Deja vu Quote by Douglas Adams
“It was neither deja vu, presque vu, nor jamais vu. It was possible that there were other vus of which he had never heard and that one of these other vus would explain succinctly the baffling phenomenon of which he had been both a witness and a part; it was even possible that none of what he thought had taken place, really had taken place, that he was dealing with an aberration of memory rather than of perception, that he never really had thought he had seen what he now thought he once did think he had seen, that his impression now that he once had thought so was merely the illusion of an illusion, and that he was only now imagining that he had ever once imagined seeing a naked man sitting in a tree at the cemetery.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 1979
The narrator questions reality, suggesting multiple layers of perception and memory may be illusory.
In simple terms: Reality may be a series of mistaken perceptions.
Key Takeaway
Question your assumptions about memory.
Themes
perception
memory
reality
Mood
confused
curious
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- reading fiction
- self‑reflection
- psychotherapy
- academic discussion
- creative writing
Key Concepts
philosophy
psychology
existentialism
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you distinguish memory from perception?
- Can multiple 'vus' coexist?
A Different Perspective
The passage is intentionally convoluted, making its point hard to grasp.
![“Does God know he [exists]?" "Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered.” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a21/douglas-adams-122_courses_does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-doe_26187.jpg)
