pareidolia n. the human ability to see shapes or make pictures out of randomness.
What did we do before TV? I think we had more time for observing the world around us. Noticing things and then talking about them, sharing our perceptions. All the while our imaginations were free to create connections and possibilities.One memory I have from high school was looking up at clouds and looking for resemblance but only seeing cartoon characters. I recall becoming concerned that my imagination was lacking any originality. To make things worse my friend Darryn said that he could see Bob Hawke. So I began a making an effort to spend more time looking for more complex things than Disney characters. I think the practice paid off and perhaps avoiding TV in my adult life helped too.
Pareidolia – Things that look like things. Just maybe this subject has a lot do do with painting. We will see. So this is a fun post that I will add to as I see more of these pareidolia. I am always seeing things in clouds, rocks, peeling paint etc and I am sure that you have also seen things that look like other things as well. Best I start with a few examples from a recent trip.
As you can see, it does take a bit of imagination and I am sure that you will probably see different things to me. Or maybe nothing and that’s ok too. For a wide variety of examples search instagram for #pareidolia.
Pareidolia – Things that look like things. More to come in this fun topic.
