Should I see a doctor? – Wonder if Medi Care will pay to get me fixed?

Oh, did you want me to tell you what I am talking about?

Pareidolia is a term for seeing patterns in random data. Some of my examples are seeing a likeness of a teddy bear in the clouds, maybe a hole in the clouds that looks like an eye,  or an image of a dog that is really a tree trunk.

In general Pareidolia describes our tendency to see patterns in random data.  A study undertaken by Canadian researchers has added further evidence to the theory that we just can’t help seeing faces in random data. We’re hard-wired to recognise human faces.

I would like them to study me, because I think I am hard wired to see many more things than human faces in clouds, and just everyday scenes.

While walking the Nature Trail near home in Florida I spotted this palm tree stump.

While walking the Nature Trail near home in Florida this palm tree stump was converted, in my mind, into a funny looking dog – I had to go pet it – of course I got no response!.

I think I have some form of Pareidolia. I see more than human faces. But I really love it! This sickness helps me have fun with PhotoShop each morning. It lets my mind see things  the good old Pareidolia doctors probably never thought of.  For example:

This is a formal photo of me when I was quit young – My Mom liked to do things like take us to town once a year, at Easter, for clothes and a photograph!

This is Christy giving the keynote address.

See, I combined the two previous photos to show how my Mom would have seen the Keynote Address. She had a form of Pareidolia too.

Well, she most likely would have seen me giving a fire and brimstone sermon!

Now you know what Pareidolia is – Pareidolia is a term for seeing patterns in random data.

Most people think you have to be mentally abnormal to see these types of images, I see nothing abnormal about it – but it can be dangerous.  While riding bikes, you can crash. We are studying the clouds and not watching where we are going. 

I added the following paragraph from the internet report by the Canadian research:

“But our findings suggest it’s common for people to see non-existent features because human brains are uniquely wired to recognise faces, so that even when there’s only a slight suggestion of facial features the brain automatically interprets it as a face.”

The research is in line with previous studies on the subject, and adds evidence to the theory that facial pareidolia emerged from an evolutionary need to recognize other friends – and foes – in a pinch. Doing so could have meant the difference between life and death tens of thousands of years ago, and modern humans seem to have just hung on to the skill.

Writing in his 1995 book The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan theorized that “As soon as the infant can see, it recognizes faces, and we now know that this skill is hardwired in our brains. Those infants who a million years ago were unable to recognize a face smiled back less, were less likely to win the hearts of their parents, and less likely to prosper.”

GOOD BY – FOR NOW – Go look at clouds, trees, other people – what do you see? Oh my!