The word of the day: Pareidolia!
It's a term from psychology that refers to the tendency in people to perceive a meaningful pattern in a vague stimulus. For example, the moon. What do you see on it?
Most people might say the man in the moon, or sometimes a face with one big goofy eye. But think back to when you were a kid, did you always see the face in the moon? Maybe your parents had to explain it to you, and now you can't ever look at the moon without seeing it.
That's pareidolia. Psychologists note that once your brain has assigned a meaningful pattern to something, it holds onto that interpretation. But there's no face on the moon. East Indian people see a rabbit on the moon; Samoans say it's a woman weaving; Chinese people see a monkey pounding rice. Because of the previous assignment of a different meaningful pattern, it's as hard for a Chinese person to see the face at first as for you to see the monkey.
Pareidolia happens all the time, not just when you look at the night sky. Any time you see a person in a wallpaper stain, a ship in the clouds, or a face on Mars, you're experiencing pareidolia.
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Sources
- Schick, Theodore & Vaughn, Lewis. How to Think About Weird Things. California: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1999
D: It's time once again for our Moment of Science word of the Day. Today's word, please.
Y: Today's word is...
...Pareidolia!
D: Par...Pare . . .
Y: Pareidolia. It's a term from psychology that refers to the tendency in people to perceive a meaningful pattern in a vague stimulus.
D: A meaningful pattern in a vague stimulus...want to give me an example?
Y: Well, picture the moon. What do you see on it?
D: Oh, you mean the man in the moon? I see a face with one big goofy eye. You know, it's funny--there was a time when I was a kid and I couldn't see the face on the moon. My parents had to explain it to me. Now I can't ever look at the moon without seeing it.
Y: That's pareidolia. Psychologists note that once your brain has assigned a meaningful pattern to something, it holds onto that interpretation. But there's no face on the moon. East Indian people see a rabbit on the moon; Samoans say it's a woman weaving; Chinese people see a monkey pounding rice. Because of the previous assignment of a different meaningful pattern, it's as hard for a chinese person to see the face at first as for you to see the monkey.
D: No kiddin! I bet this kind of thing happens all the time, huh?
Y: All the time. Any time you see a person in a wallpaper stain, a ship in the clouds, or a face on Mars, you're experiencing pareidolia.