“Baader-Meinhof is the phenomenon where one happens upon some obscure piece of information– often an unfamiliar word or name– and soon afterwards encounters the same subject again, often repeatedly.”
I just read about this a few days ago, and then tonight my friend told me about it again.
Isn’t that weird?
I don’t think it’s that you encounter it more often, you’re just more prone to look for it.
So you’re saying that the probability of encountering a particular meme follows the Poisson distribution? Who’d of thunk that?
Course with memes being popularized by blogs and getting an artificial short term lift in popularity due to the blogging about them the Poisson distribution may not accurately account for all cases of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.
It never rains a single drop…
I wonder where you read about it? In deep research at the library, or in an article in a popular newspaper or other periodical? Maybe your friend reads the same papers…in which case: end of weird.
Nao
Written by Master Baader and DR. Jack Meinhoff??
sorry…couldn’t resist…I would loose my comedian union card if I let that set-up go without comment.
Well played, Sir Bondo. Well played.
Okay, now I’m going to see how long it is before someone else around me mentions “Baader-Meinhof.” And as I’m in Mexico for the week, if it happens I’ll be really convinced! 
As the article itself suggests, most likely a coincidence.
<thread jack>How long did that take you? (It was great, by the way:D )<jack thread>
Get this, often I’ll hear a word on the radio just as I am seeing the same word in a sign. For example, I’ll be driving and hear the word “dermatologist” in a commercial on the radio, and at the same moment I notice a dermatologist’s office right in front of me. I wonder if this is an example of the phenomenon?
“Coincidence” means you simply wish to avoid explaining the phenomenon, or have no hope of ever explaining it.
“Coincidence is the hobgoblin of those who have given up all hope for an explanation.” --BillyTheMountain
The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon says you will lose the game again in a couple of days.
They should make something like a Magic 8 Ball, but instead it’s the Magic Baader-Meinhoff Ball, and it tells you random scientific facts that you will hear soon after.
Do you also write for SNL?
Tim Calhoun’s line from weekend update: “Jack Abramoff? But I hardly know Abram.” (March 24, 2007)
this happened to me today!!
i was thinking to my self “wow, im walking on air” and i look at one of my friends away message on AIM and it was “im walking on air” made me think of this thread
Because of events like this I have come to believe the universe is made of coincidences, they are as common as hydrogen. What is surprising is that we sometimes notice them.