Bored Panda reached out to Douglas E. Matuska, one of the moderators of the 'Things With Faces' Facebook group, to learn more about the community he is part of and his interest in pareidolia. We wanted to find out what initially intrigued him about this topic. Matuska shared, “Pareidolia is a fascinating psychological phenomenon in which our brains perceive meaningful patterns or familiar images in random or ambiguous data, particularly in visual stimuli. For example, people might see a face on the moon or interpret cloud formations as recognizable objects. This illusion is caused by the brain's natural inclination to seek order and meaning, even when it may not objectively exist in the stimulus.”
When asked about his discovery of this unique phenomenon, Douglas explained, “I am not sure exactly when I first encountered the phenomenon of pareidolia, but I do remember a time when I was young. You likely came across the rock formation that resembles a face on Mars. The rock formation is interesting, but I was particularly amused at people's response to it since many saw it as clear evidence of aliens.”
We also learned that Douglas' passion for pareidolia has been partially influenced by another interesting hobby he shares with his father: “My father and I enjoy identifying various kinds of wildlife, and often our descriptions involve describing a feature on a bird or an insect by saying it looks like an object that we are familiar with. I know that is not pareidolia, but I think it has developed my eye to see things in a way that lends to it.”
As a moderator of the 'Things With Faces' group, Matuska likely encounters a diverse array of pareidolia images. We were curious about the aspects of pareidolia that intrigue him the most, and we discovered that “I'm intrigued by the variety of images that come through the group. Some images are made of very solid objects like an arrangement of pipes. Some seem to be drawn by nature, like the grain pattern on a board. Some are more nebulous and changing, but the photographer snapped the image at a particular moment, like ocean waves or smoke.”
Finally, we were wondering how Douglas experiences pareidolia in his day-to-day life. He revealed, “As a moderator, I sift through about 100 images daily for approval in the group, and that is not an exaggeration. In doing so, I see face after face after face. Now when I am going about my day, I see faces everywhere, and I am much more aware of these than I would be otherwise.”
