pareidolia: my new fave word

So, I learned a new word today that I can’t pronounce but love: pareidolia. According to Wikipedia, it’s that vague and totally random stimulus – like an image or sound – that you perceive to be real, but isn’t. Kind of like a dandelion, except dandelion is prettier and easier to say.

Pareidolias are those animals you see in the clouds, but really aren’t, or hidden, demon messages played in reverse, like Obama’s “serve scathum.”

I learned this new word after watching this strange video discovered by a boxing enthusiast blogger, Forgetomori. The video is an Ali vs. Foreman fight from the 70s. At about 5:45-5:46, a glowing Michael Jackson – circa this millennium – suddenly appears. Is it a hoax? A dandelion/pareidolia? Note to viewer: it takes a little while to get to the MJ mark, but the video is worth watching - Ali is amazing.



My guess is that Michael Jackson is just a dandelion/pareidolia – it’s not really him, but some freaky image on an old t-shirt. But blogger Forgetomori thinks it could be digitally altered since the suspect MJ has transparent black hair. Though even he says that if it’s an edit, it’s a heck of an editing job.

What do you think?