Readers of a certain age might remember the Baader-Meinhof gang, which was a German militant group that was frequently in the news in the 1970s. Years later its name came to describe a phenomenon whereby you learn of a new word or thing, and suddenly it starts popping up everywhere. (In this case, it was some guy who learned about the Baader-Meinhof gang, then kept noticing it in books and articles and such. It isn’t that the gang had suddenly had a resurgence; rather it was just that his brain was now primed to notice it. Thus, the Baader-Meinhof effect.)
This all came to mind this morning, when I noticed this wheelbarrow set in a flower bed in downtown Placerville.
Now, as you know I recently did a post about John “Wheelbarrow Johnny” Studebaker, and how Placerville commemorates him with an annual wheelbarrow race. It sure looks like a Studebaker wheelbarrow. Is the fact that I just now noticed the wheelbarrow an example of the Baader-Meinhof effect?
Turns out, the wheelbarrow’s been at this location for almost 5 months. According to the local paper, “A decades-long vision to honor local history reached its conclusion April 28 as the Placerville City Council received a presentation on the completion of a replica Studebaker wheelbarrow.” A group of shop students at the local high school built it. The wheelbarrow was constructed from “local oak from a tree downed near Diamond Springs to better match historical materials.” And the ironwork was forged in collaboration with blacksmiths at the local historical park.
According to the article, Placerville resident Sue Rodman called the piece “the most beautiful wheelbarrow I have ever seen.” (Today’s post is about the Baader-Meinhof effect, but perhaps next week we’ll tackle sarcasm…)
And not to dig too deep into this…. it’s worth comparing the Baader-Meinhof effect to the reticular activating system (RAS):
The Baader-Meinhof effect (the frequency illusion) is the psychological experience of noticing something everywhere after just learning about it, while the reticular activating system (RAS) is the physical bundle of nerves in the brainstem that acts as the filter making that heightened awareness possible.
The Baader-Meinhof Effect (The Psychological Phenomenon)
What it is: A cognitive bias where newly learned information, words, or objects seem to miraculously multiply around you.
The reality: The actual frequency of the item in your environment hasn’t changed; your brain’s awareness and attention have.
The drivers: It is caused by selective attention (your brain actively scanning for the new item) combined with confirmation bias (remembering every time you see it and ignoring all the times you don’t).
The Reticular Activating System / RAS (The Biological Mechanism)
What it is: A network of neurons located in the brainstem.
What it does: It regulates wakefulness, arousal, and filters out the millions of sensory inputs hitting your brain every second, letting only what matters through to your conscious mind.
How it connects: When you learn a new concept or for example buy a specific car, your conscious mind flags that data as important. Your RAS takes that new rulebook and adjusts your sensory gates, turning up the volume on those specific sights or sounds so they break through your subconscious filter.
I think it is a very nice wheelbarrow… even beautiful.
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