Apofenia

the natural formation on the surface of Mars , in which many see the human face, has generated a number of hypotheses about its artificial origin

photograph of the “face” taken in 2001 by Mars Global Surveyor

Apophenia (from other Greek ἀποφαίνω “I express my judgment, I make it clear” ← ἀπο “from-” + φαίνω “representation”) is an experience consisting in the ability to see the structure or relationships in random or meaningless data. The term was introduced in 1958 by the German neurologist and psychiatrist , who defined it as “unmotivated vision of interconnections”, accompanied by “a characteristic feeling of inadequate importance” (abnormal consciousness of meaning).

Conrad initially described this phenomenon as applied to a distortion of reality occurring in psychosis , but now the term is used more broadly to describe a similar trend in healthy individuals, without necessarily suggesting the presence of a mental illness .

From a statistical point of view, apophenia is classified as a mistake of the first kind .

Apofenia often serves as an explanation of paranormal or religious statements, used in journalistic speculation.

One of the widely known manifestations of apophenia is the so-called “ Dark Side of the Rainbow ” - a theory according to which the album of the British group Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon and the movie “ The Wizard of Oz ” completely coincide and become a single work of art if you turn on the music immediately after for the third time a lion snarls from the screen saver of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio . Pink Floyd musicians have always refuted this theory.