Heroes Not Zombies

Our brains have evolved a brilliant talent for spotting patterns, and one of the patterns it is best at noticing is a face. Not only do we have an ability to recognise a face quickly in a crowd (even if we have trouble putting names to faces as we get older!), but we see faces where there aren’t any.

Look at the surface of this rock. Doesn’t it, for all the world, look like a painting by Munch? A distorted face, perhaps, but a face all the same. These faces which are not really faces, but simply face-like patterns, always amaze me. I tend to see them most commonly in trees and rocks, but sometimes they are apparent in flowers or even buildings.

What’s the point of that? I wonder. What’s the value in being able to see faces which are not actually faces? Is it just a sort of side effect of the face-pattern-spotting skill? Maybe it is. However, even though I don’t know why we’ve developed this ability, I love it. It speaks to our capacity for imagination and creation which is so fundamental to human life. And it adds a layer, or, better, perhaps, reveals a depth, to perception which takes it beyond the mere utility of seeing. It can inspire. It can bring us moments of wonder and delight. It can spark our creativity and slow us down, stopping us from just breezing past, not really noticing. It brings beauty and reflection to life itself.

What face-patterns have you spotted recently?