Pareidolia

Coincidence or Meaningful Coincidence ?


Pareidolia is the word used to define both visual and audible phenomena where the human mind perceives patterns in random objects and translates them as something meaningful. Audible phenomena is best described as hearing words or messages when music or speech is played backwards, such as back masking or in some cases phenomena such as electronic voice phenomena [EVP].

Paredoila World Trade Center

Visual Pareidolia which is much more common is seeing faces and figures such as ghosts, religous apparitions, or structures on Mars or the moon where none should be. Some will naturally view these images as pure coincidence, some as meaningful coincidences.

Pareidolia frequently mirrors some aspect of a persons belief system. A Scandanavian study [1] concluded that religous people or those who believe strongly in the paranormal are more likely to see faces and patterns in inanimate objects, clouds, and so forth.

Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci was well aware of the phenomena and wrote of it

Mona Lisa or Virgin Mary on Toast

"If you look at any walls spotted with various stains or with a mixture of different kinds of stones, if you are about to invent some scene you will be able to see in it a resemblance to various different landscapes adorned with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, plains, wide valleys, and various groups of hills..." [2] .


'The human mind delights in finding pattern so much so that we often mistake coincidence for profound meaning. No other habit of thought lies so deeply within the soul of a small creature trying to make sense of a complex world not constructed for it.' Stephen J. Gould [3]

Newby Spectre or Ghost   Solway Firth Photo 1964 Spaceman    Martian Squirrel     Google Maps Face in Terrain     Face on Martian Terrain     Ghost or Pareidolia     Demonic face 911 smoke     apparent Pareidolia is not what it appears to be     Child, Spirit or Pareidolia    Pareidolia Paperback January 9, 2018 by Carl Watson   Face in Clouds Pareidolia    Face in Clouds     face on sea bottom     Giant Hand in the Sky ?     Giant Pixie or Cloud     Angel or Cloud     Angel clouds    Falling Angels or Pareidolia    Jesus in the Sky ?     wolf howling cloud formation     Soaring Angel or Pareidolia     Giant Eagle or Pareidolia     Invisible Friend     Face in Smoke    Owl on a tree or not     Face in The Flames     Body Hanging in the air or Pareidolia     Face on Martian Terrain     Virgin Mary or Mona Lisa on Toast     Eagle, Cloud or Pareidolia     Fire Breathing Dragon    Hitler Face on Rock Cliff    Face on a Tombstone     SUV on Mars     Statue on Mars or Pareidolia     Book on Mars     Human on Mars or Pareidolia     face on stump near grave or paredoilla   Pets face on lumber     Human figure in volcanic smoke    Looks like an eye    Religous Image on stone believed Virgin Mary or Pareidolia     Jesus on Tree    God in Clouds   Middle Finger in Clouds   Face on a House   Face on Mars   




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Footnotes

1. Paranormal and Religious Believers Are More Prone to Illusory Face Perception than Skeptics and Non-believers

2. Discovering DaVinci

3. The Flamingo's Smile: Reflections in Natural History





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