Talk:Pareidolia

Images

Maybe I don't have a creative mind, but I just can't see faces in the example pictures on the right (except for the alarm clock). Can someone come up with some better examples? (Perhaps a picture of an electrical socket, which looks a little bit like a face...) --Yekrats 19:35, 23 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, only the alarm clock really does something. I don't know who added them, but I'm going to remove the other images.--Sonjaaa 08:28, May 25, 2005 (UTC)

Part of the point of pareidolia is that people do indeed have creative minds. I saw a face in the car photo but the one with the ruler eluded me. Still, it would be best to have images that have actually been interpreted this way. I know we have the wikilink to Face on Mars; would it be overkill to repeat here the first image used in that article? JamesMLane 08:50, 25 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Virgin Mary?

I'm really surpised the virgin mary/grilled cheese isn't mentioned. I'd add it, but I don't belive I'm eloquent enough to add it. Also, James, the Ruler face is a long face, looking to the right.

Matrixing?

I'm reverting the allusion to "matrixing". It is definitely not in common use for pareidolia; in fact, it is a technical word in the field of (sound) signal processing (see Google dictionary search), and it is only mentioned in relation to pareidolia in a handful of paranormal-related websites. --Pablo D. Flores (Talk) 10:45, 27 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

other examples

I have heard if you fold an american bill a certain way (I forget which one), you can see the twin towers burning on the one side. Also I think a good example would be the devil's face seen in the smoke coming form the towers on 9/11. I cannot see the one of the devil in the queen's hair, is there a larger version available?

--Jadger 15:10, 18 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

pronunciation?

How exactly is this word pronounced? I'd put that in the article, but I actually don't know.

I'd guess par-eye-dole-eee-yah (don't understand the international phonetic alphabet or anything like that)...--h i s s p a c e r e s e a r c h 22:38, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You are correct. I find it a little awkward, but after a while one gets used to it. ^_^ V-Man737 01:14, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Carl Sagan reference

The paragraph including the Carl Sagan reference relating to the unresponsive infants is unclear. What is the correlation between babies being abandoned because they are unresponsive and the recognition of the human face? Is it trying to say that the babies don't recognize the human face and that's why they're unresponsive and thus abandoned? Clarification of this point would be great.

Here's the full quote from the relevant section of Chapter 3 of Sagan's book, the Demon Haunted World:

Humans, like other primates are a gregarious lot. We enjoy one another’s company. We’re mammals and parental care of young is essential for the continuance of the hereditary lines. The parent smiles at the child, the child smiles back, and a bond is forged or strengthened. As soon as the infant can see, it recognizes faces, and we now know that this skill is hardwired in our brains. 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. These days, nearly every infant is quick to identify a human face, and to respond with a goony grin.

As an inadvertent side effect, the pattern-recognition machinery in our brains is so efficient at extracting a face from a clutter of other detail that we sometimes see faces where there are none. We assemble disconnected patches of light and dark and unconsciously try to see a face. The Man in the Moon is one result. Michelangelo Antonioni’s film Blowup describes another. There are many other examples. (p. 45)

Edhubbard 17:57, 29 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Apophenia vs. Pareidolia

In neither the apophenia article nor the pareidolia article is there any discussion of the difference between the two. They seem just about identical in meaning. If anyone knows of a difference, it would be a valuable addition to either or both entries.

Eggsyntax 02:05, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Seems to me pareidolia is a subcategory of apophenia. Apophenia is apparently any type of bad pattern recognition - for example, a false conspiracy theory - while pareidolia is solely visual. Λυδ α cιτγ 05:33, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Leno "plug"

I added the Tonight Show mention (that has since been removed), not because I wanted to plug Jay Leno, but because I was contemplating adding an image of an eBay auction featured on the show of a "Superman Bird Turd", which struck me as the epitome of the cultural obsession with pareidolia. (The absurd thing sold for $100!) I must admit I'm hesitating because I find its subject gross, but if anyone else feels this would be a useful example, I'll be happy to upload the fair-image screencap I grabbed for this article and add it. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 01:25, 24 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

...I say bring on the bird turd! Sounds like a good example to me. --AndyKali 03:18, 25 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm afraid I have to agree with that sections removal, and agree that the image would be gross. Let's stick with optimal examples, rather than using poor ones. --Quiddity 04:45, 25 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Um, let's not merge this with Face Perception

Surely this is sligtly different issue? It would be more useful for someone looking for the term Pareidolia to find this article than to just be dumped onto Face perception, in my opinion. --AndyKali 03:18, 25 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. I've removed it. --Quiddity 04:45, 25 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Rorschach inkblots shouldn't be public

As a psychologist who administers the Rorschach inkblot test, I want to express my concern about the use of one of the official Rorschach cards as the main picture for this and many other pages (relating to subliminal thought). These cards are not to be displayed publicly in any way because they obstruct the validity of the test. If someone takes this test after having previously seen even one of the images elsewhere, their protocol is spoiled (For this test was normed with individuals who were seeing the cards for the first time, thus eliciting a "fresh" response). If an image of an inkblot must be used, there are plenty of Inkblots that aren't part of the ten card Rorschach inkblot test. 71.141.237.95 00:03, 2 February 2007 (UTC) Dr. Atlas 71.141.237.95 00:03, 2 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Since it's a load of hooey anyway, what's the concern? - DavidWBrooks 00:14, 2 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you provide a decent replacement, I'll be happy to make the change. You can email it to me if you want by clicking the "email this user" link at User:Audacity. It'll have to comply with the image policy. Λυδαcιτγ 00:58, 2 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think that Doorhandle image is good here

I think that door handle is good in the article, but it was deleted by a wikipedia user. In my opinion, this image shows very good the pareidolia effect and it should be included back in the page. Please discuss more here about this. Paul —Paulnasca (talk • contribs) 21:01, 28 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]