Like Finn, a member of the Glee Club in the TV series Glee, we sometimes think we see an image in an object that has a certain meaning. For Finn, it was a portrait of Jesus in his grilled cheese. For some, it is the face of the man in the moon. For others, it is an image of something with far greater meaning that a man in the moon. This phenomenon of "seeing meaningful images in meaningless stimuli" is called pareidolia. While reading through chapter 1 of our textbook, this section caught my attention more so than the others.
What caught my attention about this topic-- more than scientific thinking, the departments of psychology, and different Psychologists--was that what we see isn't always reality. We rely on our judgements and common sense so often, but it isn't always right.
I am curious as to why this phenomenon happens. Is it because someone is thinking about something so often or worrying about a certain topic that it causes them to subconsciously see something related to that topic? I have never had this experience other than seeing the man in the moon, so I am wondering: have any of you? Was the image you saw related to something consuming your thoughts?
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