There's an old saying: 'No piece of writing is ever finished, it's just abandoned.' But my own rule is: No piece of work is done until you want to kill everyone involved in the publishing process, especially yourself.
Chuck PalahniukRead
There's an opposite to déjà vu. They call it jamais vu. It's when you meet the same people or visit places, again and again, but each time is the first. Everybody is always a stranger. Nothing is ever familiar.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Jamais vu is the experience of feeling unfamiliarity in familiar situations.
In this quote, Chuck Palahniuk introduces the concept of 'jamais vu', which is the opposite of 'déjà vu'. While 'déjà vu' refers to the sensation of having experienced something before, 'jamais vu' describes the disorienting feeling of encountering the same person or place repeatedly, yet perceiving them as entirely new and unfamiliar. This reflects on the nature of human experience, highlighting how our perceptions can shift and how familiarity can paradoxically feel new.
Themes
Jamais VuFamiliarityStrangerPerceptionHuman Experience
In practice
Example use cases
You could use this quote in a discussion about memory and perception.
More from Chuck Palahniuk
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One thing I really envy about my friends who have kids is that as their children develop, they're able to revisit their own developmental stages and recognise themselves and undo a lot of things they decided.
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If you knew that your life was merely a phase or short, short segment of your entire existence, how would you live? Knowing nothing 'real' was at risk, what would you do? You'd live a gigantic, bold, fun, dazzling life. You know you would. That's what the ghosts want us to do - all the exciting things they no longer can.
Chuck PalahniukRead
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