Doppelgänger

In the vernacular, "Doppelgänger" has come to refer (as in German) to any double or look-alike of a person. The word is also used to describe the sensation of having glimpsed oneself in peripheral vision, in a position where there is no chance that it could have been a reflection. They are generally regarded as harbingers of bad luck. In some traditions, a doppelgänger seen by a person's friends or relatives portends illness or danger, while seeing one's own doppelgänger is an omen of death. In Norse mythology, a vardøger is a ghostly double who precedes a living person and is seen performing their actions in advance.
-Wikipedia

The Germans have a label for everything that makes the human mind tick, and this is one of their scarier theories. People are supposed to have an identical double somewhere in the world. Now a doppelganger isn't identical, as a monozygotic twin would be, but rather is identical in personality and general appearance (like an Elvis impersonator would be).

Genetically and socially it actually makes sense. There are only so many combinations of genes that are possible before you start repeating yourself, and producing near-clones.
Bandura's Social Observation theory states that an individual is socialized, learns behaviour and personality, through the observation of people in his environment. In Western societies children are often brought up in front of the T.V. and learn their behaviours from characters in media. So it makes sense that people have identical personalities.

This is definitely the case for me. I have an American accent, and spell words the American way (unless spellcheckers are set British English, in which case the squiggly red lines underneath the American spelt words piss me off and I change them), and behave very ...Americanly? I explain this by accepting the fact that I grew up in front of the T.V. I'm not complaining, my accent allows me to make up stories at night clubs and parties about how I am an exchange student from NYU (American exchange students get lucky, trust me).

Even though genetically and socially it makes sense, glimpsing one's own doppelganger can be a frightening experience. I assumed mine would be somewhere else in the world, perhaps living in New York and with a New Zealander accent to compliment my American accent - but mine is in NZ; in Auckland in fact. Attending the University of Auckland....just like me!

I saw him last Friday in the Information Commons. He had my hair (completely), my height (give or take an inch), and even my face (ishly). But what scared me most was that he had my signature Mr. Happy shirt on.
Even his mannerisms were very similar to my own, going as far as to lean on his chair in the same haphazard way I do. He was in every way, Me. I wanted to pull my scimitar out and take care of this threat, but I just couldn't kill such a beautiful specimen like that.

But I just cannot hold back the ultimate question, who is the evil twin, him or I?

I haven't seen him this week, but I'll keep an eye out for him. Perhaps I will befriend my doppelganger, and find more of us, then band together to form an army of doppelgangers. It would be easier than me finishing the cloning machine I've been building for the last 2 years in my garage.

Have you ever had the feeling that you glimpsed your own twin? Anyone else ever seen their own doppelganger? Leave me a comment, and maybe I'll help you hunt him/her down!