Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Apophenia and Pareidolia


Two possible explanations for paranormal events are apophenia and pareidolia. These terms describe the human ability to see connections between things when there are none. Have you ever looked at a cloud and seen a shape that looked like something else? Oftentimes, people see faces in clouds or trees. This is a very common example of pareidolia.  


Jody. “Startled Mop is Startled.” Faces in Places.Blogspot.com. 11 Sep 2013. Web. 16 Jan 2018.

apophenia (Ah-poe-FEE-nee-uh) 
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines apophenia as, “the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas)” (“apophenia”).  

pareidolia (Pair-eye-doe-lee-uh)
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines pareidolia “the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern” (“pareidolia”). This is like apophenia, but is specifically for sight.

"apophenia.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2018.
Web. 8 Jan. 2018.

“pareidolia” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2018. 8 Jan. 2018. 11 Sep 2013. Web. 16 Jan 2018. 

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