pareidolia

[ pair-ahy-doh-lee-uh, pair-uh- ]

noun

1. the illusory perception of meaningful patterns or images of familiar things in random or amorphous data, as a face seen on the moon.

pareidolia

/ ˌpæraɪˈdəʊlɪə /

noun

1. the imagined perception of a pattern or meaning where it does not actually exist, as in considering the moon to have human features

Word History and Origins

Origin of pareidolia¹

First recorded in 1960–65; from German Pareidolien, plural of Pareidolie, equivalent to par(a)- ¹( def ) + eidol(on) ( def ) + -ia ( def ), reinterpreted as a singular noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pareidolia¹

C20: from para- ⁴+ eidolon

Example Sentences

The human propensity to see familiar objects in ambiguous patterns is called pareidolia.

From Scientific American

While some of the Gaylor arguments have a surprising amount of persuasive force, others are probably more reflective of pareidolia, the human ability to make patterns and meaning out of randomness.

From Salon

“The hypothesis of a map is based on a pareidolia,” she said, meaning the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on an ambiguous visual pattern.

From New York Times

That is, perhaps, why pareidolia is so intoxicating, because it makes us conscious of how meager and how fanciful the evidence we use to resolve the world into meaningful pictures.

From Washington Post

Could there be some connection between fractals and pareidolia?

From Salon