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Pareidolia, pronounced par-i-DOH-lee-a, is defined as the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern. The word originates from the Greek words para, meaning "beside," and eidolon, meaning "image" or "form."
We might see a creepy face on a rock formation, the shape of an animal in the clouds, or a strange scene in a plate of food. It happens because we are hardwired to seek out familiar, recognizable, and often meaningful patterns.
But while we may look back on moments of pareidolia with amusement, for our ancestors, they were an important part of life.
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According to evolutionary psychologists, seeing patterns in random objects served as a survival mechanism. It helped people to quickly identify faces and threats around them.
“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," noted Astronomer Carl Sagan.
There's also the theory that it was safer for the ancestors we evolved from to assume they see a face, even where there is none.
If you've ever looked up at the moon and seen a face, you're not alone.
"I think the brain is so carefully wired to process face information that it's evoked into play as soon as anything even vaguely face-shaped is present," says Ed Connor, director of the Krieger Mind/Brain Institute.
But interestingly, people around the world tend to see different figures or faces on the moon, depending on their location, the moon's orientation and their own lived experiences.
"In the United States, skygazers tend to see a man’s face, whereas those in East Asia see a rabbit mixing something with a mortar and pestle. In Japan, they think he’s making rice cakes. In Korea and China, he’s whipping up an immortal elixir," reveals the Skillshare site.
It adds that it's not uncommon in New Zealand for people to see a figure of a woman on the moon. They've even got a name for her: Rona. "She is a Maori maiden who disrespected the moon and now has to spend eternity there as punishment," notes the site.
Some people believe pareidolia plays an important part in creativity and has done so for ages. According to the departments of Archaeology and Psychology at Durham University, Ice Age cave art from 40,000 years ago was partly influenced by pareidolia.
In fact, researchers from Durham say more than half the cave art they observed was inspired by the cave wall itself.
"For example, the curved edges of the cave were sometimes used to represent the backs of animals like wild horses and natural cracks were used as bisons’ horns. This strongly suggests that pareidolia inspired their works of art," explains the Skillshare team.
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Brent Eviston is an art teacher and author. One of his classes focuses on using pareidolia to spark creativity and self-discovery.
"When you interpret a random or abstract image into something familiar, you’re getting a glimpse at the inner workings of your mind," says Eviston. "Ideas related to your fears, obsessions, day-to-day life, or memories might come up as you take your time observing your paper specimen or any other abstract object."
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