SlideShare a Scribd company logo
We see patterns and
attribute meaning that
isn’t there
Pareidolia and the case of
N-RAYS!!
N-RAYS!!
N-RAYS!!
Expectation Effects
“Research has shown that when people expect
to perceive a certain stimulus (for example, see a
light or hear a tone), they often do perceive it --
even when no stimulus is present.
e.g. people told to walk down a corridor until
you see a light flash; some stop, say they see a
flash, when no light had flashed
Pareidolia
- a psychological phenomenon involving a vague
and/or random stimulus (often an image or sound)
being mistakenly perceived as recognizable.
e.g. images of animals or faces in clouds, seeing the
man in the moon, and hearing messages on records
played in reverse.
Pareidolia
the clock
has a “sad face”
Pareidolia
Percival Lowell’s drawings of “canals” on
Mars, as viewed through his telescope
Pareidolia
what Mars
really looks
like
Pareidolia
The Face on Mars: Viking 1978
Pareidolia
what the “face”
mountain really
looks like
Pareidolia
Pareidolia
“Backmasking” - hearing recognizable speech in
audio played backwards
fun... Jeff Milner’s website
Pareidolia
Rene Blondlot
“Discoverer” of
N-Rays
(1903)
Sources of N-Rays:Sources of N-Rays:
•heated silverheated silver
•various gasvarious gas
mantlesmantles
•ironiron
•large steel fileslarge steel files
Detect withDetect with
phosphorescentphosphorescent
screenscreen
Sources of N-Rays:Sources of N-Rays:
•heated silverheated silver
•various gasvarious gas
mantlesmantles
•ironiron
•large steel fileslarge steel files
Detect withDetect with
phosphorescentphosphorescent
screenscreen
wood paper iron
silver
gold
mica
quartz
paraffin
passes through
focused by
aluminum lenses
diffracted by
aluminum prisms
blocked by water, rock salt
Explosion of interest in N-rays
Papers in Comptes Rendu (a respected French
scientific journal:
1903: 4
1904: 54
1905: 0 Why?
American physicist Robert Wood
discovered that Blondlot (and everyone
else) had fallen victim to pareidolia.
Oops...
N-rayN-ray
sourcesource
slit in wet
cardboard
aluminum
prism
spectrum of N-rays
revealed by
phosphorescent
detector
Blondlot and
coworkers all
found same four
peaks
In the dark, WoodIn the dark, Wood removedremoved the prism ...the prism ...
should haveshould have destroyeddestroyed the diffraction pattern on the detector.the diffraction pattern on the detector.
But Blondlot and coworkersBut Blondlot and coworkers still got perfect results!still got perfect results!

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Pareidolia

  • 1. We see patterns and attribute meaning that isn’t there Pareidolia and the case of N-RAYS!! N-RAYS!! N-RAYS!!
  • 2. Expectation Effects “Research has shown that when people expect to perceive a certain stimulus (for example, see a light or hear a tone), they often do perceive it -- even when no stimulus is present. e.g. people told to walk down a corridor until you see a light flash; some stop, say they see a flash, when no light had flashed
  • 3. Pareidolia - a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and/or random stimulus (often an image or sound) being mistakenly perceived as recognizable. e.g. images of animals or faces in clouds, seeing the man in the moon, and hearing messages on records played in reverse.
  • 4. Pareidolia the clock has a “sad face”
  • 5. Pareidolia Percival Lowell’s drawings of “canals” on Mars, as viewed through his telescope
  • 7. Pareidolia The Face on Mars: Viking 1978
  • 10. Pareidolia “Backmasking” - hearing recognizable speech in audio played backwards fun... Jeff Milner’s website
  • 12. Sources of N-Rays:Sources of N-Rays: •heated silverheated silver •various gasvarious gas mantlesmantles •ironiron •large steel fileslarge steel files Detect withDetect with phosphorescentphosphorescent screenscreen Sources of N-Rays:Sources of N-Rays: •heated silverheated silver •various gasvarious gas mantlesmantles •ironiron •large steel fileslarge steel files Detect withDetect with phosphorescentphosphorescent screenscreen wood paper iron silver gold mica quartz paraffin passes through focused by aluminum lenses diffracted by aluminum prisms blocked by water, rock salt
  • 13. Explosion of interest in N-rays Papers in Comptes Rendu (a respected French scientific journal: 1903: 4 1904: 54 1905: 0 Why? American physicist Robert Wood discovered that Blondlot (and everyone else) had fallen victim to pareidolia.
  • 14. Oops... N-rayN-ray sourcesource slit in wet cardboard aluminum prism spectrum of N-rays revealed by phosphorescent detector Blondlot and coworkers all found same four peaks In the dark, WoodIn the dark, Wood removedremoved the prism ...the prism ... should haveshould have destroyeddestroyed the diffraction pattern on the detector.the diffraction pattern on the detector. But Blondlot and coworkersBut Blondlot and coworkers still got perfect results!still got perfect results!