Topic: Pareidolia

[Exzyle2k]

Clicky - Wikipedia

Basically this is the scientific name for the psychological reason behind seeing faces, animals, or shapes in things. This is also a reason why you might be able to see a face in a picture and others cannot.

So, next time you're pointing out a face in the mist, or a puppy in the clouds, and someone else can't see it, don't think they're ignoring it, they just might not be able to see it.

[Ghost1]

I actually hate this term, it has been used to death on the bigger sites.  GhostVillage has been the worst....like a little child that hears a new word and uses it nonstop.  I have no idea who started the trend, but just a little while ago you never heard that word ever used.

The term pareidolia (pronounced /pæraɪˈdoʊliə/), referenced in 1994 by Steven Goldstein, describes a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant. Common examples include images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon, and hidden messages on records played in reverse. The word comes from the Greek para

[Colleen2510]

I actually hate this term, it has been used to death on the bigger sites.  GhostVillage has been the worst....like a little child that hears a new word and uses it nonstop.  I have no idea who started the trend, but just a little while ago you never heard that word ever used.

The term pareidolia (pronounced /pæraɪˈdoʊliə/), referenced in 1994 by Steven Goldstein, describes a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant. Common examples include images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon, and hidden messages on records played in reverse. The word comes from the Greek para

OMGosh!!! I agree with you on this Ghost1! If there is a paranormal investigator out there who hasn't heard/seen this term and it's "definition" before then he/she hasn't been doing much investigating.  But the fact is that there is nothing wrong with pointing out a face if you think that you see one. If no one else sees it then I'm not gonna get a gun and shoot them and I'm not going to go into a severe depression. Anyone who does already had some issues anyway. At one point when I was on "Asylum" every single post I submitted would be stamped "pareidolia" or "pixels" within seconds. The replies came back so fast that there was absolutely no way this little clique was looking at the pictures. And it's not like I submitted just any ole bunk. But it seems that if you aren't IN the clique or one of their groupies then you just must not be good at anything and your opinion doesnt' matter but they use these "terms" to say that they quickly "debunked" your submission. They fancy themselves famous "Debunkers" without ever actually having to debunk a thing. It's just called "putting a label on something". 

[Exzyle2k]

RAWR!

I like to approach things with a fair amount of logic to them. I don't really see a lot of the "faces in the mist" that are posted here or on other sites. Other things are clear to me, like the demon pic posted here, but if you ask me if I see the woman in the mist on the same one, I can't say I do.

So, hate it or love it, you cannot embrace a hobby such as ghost-hunting without factoring in other aspects as well... Usually things are not black and white in this. There's a very large gray area, which encompasses skeptics and believers alike.   

[Colleen2510]

RAWR!

I like to approach things with a fair amount of logic to them. I don't really see a lot of the "faces in the mist" that are posted here or on other sites. Other things are clear to me, like the demon pic posted here, but if you ask me if I see the woman in the mist on the same one, I can't say I do.

So, hate it or love it, you cannot embrace a hobby such as ghost-hunting without factoring in other aspects as well... Usually things are not black and white in this. There's a very large gray area, which encompasses skeptics and believers alike.  

Yeah I don't see the woman in the mist either but I don't know what that has to do with anyone not wanting to be logical. I was raised around the most logical humans on the face of the earth and whether or not I was one of them...we all worked quite well together without any problems...EVER!

[Exzyle2k]

I think that any good ghost site, whether centered around BG or not, should also take steps to be educational to the viewers and members.

If there are those out there who didn't know that there's an actual classification regarding what happens in our brains when we see something that resembles a familiar object, a quick visit here fixes that.