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Pareidolia

skinny

skinny

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Mar 8, 2005
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Seeing anthropomorphic / anthropogenic imagery in random objects. The face of Jesus on a piece of toast; the man in the moon; the face on mars ~ that type of thing.

This one I took during a rare configuration of Saturn Venus and the waxing gibous moon, probably in 2008. It made me feel sort of ... happy. ;)

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ChrisBoardman said:
When someone sees a face, why is it always Jesus when it looks nothing like Jesus?
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lol. ive often wondered this. especially the naan bread mother theresa - nothing like her. if anything it looks more like a gnome as drawn by brian froud.

but anyway i love this smiley image of the sky :D
 
ChrisBoardman said:
When someone sees a face, why is it always Jesus when it looks nothing like Jesus?
Click to expand...

...as if anyone knows what he looked like, too!

(Although it's possible traditional Orthodox icons preserve some of his features, and those of his mother; but icons also are painted with a reverse perspective - again, traditionally - and other symbolic details so they're not exactly a portrait.)

Anyway, re: the OP, the human brain really is wired to see faces. That's a funny picture! Great example, really.
 
The Herbig Family tree at Springton, SA. Took a trip to Peramangk country with my indigenous students a few years back. This tree had been 'designed' by the Peramangk ('scar trees' had their boles burned in sequence from youth until they tree grew up around the cavity, which could then be used as a shelter from the elements with a sheet bark to cover the entrance when necessary) and was used as a dwelling for hundreds of years before Ze Germans arrived. The Herbig Family then used it as a dwelling when they arrived in the 1840s until the old man got his bungalow up, apparently. The thing is massive - and reputed to be at least 500 years old. It still lives, as you can see from the foliage peeping out at the back.

On to the thread topic: I see three distinct (non-human) faces in the folds of the bark. Under certain chemical conditions, I'm sure I could find dozens more.
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decipheringscars said:
...as if anyone knows what he looked like, too!

(Although it's possible traditional Orthodox icons preserve some of his features, and those of his mother; but icons also are painted with a reverse perspective - again, traditionally - and other symbolic details so they're not exactly a portrait.)

Anyway, re: the OP, the human brain really is wired to see faces. That's a funny picture! Great example, really.
Click to expand...
I understand that early depictions of Jesus were copied from the statue of Zeus at Olimpia. At the time it was considered the greatest statue ever made. Also the deity thing made for an obvious choice. Still if it's Jesus you see in your tortilla, it really is Zeus.
 
As a smoker, I've found that the concept of pareidolia is quite useful knowledge. When I'm stuck in a boring parking lot, waiting for friends to arrive for a meal or a movie, I just set about the task of finding a Jesus or Mary or really just anyone in the oil spots, all sorts of stains, irregularities in the gravel, whatever, and, usually, there they are. It's an absorbing way to pass the boring time. And if nothing's below, I check foliage and clouds--once saw a cloud that looked like William F. Buckley, oh too briefly.
 
And I'm more likely to see faces than 75% of people! Which also explains a lot! Haha! Thanks for the link, a happy two minute diversion at the office today.
 
More likely than 91%! I do and always have frequently seen faces in random patterns and everyday objects.
 
"son't sweat it. Some people see faces and some don't" :(
 
I had a little experience with this a few nights back. Was stood at the back door in the early evening, soft rain falling, damp and cold. In one split second as I looked at the ground I absolutely ‘saw’ a large toad, the size of a dinner plate; brown/tan mottled flesh, a wholly 3D creature, shifting slightly.

My eyes widened to look again and my giant toad became a rather ordinary (and very flat) paving stone with a mottled pattern thanks to the rain and shifting light/shadows moving across it.

My mind had assembled an entire, 3D toad. I felt quite proud!
 
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