stoned
Yeah, I meant to put "trippin'" next to vertigo by the tongue emoticon, 'cause I figured somebody was going to bring that up...no, this has nothing to do with any kind of drug induced hallucinatory state (although I suppose it could be applied to that, as well). That's what makes it so curious and intriguing. When something familiar suddenly looks totally unfamiliar. When driving it happens more at nighttime than during the day.
But what makes something familiar?...repetition. What suddenly strips all the registered repetition away to make something look unfamiliar again, if only for a few moments? Isn't this more like something returning to its original state of perception...i.e. original state. Maybe the trigger for the word or term is in there somewhere (returning to an original state).
I think dissociation is the closest so far.
deja vu: you feel like you've seen (or done) something before
(???): you feel like you've never seen something before even though you know it well
