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Pareitileia

by Phil Plait, Jan 07 2009

This is the worst pareidolia ever.

Jesus in a tile. But not really.

Jesus in a tile. But not really.

Click to embiggen and see more from the source (the Las Vegas Sun).

You know, I like to poke gentle fun at this sort of thing, since it’s clearly not a supernatural sign, but instead the way our brains see patterns in random noise (unless you really think Lenin came to watch me bathe, or Abe Vigoda is in the Eagle Nebula).

But then you get something this ridiculous, and a virtual tongue-biting is nearly impossible. I just want to scream, "What are you thinking?" I see all kinds of faces and shapes in the tile in my bathroom: monsters, aliens, fish… even the letter E. Does that mean I should build a shrine to Elvis?

This sort of thing is symptomatic of a larger willingness to drop any critical thinking when it becomes something personal, and that is a human foible that causes an unimaginable amount of grief. People want to wash over this and just say that seeing the face or figure of their savior gives them comfort. I understand that and sympathize with it, but I also think it’s a sign, if you will, that as long as we’re willing to suspend disbelief for things like this, we’re willing to do it on much larger scales. And there’s a lot of harm in that.

22 Responses to “Pareitileia”

  1. Theo says:

    I saw a worse one once, like your bathroom… well it was the bottom of a toilet and pretty gross so I didn’t digitize it, to my ever lasting regret.

  2. teacherninja says:

    Here’s a great collection of them, including Jeezus in a dogs butt (from Thoughts In a Haystack): http://dododreams.blogspot.com/2008/11/greg-laden-at-his-fiendishly-cleverly.html

  3. BillDarryl says:

    I cracked the heck up when I saw this story last week. No matter how much I squint and tilt my head, I still just don’t see it.

    I’ll come to her defense on a few points:

    1 – YOU stare at something mundane for three weeks straight and tell me you don’t start seeing some weird stuff!

    2 – She didn’t go all bugaboo and insist that this is a unique, divine manifestation. She acknowledges every tile has the same pattern, and that it’s probably also in many other peoples’ homes. She seems to see it more as an inspirational “huh, how about that?” vs. a direct sign from God.

    3 – She put them on ebay (of course), but more to spread the love than make a mint. She pulled them once she saw that the buyers for this kind of thing can be… weird.

    On a 1 to 10 scale of religious pareidolia reactions, I give her like a 4. The 9s are the fun ones (10s are when they get violent – no fun at all, there).

  4. Sander says:

    Uhm, I was just wondering if there’s a policy on this blog with regard to crossposting? Because lately I’m getting the idea that I’ve seen a number of your posts here on the BA blog already. Of course I understand that you have time constraints so if you need to crosspost then so be it, but of course I’d prefer original content. Just asking.

  5. Here in Windsor, Ontario we had a similar case which arose after a painting of a landscape had been completed last week. I blogged about it and begged the question, all of these cases rely on artist’s interpretations of what Jesus or the Virgin Mary MAY have looked like, as far as I know, we have no clue what he looked like, just a Jewish man with a beard. Apart from making the argument that we are just connecting the dots because we are hard wired to do so, what is to say the image we are forming is, of all people, Jesus?

    Please read the “Jesus is here!” post for a closer look a the story at http://www.palanski.com

    Konstantine

  6. Ranson says:

    I’m willing to allow the hypothesis that Abe Vigoda can do anything he wishes, regardless of extrasolar locale.

    And, no matter what, it’ll always be “just business”.

  7. BillDarryl says:

    SETI has just received its first audio transmission from the Eagle Nebula! It sounds like a faint voice whispering, “Bernice?”

  8. Wintermute says:

    I sorta see Jesus in that picture, but it looks to me like he’s headbanging… Given my look and preference to heavy metal during the 80’s, I’d say that it’s a picture of me instead of Jesus. I’m too frightened to think what *that* might mean! (Kidding, of course!)

  9. SeanJJordan says:

    “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” did a great episode on this sort of thing in “The Gang Exploits a Miracle.” They’re dealing with a water stain that looks like the virgin Mary, and it’s undone when a drunk priest urinates on it.

    So wrong… and yet, so funny!

  10. Von Krieger says:

    That’s not Jesus, that’s the fearsome udnead death knight Lord Soth! You can see the feathered crest for his helm and his shield quite clearly.

  11. catgirl says:

    I’m glad to learn I’m not the only one who sees faces in everything. Fortunately, I enjoy them for what they are and don’t attribute any significance to them.

  12. April says:

    If I unfocus my eyes, I can almost see it. *laugh*

  13. James says:

    Thanks for employing the word “embiggen,” it’s sadly underused in today’s language.

  14. Scott C. says:

    I grew up in a mobile home with cheap paneling with a wood grain pattern printed on it. One section of the pattern had what looked for all the world like a renaissance jesus portrait. Like wallpaper, the pattern repeated over and over around my bedroom. Even with the covers pulled over my head, I knew he could seem me masturbating.

    Happily, I masturbate guilt-free today.

  15. Paul Lamb says:

    In an episode of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” there is a water stain on the wall that looks something like this. The plot involves the boys trying to capitalize on it among the credulous. The stain meets and unlikely end though.

  16. Courtney Franklin says:

    Looks like Gort and or Klaatu from The movie; The day the earth stood arrggh.

  17. Robert Elessar says:

    Regarding comment number 13: I agree with you, you don’t see that word used often enough and I don’t know why. It’s a perfectly cromulent word.

  18. Marcus says:

    Even with the image of Jesus right next to it you actually have to WANT to see Jesus there. I had to look for a few seconds before I could make sense of it.

  19. Mastriani says:

    Pareidolia.

    Case closed, no further comment required unless pointing out the continued behavior of the media in putting forth mindless tripe as “news”.

  20. Michael Verrenkamp says:

    I used to have a room tat was painted using a sponge, it crates all kinds of odd patterns in the wall so you can be sure my Pareitileia was happening on some lazy sunday mornings in bed.

    You could see a Giraffe, Bob Marly and a rocket ship but no Jesus. Maybe Bob just chose my wall to spread his message of space bound giraffe where as Jesus here like floor tiles.

  21. Robert Elessar says:

    Re: Jesus preferring floor tiles…
    Well, if there was ever a masochist, Jesus OBVIOUSLY was one. I mean, the whole crucifixion thing is a dead giveaway. You can just imagine his little voice coming out of the tiles, “Oh, Mistress, PLEASE step on my face again…Oh, Mistress, THANK you, THANK you! Again! AGAIN!!”

    anyway…

  22. It’s George Clinton, getting ready to funk away at his next concert!