Pareidolia
Pareidolia is seeing a specific meaningful thing — most often a face — in something that has none, like a plug socket, a cloud, or the front of a car.
Full definition of Pareidolia →:: COMPARE ::
PareidoliavsApophenia
The short answer
Pareidolia is the specific case; apophenia is the general one. Apophenia is seeing meaningful connections in anything random. Pareidolia is the visual subtype where the pattern resolves into a concrete image, classically a face.
Side by side
| Aspect | Pareidolia | Apophenia |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Visual images | Any pattern |
| Classic case | A face | A coincidence |
| Speed | ~165 ms | Slower, reflective |
| Relationship | A subtype | The umbrella |
What each one means
Apophenia
Apophenia is the tendency to perceive meaningful patterns, connections or significance in things that are actually random or unrelated.
Full definition of Apophenia →