# If someone claimed to know you in a past life, how would you react? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 4, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832 "2018-04-04T21:12:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/1 "2018-04-04T21:12:45Z")
If someone claimed to have been a long gone or deceased close friend, lover, or relative of you, and they knew details about you, then how would you react? Would you believe them? ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/2 "2018-04-04T21:20:55Z")
Not in the least. I’d say, “How nice for you!” and move on. I have absolutely no belief in this (or any other type) of magical thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/3 "2018-04-04T21:23:46Z")
Of course I wouldn’t believe them. I am not a gullible idiot. My reaction? Probably along the lines of “Bless your heart.” ---
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/4 "2018-04-04T21:31:40Z")
But what if they knew your name, your job, where you live, your age, and other personal details? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/5 "2018-04-04T21:33:03Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > But what if they knew your name, your job, where you live, your age, and other personal details? I would call the police and have them arrested for stalking. If this person knew me in a past life, how the hell do they know all about this one? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/6 "2018-04-04T21:35:42Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > But what if they knew your name, your job, where you live, your age, and other personal details? There are lots of people with all of that information about me. Plus, a long-lost friend would have no idea where I live now, so that’d actually be a kind of a giveaway. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/7 "2018-04-04T21:36:11Z")
“Sorry, but that’s inaccurate.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/8 "2018-04-04T21:47:01Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > But what if they knew your name, your job, where you live, your age, and other personal details? Also, they can fly and are a sentient cantaloupe. (Because you are asking “what would you do if someone does magic”, so might as well make the magic even more interesting.) ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/9 "2018-04-04T21:47:52Z")
I wouldn’t believe them for a second. And revealing secret details about me to me wouldn’t help them, because nobody who’s dead knows all that much about me anyway. My parents and siblings and all recent friends are still alive, and I was never close to my extended family, especially those now not living. All they could do is convince them they had a scam going (as opposed to just being some kind of nutter). Honestly they’d have better luck just telling me they’re a stranger who stalked me as a ghost, lurking in my apartment or whatnot. And by “better luck” I mean “none”. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/10 "2018-04-04T21:50:28Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Not in the least. I’d say, “How nice for you!” and move on. I have absolutely no belief in this (or any other type) of magical thinking. One and done! With all the recent data breaches it should not be surprising that a total stranger has a lot of my personal details. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/11 "2018-04-04T21:53:03Z")
Id say “If you really knew me then you’d know not to come to me with this crap. And where is the beer you should have known to bring?” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/12 "2018-04-04T22:02:15Z")
I’d ask them to pay back the 50 dollars/pounds/shekels/whatever they owed me from last time. Plus interest. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/13 "2018-04-04T22:15:02Z")
I’d probably tell them that they were a fool in that life also. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/14 "2018-04-04T22:21:03Z")
I’d ask to subscribe to his newsletter. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/15 "2018-04-04T22:21:51Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’d ask them to pay back the 50 dollars/pounds/shekels/whatever they owed me from last time. Plus interest. As usual, I’m fifteen minutes late to every thread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Majestic\_Lee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Majestic\_Lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Majestic_Lee)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/16 "2018-04-04T22:37:12Z")
I’d hope I would wake up… ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/17 "2018-04-04T23:07:16Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > If someone claimed to have been a long gone or deceased close friend, lover, or relative of you, and they knew details about you, then how would you react? > Would you believe them? So their claim is to be the reincarnation of somebody that you knew intimately in your current life, who died. Hence their knowledge of things about your current life? Well, it seems to me that it should be very easy to check their claims by asking them about something important but personal that would be known only to the two of you, and that could not be found by accessing public records or hacking your computer. The response, no doubt, will be some vague convenient bullshit that not all memories are transferred with complete clarity. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/18 "2018-04-04T23:31:16Z")
If they’re supposed to be someone who knows my current information, they’d have to be, what, 15 years old or less? I’m sure other people move more often and would therefore need a younger reincarnate. If they’re adults and pretending to have been born with current information about me, then they’re just bad at math. Or they think I’m an idiot. They should stick with claiming that we’ve both died since the last time we met. It’s more artistic and allows them to be vaguer with their claims. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/19 "2018-04-04T23:35:41Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > If someone claimed to have been a long gone or deceased close friend, lover, or relative of you, and they knew details about you, then how would you react? Blank stare. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832/20 "2018-04-04T23:37:04Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > But what if they knew your name, your job, where you live, your age, and other personal details? Are you saying they know my current name, job etc or my past life name etc? If the former I’d probably want their name and information so I could tell the police. If the latter, well…since I don’t recall any such thing how would I verify the story? Since I don’t believe in past lives that you can recall (while I don’t ‘believe’ it, I’m open to variations on the simulation theory, though I don’t ‘believe’ you can recall any information from simulation to simulation in any case) I’d probably say something like ‘how nice’ and then get out of there as quickly as possible. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-claimed-to-know-you-in-a-past-life-how-would-you-react/811832.md?page=2)