Apophenia

Figure 1. A random distribution of water vapour is seen as a face.

Apophenia is the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things. When apophenia occurs in human vision it is termed pareidolia, a common example of which is seeing the image of a face in a cloud (Figure 1).

It is a type of cognitive bias that can lead people to see meaning or significance in things that are actually random or insignificant. Apophenia can be a normal part of human cognition and can sometimes lead to creative insights, but it can also lead to distorted or irrational thinking and beliefs. Some people may experience apophenia to a greater degree and may be more prone to forming irrational beliefs or making unsupported conclusions based on limited or incomplete information. In some cases, apophenia may be a symptom of a mental illness, such as schizophrenia.

Synchronicity vs Apophenia

Apophenia can be easily confused with the term synchronicity, but they have different meanings.

Synchronicity refers to a meaningful coincidence that seems to be more than just chance. It is a term coined by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung to describe the occurrence of two or more events that are not causally connected, but are meaningfully related.

For example, you might be thinking about an old friend you haven't heard from in years, and then receive a call or a message from them that same day. While this coincidence may seem too unlikely to be just chance, it also carries a personal meaning for you.

Apophenia, on the other hand, refers to the tendency of the human mind to perceive patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. It is a natural cognitive process that helps us make sense of the world, but it can also lead us to see patterns where there are none, such as the cloud example above.