I was in college when I first heard the name:
Baader-Meinhof.
And then—in totally appropriate fashion—I started seeing the name everywhere.
The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, also known as frequency illusion, is when you encounter something for the first time and then proceed to notice it everywhere (where, of course, it already was to begin with).
“Baader-Meinhof”—to those unfamiliar with the West German domestic terrorist group—is a perfect introduction to the concept, because it’s all but certain (assuming you have a steady cultural diet—this wouldn’t work for a hermit) you’ll encounter a reference to B-H elsewhere.
In the decade-plus since college, since first encountering the frequency illusion, I’ve realized that the illusion is a hallmark of my learning process.
When I first developed an interest in architecture, for instance, I would learn about some detail—say, a Palladian window—and then my visual field would be flooded with them.
Taylor Coe 