The latest study being promoted as evidence that vaccines cause autism is truly atrocious. Basically, like many epidemiological studies examining putative links between vaccines and adverse health outcomes, it's mistaking statistical noise for signal. What's odd about this study is that not a single statistician or epidemiologist appears to have been involved with its design or execution, although a lawyer, a health economist, and an investment banker were.
Category: Pareidolia
Looking for Jesus in all the wrong places
I have a soft spot for pareidolia, as regular readers know. It amuses me to no end to see Jesus and Mary popping up on freeway underpasses, tacos, toast, pieces of sheet metal, Lava Lamps, and the like. I thought that I had seen it all–until now: His image has been seen on rocks, windows – even a tortilla as recently as Ash Wednesday. Now, in the days leading up to Easter Sunday, it appears yet another strange image of Jesus has emerged. Erika Scheldt, 24, claims she photographed a stingray with a glistening depiction of Christ on its back …
Ghost hunting, the “Let’s get it on” edition
I must admit, I’m rather happy that October is over, as that means that the local news stations doing all sorts of brain dead fluff stories about the paranormal. On the other hand, if I were still living in Cleveland, I’d miss out on awesome pareidolia like this: Here’s what they’re talking about:
“You can’t spray Jesus with RoundUp”
Regular readers know that I’m a bit of a connoisseur of pareidolia, so much so that I even have a category devoted to it. For those not familiar with the concept, pareidolia is nothing more than seeing patterns in things. One of the most famous examples is seeing faces, animals, or other objects in clouds. Among the religious, a particularly common strain of pareidolia is to see Jesus or Mary in patterns on anything from pancakes, to sheet metal, to windows, to trees, to doors, to MRIs. Even Ikea isn’t immune. I’ve even seen a story of Satan appearing on …
Some Christmas pareidolia
Everyone knows how much I live pareidolia. It never ceases to amaze me how the human mind can impose imagery on everyday things. We’ve seen Jesus on toast, on sheet metal, in rocks, on trees, and in windows. We’ve seen the Virgin Mary on a similar bunch of things–even a Lava lamp or a freeway underpass. However, this is the first time I’ve seen both Mary and the baby Jesus in hard candy. Hmmm. Personally I don’t see it, even with the picture of Mary and baby Jesus put right next to the candy. It looks more like a map …
Lamest pareidolia ever? Satan appears on a bathroom tile in Budapest
It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a connoisseur of pareidolia. The various shapes and contortions the human mind can impose on clouds, stains, pancakes, trees, toast, Lava lamps, toilet seats, and even medical imaging tests never ceases to amaze me. We are pattern-seeking creatures, and our brains will go to great lengths to impose familiar patterns onto objects. Sometimes, however, I have to call ’em as I see ’em, and this bit of pareidolia is just lame: Satan on a bathroom tile: A family abandoned their bathroom fearing it had been possessed by the devil after an image …
Jesus dwells not in your heart, but rather…
If there’s one thing Christians tell us, it’s that Jesus is inside each and every one of us. Who knew that this was literally true? Don’t believe me? Take a look at this MRI: Apparently they’ve been wrong all these years when they said that Jesus lives in every man’s heart. He actually lives in the lung. I guess that’s all the more reason for smokers to quit smoking. You wouldn’t want to smoke out Jesus, would you? At least this sort of pareidolia makes it difficult for believers to show up to worship, although if this patient’s identity is …
O Most Holy Pancake!
Alright, I’m officially tired of the latest Age of Autism outrage. So, while I wait for J.B. Handley to strike back (or not), let’s move on to lighter subjects for a moment. And what better to cleanse the palate of the vision of cannibals eating babies as a metaphor for those who standup for science than a little pareidolia? Yes, it’s another Virgin Mary sighting, this time in a pancake: Now, I’ve seen Jesus on a pancake. Heck, there’s even a site dedicated to Jesus on pancakes. Besides, others have beaten this woman to seeing Mary on a pancake. This …
Jesus obviously likes Ikea
I don’t know how many of you have ever been to an Ikea, one the Swedish furniture stores that have sprouted across the U.S. over the last couple of decades, bringing Swedish design sensibility and off sized sheets to the the masses at affordable prices; that is, if you can stand the crowds. Apparently Jesus likes Ikea, too, as he has shown his holy visage at Ikea’s Braehead outlet, near Glasgow. More specifically, Jesus has shown up on the door to the men’s bathroom at that particular store. This provoked one of the best lines I’ve ever heard about a …
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, especially when it’s Jesus on a toilet
Praying to the porcelain god was never a more appropriate term: Cue toilet and bathroom jokes…with Jesus!