Post by Hannah YOung on Sept 12, 2015 19:32:33 GMT
Apophenia and patternicity can be explained just by saying as humans we tend to find something in nothing. Or in other words we see something of meaning or importance in something completely unrelated like when someone finds a rock on the ground and it is in the shape of a heart. The rock they are looking at is shaped based on different events that the rock goes through like weathering and the breaking down of the rock. The rock is not shaped as a heart on purpose for someone to find it it just happened that way.
This type of perception can be as harmless as finding a rock on the ground or it could be more severe like finding the image of Christ in a child’s meaningless scribble, then claiming your child saw Jesus and looking to that child for worship because he is one with Christ. This could lead to the obsession of the child’s drawing.
Many students in their responses used the examples of JFK and Abraham Lincoln both of which are great examples but I would like to draw from present day. In the horrific events of the Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting and the Bostin Bombing there were articles published stating that there was a woman in photos of both events that was in distressed because of loved ones or what have you. The two woman looked very similar and their reactions to the two different types of devastation were very similar. Some people looked at those two women and said they were actually the same person and paid by the government because the President made these two things occur and that she was hired to make the two incidents look more believable. Of course that is not the case and that woman was actually two different women who have no idea the others exist. This could be considered type tow patternicity because this is such a grandiose connection that become harmful to others especially toe the two woman clearly grieving after what had just occurred.
Each person in this world can attest to seeing “messages” or something of significance in meaningless events. When this happens a person is likely to think, well that was interesting I wonder if those things were just a coincidence or if they really did see President Obama’s face in potato. Things like this cannot proved nor can they disprove.
This type of perception can be as harmless as finding a rock on the ground or it could be more severe like finding the image of Christ in a child’s meaningless scribble, then claiming your child saw Jesus and looking to that child for worship because he is one with Christ. This could lead to the obsession of the child’s drawing.
Many students in their responses used the examples of JFK and Abraham Lincoln both of which are great examples but I would like to draw from present day. In the horrific events of the Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting and the Bostin Bombing there were articles published stating that there was a woman in photos of both events that was in distressed because of loved ones or what have you. The two woman looked very similar and their reactions to the two different types of devastation were very similar. Some people looked at those two women and said they were actually the same person and paid by the government because the President made these two things occur and that she was hired to make the two incidents look more believable. Of course that is not the case and that woman was actually two different women who have no idea the others exist. This could be considered type tow patternicity because this is such a grandiose connection that become harmful to others especially toe the two woman clearly grieving after what had just occurred.
Each person in this world can attest to seeing “messages” or something of significance in meaningless events. When this happens a person is likely to think, well that was interesting I wonder if those things were just a coincidence or if they really did see President Obama’s face in potato. Things like this cannot proved nor can they disprove.
