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| Do you see a face? |
It is hypothesized that the human brain has been hardwired to be able to recognize a human face at lighting speed as a protection mechanism to be able to quickly discern friend from foe. This has also translated into seeing images in random objects too.
You may recognize this famous image from Mars that early astronomers misinterpreted as evidence of life on Mars.
The Rorschach inkblot tests use this brain phenomenon to measure mental and emotional state. Well, sometimes this can be used in architecture too.
Sometimes on purpose...
And sometimes it is pretty obvious...
But sometimes it's not on purpose with really comical results...
So now that you know everything there is to know, let's get your pareidolia on!
What (or who) do you see when you look at this house?
As in all things, there is an opposite to pareidolia. It's called prosopagnosia, or "face blindness". People who suffer from this literally cannot distinguish faces, not even their own family. Famous sufferers of this include primatologist Jane Goodall and author/neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks. You may remember Dr. Sacks. He was portrayed by Robin Williams in the movie "Awakenings". And Markos Moulitsas, founder and publisher of Daily Kos (that explains a lot!)