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The "Face on Mars" and Pareidolia

Posted by Mac Tonnies, Monday, February 25, 2008 at 09:00 AM by Mac Tonnies

Mainstream skeptics commonly dismiss the Face on Mars as an example of "pareidolia," the brain's attempt to attribute meaning to random stimuli. After all, there are several natural formations here on Earth that bear a passing resemblance to human faces. The now-toppled "Old Man in the Mountain" is probably the most-cited example.

 

Moreover, and perhaps more interestingly, high-resolution images of the Face reveal detail not visible in the early Viking photographs. Astronomer Tom Van Flandern, for instance, quickly noted the presence of accurately situated features such as an apparent "pupil" in one of the "eyes" as well as "nostrils" and "lips"--all of which were beyond the resolving power of the Viking mission.

 

The low odds of such secondary facial characteristics occurring by chance helped belie the notion that the Face on Mars was the product of garden-variety pareidolia. If the Face on Mars is indeed a windblown butte, it's a great deal stranger than imagined prior to high-resolution scans. Indeed, if the same level of detail had been detected on a terrestrial surface feature, it's probable that archaeologists would have been consulted in order to assess its merit as a potential artifact.

 

It would seem the Face's unlikely presence on a "dead" world has effectively doomed it to pop-science oblivion.  But the Face is far from a solitary anomaly; it shares the Cydonia region with other, equally intriguing features that call for careful analysis. Taken together, an objective viewer is presented with a gnawing puzzle that may ultimately demolish the easy certainties that coincide with the traditional view of our solar system.

 

I'll continue to explore the anomalies on Mars in my next post.

 

Mac Tonnies

13 Comments:

	Posted by Mac Tonnies March 01, 2008 at 02:09 AM Sure, seeing faces in the clouds is something our brains are programmed to do – but so are psychological conditions like denial, cognitive dissonance, and confirmation bias, conditions that can blind self-styled "skeptics" as much as anyone else. Well-said, Carol.
	Posted by Carol Maltby February 29, 2008 at 09:52 AM \"Pareidolia\" is the folk psychology term commonly used by would-be debunkers to explain why the Face on Mars is only a natural object that just looks like a face. If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Sure, seeing faces in the clouds is something our brains are programmed to do – but so are psychological conditions like denial, cognitive dissonance, and confirmation bias, conditions that can blind self-styled \"skeptics\" as much as anyone else. Those who are unable to discuss the possibility of the Face on Mars being a sculptured hill using the language of art or archeology don\\'t bring much of anything to the conversation. Think about how Mt Rushmore would look in a few millennia. Understand that every artwork is made to be seen at a certain optimal distance. Too far away, it disappears. Too close, you miss the whole, like seeing close-ups of a beautiful woman\\'s pores.
	Posted by Carol Maltby February 29, 2008 at 09:45 AM "Pareidolia" is the folk psychology term commonly used by would-be debunkers to explain why the Face on Mars is only a natural object that just looks like a face. If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Sure, seeing faces in the clouds is something our brains are programmed to do – but so are psychological conditions like denial, cognitive dissonance, and confirmation bias, conditions that can blind self-styled "skeptics" as much as anyone else. Those who are unable to discuss the possibility of the Face on Mars being a sculptured hill using the language of art or archeology don't bring much of anything to the conversation. Think about how Mt Rushmore would look in a few millennia. Understand that every artwork is made to be seen at a certain optimal distance. Too far away, it disappears. Too close, you miss the whole, like seeing close-ups of a beautiful woman's pores.
	Posted by Peter February 29, 2008 at 07:37 AM The May 2001 image of the face on Mars is in itself, something of a mystery. The given resolution should have produced a much clearer image, with a good contrast range: however what we see is quite poor, lacking fine detail and contrast. I await better images before dismissing the face as natural.
	Posted by Peter February 29, 2008 at 07:36 AM The May 2001 image of the face on Mars is in itself, something of a mystery. The given resolution should have produced a much clearer image, with a good contrast range: however what we see is quite poor, lacking fine detail and contrast. I await better images before dismissing the face as natural.
	Posted by Clayton Spencer Ireland February 28, 2008 at 04:40 PM The Square complex I speak can be Found @ the Cydonian Imperative. To visualise how this square controls cydonia is exactly analogous to the Square of Washington D.C. and is in fact Identically located by placing a CORNER of the Square on the 39th(2 x 19.5 degree parallel NORTH. This is not meant to detract but to add value to what Mac may Further Post but to Alert you that there is a New Army of Anomalistic Scientists who have evidence that so far is unshaken...I dare say unshakeable. Just ask Noel Gorelick(A.K.A."Bamf")@ ASU
	Posted by Cayton Spencer Ireland February 28, 2008 at 04:20 PM Mac is correct that the face is NEVER put into it's CONTEXT in Cydonia and is NOT a standalone feature...the Place is entirely anomalous. Here is The Square Complex wich actually is the Key to Cydonia(NOT the Face or The D&M) http://video.yahoo.com/watch/213174/1105541 Ares' ---Face--- is only> PART< of the "Message" This ain't yer unca' Hoagies Mars anymore... http://video.yahoo.com/watch/1314035
	Posted by Clayton Spencer Ireland February 28, 2008 at 04:07 PM Ares face on Mars has a lentgh to width ratio of 1 : 1.5 or the diagonal of it's frame is 33.3 degrees transecting the Eye. The Center of the Face can obtain the Radius and diameter of Mars and the 1 : 1.5 ratio describes from the Vertical(Beard to Crown)axis the distance to Mars in Kilometers and the Width(Ear to Ear)sums to the distance in Astronomical units. It is aligned to the Square Complex and D&M pyramid. This Ain't yer daddie's MARS anymore... Cydonia has come light years further than the pioneers have brought us.
	Posted by F Quinn February 28, 2008 at 04:05 PM Instruct the naysayers to examine the border surrounding the FACE. In all pics it remains uniform with little or no irregularities.
	Posted by Joe February 28, 2008 at 10:40 AM A strange formation tha is worth further investigation, even if it is just geological. Mac, did you look at that picture? I can sort of see a face in it if I squint and wish really hard. Zoel, thanks for the link.
	Posted by Gwedd February 28, 2008 at 08:05 AM Well, By the same token, when you stand amongst them, the lines at Nazca look simply like a field of stones. It's possible to see a little bit of order here and there, but nothing that random chance might not have provided. However, when you fly over them, it become clear that they are images, and meant to be seen from above. It all depends on one's viewpoint, it seems :)
	Posted by Mac Tonnies February 25, 2008 at 08:39 PM I don't think the facial likeness "falls apart." Rather, I think high-resolution views confirm the salient facial structure seen in the original Viking photos as well as emphasize the sheer age of the Face (natural or artificial). In fact, the Face looks very much like certain artificial earthworks here on Earth; its symmetry alone, I would argue, warrants a serious archaeological appraisal.
	Posted by L Zoel February 25, 2008 at 05:41 PM Sadly, the \"face\" illusion falls apart at higher resolution, as can be seen, for example, in this image: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/extended_may2001/face/face_E03-00824_proc.gif Sadly, I think the only life we\\'ll be finding on Mars is likely to be the microbial form.

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