It's deja vu - already seen. It's an impression of having seen or experienced something before. A very weird feeling, it's as though it's happening to someone else - and you are the onlooker. Does this make sense?

D�j� vu works through paramnesia, a temporary time-dissociation. The incident being lived through for the first time is not related by the mind to the present, but somehow to the past. When the mind grasps that it is actually happening now, it seems to decide that this is actually the second occasion. It's rather like when we think of someone for the first time in years and who do we bump into that very morning? Thinking of them didn't make them magically appear...coincidence did. Such mental weirdnesses seem all very eerie, but they're quite straightforward really.

OK Quizmonster - you know I can't do those twiddly bits - show off !! Seriously, I'll be interested to see how Mylo relates his experience - I really did find the whole series of events quite unnerving when it happened to me.

I go with quizmonster, as I always believed it was one side of the brain catching up with the other within a split second, as in, you've been here before, but in fact in was less than seconds ago. Am I making sense yet?

Dear Cetti, if you click http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/basics.html a link will take you to a website that outlines the basic html procedures for producing bold print, italics, underlinings, paragraphs etc. Once at the site, just click on each of the "Primer" headings in turn and do the exercises outlined. It's really quite easy.

PS I'll want to see an 'appropriate' response here...ie one with italics in it at the very least! (Oh, and you have to vow never to overdo it with the new skills.)

Oh dear, it looks awfully complicated! xyzzy tried to help but nothing appeared - I ask for at least a week before I attempt anything, and please be patient - laughing is perfectly permissable when I make my debut. Are my demands agreeable to you? :-D

Hasn't this been asked before? or maybe it's just me then?

'ello :o) there are a number of theories behind deja vous; some from bio-psychology like quizmonsters answers and some cognitive based like mylo's. Similar to Mylo's answer i have also studied another psychology based one where deja vous experiences occur due to memory scenes in our Long term memory known as schema's. Schema's are an internal representation of a particular event. For example each time we have caught the train our LTM builds up on the the memory of catching a train. We refer to this schema when catching the train in future so that we can make sense of the experience and know what to expect etc.The feeling of Deja vous might occur next time we were are on the train for example when we are totally relaxed and not referring to our schema, then all of a sudden our brain jumps into action and makes a connection with the 'train schema' and we have the creepy feelin of being there before with the same people, noises etc but it is simply our schemata has become scrambled in our relaxed moment and it is only until we we are aware of this weird feeling that our brain is able to tell us that it is not possible and its because our schema is playing up! Well it makes some sorta sense to me ... i guess i wouldn't make a lecturer! lol T x

The problem with the "week" idea, Cetti, is that this question will have long disappeared by then. How about addressing something to me directly in the 'Sayings' category?

Alternatively, for italic, put a left-arrow (that's one of these <) followed by the letter i (for italic) followed by a right arrow (that's one of these >). Then put the word/phrase to be italicised (let's say that's Cetti) then put another left arrow followed by a slash (that's /) followed by another letter i followed by another right arrow. And voil�...you should have an italicised Cetti! Go on, give it a go right here and now.

Sorry to but in you two ... but can i have a go too? i've always wondered how to highlight etc!!

Cetti

Yeees, I've done it! I'm not sure about anything more complicated, though - I'll have a go - so will you Tizzy, won't you?

Excellent, Cetti! See? I just knew you could do it. There'll be no stopping you now, Ma'am! Over to you, too, Tizzy.

this is a bloomin miracle if this works!

wow i'm impressed! thankyou quizmonster!

My pleasure, T.

try using the MARQUEE tag - too easy!

comloulou