Odds are that you can make that out, even if you can't read it as fast as you are reading this sentence. If you can, it explains itself. If you cannot, it is gibberish.
While this is a wonderful characteristic of our minds, it also has its dangers. Because the mind fills in the information that is missing or not-quite-right, we sometimes are convinced that we see or hear things that aren't actually there. I don't mean things that are invisible, like the wind, but things that do not exist at all where we think they do.
Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant. Common examples include seeing images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon or the Moon rabbit, and hearing hidden messages on records when played in reverse.
While it is helpful that our brain allows us to figure things out with just a few clues, it is not helpful when our mind convinces us that something is real when it isn't. In the case of the above image, it's fun. In the case of seeing the Man in the Moon, it's no biggie.
But when we see evil intentions where there are none, or see a terrorist behind every bush or a criminal inside every hoodie or an oppressor behind every badge ... not so good. Sometimes we need to get more data, perhaps a great deal more data, before being convinced of what is out there. And then we need more data to determine an appropriate and effective response.
This could be a good year for me to pay close attention to what is there ... and also to what is only in my head.
Think about it: The image at the beginning of this post contains hardly any words spelled correctly. The correct words were in your mind. Some people cannot read it, apparently. There is no objective difference in what they see and what you see. The difference is in your head.
And I can make a difference in what is in my head ...
1 comment:
Great post!
Post a Comment