Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The perception of a recognizable image or meaningful pattern where none exists or is intended, as the perception of a face in the surface features of the moon.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The tendency to
interpret avague stimulus as somethingknown to theobserver , such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals, seeing shapes in clouds, or hearing hidden messages in music.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The term pareidolia (pronounced pæraɪˈdoʊliə) describes a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant.
FACES News from Mad Plato 2008
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The term pareidolia (pronounced pæraɪˈdoʊliə) describes a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant.
Archive 2008-11-01 News from Mad Plato 2008
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This psychological phenomenon is called pareidolia.
Alejandro Rojas: Recording Ghost Voices: The Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) Alejandro Rojas 2011
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This psychological phenomenon is called pareidolia.
Alejandro Rojas: Recording Ghost Voices: The Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) Alejandro Rojas 2011
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This psychological phenomenon is called pareidolia.
Alejandro Rojas: Recording Ghost Voices: The Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) Alejandro Rojas 2011
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This psychological phenomenon is called pareidolia.
Alejandro Rojas: Recording Ghost Voices: The Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) Alejandro Rojas 2011
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This psychological phenomenon is called pareidolia.
Alejandro Rojas: Recording Ghost Voices: The Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) Alejandro Rojas 2011
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This psychological phenomenon is called pareidolia.
Alejandro Rojas: Recording Ghost Voices: The Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) Alejandro Rojas 2011
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You will never find the word pareidolia in a print dictionary because it is only used on the internet.
Pareidolia and Apophenia James Gurney 2008
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This psychological phenomenon is called pareidolia.
The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Alejandro Rojas 2011
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De Castro is keen on “pareidolia” – spotting faces and shapes in clouds, stones and other objects.
Feed your moths and hide your trousers: the expert guide to making clothes last forever Hannah Marriott 2021
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In retrospect—especially now that we’ve all had a chance to play around with large-language chatbots ourselves—it seems that Lemoine was probably experiencing something like pareidolia, perceiving signs of life where life doesn’t actually exist. (In a 2021 paper called “On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots,” two University of Washington linguists and two Google researchers warned that language models could lead to mistakes like this, among many others.) The illusion is understandable enough; and, of course, if Alphabet did have a sentient computer program on its hands, or anything like it, this would be a matter of public interest, to say the least.
“It’s Not Possible for Me to Feel or Be Creepy”: An Interview with ChatGPT Condé Nast 2023
freshelectrons commented on the word pareidolia
most recently seen on www.avantgame.com, Jane McGonigal's website. context: "Ceci n'est pas un pareidolia"
March 28, 2007
seanahan commented on the word pareidolia
A psychological phenomenon by which people perceive random scatter as being a distinguishable object, such as a face.
This is what is going on when people see the Virgin Mary in their pizza.
October 9, 2007
arby commented on the word pareidolia
Ooh, glad to have a word for this phenomenon.
October 9, 2007
uselessness commented on the word pareidolia
These pictures are all real, I know because I found them on the internet!
October 9, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word pareidolia
Those kooks! Hmph. Everyone knows the Virgin Mary appears only in grilled cheese sandwiches, not pizza. Sheesh!
October 9, 2007
skipvia commented on the word pareidolia
I once found a likeness of Richard Nixon in a hush puppy. Really.
October 9, 2007
uselessness commented on the word pareidolia
I have a smudge of somethingorother on my living room window that looks like a faerie (or at least what I would imagine one to look like).
October 9, 2007
reesetee commented on the word pareidolia
My right shoe has a scuff in the exact shape of the Loch Ness Monster, if the Loch Ness Monster were a black leather shoe.
October 9, 2007
ruzuzu commented on the word pareidolia
Aha! Not only is there a word for that, but it's already on reesetee's It has a name?? list.
Thank you, a.
May 28, 2010
reesetee commented on the word pareidolia
I do what I can.
May 28, 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word pareidolia
You're awesome, treeeees.
You're awesome too, a.
May 28, 2010
milosrdenstvi commented on the word pareidolia
I *love* those cheese graters!
May 28, 2010
hernesheir commented on the word pareidolia
Who knew that a cheese grater could be such an eidetic eidolon.
June 2, 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word pareidolia
Ceci n'est pas la lettre a.
April 4, 2014
esbie commented on the word pareidolia
This won’t age well and will one day become a marker for how smart everyone thought they were when they are really just—for some absurd reason—pompously proud of their limitations and abhorrent behavior towards existence. #NoShameInMyGame⚛️
July 3, 2023