Perry O. Dollia

Pareidolia, the trick the mind plays on one that allows one to see faces or objects in things like clouds, stains on walls, etc. Many people see religious oriented pareidolia - the face of Mary, or the Christian Cross, or something that those people interpret as a sign from God. The ability to see pareidolia is common because the mind tries to fit unrecognisable or random visual stimuli into recognisable objects. Having a modicum of imagination helps too.


Well, the BA, Dr. Phil Plait, is an astronomer and widely spoke/written debunker of bad science and the edge of sanity thinkers. He has a web site: http://www.badastronomy.com/ where he has written several pieces on pareidolia. He has shown several examples of pareidolia.


I like to cruse the Internet for the odd and unusual. There is more than enough of it out there in web-land. So, this morning I was out in the net and found this cartoon. It is a spoof on the whole concept of religious pareidola and well stated. Herewith I stick it in the blog.



















If you are offended by this, I suggest that you think about how Jesus would show his care for the world. It is unlikely that a grilled cheese, or a stain, or an oddly shapened plant, or any other unusual visual appearance would be the Blessed Virgin, or Jesus, or any message from God. More likely, you allow your mind to deceive you with improper recognition rather than seeing what it is in fact. Critical thinking is necessary in this life. Think people, think!

I need to make appoligies to all the readers. You see I used the cartoon thinking it was in public domain. It is not. The cartoon comes from the "Saturday Morning Breakfast Ceral" found at: http://www.smbc-comics.com/ It was my mistake to use another author's work without citing it and giving credit. I'll try to not let that happen again. And a thanks go to "josh" for pointing that out.