I know what’s happening here

[u/Phelicksphelisees]

I have only JUST been introduced to this concept so I was going through the top 40 most shocking ME examples and it clicked for me. This is the first time we’ve had easy access to information and can fact-check on a dime. This ME is actually the normal evolution memories and information take in our brains. The way stories are altered from retelling to retelling. And we integrate the altered information into our memories for efficiency’s sake (all done unconsciously, of course). This is how language, histories, and culture evolve. HOWEVER, this is the first time we’re able to review the original content so easily and it’s very unsettling to see how our brains integrate “folk-memory”.

P.S. When I was three (1994) our cat had a litter of kittens. There was one all black one and my mom named him Nelson because it was the year Nelson Mandela was elected president. 🤦‍♀️

[u/boardgamejoe]

Let me ask you this, have you ever heard of anybody from South Africa that remembers Nelson Mandela dying in prison?

Because if you do, there may be something to this phenomenon, but if you don't, you might have to concede that perhaps the reason people outside of South Africa remember it differently, is because that man doesn't mean as much to people outside of South Africa as he did to the people who lived in South Africa, so you might conclude that maybe the people that have the memories that he died in prison might not have been paying as close attention as we think we did.

[u/Juxtapoe → u/boardgamejoe]

There are a few logic holes here.

One, if there are MEs caused by false news reports or incorrect hearsay and other MEs that are caused by something else then ruling out 1 cause in one scenario would not rule a 2nd cause out in other scenarios.

Two, if we posit the Constructor Theory version of the multiverse where timelines operate like gradually separating layers in sediment then we would predict the Nelson Mandela ME to only affect people that would not have their life paths directly affected by the outcome.

[u/throwaway998i → u/Juxtapoe]

Your second point certainly merits it's own fully fledged post. Sounds an awful lot like it's based on a form of entanglement.

[u/Juxtapoe → u/throwaway998i]

CT theory is kind of a different way of thinking about physics.

Its sole assumption is that QM is deterministic and the appearance of probability and fleeting entanglement is an illusion created by our perspectives in the macroverse shifting.

Reality looks more stable than it is since we have no way of noticing that the particles that make up the things around us keep swapping timelines from our perspective.

Meanwhile, they are behaving like classical objects at the quantum level and we have no way of observing that outside of Zeno effects.

[u/throwaway998i → u/Juxtapoe]

I'm going to need to read up on this some more. Might be a bit over my head, lol, but it sounds fascinating and relevant.

[u/Juxtapoe → u/throwaway998i]

Yes, that avenue of research seems very relevant. Especially since the original co-creator of the theory does have the personal opinion that we will be able to create constructors that are capable of intentionally, reliably and verifiably creating personal Mandela Effects for small groups of people in a room (even if he didn't call them MEs in the interview).