Apophenia

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Apophenia is the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns within random data.

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Example

The above picture is of Mt. Baker in northwestern Washington state. It was circulated with the following email:

Bro. Branham on the Mountain
Did you see Bro. Branham's face in the mountain yesterday?? Sis. ________ showed it to me on her camera, and I had to take a picture. It was so clear even the kids could see it.

This is a clear example of apophenia. Can you also see the bird? Is that an eagle? No... wait... it looks like a goose. Is it William Branham or just a pattern that looks like a face? Or is it whatever you think it is?


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