Pareidolia (nonfiction)

From Gnomon Chronicles
Revision as of 07:03, 16 October 2017 by Admin (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Pareidolia (/pærɪˈdoʊliə/ parr-i-DOH-lee-ə) is a psychological phenomenon in which the mind responds to a stimulus, usually an image or a sound, by perceiving a familiar pattern where none exists (e.g., in random data).

Common examples are perceived images of animals, faces, or objects in cloud formations, the Man in the Moon, the Moon rabbit, hidden messages within recorded music played in reverse or at higher- or lower-than-normal speeds, and hearing indistinct voices in random noise such as that produced by air conditioners or fans.

Fiction cross-reference

Nonfiction cross-reference

External links: