Have you ever typed a word into your laptop, looked at it, and thought it was spelled wrong? So you google it and see you actually wrote it right!
This is wordnesia, a fun but infuriating brain glitch everyone seems to experience here and there.
What is Wordnesia?
Wordnesia happens when a word looks so odd to you that it feels wrong. Sometimes it looks so bizarre that you actually forget its correct spelling…despite it staring at you in the face.
To you, it’s an incoherent jumble of letters that looks vaguely familiar but you just help but think there’s something wrong. And even when you google it, it still takes a few seconds for your brain to catch up and tell you it is correct.
It sounds made up but anyone who’s done some reading and writing (note: everybody) has experienced this—and often with uncomplicated words too! This is different from mixing up similar sounding or spelled words like accept or except. This is more about looking at fairly simple words and being convinced they are wrong.
Take the word “cough” for example. You’ve written it thousands of times but suddenly you’re not sure if it starts with a “k” or a “c”. There might even be an “a” or “f” there for all you know!
We don’t know much about this at the moment, only that plenty of people have experienced this whether reading or writing.
Possible Reasons Why Wordnesia Happens
Matthew J.X. Malady, who’s dug deep into this brain glitch, has interviewed a few experts about this. In his article for Slate, some of the experts suggest that:
- When reading or writing, our brains go on autopilot. During this period we might experience “temporary glitches” that may be impossible to avoid due to the complex processes our brains go through.
- Sometimes we lose the ability to make sense of a word as a whole unit. We instead fixate on the string of letters that make it up, which don’t make sense individually.
- As described in psychologist William James’ works, our conscious experiences are composed of two things: the nucleus and the fringe. The nucleus consists of sensory information we can easily discern and perceive while the fringe governs our more ambiguous experiences. Sometimes there’s a disconnect between the two, leading to a sense of wrongness.
There’s currently no concrete evidence on why this happens. It’s mentioned in the article that this is due to the difficulty of reliably invoking this phenomenon in a lab setting.
The good news is that this glitch doesn’t last long when it happens. It’s also not an indication of something wrong with your brain. Rather, it’s evidence that while the human brain is amazing, it’s also far from perfect—which is perfectly fine.
As for a cure? There’s really no need for one. Your brain might have occasional hiccups but it does correct them quickly. If you want to speed things along, then shifting your focus to something else and then returning to the problematic word could work. You’re basically trying to trigger your brain’s recall process anew.
Related Terms
Here are a few more phenomena or concepts that are similar to wordnesia.
Semantic Satiation
Semantic satiation is a phenomenon where a word temporarily loses its meaning because of uninterrupted repetition or extended analysis. You begin to perceive it as a meaningless collection of sounds instead of a cohesive unit.
With wordnesia, you still feel a vague sense of familiarity. It’s just that a word might seem wrong to you or you completely blank out on its correct spelling. Semantic satiation deals with a complete, but temporary, loss of meaning.
Jamais Vu
If deja vu is the feeling that you’ve experienced something before despite it happening for the first time, jamais vu is encountering something you’ve already experienced that suddenly feels unfamiliar or new.
Lethologica
Lethologica, or the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, occurs when you fail to remember a particular word or phrase despite knowing that it exists and wanting to use it. You know it but just can’t seem to actually recall it.
People who experience this can often remember one or more elements of the word, such as its first letter, what it sounds like, or any related words. Despite that, it still proves difficult to remember the whole thing.
What is your take on wordnesia? Share your experiences in the comments below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
