20210424 Pediophobia

Saturday, 24 April

#Today I wanna write about the fear of dolls or known as pediophobia.

Pediophobia is the unwarranted, irrational, and persistent fear or worry of dolls. It is a specific phobia belonging to the category of ‘automatonphobia’. This is a type of phobia where the individual is afraid of all humanoid or “human-like-but-not-quite” objects including mannequins, marionettes, ventriloquist’s dummies, wax figures, Animatrix or robotic figures, etc. The word Pediophobia originates from ‘Paidion’ which means ‘little child’ in Greek and ‘Phobos’ meaning fear or deep dread. Many adult sufferers of Pediophobia are also known to fear little children.

Pediophobes are afraid of all kinds of dolls while others are known to be afraid of only specific kinds like the talking/walking dolls, Chinese porcelain dolls, stuffed dolls, etc.

Dolls are, in reality, child’s playthings. Little girls are especially known to love dolls and pretend to play with them which can help in fostering imagination and creativity. Naturally, it is a matter of great worry for parents when their little daughter starts screaming at the sight of dolls. While most childhood cases of Pediophobia disappear once the child has grown, in some cases though, this fear can persist even in adulthood.

Like any other phobia, Pediophobia is also possibly triggered by an intensely negative or traumatic incident in one’s past/childhood that is remotely connected to dolls. The young mind then forever associates dolls with the trauma and recalls the negative feelings experienced then.

Dolls, especially voodoo dolls are associated with witchcraft. Burning voodoo dolls to bring misfortune to an individual was a common practice in the past. To an individual already suffering from nervous or anxiety disorders, all dolls represent evil.

Dolls have fixed staring eyes. Some dolls also have button eyes that appear “soulless pools devoid of any emotion akin to those of a corpse”. This can make younger children especially afraid of them.

Dolls have been shown in a negative light in pop culture. Many horror movies (Chucky in Child’s Play) and novels (Althea, Stone Dead, etc) have portrayed dolls as evil or villainous characters that come to life to cause harm to humans. This can induce fear in young or overly nervous minds.

Mischievous older siblings or friends etc can also unknowingly instill fear of dolls in the minds of younger kids by telling stories of dolls coming to life at night.

Whatever the cause of fear of dolls phobia, there can be intense emotional upheaval and turmoil in the mind of the sufferer. Some people might experience a full-blown panic attack upon sighting a doll. Still, others live in constant fear of dolls. The following physical and psychological symptoms may be present in the phobic:

• Rapid breathing
• Elevated heartbeat
• Dry mouth. Feeling like being choked to death
• Shivering, trembling
• Freezing on the spot
• Crying, screaming, trying to flee, etc.

Some phobics experience a full-blown anxiety attack in the presence of dolls including store mannequins. This can be quite embarrassing as well as debilitating enough to affect the normal functioning of the individual.

Hypnosis and desensitization therapies are the two most popular ways of overcoming the fear of dolls phobia.

Desensitization or gradual exposure therapy consists of slowly exposing the phobic to dolls. They can begin by looking at photographs of dolls, reading books or watching movies about dolls, etc until they are able to remain calm in the presence of dolls without having an anxiety attack. This is usually done in the presence of a therapist or can be done at home with the help of close friends and loved ones.

Hypnosis, Cognitive behavior therapy, and behavior therapy also aim to reprogram the Pediophobic to help him/her rationalize fearful thoughts about dolls and change them into positive ones.

These are a few ways of overcoming Pediophobia or the fear of dolls.

(https://www.fearof.net/fear-of-dolls-phobia-pediophobia/#:~:text=Pediophobia%20is%20the%20unwarranted%2C%20irrational,the%20category%20of%20'automatonphobia'.)

#enoughfortoday #qmo

20210411 Nyctophile

 Sunday, 11 April

#Today I wanna write about Nyctophile.

https://images.app.goo.gl/mSqbyvsAvs9gCNnn7

This is the first time I was introduced to Nyctophilia, and I was surprised by what I found. Nyctophilia means “Love of darkness or night; finding relaxation and comfort in the darkness.” It’s different from insomnia. An insomniac is someone who has difficulty sleeping at night. Insomnia is a physical condition, whereas nyctophilia is a psychological condition.

One nyctophiliac wrote the following statement: “I love the darkness, it makes me happy. I feel a sense of relief as I sit in the dark and listen to the sound of the clock ticking by. I know it’s not good for me to stay awake like this, like a ghost, in complete darkness.”

Though nyctophiliacs find it difficult to fall asleep, it’s not because of jet lag or a rotating work schedule affecting their biological clock; it’s because the person craves the experience of sitting in the dark. According to Dr. Anil Aggrawal in his 2009 book Forensic and Medico-legal Aspects of Sexual Crimes and Unusual Sexual Practices, nyctophilia is a sexual paraphilia and the nyctophiliac derives sexual pleasure and arousal by a “love of night”.

The recommended treatments are primarily psychological in nature and include some of the following: Psychoanalysis, hypnosis, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and drug therapy. No treatment is recommended unless the condition becomes problematic for the person in some way, or the person comes under the scrutiny of the legal system. The treatment is usually the same as treatment for other sexual fetishes. Some drug treatments include medications such as GnRH, which is a long-lasting gonadotropin-releasing a hormone which represses sexual desires. According to other literature, some are treated with antiandrogens (testosterone blockers) and/or phenothiazine, which is an antipsychotic.

I have a feeling the person who wrote the question does not have nyctophilia but instead enjoys working at night. If that is the case, please let me know, and I will give some suggestions for falling asleep rather than staying awake throughout the night.

(https://deltadiscovery.com/what-is-nyctophilia/)

#enoughfortoday #qmo

20210407 Selenophile

 Wednesday, 07 April

#Today I wanna write about Selenophile.

https://images.app.goo.gl/5AYhQkM5wPPdxtG37

The moon is the queen of the night, who is accompanied by her thousands of vassals, the stars, or at least more than one artist has seen her like this.

Selenophilia, that is, the attraction to the Moon , is a word used by those who are fascinated by this nocturnal star, although, perhaps, unaware of the possible confusion that can be caused by using the term ‘filia’ in the field of psychopathology.

Is selenophilia a disorder? Should I be concerned about seeing the beauty of the moon? What symptoms do you have? All of these questions will be answered throughout this article.

Selenophilia (from the Greek ‘Selene’, moon, and ‘philia’, love) is the most striking attraction to the moon. Although its name might imply that people who feel this particular attraction to the only satellite on Earth have some kind of sexual perversion, the truth is that does not refer to a psychological disorder .

It should not be thought that selenophilia and selenophiles should be classified in the same group as other types of rare attractions, such as pedophilia, zoophilia, and necrophilia. These three examples here are true paraphilic behaviors, and in all three, someone or something is harmed. In the case of selenophilia, it is simply a matter of a certain intellectual and artistic attraction towards the moon, not a desire of a sexual nature towards this satellite.

In no diagnostic manual does the word ‘selenophilia’ appear as if it were a paraphilic disorder. It does not qualify as a disorder of any kind, and if you try to find symptoms, you may not find any that are particularly worrisome. What is possible to talk about is a series of characteristics that selenophilic people have .

Usually, Selenophilic people are the ones who use this label, using it to refer to themselves and only with the intention of differentiating themselves from the rest of the people who do not feel this special attraction towards the Moon. Selenophiles are often bohemian people, who like to go to sleep late at night looking at the dark sky lit up by the pale star. Many of them consider themselves to be nictophiles as well, i.e. attracted by the enveloping darkness of the night.

The moon has always inspired, and not few artistic works have been dedicated to it . In fact, Selenophiles are people who tend to express themselves through art. To give just a few examples: From the Earth to the Moon (1865), book by Jules Verne, Moonlight (1801), sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven or Fly me to the moon (1956), song by Frank Sinatra and ending by Neon Genesis Evangelion. The Moon, as we can see, has always been a beautiful star that has been the muse of great artists.

Although this cannot be completely assured, it is not uncommon to find that people who feel this aesthetic desire for the Moon are rather introverted individuals, who prefer to gaze at the night sky in their solitude. They also consider themselves to be people with above-average intelligence and a deeper capacity for reflection.

As we have seen before, selenophilia is not a disorder, so there are no pathological causes for it either. As the saying goes, for tastes, colors, and in terms of attraction to things, there is everything. Humans present individual differences, which give humanity a wide spectrum of variety, shown in the form of traits, opinions and, as in the case of selenophilia, tastes.

However, it is possible to relate the presentation of certain personality traits to this peculiar attraction to the moon . In fact, as we saw before, it seems that introverted people with a particular capacity for reflection feel this interest in the only satellite on Earth.

Also, although it is much to assume, presenting above-average intellectual capacities seems to be related to selenophilia. What can be assured is that people with marked artistic interests are fascinated by how this star decorates the night sky.

Since it is a preference and not a disorder, it is difficult to find negative consequences of selenophilia.

However, it can be said that those people who stay up late at night contemplating the Moon may be depriving themselves of sleep, which negatively affects their circadian cycles. Thus, by altering the normal sleep cycles , the individual could be tired and irritated the next day, or fall asleep in broad daylight, neglecting tasks that must be done in the daytime, such as work, study or relationships with family and friends.

On the other hand, the fascination for the Moon has been something that has contributed significantly to art and culture, since all over the world attention has been devoted, in one way or another, to this satellite. Also, from more philosophical and religious perspectives, has been dedicated to meditate on this satellite , allowing to know in a closer way the nature of the world.

Since it is not a real paraphilic disorder, it does not require treatment either. As we have already mentioned, a philic is understood as any attraction to something that implies a real pathological problem, that is to say, a type of sexual preference that implies harm either to the person who feels it or to the person who performs it, such as pedophilia.

Selenophiles will hardly see their life diminished by feeling a strong attraction to the moon. They value the beauty of the moon more than other people, without it touching their sexual desire or wanting to commit perversions against this star. There is no suffering either for those who have selenophilia or for the object of their attraction, the Moon.

What would require treatment are the sleep disorders that can be caused by taking this fascination to the moon to the extreme. As we have seen, prioritizing moon watching at night and not going to sleep when it is convenient can negatively affect a person’s health. In that case, a professional should be consulted to treat this behavior and, if necessary, take medication to readjust the circadian cycles.

(https://virtualpsychcentre.com/selenophilia-what-is-it-and-how-is-the-fascination-with-the-moon-expressed/)

#enoughfortoday #qmo

20210328 Athazagoraphobia

 Sunday, 28 March

#Today I wanna write about Athazagoraphobia.

https://images.app.goo.gl/DRbjL2ZoBAp4xucD9

Phobias are long-term anxiety disorders that can disrupt your daily life. For some, the condition can bring strong feelings of panic, anxiety, stress, and fear.

In severe cases, you might experience physical or psychological reactions that interfere with your daily life.

Athazagoraphobia is a fear of forgetting someone or something, as well as a fear of being forgotten.

For example, you or someone close to you may have anxiety or fear of developing Alzheimer’s disease or memory loss. This might come from caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

You might also worry that a family member with Alzheimer’s disease won’t remember you.

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of phobias, but experts believe there are environmental and genetic factors linking specific phobias.

This might include childhood trauma, like being left alone as a child, or direct family connections, like a relative with dementia, to specific phobias related to memory.

Most phobias fall into certain defined categories. For example, they may be related to situations like fear of developing Alzheimer’s disease, objects such as books, or the environment like a fear of heights.

You might be more prone to specific phobias if you have:

• a traumatic experience that triggers the phobia
• a direct link like a relative with a phobia or anxiety disorder
• a sensitive nature or you’re shy or introverted

There are certain criteria outlined by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) for specific phobias. Currently, the APA doesn’t recognize athazagoraphobia as a specific type of phobia or disorder.

However, studies have people have anxiety and fear related to memory loss. Conditions such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease are examples where the fear of forgetting things or people can be a real worry.

Alternatively, family members of those with Alzheimer’s or dementia may have anxiety over being forgotten by their loved ones.

 Sourc

A direct connection like a family member with memory loss can bring about long-term fear and anxiety.

Symptoms of specific types of phobias vary depending on the severity of the phobia. Most people experience levels of anxiety as the most common symptom. Others may experience a mix of physical and emotional symptoms.

They include:

• panic attacks
• body aches
• muscle tension
• increased heart rate
• increased blood pressure
• dizziness
• restlessness, nervousness
• fainting
• sweating
• nausea
• depression
• avoiding social situations
• lack of focus or concentration

Phobias are common. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 12.5 percent of Americans experience a specific phobia at some point in their life. Most people have mild phobias they can control and don’t seek treatment.

For some, the seriousness of anxiety and fear can negatively impact their life. Learning a few coping skills can minimize and provide relief from the phobia.

Some helpful coping tips include:

• exercise such as yoga
• focused breathing techniques
• aromatherapy
• balanced diet
• using a thought diary
• having a support system
• learning to lower stress by avoiding triggers of phobia

Everyone has moments of anxiety or fear. When the anxiety is chronic or so severe that it limits your daily life and activities or jeopardizes your health, it might help to talk to a trained mental health professional.

Mental health professionals can help by:

• discussing what’s causing your anxiety
• helping you learn more about your specific phobia and triggers
• performing a physical exam and getting your health history
• ruling out other health conditions or medications as a problem

The diagnosis of any phobia is based on symptom severity from the DSM-5 criteria.

Since athazagoraphobia isn’t recognized under DSM-5 criteria, generally, a health professional will review your history and symptoms.

This might include a review of any childhood trauma, family history, and other related factors that might be causing your fear or anxiety.

Treatment of any anxiety disorder depends on how severe the condition might be. It generally includes coping tools, therapy as well as medications, if needed.

Options can include:

• cognitive behavioral therapy
• mindfulness and breathing techniques
• anti-anxiety medications
• antidepressant, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

Phobias are common and can range from mild anxiety to fear, stress, and panic attacks.

Many people with phobias hold back from living life fully, but there are great tools available to help manage phobia.

Learn what triggers your phobia and what helps calm your fears. This might be a nice cup of tea, soothing sounds, aromatherapy or going for a walk.

Long-term options include cognitive behavioral therapy to improve symptoms and provide balance and clarity.

Today there are also many apps to help deal with anxiety. Some are free, while others have small subscription fees. If you have a mild phobia, try a few to see if they work for you.

You can also find help online with these organizations:

• Anxiety and Depression Association of America: Find a Therapist
• Mental Health America

Talk to a mental health professional about your specific concerns and what tools and strategies you can incorporate into your daily life to help you manage your phobia and live your best life.

(https://www.healthline.com/health/athazagoraphobia#:~:text=Athazagoraphobia%20is%20a%20fear%20of,with%20Alzheimer's%20disease%20or%20dementia.)

#enoughfortoday #qmo

20210324 False Awakening

 Wednesday, 24 March

#Today I wanna write about False Awakening. I had it in 2019, and I didn't know why it happened to me. 

https://images.app.goo.gl/5R63msF7UHGvcQ4S6

Your alarm goes off. You sit up, rub your eyes, get out of bed, and stagger toward the kitchen to make coffee and feed the howling cat.

Ten minutes later, the cat is purring and you’re enjoying your first sip of coffee when — the alarm goes off again.

Lying in bed, you wonder if you’re really awake this time, perhaps even pinching yourself before making a move to get up.

A false awakening refers to the strange experience of “waking up” when you actually remain asleep. It can involve vivid, realistic images that leave you feeling anxious and confused.

Some people also experience nested dreams or more than one false awakening on the same occasion.

Sleep paralysis, which usually happens as you start to fall asleep or wake up, isn’t quite the same as a false awakening.

Research does suggest, however, that many people who experience one often experience the other.

With sleep paralysis, you briefly lose the ability to talk or move your muscles. You might also find it somewhat difficult to breathe.

Some people also hallucinate with an episode of sleep paralysis. It might seem as if someone else is in your room with you or holding you down on your bed.

The key difference between sleep paralysis and a false awakening is that sleep paralysis happens when you’re awake, not dreaming.

Sleep paralysis typically occurs when you move from rapid eye movement (REM) sleep into wakefulness. Your brain wakes up, but your muscles remain temporarily paralyzed, just as they are during REM sleep.

No, but you might feel a sense of something bad coming depending on the type of false awakening you experience.

According to researcher Celia Green, Ph.D., in her book “Lucid Dreaming: The Paradox of Consciousness During Sleep,” there are two main types of false awakenings:

• Type 1. A type 1 false awakening proceeds in a fairly straightforward way. After “waking up,” you do the same things you typically would. This type often won’t feel scary as it happens, though you might feel disoriented or somewhat distressed once you actually wake up.
• Type 2. With this type, you might wake up with a sense of foreboding or feel convinced something strange or bad is about to happen. This type of false awakening could resemble sleep paralysis, especially if you dream you wake up and can’t move or escape from some type of malicious presence in your room. When you do wake up, though, you’ll be able to move normally.

While type 2 false awakenings can feel unnerving, there’s no evidence to suggest they actually mean something bad is about to happen.

Similar to lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis, false awakenings are considered one of the hybrid, or overlap, states between sleep and wakefulness.

Many people who experience false awakenings also have lucid dreams.

In a lucid dream, you realize you’re dreaming. This knowledge allows you to maintain some control over your surroundings and even change the course of the dream.

There’s also some evidence to suggest lucid dreams commonly end in false awakenings. You might even “wake up” and start describing your dream to someone else before truly waking up.

A false awakening can become a lucid dream, especially if you begin to notice certain details that differ slightly from reality.

For example, your furniture might not be in the usual place, your lamp might not turn on, or you might open a book and find you can’t read any of the words.

Suspecting you aren’t actually awake might lead you to try manipulating the dream in some way or telling yourself to wake up.

To date, there’s not much research on false awakenings, and experts have yet to determine exactly what causes them. As with sleep paralysis, they may relate to disrupted REM sleep.

A few suggested explanations for false awakenings include:

• sleep disorders, such as insomnia and sleep apnea
• anticipation, or knowing you need to wake up early for a specific reason
• noise and other disturbances that interrupt your sleep without fully waking you up

Stress and anxiety in your daily life can also have an impact on sleep and potentially appear in your dreams

If you’re worried about something that’s going to happen shortly after waking up, you might dream about waking up and getting ready to face the stressful event. These stressful events can include:

• a difficult exam
• dentist’s appointment
• job interview

Research from 2011 offers another potential explanation for false awakenings.

According to the theory of dream proto-consciousness, your brain prepares for consciousness during REM sleep, using its internal representation of your everyday world.

This model serves as a starting place for your dreams, the theory suggests. But most dreams include plenty of other elements that make them seem much less realistic.

False awakenings could happen when hyperarousal, or increased alertness, during REM sleep keeps you from experiencing more typical dreams, like those involving flying, falling, and other surreal happenings.

Instead, the dreams may rely on more specific memories of familiar surroundings and your typical daily routine

As strange as they might feel, false awakenings generally don’t pose any cause for medical concern. There’s no evidence to suggest that they occur as a symptom of any physical or mental health condition.

That said, it’s worth looking into any unusual occurrence that regularly disrupts your sleep. False awakenings could happen along with other symptoms that do have a more serious cause.

Talk to your healthcare provider or a sleep specialist if you also notice any of the following symptoms:

• trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
• fatigue or exhaustion after several hours in bed
• daytime sleepiness
• frequent nightmares

Improving the sleep you get each night could help reduce the frequency of false awakenings. Here are some general pointers for better sleep:

• Turn off your phone and other electronics at least 1 hour before bedtime.
• Use our sleep calculator to figure out how much sleep you need.
• Take some time to wind down before bed.

Mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression, can also contribute to disturbing dreams and affect the quality of your sleep.

It’s a good idea to reach out to a therapist for any mental health symptoms that don’t improve after a week or two, especially if mood changes occur along with physical health symptoms, such as changes in your sleep habits.

False awakenings can feel very unsettling, especially if they happen often. It’s hard enough to get out of bed once, much less a second time (or third, or fourth).

Like all dreams, false awakenings will end eventually. If they become a regular annoyance or keep you from getting restful sleep, talking to a sleep specialist may be a good option.

(https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/false-awakening#:~:text=A%20false%20awakening%20refers%20to,awakening%20on%20the%20same%20occasion.)

#enoughfortoday #qmo

20210322 Pareidolia

 Monday, 22 March

#Today I wanna write about pareidolia.

https://images.app.goo.gl/dxfB3VxWxTVJoVBJ7

Pareidolia (/ˌpæriˈdoʊliə/, US also /ˌpæraɪˈ-/) is the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous visual stimulus (so that one sees an object, pattern or meaning where in fact there is none).

Common examples are perceived images of animals, faces, or objects in cloud formations, or lunar pareidolia like the Man in the Moon or the Moon Rabbit. The concept of pareidolia may extend to include hidden messages in recorded music played in reverse or at higher- or lower-than-normal speeds, and hearing voices (mainly indistinct) or music, in random noise such as that produced by air conditioners or fans.

Pareidolia was at one time considered a symptom of psychosis, but it is now seen as a normal human tendency. Scientists have taught computers to use visual clues to "see" faces and other images.

The word derives from the Greek words pará (παρά, "beside, alongside, instead [of]") and the noun eídōlon (εἴδωλον, "image, form, shape").

The German word Pareidolie was used in articles by Karl Ludwig Kahlbaum — for example in his 1866 paper "Die Sinnesdelierien" ("On Delusion of the Senses"). When Kahlbaum's paper was reviewed the following year (1867) in The Journal of Mental Science, Volume 13, Pareidolie was translated into English as "pareidolia", and noted to be synonymous with the terms "…changing hallucination, partial hallucination, [and] perception of secondary images."

Pareidolia can cause people to interpret random images, or patterns of light and shadow, as faces. A 2009 magnetoencephalography study found that objects perceived as faces evoke an early (165 ms) activation of the fusiform face area at a time and location similar to that evoked by faces, whereas other common objects do not evoke such activation. This activation is similar to a slightly faster time (130 ms) that is seen for images of real faces. The authors suggest that face perception evoked by face-like objects is a relatively early process, and not a late cognitive reinterpretation phenomenon. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in 2011 similarly showed that repeated presentation of novel visual shapes that were interpreted as meaningful led to decreased fMRI responses for real objects. These results indicate that the interpretation of ambiguous stimuli depends upon processes similar to those elicited by known objects.

These studies help to explain why people generally identify a few lines and a circle as a "face" so quickly and without hesitation. (In autistic people, it was thought that fewer mirror neurons or mirror neurons not functioning properly may mean that everything is perceived as if it were an object. It does not now seem to be mirror neurons but clearly there are differences in perception in autistic people. People without an autism spectrum condition perceive the face quickly and without hesitation.) Cognitive processes are activated by the "face-like" object, at least in people who are not autistic, which alert the observer to both the emotional state and identity of the subject, even before the conscious mind begins to process or even receive the information. A "stick figure face", despite its simplicity, can convey mood information, and be drawn to indicate emotions such as happiness or anger. This robust and subtle capability is hypothesized to be the result of eons of natural selection favoring people most able to quickly identify the mental state, for example, of threatening people, thus providing the individual an opportunity to flee or attack pre-emptively. In other words, processing this information subcortically – therefore subconsciously – before it is passed on to the rest of the brain for detailed processing accelerates judgment and decision making when a fast reaction is needed. This ability, though highly specialized for the processing and recognition of human emotions, also functions to determine the demeanor of wildlife.

A mimetolithic pattern is a pattern created by rocks that may come to mimic recognizable forms through the random processes of formation, weathering and erosion.

Picture Jaspers exhibit combinations of patterns such as banding from flow or depositional patterns (from water or wind), or dendritic or color variations, resulting in what appear to be miniature scenes on a cut section, which is then used for jewelry.

More often, the size scale of the rock is larger than the object it resembles, such as a cliff profile resembling a human face. Well-meaning people with a new interest in fossils can pick up chert nodules, concretions or pebbles resembling bones, skulls, turtle shells, dinosaur eggs, etc., in both size and shape.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Japanese researcher Chonosuke Okamura self-published a series of reports titled Original Report of the Okamura Fossil Laboratory, in which he described tiny inclusions in polished limestone from the Silurian period (425 mya) as being preserved fossil remains of tiny humans, gorillas, dogs, dragons, dinosaurs and other organisms, all of them only millimeters long, leading him to claim, "There have been no changes in the bodies of mankind since the Silurian period... except for a growth in stature from 3.5 mm to 1,700 mm." Okamura's research earned him an Ig Nobel Prize (a parody of the Nobel Prizes) in biodiversity in 1996.

Some sources describe various mimeolithic features exist on Pluto, including a heart-shaped region.

The Rorschach inkblot test uses pareidolia in an attempt to gain insight into a person's mental state. The Rorschach is a projective test  that elicits thoughts or feelings of respondents that are "projected" onto the ambiguous inkblot images.

Renaissance artists and authors have shown a particular interest in pareidolia. In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, for example, the character Hamlet points at the sky and "demonstrates" his supposed madness in this exchange with Polonius:

HAMLET

Do you see yonder cloud that’s almost in the shape of a camel?

POLONIUS

By th’Mass and ’tis, like a camel indeed.

HAMLET
Methinks it is a weasel.
POLONIUS
It is backed like a weasel.
HAMLET
Or a whale.
POLONIUS
Very like a whale.

Graphic artists have often used pareidolia in paintings and drawings: Andrea Mantegna, Leonardo Da Vinci, Giotto, Hans Holbein, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, and many more have shown images—often human faces—that due to pareidolia appear in objects or clouds.

In his notebooks, Leonardo da Vinci wrote of pareidolia as a device for painters, writing:

If you look at any walls spotted with various stains or with a mixture of different kinds of stones, if you are about to invent some scene you will be able to see in it a resemblance to various different landscapes adorned with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, plains, wide valleys, and various groups of hills. You will also be able to see divers combats and figures in quick movement, and strange expressions of faces, and outlandish costumes, and an infinite number of things which you can then reduce into separate and well conceived forms.

Two 13th-century edifices in Turkey display architectural use of shadows of stone carvings at the entrance. Outright pictures are avoided in Islam but tessellations and calligraphic pictures were allowed, so designed "accidental" silhouettes of carved stone tessellations became a creative escape.

• Niğde Alaaddin Mosque, Niğde, Turkey (1223) with its "mukarnas" art where the shadows of three-dimensional ornamentation with stone masonry around the entrance form a chiaroscuro drawing of a woman's face with a crown and long hair appearing at a specific time, at some specific days of the year.
• Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital in Sivas, Turkey (1229) shows shadows of the 3 dimensional ornaments of both entrances of the mosque part, to cast a giant shadow of a praying man that changes pose as the sun moves, as if to illustrate what the purpose of the building is. Another detail is the difference in the impressions of the clothing of the two shadow-men indicating two different styles, possibly to tell who is to enter through which door.

There have been many instances of perceptions of religious imagery and themes, especially the faces of religious figures, in ordinary phenomena. Many involve images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the word Allah, or other religious phenomena: in September 2007 in Singapore, for example, a callus on a tree resembled a monkey, leading believers to pay homage to the "Monkey god" (either Sun Wukong or Hanuman) in the monkey tree phenomenon.

Publicity surrounding sightings of religious figures and other surprising images in ordinary objects has spawned a market for such items on online auctions like eBay. One famous instance was a grilled cheese sandwich with the face of the Virgin Mary.

During the September 11 attacks, television viewers supposedly saw the face of Satan in clouds of smoke billowing out of the World Trade Center after it was struck by the airplane. Another example of face recognition pareidolia originated in the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, when a few observers claimed to see Jesus in the flames.

While attempting to validate that the imprint of a crucified man on the Shroud of Turin as Jesus Christ, a variety of objects have been described as being visible on the linen. These objects include a number of plant species native to Israel, a coin with roman numerals, and multiple insect species. In an experimental setting using a picture of plain linen cloth, participants told that there could possibly be visible words in the cloth collectively saw 2 religious words, those told that the cloth was of some religious importance saw 12 religious words, and those who were also told that it was of religious importance, but also given suggestions of possible religious words, saw 37 religious words. The researchers posit that the reason the Shroud has been said to have so many different symbols and objects is because it was already deemed to have the imprint of Jesus Christ to the search for symbols and other imprints in the cloth, and therefore it was simply pareidolia at work.

Medical educators sometimes teach medical students and resident physicians (doctors in training) to use the pareidolia and patternicity to learn to recognize human anatomy on radiology imaging studies.

Examples include assessing radiographs (x-ray images) of the human vertebral spine. Patrick Foye, M.D., professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Rutgers University, New Jersey Medical School, has published that pareidolia is used to teach medical trainees to assess for spinal fractures and spinal malignancies (cancers).  When viewing spinal radiographs, normal bony anatomic structures resemble the face of an owl. (The spinal pedicles resemble an owl's eyes and the spinous process resembles an owl's beak.) But when cancer erodes the bony spinal pedicle, the radiographic appearance changes such that now that eye of the owl seems missing or closed, which is called the "winking owl sign". Meanwhile, when viewing human spinal radiographs taken at a partially sideways angle (oblique view), there are parts of the bony that resemble the silhouette outline of a "Scotty dog". When there is a fracture of part of the spine called the pars interarticularis, it creates the appearance that the dog is now wearing a collar on its neck (the fracture line looks like a dog collar on the Scotty dog). This can help doctors to diagnosis this type of fracture.

In 2021, Foye again published in the medical literature on this topic, in a medical journal article called "Baby Yoda: Pareidolia and Patternicity in Sacral MRI and CT Scans".  Here, he introduced a novel way of visualizing the sacrum when viewing MRI magnetic resonance imaging and CT scans (computed tomography scans). He noted that in certain image slices the human sacral anatomy resembles the face of "Baby Yoda" (also called Grogu), a fictional character from the cable television show The Mandalorian. Sacral openings for exiting nerves (sacral foramina) resemble Baby Yoda's eyes, while the sacral canal resembles Baby Yoda's mouth. These and other comparisons can help physicians to use the "Baby Yoda sign" to evaluate both normal and abnormal anatomic findings on the imaging studies.

A notable example of pareidolia occurred in 1877, when observers using telescopes to view the surface of Mars thought that they saw faint straight lines, which were then interpreted by some as canals (see Martian canal). It was theorized that the canals were possibly created by sentient beings. This created a sensation. In the next few years better photographic techniques and stronger telescopes were developed and applied, which resulted in new images in which the faint lines disappeared, and the canal theory was debunked as an example of pareidolia.

Pareidolia can occur in computer vision, specifically in image recognition programs, in which vague clues can spuriously detect images or features. in the case of an artificial neural network, higher-level features correspond to more recognizable features, and enhancing these features brings out what the computer sees. These examples of pareidolia reflect the training set of images that the network has "seen" previously.

Striking visuals can be produced in this way, notably in the DeepDream software, which falsely detects and then exaggerates features such as eyes and faces in any image.

In 1971 Konstantīns Raudive wrote Breakthrough, detailing what he believed was the discovery of electronic voice phenomena (EVP). EVP has been described as auditory pareidolia. Allegations of backmasking in popular music, in which a listener claims a message has been recorded backward onto a track meant to be played forward, have also been described as auditory pareidolia. In 1995, the psychologist Diana Deutsch invented an algorithm for producing phantom words and phrases with the sounds coming from two stereo loudspeakers, with one to the listener's left and the other to his right. Each loudspeaker produces a phrase consisting of two words or syllables. The same sequence is presented repeatedly through both loudspeakers; however, they are offset in time so that when the first sound (word or syllable) is coming from the speaker on the left, the second sound is coming from the speaker on the right, and vice versa. After listening for a while, phantom words and phrases suddenly emerge, and these often appear to reflect what is on the listener's mind, and they transform perceptually into different words and phrases as the sequence continues.

A shadow person (also known as a shadow figure, shadow being or black mass) is often attributed to pareidolia. It is the perception of a patch of shadow as a living, humanoid figure, particularly as interpreted by believers in the paranormal or supernatural as the presence of a spirit or other entity.

Pareidolia is also what some skeptics believe causes people to believe that they have seen ghosts.

(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia)

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