Why You See Faces in Things

↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓

Have you ever looked at the front of a car and seen a face? Or an electrical outlet and seen a face? You definitely have. We all see faces everywhere we look thanks to a fun quirk of the human brain called facial pareidolia. Here's the neuroscience and psychology of how this weird brain phenomenon works!

0:00 Intro
1:33 What is facial pareidolia?
2:26 How your brain "sees" stuff
4:10 What is a "face" anyway?
5:29 Are we born this way?
7:08 Why recognizing faces is important, according to evolution
9:09 Dog faces, and some closing thoughts
10:05 Support us on Patreon!

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[besmart]

What's the weirdest face illusion you've ever seen?

[NewMessage]

Seeing faces everywhere is one thing.. but not seeing one where you expect one is WAAAAY more upsetting.

[TiggerIsMyCat]

So sorry for your loss, Joe. He lived a good, long life. You made him a happy pup. 🫂

[nariutimes]

Interesting you mentioned autism; my daughter has level 2 autism and struggles processing faces in several ways, including recognizing people she knows if they change their hair, or very sad/crying. Facemasks were impossibly difficult for her - she no longer saw a face when someone had a mask. Even if I put one on while she watched, she would scream because she no longer knew who I was. We stayed home a lot during pandemic. I have learned so much about how brains work whilst raising her and experiencing how her brain works differently.

[sohopedeco]

It's crazy how arthropods evolved faces with the same two-eyes-and-a-mouth pattern as ours completely independently from us. That certainly made things easier for our brains.

[candycemonroe]

Disney has trained me to see a hidden Mickey in three circles too

[erianova]

a few years ago someone told me that children are more likely to cross a road when a friendly looking car is approaching bc they assume the car would stop to let them through whereas they would wait if an unfriendly looking car is approaching. idk if there was ever a study on this specific subject or if its just anecdotal evidence but it does make sense

[madbyinstinct]

What about when we can't forget a face but are unable to remember their name? 9/10 times

[therongjr]

Does that mean when I willfully choose to recognize two dots and a line as a face, then the component parts, then a face again, I am consciously and intentionally directing that data to different geographic regions of my brain?! "Send those signals HERE. Now THERE! Now back again HERE!" That's kinda awesome!

[sIosha]

I love the human brain. Such a wonderful demonstration of how capable we are of doing great things. We are doing it an incredible disservice in a lot of ways.

[MariaMartinez-researcher]

06:17. Interestingly, there are many videos around showing reactions of babies to bearded dads who had just shaved their beards. The unmistakable reactions of "who is this dude?" suggest that very early on humans notice facial features.

[igorgerlovin]

I always saw faces in cars: some have happy faces, and some had the "angry/tough" face. My first car, a 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis, was a fine example of the tough/angry face.

[mglenadel]

Many people suffer from pareidolia… I don't. I _enjoy_ it. It's fun to see little characters everywhere. It makes the world a more whimsical place.

[Beryllahawk]

Pareidolia is one of the funniest tricks our brains play on us, honestly. I adore that kind of silly meme where there's a "shocked outlet" or an angry onion. (Obviously the punniest ones are my favorites!)

[kashmirmoorhouse]

There is also a condition where u see faces in stuff waayyy more often than other people. I suffer from it and see faces literally EVERYWHERE. even when other people would say they dont see it, it is clear as day to me.

[manamalam]

"Hey Joe is that you?"
"No that's my face"😅

[SarahBelhamHypno]

I really like your channel, and your face. :) But what I really like is following along as you explain interesting things in that soothing, compelling manner you have.

[silverghini]

“Why is the visual cortex on the back of the brain?” What a great question for evolution.

[darhaha]

Baby vision is THAT blurry...?? 😮😮😮 mindblowing fact of the day for sure.

[calebgordon]

When I was a child sleeping at night id see faces in my clothes on the ground and it always scared me haha