VOCABULARY: Pareidolia is the term for seeing a familiar pattern in a random or ambiguous visual stimulus

https://www.casinocitytimes.com/john-robison/article/ask-the-slot-expert-i-see-casino-equivalents-in-everyday-things-69137

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Pareidolia is the term for seeing a familiar pattern in a random or ambiguous visual stimulus, like seeing faces on toast or a potato chip that looks like Darth Vader.

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pareidolia /păr″ī-dō′lē-ə/nounThe perception of a recognizable image or meaningful pattern where none exists or is intended, as the perception of a face in the surface features of the moon.The tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the observer, such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals, seeing shapes in clouds, or hearing hidden messages in music.The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition • More at Wordnik
 
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Wow, never knew there was a word for this (what I’d call) human failing.
 
Like the tulip craze, human sometimes “hallucinate” just like AI.   Also like “pink elephants”, humans can imagine things that don’t exist.  Some times that’s a fatal flaw (i.e., a mirage in the dessert; an honest politician; jumbo shrimp).
 
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