If you, too, gaze at your salt shaker and see a face, or gaze at clouds and see axolotls and lava lamps, or gaze at toast and see the face of Elvis, then you've experienced pareidolia (Greek for "parallel to a [real] image"), a specific type of apophenia (Greek for "appearing from [some image]"). Pareidolia is, specifically, seeing images where there aren't any, and more generally, apophenia is seeing or interpreting anything meaningful (such as images, patterns, or relationships) where there aren't any.

We all do this: we read into things, seeing things that just aren't there. We can't help it. It's human nature.

See if you can recall a similar term that means "reading way too into a text: an explanation or interpretation of a text that is too influenced by the reader's own ideas." It, too, has Greek bits, this time meaning "a leading or a guiding into." It's ei__ge_is.

And, see if you can recall a term that's cousins with apophenia: e__phanic, meaning "full of sudden clarity, insight, inspiration, or understanding." Both e__phanic and apophenia derive from the Greek phainein, meaning "to show, to appear." 

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) 

"Apophenia" has Greek bits that mean an "appearing from" an image.

(The apo bit means "off, from, or away from," like in the words "apogee," "aphorism," and "apocalypse." And the phenia bit comes from phainein, meaning "to show, to appear, or to bring to light," like in the words "fantasy," "cellophane," and "diaphanous.")

"Apophenia" is a pretty new word. We've used it in English since about 1959.

It started out as a psychiatric term meaning "the act of giving some event or experience an enormous, irrational significance." It was a symptom of mental illness.

But over time, the meaning of "apophenia" became more general. Now, it's the act or experience of seeing an image, a pattern, a relationship, or some kind of meaning or significance—when it doesn't actually exist.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the uncountable kind: "Blame it on apophenia;" "It was just apophenia."

Other forms: 

None are common or even listed in many dictionaries, as far as I can tell. But some dictionaries do acknowledge "apophenic" as an adjective. So, it would make sense to use "apophenically" as an adverb. Let's do it. Dictionaries will catch on eventually.

A closely related word is "apophany," pronounced "uh POFF uh nee." It means "the act of seeing a huge significance in random data," and it's pretty much limited to discussions about psychiatry. 

how to use it:

If you're familiar with Greek roots in everyday English words, then the rare word "apophenia" is pretty easy to understand, especially in context.

But not all your listeners will get it! So pick it only when you know your audience will understand, or when you're planning to gloss it in your text, as many writers do. That is, like with many other somewhat rare terms naming specific fallacies in human thinking, "apophenia" often appears in texts along with an explanation of what it means. 

You can do the same. Or not: just talk about people experiencing apophenia, chalking things up to apophenia, allowing apophenia to influence them, and so on.

Or, use the adjective: talk about apophenic impressions, interpretations, experiences, etc.

If you like to draw fine distinctions (high five!), then use "apophenia" for when people see patterns, relationships, and significances in random data; and when they see images, use the more specific word "pareidolia."

examples:

(Source)

"The new design [of Nokia's logo] makes use of optical play called apophenia, which allows the human eye to complete missing connections." 
   — Abbey Bamford, Design Week, 28 February 2023

"Twosday isn't the only date with a striking pattern. This century alone has had a couple Onesdays (1/11/11 and 11/11/11), and 11 other months with repetitions such as 01/01/01, 06/06/06 and 12/12/12. We’ll hit Threesday, 3/3/33, in 11 years, and Foursday 11 years after that... When a number sequence seems to jump out at us, this is an example of apophenia: perceiving meaningful connections between unrelated things."
   — Barry Markovsky, The Conversation, 17 February 2022

has this page helped you understand "apophenia"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "apophenia" without saying "connecting the dots" or "over-interpreting data."

try it out:

Here's a bit of apophenia I experienced!

The summer after sixth grade, my family and I moved to a new state, and I felt terribly sad to leave my friends behind. As we climbed in the car and drove away, I saw a rainbow. "That's for me," I thought. "It means everything will be okay." Off we went. And then in seventh grade, at my new school, I met the boy I eventually married.

So, that's apophenia for you: ascribing a deep significance or profundity to a completely unrelated phenomenon. I'd argue that it's a mostly harmless and even wonderful thing that the human mind does.

Do you agree? Why or why not? Do you have any apophenic stories of your own?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for March: it's the Inkhorn Stinkhorn!

It’s inspired by the Twofer Goofer, created by Collin Waldoch, in which you're given a circumlocutory clue, like "An eater with an excessive appetite for clothes fasteners," and you provide a rhyming answer, in this case "button glutton." You're then treated to an AI-generated rendering of the goofy concept you just named. In general in the Twofer Goofer, the words are straightforward and the AI art is lovely.

But here in the Inkhorn Stinkhorn, the words are pedantic and the AI art is atrocious. Enjoy! 

Try this one today: Name a two-word rhyming phrase that means "a prototypical Native American dwelling decked out in swanky decor."

Clue #1: To reveal the first letter of each word, highlight the following text… ch____ t____

Clue #2: To reveal one of the words, highlight the following text… ch____ tepee

For the answer, scroll all the way down!

review this word:

1. Near opposites of APOPHENIA include

A. PARALYSIS and PETRIFICATION (both meaning the inability to move the body).
B. ACHROMATOPSIA and MONOCHROMATICISM (both meaning the inability to see different colors).
C. AGNOSIA (the inability to perceive objects or images) and APHANTASIA (the inability to form mental images).

2. Thomas Gilovich explains our tendency toward apophenia: "_____."

A. Human beings are blessed with unsurpassed intelligence... [which] requires that we be born prematurely and that we suffer an unusually long infancy of uncommon helplessness
B. We find randomness, chaos, and meaninglessness unsatisfying... As a consequence, we tend to 'see' order where there is none
C. [We over-rely] on instances that confirm the existence of a relationship... In doing so, people implicitly confuse necessary and sufficient evidence

Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. B Answer to the game question: Chichi tepee.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.