Claims of Lunar Anomalies/Structures and Examples of Pareidolia

Originally posted by yampa

Can you give an example of someone who has purely used 'it looks like it has a face' as a reason why something is salient or worthy of talking about?

Behold: the tiny face cities of Mars


...and that face on mars thing...

and this: Skull on Mars

and every alien picture excluding the obvious hoaxes.

just a couple off the top of my head

As your paper proves, everyone sees faces in things, and everyone has their neurological attention drawn to these faces. But not every person talks about this and finds it worthy of further attention.

Yes, but people don't understand what the word means and aren't even aware of it. Pareidolia and its related phenomena are rampant here.

Certain people attribute special properties to their natural, normal process of pareidolia for complex reasons. For far more complex reasons that can be explained by any existing theory of pareidolia alone.

Can you please provide a source to something called "The Theory of Pareidolia". Someone can "theorise" that the "Pareidolia Phenomenon" is responsible for the face on mars. But until we go there, we can't verify what it is exactly. Is that what you mean?

Originally posted by ZetaRediculian
Can you please provide a source to something called "The Theory of Pareidolia". Someone can "theorise" that the "Pareidolia Phenomenon" is responsible for the face on mars. But until we go there, we can't verify what it is exactly. Is that what you mean?

edit on 4-10-2012 by ZetaRediculian because: (no reason given)

I think pareidolia is a theory about basic visual stimulus, nothing else. I think the link you have provided has examples of a whole host of cultural reasons for finding those images worth noting. Anti-government paranoia, romanticism about life on other planets, elitism over the idea that others are 'sleeping' etc.

It's easy to show that this person has reasons beyond 'it looks like a face' by quotes like this:

"However, for me, what makes this even more reportable as anomalous evidence even more than its general look is the fluffy image tampering applications clustered around the base of the object."

Does any existing scientific theory of pareidolia ever purport to explain why this person might decide to attach an unverifiable image of a 'skull' to a paranoid anti-NASA rant? no.

If pareidolia is a theory (I don't think it is a real theory), it only talks about basic visual perception. It says nothing, and purports to say nothing about why people find these perceptions important.

How is my avatar looking to people btw? Any perceptions about that?

Originally posted by yampa

I think pareidolia is a theory about basic visual stimulus, nothing else. I think the link you have provided has examples of a whole host of cultural reasons for finding those images worth noting. Anti-government paranoia, romanticism about life on other planets, elitism over the idea that others are 'sleeping' etc.

I agree with what you are saying. I just don't agree that pareidolia is a theory. You used the word "paranoia". I would say that para-noia and pare-idolia are related as they both pertain to a KNOWN mental process that generates false information. Would you say the the "theory of paranoia"?

It's easy to show that this person has reasons beyond 'it looks like a face' by quotes like this:

"However, for me, what makes this even more reportable as anomalous evidence even more than its general look is the fluffy image tampering applications clustered around the base of the object."

agree

Does any existing scientific theory of pareidolia ever purport to explain why this person might decide to attach an unverifiable image of a 'skull' to a paranoid anti-NASA rant? no.

I am not aware of ANY theory that would be considered a "theory of pareidolia". But I agree that there is much more going on then just one single psychologcal phenomenon.

If pareidolia is a theory (I don't think it is a real theory),

its not a theory. It may have been at one time a long time ago.

it only talks about basic visual perception. It says nothing, and purports to say nothing about why people find these perceptions important.

you are correct sir. I think that would be "Apophenia"

Apophenia /æpɵˈfiːniə/ is the experience of seeing meaningful patterns or connections in random or meaningless data.

The term was coined in 1958[1]by Klaus Conrad,[2] who defined it as the "unmotivated seeing of connections" accompanied by a "specific experience of an abnormal meaningfulness", but it has come to represent the human tendency to seek patterns in random information in general (such as with gambling), paranormal phenomena, and religion.[3]

Pareidolia is a type of apophenia involving the perception of images or sounds in random stimuli, for example, hearing a ringing phone while taking a shower. The noise produced by the running water gives a random background from which the patterned sound of a ringing phone might be "produced". A more common human experience is perceiving faces in inanimate objects; this phenomenon is not surprising in light of how much processing the brain does in order to memorize and recall the faces of hundreds or thousands of different individuals. In one respect, the brain is a facial recognition, storage, and recall machine - and it is very good at it. A byproduct of this acumen at recognizing faces is that people see faces even where there is no face: the headlights & grill of an automobile can appear to be "grinning", individuals around the world can see the "Man in the Moon", and a drawing consisting of only three circles and a line which even children will identify as a face are everyday examples of this.[15]

Originally posted by ZetaRediculian
another favorite. Rorschach test aka, ink blot test

Did you get those examples from a tattoo parlor?

All of those "images"!

Originally posted by yampa

Originally posted by wirehead

Originally posted by yampa
My point is that pareidolia has no explanatory depth as a theory about why people attach design and causality to perceived objects (even when those objects are actually random).

Actually this is a part of the theory of pareidolia. One of the first predictable reactions an infant has is to smile at a human face, before the infant is a fully conscious human being. It's part of our wired-in neurological reactions to recognize faces (whether they're "really there" or not), likely as a function of our being social creatures.

Could you point me at where you're getting this 'theory' of pareidolia from? It seems you are adding the wider interpretation yourself? Something neuroscientific, preferably.

ZetaRediculian thinks that it isn't a theory, just a word attached to some behaviours. Although tbh he just referenced Gestalt psychology as an example of a theory about the mind, so maybe he's just making things up too.

What do you call 'finding more depth in process than is actually provided by science' - is that a form of pareidolia?

Originally posted by ZetaRediculian

Originally posted by yampa
My point is that pareidolia has no explanatory depth as a theory about why people attach design and causality to perceived objects (even when those objects are actually random).

I don't think it's a "theory". I think more of a concept or word for a known psychological process. Evolution would be a theory that would describe "why" we developed this way.

Gestalt psychology or gestaltism (German: Gestalt – "essence or shape of an entity's complete form") is a theory of mind and brain

Pareidolia ( /pærɨˈdoʊliə/ parr-i-DOH-lee-ə) is a psychological phenomenon

It's really not necessary to get into such a discussion about the technical terms to describe how a word is simply used. Pareidolia is just simply looking at a natural image which to our brains seems to be purposely made. The religious are the worst examples 'cause they swear they can see the face of the mythical Jesus when no one knows how he would have looked if he had really existed. Ditto for Mary, his "mother".

It's a fun mental mystery.

reply to post by The Shrike

It does look like that. Funny

Originally posted by yampa
How is my avatar looking to people btw? Any perceptions about that?

My wife aimed her iPad's camera at your avatar and it's a Qr code! You will never believe what was shown on her iPad's screen and it scared the hell out of us. Don't go there!

if you stare at this for a few seconds. an image will appear.

I think this is interesting. This is one that pops up from time to time and is supposed to be space orbs forming a perfect circle and one dead center.


It is actually just random ice crystals agaist the curvature of the earth.


or a fleet of stealth triangle crafts

Originally posted by ZetaRediculian
if you stare at this for a few seconds. an image will appear.

I was savin' the best for last. Now, this is the ultimate paeridolia and you can't beat it!

Originally posted by The Shrike

Originally posted by ZetaRediculian
if you stare at this for a few seconds. an image will appear.

I was savin' the best for last. Now, this is the ultimate paeridolia and you can't beat it!

what a prick!

Originally posted by The Shrike

Originally posted by ZetaRediculian
if you stare at this for a few seconds. an image will appear.

I was savin' the best for last. Now, this is the ultimate paeridolia and you can't beat it!

lol. the pose is amazing