Pareidolia: For God and Country

I preach to the choir, so you lot will all be familiar with the phenomenon of Pareidolia. Our brains seem to be hard-wired to recognise face patterns, even when they occur randomly in nature.

Much pareidola is seen around religious figures, Christians claims to see Jesus in a grilled cheese sandwich, and Catholics in particular are good a spotting the Virgin Mary. This made me ponder if we are more likely to spot the things that interest us.

I took the following photograph whilst on a walking holiday in the Lake District this summer, perhaps it’s a little telling of my preferences, but to my eyes the tree in the photo reminded me of something that has fascinated and interested me for years.