Hidden messages
Subliminal messages Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... A hidden message is information that is not immediately noticeable, and that must be discovered or uncovered and interpreted before it can be known. ... A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another medium, designed to pass below the normal limits of perception. ... Audio Backmasking Reverse speech Spectrogram Numeric Numerology Theomatics Bible code Cryptography Visual Fnord Paranoiac-critical method Pareidolia Psychorama Sacred geometry Steganography See also Anagram Apophenia Easter egg (media) Clustering illusion Observer-expectancy effect Pattern recognition (psychology) Unconscious mind
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The term pareidolia (pronounced /pæraɪˈdoʊliə/), referenced in 1994 by Steven Goldstein,^[1] describes a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant. Common examples include images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon, and hidden messages on records played in reverse. The word comes from the Greek para- — beside, with or alongside — and eidolon — image (the diminutive of eidos — image, form, shape). Pareidolia is a type of apophenia. Backmasking (also known incorrectly as backward masking)[1] is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backwards onto a track that is meant to be played forwards. ... This article is about the theory of reversed messages in normal speech. ... A spectrogram of violin playing with linear frequency on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. ... Look up numerology in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Theomatics is a numerological study of the Greek and Hebrew text of the Christian Bible, based upon gematria and isopsephia, that its proponents assert demonstrates the direct intervention of God in the writing of Christian scripture. ... Bible codes, originally known as Torah codes, are information patterns said to exist in encrypted or coded form in the text of the Bible, or, more specifically, in the Hebrew Torah, the first five books of Old Testament. ... The German Lorenz cipher machine, used in World War II for encryption of very high-level general staff messages Cryptography (or cryptology; derived from Greek κρυπτός kryptós hidden, and the verb γράφω gráfo write or λεγειν legein to speak) is the study of message secrecy. ... Look up Fnord in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Paranoiac-critical method is a surrealist technique developed by Salvador Dalí in the early 1930s, often employed in the production of paintings and other artworks. ... Psychorama (or The Precon Process) is the act of communicating subliminal information through film—flashing images on the screen so quickly that they cannot be perceived by the conscious mind, but nonetheless leaving an unconscious imprint on the viewer. ... The Parthenons facade showing an interpretation of golden rectangles in its proportions. ... This article is about hidden messages. ... For the game, see Anagrams. ... Apophenia is the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. ... The first easter egg. ... The clustering illusion is the natural human tendency to see patterns where actually none exist. ... The observer-expectancy effect, in science, is a cognitive bias that occurs in science when a researcher expects a given result and therefore unconsciously manipulates an experiment or misinterprets data in order to find it. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... --76. ... For other uses, see Man in the Moon (disambiguation). ... A hidden message is information that is not immediately noticeable, and that must be discovered or uncovered and interpreted before it can be known. ... Para may refer to: Para-, in English, is an affix of ancient Greek and Latin origin Para Dog-faced Bat, a bat species from South and Central America Para Loga, one among the seven Logas (seven upper worlds) in Ayyavazhi mythology Para-Ordnance, a firearms manufacturer located in Toronto, Ontario... Eidos Interactive is a publisher of video and computer games based in Britain. ... Apophenia is the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. ...

Examples

Religious

Further information: Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena

There have been many instances of perceptions of religious imagery and themes, especially the faces of religious figures, in ordinary phenomena. Many involve images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, or the word Allah. Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena include sightings of images with religious themes, especially the faces of religious figures, in ordinary phenomena. ... The term Virgin Mary has several different meanings: Mary, the mother of Jesus, the historical and multi-denominational concept of Mary Blessed Virgin Mary, the Roman Catholic theological and doctrinal concept of Mary Marian apparitions shrines to the Virgin Mary Virgin Mary in Islam, the Islamic theological and doctrinal concept... Allah is the Arabic language word for God. ...

In 1978, a New Mexican woman found that the burn marks on a tortilla she had made appeared similar to Jesus Christ's face. Thousands of people came to see the framed tortilla.^[2] This article is about the Mexican Tortilla. ...

The recent publicity surrounding sightings of religious figures and other surprising images in ordinary objects, combined with the growing popularity of online auctions, has spawned a market for such items on eBay. One famous instance was a grilled-cheese sandwich with the Virgin Mary's face.^[3] This article is about the online auction center. ... Virgin Mary redirects here. ...

In September, 2007, the so-called "monkey tree phenomenon" caused a minor social mania in Singapore. A callus on a tree there resembles a monkey, and believers have flocked to the tree to pay homage to the Monkey God.^[4] The discovery of an outline of monkeys on a callused tree trunk in Jurong West New Town has initiated a minor social mania in Singapore, drawing large crowds to the tree. ... Social manias are mass movements which periodically sweep through society, sometimes on a world wide basis. ... Callus means a hardening of a certain object or substance. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... Approximate worldwide distribution of monkeys. ... “The Monkey King” redirects here. ...

Rorschach test

Main article: Rorschach inkblot test

The Rorschach inkblot test uses pareidolia to attempt to gain insight into a person's mental state. The Rorschach is a projective test, because it intentionally calls out one's internal thoughts or feelings to be projected onto the cards. Projection in this instance is a form of "directed pareidolia" because the cards are not actually designed to resemble anything. ^[2] A black outline of the first of the ten cards in the Rorschach inkblot test. ... A black outline of the first of the ten cards in the Rorschach inkblot test. ...

Audio

In 1971, Konstantin Raudive wrote Breakthrough, detailing what he believed was the discovery of electronic voice phenomenon (EVP). EVP has been described as auditory pareidolia.^[2] Dr. Konstantin Raudive (1906-1974). ... Electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) is a term used to refer to sounds captured on recorded media or other electronic devices that are said by paranormal investigators to be voices of paranormal origin. ...

The allegations of backmasking in popular music have also been described as pareidolia.^[2] Backmasking (also known incorrectly as backward masking)[1] is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backwards onto a track that is meant to be played forwards. ...

Explanations

Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan hypothesized that as a survival technique, human beings are "hard-wired" from birth to identify the human face. This allows people to use only minimal details to recognize faces from a distance and in poor visibility, but can also lead them to interpret random images or patterns of light and shade as being faces.^[5] Insert non-formatted text here Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer and astrobiologist and a highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics, and other natural sciences. ... Face perception is the process by which the brain and mind understand and interpret the face, particularly the human face. ...

Clarence Irving Lewis

In his 1929 book Mind and the World Order, epistemologist and logician Clarence Irving Lewis, a founder of the philosophical school of conceptual pragmatism, used the question of how to determine whether a perception is a mirage as a touchstone for his philosophical approach to knowledge. Lewis argued that one has no way of knowing whether or not perceptions are "true" in any absolute sense; all one can do is determine whether one's purpose is thwarted by regarding it as true and acting on that basis. According to this approach, two people with two different purposes will often have different views on whether or not to regard a perception as true. ^[6] Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Theory of knowledge redirects here: for other uses, see theory of knowledge (disambiguation) According to Plato, knowledge is a subset of that which is both true and believed Epistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature, methods, limitations, and validity of knowledge and belief. ... Logic (from Classical Greek λόγος logos; meaning word, thought, idea, argument, account, reason, or principle) is the study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration. ... Clarence Irving Lewis (April 12, 1883 Stoneham, Massachusetts - February 3, 1964 Cambridge, Massachusetts) was an American academic philosopher. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Conceptual pragmatism is a theory of knowledge originating with the work of the philosopher and logician Clarence Irving Lewis. ...

Gallery

This alarm clock appears to have a sad face. Download high resolution version (1032x1283, 139 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

A satellite photo of a Mars mesa, with shadows creating the famous Face on Mars Image File history File links Martian_face_viking_cropped. ... For other uses, see Mesa (disambiguation). ... The Cydonia Region taken by the Viking 1 orbiter and released by NASA/JPL on July 25, 1976 (north is to the upper right). ...

A tree in the shape of a person bowing praying towards Mecca Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

False wood Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 595 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (618 × 623 pixel, file size: 82 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A table cover which resemble wood. ...

See also

• Apophenia
• Clustering illusion
• Face perception, for the cognitive process
• Ghosts as an artifact of pareidolia
• Images of Jesus
• Paranoiac-critical method
• Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena
• Simulacrum

Other natural examples

• Cydonia (the "Face on Mars")
• Man in the Moon
• Manicouagan Reservoir
• Old Man of the Mountain
• Moon rabbit

Apophenia is the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. ... The clustering illusion is the natural human tendency to see patterns where actually none exist. ... Face perception is the process by which the brain and mind understand and interpret the face, particularly the human face. ... This article is about the paranormal. ... There are no undisputed historical images of Jesus; he sat for no portraits which are preserved and of unquestioned authenticity and undoubted provenance. ... The Paranoiac-critical method is a surrealist technique developed by Salvador Dalí in the early 1930s, often employed in the production of paintings and other artworks. ... Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena include sightings of images with religious themes, especially the faces of religious figures, in ordinary phenomena. ... Simulacrum (plural: simulacra), from the Latin simulare, to make like, to put on an appearance of, originally meaning a material object representing something (such as a cult image representing a deity, or a painted still-life of a bowl of fruit). ... The Cydonia Region taken by the Viking 1 orbiter and released by NASA/JPL on July 25, 1976 (north is to the upper right). ... For other uses, see Man in the Moon (disambiguation). ... Manic-cinq dam, primary dam on the Manicouagan Reservoir Manicouagan Reservoir (also Lake Manicouagan) is an annular lake in northern Quebec, Canada, the remnant of an impact crater or astrobleme made approximately 212 million years ago, towards the end of the Triassic period. ... For other uses, see Old Man of the Mountain (disambiguation). ... The image of a rabbit on Moons surface The Moon rabbit (Chinese: ; pinyin: yuètù; Japanese: tsuki no usagi), also called the Jade Rabbit (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is a rabbit that lives on the moon in East Asian folklore. ...

References

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 164th day of the year (165th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The New Paper is Singapores second highest circulating paid English-language newspaper, first launched on July 26, 1988 by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). ... is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Clarence Irving Lewis (April 12, 1883 Stoneham, Massachusetts - February 3, 1964 Cambridge, Massachusetts) was an American academic philosopher. ...

External links

• Fortean Times examples of pareidolia in nature
• Religious Pareidolia extensive collection of video and photographic demonstrations of pareidolia
• Skepdic.com Skeptic's Dictionary definition of pareidolia
• Lenin in my shower curtain (Bad Astronomy)
• The Stone Face: Fragments of An Earlier World
• Feb. 13, 2007 article in New York Times about cognitive science of face recognition
• Cells in temporal cortex of conscious sheep can respond preferentially to the sight of faces. Science. 1987 Apr 24;236(4800):448-50.
• Invariant visual representation by single neurons in the human brain. Nature. 2005 Jun 23;435(7045):1102-7.