The psychology of 11/11/11: Pattern recognition and scarcity
Posted: November 11, 2011 Filed under: Events & Lectures, Psychology | Tags: 11/11/11, dates, events, numbers, pattern recognition, perception, psychology, scarcity, Skyrim, weddings 1 Comment »
- Photo courtesy of Nicholas Paine
I distinctly remember a day in 1992, sitting in Mrs. Henderson’s class writing down the date for an assignment, MM/DD/YY format, when it struck me that those numbers would all match on November 11, 2011. I quickly calculated my age on that far-off date and determined that I would probably still be alive. ”Future self,” I thought, “You have to notice that date.”
And I’m not the only one who makes a big deal about repeating numbers in dates. Several product release dates have been slated for 11/11/11 (such as the much-anticipated RPG Skyrim). The wedding industry has also seen a huge clamor for ceremonies on 9/9/09, 10/10/10, and, presumably, 11/11/11.
So why all the hoopla for what is, in fact, a man-made label?
