Saturday 6 February 2010

Pareidolia

FabMary and I were discussing the strange phenomenon that seems to be occurring frequently these days, especially in America, when people see an image of Jesus in a bowl of spaghetti or a slice of toast or somesuch. Muslims tend to see the word 'Allah' - they are not allowed to have images of Himself. There is actually a term for this: Pareidolia. Of course, it comes from The Greek : (para), amiss, wrong) + (eidōlon), image). David Hume, the Scottish philospher described it thus:
  • There is an universal tendency among mankind to conceive all beings like themselves, and to transfer to every object, those qualities, with which they are familiarly acquainted, and of which they are intimately conscious. We find human faces in the moon, armies in the clouds; and by a natural propensity, if not corrected by experience and reflection, ascribe malice or good- will to every thing, that hurts or pleases us.
So it's a kind of wishful thinking which reveals something about you. Other examples of pareidolia might include seeing Elvis working at the dry cleaners, the Loch Ness Monster, and UFOs. Psychologists exploit this phenomenon as an analytical tool via the Rorschach ink blot test. Disney and others also use it to anthropomorphise cartoon animal characters. However, I have yet to hear of any cases of Donald Duck's visage appearing on a slice of toast. And I wonder how the Flying Spaghetti Monster feels about Jesus appearing in his bowl?

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