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Doppelgängers Have More than Their Looks in Common
Research shows their similarities are more than skin deep
Unless you’re born as an identical twin, the odds are slim you’ll ever meet anyone who shares your face — slim, but not impossible. There is a chance someone who isn’t related to you but looks just like you is walking around somewhere right now as you’re reading this.
The concept of doppelgängers is fun because it has a mythical history but a scientific future. We’ve come up with all sorts of stories about doppelgängers since their existence became a thing in the late 1800s, including representing death or evil. But now science indicates while not malicious, real-life doppelgängers do appear to share more than just their looks.
Dopplegängers
The term doppelgänger can be traced back to German folklore and translates as “Double Goer.” The idea behind it was that all living beings have a spirit double — distinct from a ghost, which appears after death — that is supposedly their opposite, or evil twin of sorts. Worse yet, coming face to face with your doppelgänger was a sure sign of death. So it’s no surprise that in the 1800s, the idea essentially became a subgenre for horror stories.
