Face?

August 22nd, 2020| Topic: RaMbLeS | 2

We have a tendency to see human faces in things that are not faces, human, or even alive: the electrical socket, a “grimacing” apple, a bowling ball, and all kinds of other stuff. That phenomenon is called “face pareidolia.” (That’s from the Greek: para = alongside of/instead of; and eidōlon = image/form.)

Apparently we are programmed to see faces everywhere. Saith Colin Palmer, and Colin Clifford, from the School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, in “Face Pareidolia Recruits Mechanisms for Detecting Human Social Attention,” published recently in Psychological Science.

Palmer:

Pages on websites like Flickr and Reddit have accumulated thousands of photographs of everyday objects that resemble faces, contributed by users from across the world. A striking feature of these objects is that they not only look like faces but can even convey a sense of personality or social meaning. For example, the windows of a house might feel like two eyes watching you, and a capsicum might have a happy look on its face.”

Our brains are attuned to such recognitions. And, further, we’re hardwired to catch certain features, recognize the person, read their emotions, and so on, all processes relying on different parts of the brain of the face see-er. The two Colins tested whether the same mechanisms in the brains that extract important social information when one person looks at another are also activated when we experience face pareidolia.

Palmer:

This is evidence of overlap in the neural mechanisms that are active when we experience face pareidolia and when we look at human faces.”

Dr. Palmer thinks face pareidolia is a product of our evolution, noting that studies have observed the phenomenon among monkeys, suggesting the brain function has been inherited from primates.

Our brain has evolved to facilitate social interaction, and this shapes the way that we see the world around us. There is an evolutionary advantage to being really good or really efficient at detecting faces, it’s important to us socially. It’s also important in detecting predators. So if you’ve evolved to be very good at detecting faces, this might then lead to false positives, where you sometimes see faces that aren’t really there. Another way of putting this is that it’s better to have a system that’s overly sensitive to detecting faces, than one that is not sensitive enough.”

But, really, there’s only one face worth looking for: the face of God.

For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness;
The upright will behold His face.
Psalm 11:7

And only before his face (in his presence) is there delight, satisfaction, and fulfillment.

You will make known to me the path of life;
With Your face [presence] is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Psalm 16:11

And we are called to seek his face continually.

When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.”
Psalm 27:8

And God will show us his face.

For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
Psalm 22:24

And one day …

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD,
And all the families of the nations will worship before Your face.
Psalm 22:27

So …

Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before His face;
God is a refuge for us.
Psalm 62:8

May …

God be gracious to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us!
Psalm 67:1

SOURCES:
Psychological Science; Medicalxpress