how so many people could have specific memories of a celebrity dying, or not dying as the case may be.  It's hard to justify this phenomenon with a pop culture spoof or impersonation causing so many people to have specific memories of someone dying.  While I can picture lots of Bogart impersonations, I can't think of one of Mandela dying.

So, filtering through the usual chaff of internet rumor-mongering and deliberate misinformation, we can narrow this issue down:

1. Talk of celebrities dying twice, or not dying when remembered as having died;
2. There is usually a time lag, most commonly 10 years, between the remembered and actual events;
3. By the nature of it, groups of people must have the same memories, and not just individuals.

Based on my experience and research, this is a real phenomenon and not some "conspiracy" or internet gag.  The issue is quickly being covered with a lot of noise from various quarters.  I've seen it related to mental disorders, religious claptrap and "conspiracy theories."

If there is a conspiracy, then it involves the who and why behind it.  My own conclusion, at least at this time pending further information, is that it is an accidental result of scientific research.  It is most likely being investigated by filtering social media and other sources of public communications because the group(s) behind it are just as mystified and/or surprised as those who have experienced it.

I am one of those people who thinks that every possible alternative exists in the Universe, whether as alternate time lines or parallel Universes.  It seems logical to me that some experiment in quantum mechanics could cause a "leak" between closely related time lines.  It is even conceivable, regardless of how fantastic it may seem, that individuals have swapped with alternative selves unknowingly.  If the time lines are close enough, they wouldn't even notice except for certain events, such as celebrity deaths, or lack thereof.

If you've made it through all of this and you are still with me, then here's the bombshell.  On 1 March 1954, the US set off the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test.  It got out of control and caused all kinds of trouble.  That same year (some say July), a mysterious traveler is reported to have arrived at the Tokyo international airport carrying an authentic-looking passport from a country called Taured, that has never existed.  Suppose the two incidents are related, and the mystery man "fell" through a leak between parallel time lines?  If we can conceptually join the two events, then it becomes possible for information of all kinds to intermingle in quantum flux states initiated by similar events.

Two atomic bombs dropped on Japan.  The Castle Bravo test in Bikini Atoll.  The mystery  man from Taured in Tokyo.  The Mandela Effect.

Makes you wonder.

2,000 Planets And The House Of Leo

A recent scientific paper was submitted by Michael Lund of Vanderbilt University.  Even if you are not much for astrology (not astronomy), this short paper bears reading.

The premise is that IF we take astrology seriously as a form of degraded ancient science, and look at the way astrology has adjusted to the discovery of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, then how might it deal with the discovery of over 2,000 new exoplanets and what could it all mean for humanity?

Now, I don't know about you, but when I see real, paid professor types saying something that sounds an awful lot like Joseph Farrell's speculations, I tend to sit up just a bit, adjust my aluminum beanie and dig in.

The good professor beings by examining some basic precept  of astrology: how meaning is ascribed to objects, how they are laid out on the sky, etc.  He then maps out the known exoplanets, and finally assigns the new planets astrological values according to accepted rules.

Now, this might seem like a pointless and antiquated exercise with no value, until you get to his conclusions.

"We have looked at the distribution of known exoplanets along the constellations of the zodiac, and examined how this correlates with observed sociological trends in the last 2 decades. As additional exoplanets are found, astrological interpretations would suggest that these global trends should continue to shift. This would further suggest that astronomy is in a unique position to improve humanity through targeted exoplanet searches."

This is a remarkable and interesting proposition.  If you read the entire paper, he draws a connection between the influence of the cosmos on human events (astrology) using quantum mechanics.  He then shows how society and culture have changed in the past two decades in parallel with predicted outcomes from the discoveries of exoplanets when assigned astrological meaning and values.

His conclusion is that and experiment can be done to test this hypothesis.  By targeting discoveries of exoplanets in specific constellations, science could positively affect society and human development by focusing on discoveries in constellations that astrology claims benefit humanity on the whole.

Professor Lund goes on to say:

"In particular, the greatest opportunity for establishing more cooperation and a

more civil society would be to focus on searching Libra for additional planets. The globular cluster NGC 5897 would present one large population of stars that could provide a source of planets to alter our fate."

This is a remarkable idea, especially coming from a mainstream university.  Not only does Mr. Lund propose a connection between astrology, astronomy and quantum mechanics, but he proposes a specific test by searching the zodiac constellation of Libra.  Finding more exoplanets in Libra should produce a calming effect on human history if the connection is valid.

Earlier in the paper, he plots out the distribution of known exoplanets in the zodiac and finds a preponderance of new planets in fire signs with more than half being fixed or mutable.  The temperaments and characteristics associated with these are self-centeredness, moodiness, depression, and criticism, all which appear to have increased as the number of exoplanets have increased.  On the other hand, Libra has the fewest exoplanets so far, which is a sign that indicates manners and social graces.

If, in fact, these correlations are accurate and we are molding our fate with our own discoveries, this would have a profound impact on science, and humanity at large.

First, we could prove that astrology and perhaps alchemy are actually degraded forms of ancient advanced science.  This alone would revolutionize the nature of anthropology, political and social sciences, and even the fine arts, among others.

Second, it would prove that humanity has a direct and profound control over our destiny.  This is at once an exciting and terrifying thought.  It implies that we could create a Golden Age by simply observing the Universe.  On the other side, we could increase our destructive ability, or our own destruction by means of the same process.

Taken to absurd lengths, one can envision politicians, athletes and artists employing personal astronomers to make discoveries in constellations that would benefit their personal ambitions.  Even warring factions might deploy legions of telescopes and observers to observe each to a victory.  Could make for an interesting plot in a story.  Rember though, I own it and I'm staking my intellectual property rights here and now, and I will deploy my battalion of observers to ensure my enrichment from it.

In any event, this hypothesis and the proposed test for it would have massive implications for both the past and the future of humankind.  It would serve as a proof of hyperdimensional physics and a vindication of occult practices throughout the Ages.  It also means that each of us is empowered to guide our own future and that of our species by doing nothing more than directing our conscious activities, something religion and noetics have been positing since the dawn of civilization.

The implied power here, though, also makes sense of why this kind of information has been relegated to the occult and mystery schools.  The ability to have power over the Universe by simply observing things would need to be reserved only for those with the proper training, or risk great harm to everything we know.

If this hypothesis is true, then it places a great burden on each of us to control our conscious pursuits and contain our ambitions, as one wrong discovery could bring all we are to a crashing halt.

Interesting, is it not, how a four-page paper could have so much packed into it.