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Reader’s question Ligia Correia, Sao Paulo, SP
Edition Felipe van Deursen
Because of a psychological phenomenon known as pareidolia. Actually, it’s not «some people». We can all feel these effects. It happens when we receive imprecise and random visual stimuli and give them an understandable interpretation. As a result, we sometimes see faces, animals or objects – and not just in clouds, but also on mountains and other uneven surfaces. Likewise, we are also able to identify phrases or words from incoherent noise. It is a natural tendency of the brain to identify patterns and classify these stimuli based on our memory references.
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ALL TOGETHER
When we perceive a sound or object, our senses do not analyze the information captured in isolation. They are integrated with previous knowledge and experience. In addition, motivations, emotions, expectations and context are important. Therefore, a fan of maps can see the design from Canada in a cloudwhile a farmer sees a sheep lying down
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SURVIVAL
The ability to recognize and make sense of noise and objects is a sign of evolution. Our ancestors depended as much on the ability to identify peers as they did predators. This explains, for example, why we can mistake a rope for a snake. This illusory perception is an attempt by the organism to find logical meaning for something it does not understand.
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THOUSAND FACES
Most often, pareidolia is related to the perception of human faces. It’s not surprising how easy it is to recognize faces anywhere. We are social beings, which was fundamental to our survival as a species. This helps explain why religious people sometimes see the faces of saints in fire, stones or other surfaces.
READ TOO:
+ Why are rain clouds black?
+ Why do clouds have different shapes?
+ Why are clouds white?
+ How are perspective optical illusions made?
Consultancy Lívia da Silva Bachetti, doctoral candidate in psychobiology at the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Ribeirão Preto (FFCL-RP), at the University of São Paulo (USP) and member of the Brazilian Association of Psychology (ABP)