Sometimes in life we believe that we can detect patterns. These patterns can be seen in the way that we ritualistically do things or in the way that we behaviour or react to certain things or even in the behaviours and reactions of others if we are really observant. And sometimes we can even believe that we see patterns in external or unrelated things; and when this happens a lot it can actually be a problem or even a sign of mental unwellness.
The term apophenia is used to diagnose a condition when people have a tendency to mistakenly perceive patterns or connections between completely unrelated things. Coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in his 1958 publication on the beginning stages of schizophrenia, he defined it as the "unmotivated seeing of connections accompanied by a specific feeling of abnormal meaningfulness."
People that suffer from apophenia will seek patterns in all kinds of random information. Many gamblers actually suffer from this condition, believing that they can see patterns in lottery numbers, card games and roulette wheels, this type of apophenia is often called "gambler's fallacy."
One more common form of apophenia that we all suffer from is pareidolia and it is when we perceive patterns in visual and auditory stimuli. A common example of this might be to see a shape in the clouds or a face within an inanimate object. Think about all of the people who flocked to see images of Jesus or the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast or a block of wood; these items are terrific examples of pareidolia. And who hasn't seen the man in the moon? We all know what pareidolia feels like and most of us can see the patterns and dismiss them as mere coincidence, but some of us actually cannot.
As humans we all have a need for order, and in general most of us will choose order and predictability over chance and chaos every time. This tendency does push us to see patterns everywhere, even when they do not exist. So when does seeing or hearing patterns become a problem? Well, at the end of the day, thinking that you have found the face of God in your cereal is not really going to hurt anyone, but making false pattern predictions a lot can be extremely dangerous to your wellbeing and overall safety. Experts recommend that if you are experiencing any of the following pattern recognition errors regularly, you may actually have apophenia. So let's take a look at what those pattern recognition errors are:
The term apophenia is used to diagnose a condition when people have a tendency to mistakenly perceive patterns or connections between completely unrelated things. Coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in his 1958 publication on the beginning stages of schizophrenia, he defined it as the "unmotivated seeing of connections accompanied by a specific feeling of abnormal meaningfulness."
People that suffer from apophenia will seek patterns in all kinds of random information. Many gamblers actually suffer from this condition, believing that they can see patterns in lottery numbers, card games and roulette wheels, this type of apophenia is often called "gambler's fallacy."
One more common form of apophenia that we all suffer from is pareidolia and it is when we perceive patterns in visual and auditory stimuli. A common example of this might be to see a shape in the clouds or a face within an inanimate object. Think about all of the people who flocked to see images of Jesus or the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast or a block of wood; these items are terrific examples of pareidolia. And who hasn't seen the man in the moon? We all know what pareidolia feels like and most of us can see the patterns and dismiss them as mere coincidence, but some of us actually cannot.
As humans we all have a need for order, and in general most of us will choose order and predictability over chance and chaos every time. This tendency does push us to see patterns everywhere, even when they do not exist. So when does seeing or hearing patterns become a problem? Well, at the end of the day, thinking that you have found the face of God in your cereal is not really going to hurt anyone, but making false pattern predictions a lot can be extremely dangerous to your wellbeing and overall safety. Experts recommend that if you are experiencing any of the following pattern recognition errors regularly, you may actually have apophenia. So let's take a look at what those pattern recognition errors are:
- Hearing hidden messages when you play recordings backwards.
- Seeing Godlike images in inanimate objects regularly.
- Hearing voices or messages in ticking clocks or other repetitive noises.
- Believing in jinx items or behaviours.
- All superstitious beliefs and behaviours.
- Seeing 'signs' in mundane things eg. 11:11 on a clock face.
- Unwaveringly beliefs in conspiracy theories and unproven ideas.
FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
Release Date: 1998
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 118 mins
Adapted from Hunter S. Thompson's novel by the same name, this avant-garde road trip movie is certainly like nothing else that I have ever seen before. This film polarized audiences and nose dived at the box office, only to resurrect itself from the ashes and develop a cult following after it's DVD release.
A weirdo journalist (Johnny Depp) and a clearly psychopathic lawyer (Benicio Del Toro) travel cross country to Las Vegas, indulging in a multitude of psychedelic drugs along the way as they search for the "American Dream."
Don't expect to understand what is going most of the time, the characters don't have any idea themselves, you just have to go along for the ride, which is one part black comedy, one part utter confusion and one part deeply disturbing. Depp and Del Toro have never been so hideous and unappealing, they are just revolting in every way here, really adding to the overall vulgarity level of the movie.
With the use of a Google computer vision program called DeepDream, some of the hallucination scenes get mighty trippy, and I know that I am not going to forget that lizard scene any time soon.
FINAL SAY: Let's get down to the brass tacks, how much for the ape?
3 Chilli Peppers
Release Date: 1998
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 118 mins
Adapted from Hunter S. Thompson's novel by the same name, this avant-garde road trip movie is certainly like nothing else that I have ever seen before. This film polarized audiences and nose dived at the box office, only to resurrect itself from the ashes and develop a cult following after it's DVD release.
A weirdo journalist (Johnny Depp) and a clearly psychopathic lawyer (Benicio Del Toro) travel cross country to Las Vegas, indulging in a multitude of psychedelic drugs along the way as they search for the "American Dream."
Don't expect to understand what is going most of the time, the characters don't have any idea themselves, you just have to go along for the ride, which is one part black comedy, one part utter confusion and one part deeply disturbing. Depp and Del Toro have never been so hideous and unappealing, they are just revolting in every way here, really adding to the overall vulgarity level of the movie.
With the use of a Google computer vision program called DeepDream, some of the hallucination scenes get mighty trippy, and I know that I am not going to forget that lizard scene any time soon.
FINAL SAY: Let's get down to the brass tacks, how much for the ape?
3 Chilli Peppers
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