What is apofenia?
When someone sees patterns that do not really exist, it is known as apofenia. Apofenia can have a wide range of forms, from thinking that the same number occurs too often to be just to see a man on the moon. In some cases, apophenia is used as criteria for the diagnosis of mental diseases, but apofenia does not necessarily mean that someone is mentally ill; For example, many extremely creative people have shown apofenia.
One of the most common forms of apofenia includes numbers. Many people have the impression that a specific number is still appearing in their lives; 23 is a common choice. They can begin to see this specific number everywhere, either in pure form or in the form of numbers that add to it. This type of apofenia has often been the subject of films and books that include cursed figures. The most famous example of Pareidolia is probably cloud-carding in which people see shapes in the forms of clouds in the sky. Many people also exhibit pareidolia when they pull meaningful sounds out of static ráDia and sometimes it can be extremely frustrating because other people don't know these sounds or patterns.
Apofenia is an example of what is known in statistics as type i or false positive. Most people do not show apofenia with a conscious choice; They simply attract a connection where there are none of the feeling of false sensitivity. The behavior of someone who has severe apofenia can turn into absurd because someone can go to sophisticated lengths to support the connection it establishes, or to avoid specific circumstances.
learning to recognize apophenia is important because it is a good idea to be able to distinguish between real patterns and mere coincidence. This distinction is particularly essential in the sciences where type I mistakes can radically distort the results of the experiment, especially when people make subtle adjustments to strengthen their thoughts. In general, if you still notice the same in your lifeHo numbers, symbol, pattern, sound or event, this is probably the case of apofenia; You may want to find evidence that is contrary to your pattern or connection.