Pareidolia – An Outlook On Life

I have a condition called pareidolia which causes me to see faces in random objects. Not only do I see faces, I process them for emotion. Often times, the faces appear in my mind as emojis or animals.

Each week, one of my blog posts will focus on the faces I see in Paris. I’ll briefly describe where I see them, how I connect with them, why they’re meaningful, etc.

So, the very first face I saw in Paris happened on Sunday afternoon. I believe this was day 3 in Paris. After our meeting, I was feeling slightly disconnected from everyone as people went off to the dorms or to help set up for the picnic. I decided to go grab some lunch at the cafeteria. I’ve walked this path multiple times a day but never noticed this face until this day.

This guy (yes, he is male), kind of looked sad and overwhelmed – exactly how I felt. It immediately made me smile. Found this face on the ground. The eyes appear to be water or drainage areas. The mouth is a patch that was probably covering a hole. It’s interesting that this face is formed through the imperfections and repairs to the materials on the ground. Others might see this and feel that it needs repairs. They might focus on the imperfections and become upset, especially with this being in the walkway to the main entrance. I see it and smile.

Everyone is affected by what their eyes see and how their brains process that information. I’m no different in that respect, though my outlook is. This building I’m living in is beautiful. But, what I’ll remember about it is the first face that I saw here.

When I’m out and about, I often take photos of unusual things. I focus on details. Often, these details are what create the faces I see. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments. Hopefully, no one thinks I’m laughing at them. I’m not. I’m just enjoying the things that I see with my imagination.

In Paris, I’ve seen faces in the most unusual places.

Like a sewer:

I saw turtle. My husband says robot. We went with robot turtle. He is slow. He has a stuffy nose so he can’t smell the wonder that is Paris sewers. And he probably talks with a nasal voice. It’s ironic that a sewer cover would look like a turtle, the symbol of all that is slow. I want my sewage moving quickly, rushing off into the treatment plants for cleaning.

This guy is too school for cool! He was watching our group yesterday as Dr. Smith gave us a run down for what would happen on today. He already knew we were gonna have an awesome time.

Kind of surprised looking. This one has no gender. It’s not even a person. It’s just a surprised blob. Not sure if it’s a sewer. It is pretty funny though. He made me laugh but not as much as the cool people I saw at la Maison de l’Orchidée.

These little ones were hanging from the roof in several areas. I couldn’t help but smile at them. Yes, la Maison de l’Orchidée had beautiful orchids, but I will remember it because of these cute little people.

While on the cruise on the river Seine, I captured this face.

At the time, I didn’t even see this face. As I mentioned before, I didn’t see my first face in Paris until after the cruise. I saw this when reviewing my photos yesterday and realized I had subconsciously taken a photo of a face. There is nothing else in this photo. It’s a rather odd shot to begin with. So, why would I take it? I think my subconscious mind was aware of something my conscious mind wasn’t — a face.

Things like this make me wonder how pareidolia affects my perception in regards to advertising, decorating, architecture, decay, and preservation. I don’t see things like other people. I’m not always impacted by a space the way others are. I could be completely unmoved viewing some great historic site. Or, I could be moved but for a different reason. For example, Notre Dame.

This is what others saw on our trip.

And, this is what I saw.

This building is clearly in distress over what has happened to it. The fire was devastating to the people watching it. This building also feels devastated. Of course, I could be projecting my own feelings about the fire damage on to the building. Perhaps, if he hadn’t experienced this catastrophe, then I would see a happy face. Who can say?

Finally, I come to doors. Doors in Paris are ornate. Many of them have purposefully placed faces on them. I see these doors and I am unmoved. In fact, while I thought I took photos of doors with these faces on them, I can’t find one in my photos. Another subconscious thing? I don’t know. But when it comes to “my faces,” I found an emotive one.

Just curious. What do you see when you look at these doors? Are they beautiful? What kind of people do you think live here. Would they welcome you? Would you feel comfortable entering here?

This is what I see.

While I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable walking through these doors, I might hesitate. I recognize the faces I see as purely imagination. Most of the time, even the scary faces and just funny to me. I laugh and continue on with my day. But every once in a while, I do stop and think about how they might influence my perception of things.

My point is that pareidolia influences how I perceive and receive the world. It impacts my outlook on this trip. I’ll remember Paris, the bridges, architecture, and historic buildings for completely different reasons than most people. This trip to Paris is the first time I’ve considered how my mental processing capabilities connect to my work in historic preservation. I’m excited to learn more. And, hopefully, I’ll help you begin to look at things differently too!