Apophenia Strikes Again
Finding patterns where none exist
Apophenia is the human tendency to see patterns or connections in random things. It’s one of our most beautiful and troublesome traits.
It’s one of the reasons we are so prone to conspiracy theories. The universe serves up a ream of data demonstrating a series of random, unconnected coincidences, and our brains immediately focus on two unrelated points and concoct a story before we are consciously aware of what our brains are doing.
This most human condition is also one of the reasons eyewitness testimony is often unreliable. Apophenia means we automatically find patterns and create narratives to explain the presence or absence of non-existent patterns.
However, there is also something beautiful about apophenia. This is why we see shapes in the clouds and Jesus in a piece of toast. It’s also why we anthropomorphize nature in art, poetry, and our everyday conversations.
I don’t know if I’m any more or less sensitive to seeing patterns places, but I do know I love to use these unreal patterns as seasoning for my haiku comics.
Here are a handful of comics that explore different patterns I’ve noticed while out in nature because, for me, apophenia isn’t so much about being delusional as it is a means of thinking poetically…
