Apophenia
Added the following text on apophenia to "Human Truth: The Scientific Method Counteracts Human Error" by Vexen Crabtree (2006):
“Pattern recognition is the basis of all aesthetic enjoyment, whether it is music, poetry or physics. As we become more sophisticated in what we do, we learn to recognize ever more subtle patterns. Unfortunately, the brain that makes the link between the tides and the phases of the moon may also connect a comet to victory in battle. [...] There's a thin line between recognizing subtle patterns and apophenia, the experience of seeing patterns where non exist. [...] The scientific process, in short, takes account of cracks, shortcomings and changes.”
New Scientist
(Proper references on the main article). I love the word 'apophenia', I never knew there was a word just for faulty pattern recognition! I have some references in my psychology books that explain that, in particular, Humans and other animals are prone to recognizing potentially dangerous patterns in random noise. The most popular and frequent occurance of this is surely the feeling-of-being-watched... apophenia in action!
(Post a new comment)
|
