Comments on: Blogeidolia

By: Amorphous Intelligence

Amorphous Intelligence — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:27:30 +0000

Here’s some pareidolia for ya: http://amorphousintelligence.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/holy-sht/

By: mike burkhart

mike burkhart — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:53:16 +0000

Well people still think the moon dark areas form a face or a rabat and a crater on mars looks like a smileyface because of the bolders in it (and of course the face in cydona ) . In fact the stars in the skys seem to form paterns that they were grouped into constleations by ancient people and myths were created about them . When I was a kid I used to think clouds looked like spaceships

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:42:06 +0000

Ah, paging Dr. MAndlebrot, your cloud is ready,,,

Fractals, make my day,,,

GAry 7

By: Julio Vannini

Julio Vannini — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:19:05 +0000

I saw the Blog with my kids and they had a big fun watching faces.

Have a nice day!

By: Fizzygoo

Fizzygoo — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:18:57 +0000

There’s a wall in my bathroom, if I look at it in just the right spot, I swear I can make out a face that looks like me. My wife says that it’s a “mirror”, but the likeness is uncanny.

By: angela

angela — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:17:30 +0000

My bedroom as a kid had that hideous fake wood paneling and I saw faces and characters in it- it was a whole kingdom of duck people, including a princess with a crown and a trumpeter. I had elaborate stories about all the duck people hiding in the simulated wood knots on the fake wood walls. Okay, so I was an only child and very bored, but I can still see them when I go home on visits! (The fact that it’s STILL up is another story!)

By: alfaniner

alfaniner — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:27:12 +0000

I’m a little surprised that the acronym “HAND!” hasn’t caught on yet. No, I’m not talking about the “Talk to the…” phrase.

By: Nemo

Nemo — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:06:03 +0000

The August 2009 National Geographic cover has a pareidolia on the shore below the w in Yellowstone.

By: Casey K

Casey K — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:59:49 +0000

You’ve probably already seen this, but it’s a hilarious twist on Pareidolia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfqht0LEOWQ

By: Gary

Gary — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:02:51 +0000

When I was a little kid there was a crack in the ceiling of my parents home that looked vaguely like the profile of a large man. It reminded me of the silhouette of Alfred Hitchcock that he would walk into at the beginning of his show. I tried to avoid looking at that crack because as a little kid Alfred Hitchcock sacred me and I would imagine his spooky theme music if I looked up at that crack. Okay so I was a weird little kid.

By: Jack Mitcham

Jack Mitcham — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:22:53 +0000

I chose apophenia (of which one example is pareidolia) as my topic for my Psychology 101 term paper. This is the first term paper I’m not dreading doing!

The most interesting study I’ve found so far shows that an infant will look at a pattern like:

. .
.

for longer than they’ll look at a pattern like:

.
. .

(edit: the blog formatting eliminates spaces it deems unnecessary. For the above dots, arrange them into the verticies of an equilateral triangle)

(Second edit: http://icbseverywhere.com/blog/fun-for-everyone/simulcra/ has the picture with a reference.)

By: David

David — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:12:22 +0000

I was also going to bring up Scott McCloud’s book “Understanding Comics.” I highly recommend the second chapter (I think that’s the one), which relates directly to this topic. The only thing on-line I can find that brushes on it is McCloud’s “Big Triangle” at http://scottmccloud.com/4-inventions/triangle/index.html

By: GJeff

GJeff — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:25:00 +0000

Ref: 1. TechyDad: I know about Hidden Mickeys. I snuck one full of Scotch into a college football game. Not the same type of Hidden Mickey that you would find at W. Disney World. ;~)

By: SpaceBooks

SpaceBooks — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:52:28 +0000

This reminds me of one of the early chapters in Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics.”

By: dragonet2

dragonet2 — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:03:47 +0000

I’ve got a shower curtain that if you look at it at the right angle, kind of looks like faces. But I can see them everywhere so I’m just good at picking out that pattern. On the other hand, I’m not likely to make much of them either.

By: TexasOdysseyCoach (Gene)

TexasOdysseyCoach (Gene) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:10:07 +0000

You have a GREAT WEEKEND !!!! Phil.

Oh, I saw you on something the other day on NatGeo I think it was a Hubble thing. My wife was walking through the room, you came on and I yelled “Hey! it’s the Bad Astronomer!” I have been trying to get her to read your blogs, both here and on SkepticBlog.. now I finally think she will.

c ya

By: TechyDad

TechyDad — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:40:35 +0000

I’ve taken two photos like those. One was in a campfire while ghost stories were being told. The other was in Disney World where a cloud looked like (I kid you not) Mickey Mouse. (I didn’t know Disney was *that* good at Hidden Mickeys!) Of course, in both instances, my wife and I see no significance to those “faces” beyond a small bit of amusement and the addition of a funny vacation tale or two to tell.