Art takes on many different forms and sometimes, we may see something and not even realize that it’s a matter of art. This includes a unique phenomenon where people tend to see patterns when they look at random objects.

This strange thing that happens to all of us is known as Pareidolia. Essentially, it is seeing something familiar in something unfamiliar. How does it work?

Imagine looking at a tree, and it doesn’t look exactly like a tree to you; it looks more like a face. You may also be looking at a random tile floor and seeing something familiar in it.

This happens to all of us, and the shapes and patterns that we see when we have Pareidolia are just our brains doing what it does best. It was geared toward picking up things that are familiar to it, so sometimes that may happen when we see things that are unfamiliar to it.

As a child, did you ever lay on your back and watch the clouds floating by? I think that many of us have, but they become more than clouds, they become people, familiar shapes, or almost anything we need them to be.

This is also tied in very closely with our ability to find a familiar face. Imagine if you were standing on the stage and looking out over an audience of hundreds of people and you could pick out a friend in the middle of the crowd. It’s just the way our brains are wired.

When you have Pareidolia, you are able to transform something that is ordinary, although unfamiliar into something that is artistic in a way. Some people may find that it is strange but others see it as a normal occurrence.

Scientists have looked into this carefully and they think that it has to do with the way that we display our emotions and interact socially. It may even be associated with the creation of artwork. Using the brain’s capacity in this way to find meaning where there may be no meaning is just something that keeps us going.

There is also an artistic side of Pareidolia that needs to be considered. Artists will sometimes use the ability to find things that are hidden in nature and unusual objects to create something phenomenal. They may even use that natural ability to look for faces in strange places as a form of art.

So if you happen to see something familiar when you are in someplace unfamiliar, don’t feel strange. It’s just a matter of you utilizing your brain in a way that makes you feel more human.