pareidolia

plural pareidolias

1. countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the observer, such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals, seeing shapes in clouds, or hearing hidden messages in music.

   Pareidolia underlies several forms of divination.

   1993, Raymond Moody, Paul Perry, Reunions: Visionary Encounters with Departed Loved Ones, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 13

   3 more examples

   This last is called by Dr. Kahlbaum, changing hallucination, partial hallucination, perception of secondary images, or pareidolia.

   1868 July, John Sibbald, The British Journal of Psychiatry, volume 13, page 238

   Pareidolias aren't solely limited to images. When I was a youngster, I remember listening to The Beatles' song "Strawberry Fields" over and over to hear what seemed to be "I buried Paul."

   2006, Steve W. Martin, “Choosing Your Battles”, in Heavy Hitter Selling: How Successful Salespeople Use Language and Intuition to Persuade Customers to Buy, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 150

   Pareidolia is a state of mind where a vague or unclear image is perceived to be something recognizable, regardless of whether it's something you expect to see. The most famous example of pareidolia is the familiar face of the Man in the Moon.

   2010, Rick Emmer, “Nessies of the New World”, in Loch Ness Monster: Fact or Fiction? (Creature Scene Investigation), New York, N.Y.: Chelsea House Publishers, Infobase Publishing, →ISBN, page 81