Telha
Many people have experienced pareidolia without realizing it. For instance, if you spot a cloud that resembles an animal or see religious figures on a piece of toast, you are experiencing pareidolia, which scientists are working to understand.
Why Pareidolia Occurs
Numerous theories attempt to explain this phenomenon, but the central idea is that the brain instinctively assigns meaning whenever possible. It seeks patterns to interpret what it observes. Additionally, a specific part of the temporal lobe in the cortex is responsible for facial recognition, a crucial ability that helps differentiate between friends and potential threats. From an evolutionary perspective, this skill can also aid in recognizing camouflaged predators in the wild.
Another factor contributing to pareidolia is confirmation bias. If someone is actively looking for cloud shapes resembling objects, they are more likely to find them. Similarly, a person making toast may not notice a face of a religious figure until someone else points it out.
Motion Pareidolia
Also known as kinetic pareidolia, this occurs when individuals perceive patterns or images in visual stimuli, mistakenly sensing movement where there is none. This phenomenon often arises when “your eyes play tricks on you,” such as noticing movement in your peripheral vision. In these cases, your brain is attempting to fill in the gaps in your visual perception. This effect is more pronounced when someone is sleep-deprived or in dim lighting.
Primed to See Faces
Kang Lee, a professor of applied psychology and human development at the University of Toronto, has spent years researching how individuals of all ages process faces. He found that the brain tends to absorb information before we consciously “see” it, often seeking facial imagery.
“The inferior frontal gyrus is an intriguing area related to generating ideas and instructing the visual cortex to recognize them. If the idea is a face, the brain will perceive it as such,” Lee explains. “If the idea is Jesus, the cortex is likely to see Jesus. If it’s Elvis, then it will see Elvis.”
Assigning Emotion
Not only do we perceive faces in inanimate objects, but we also instinctively assign emotions and personalities to them. A simple example is emoticons, where basic shapes like colons, parentheses, and letters convey feelings such as happiness 🙂 and sadness 🙁.
The Man in the Moon
One of the most iconic examples of pareidolia is the “man in the moon.” Many cultures have legends surrounding this celestial body, but anyone can gaze up at the full moon and see a face. Its surface is marked by craters and maria (flooded basins of hardened lava).
“In terms of the Moon’s ‘face,’ it features the most recognizable elements from Earth, characterized by the contrast of dark mare and bright highland,” says Ya Huei Huang, a planetary scientist at MIT. “The maria were formed by volcanic eruptions flooding large basins.”
Virgin Mary on a Grilled Cheese
In the 1990s, Diane Duyser made a grilled cheese sandwich and noticed what appeared to be the Virgin Mary staring back at her. She kept the sandwich in a plastic container for ten years. As news spread, the grilled cheese became a sensation, selling for $28,000 on eBay in 2004.
Some of the most notable pareidolia instances involve Jesus and other religious figures, often found in toast, pancakes, tacos, clouds, trees, and more, exemplifying the search for the divine in the ordinary.
Lee notes, “It’s quite easy to induce this phenomenon.” In one of his studies, participants saw faces about 34% of the time, even in gray static. So, challenge your creativity by looking for faces around your home or neighborhood—you might be surprised by what you discover.
Seeing Faces Everywhere
Lee states that “inducing this phenomenon is quite simple.” In one of his studies, participants reported seeing faces approximately 34% of the time, even in gray static with no discernible images. Challenge your creativity by searching for faces in your home or neighborhood—you might be surprised by what you discover.
