Apophenia 2: electric boogaloo
Apparently this newsletter is where dead memes go to er, die again?
Hello there. It’s that time of the week again where we delve into some weird thinky stuff.
(I said THINKY)
When I introduced apophenia a couple of weeks ago it was from quite a personal perspective, so this week I’m going to be a bit more general. Yes I’m aware that seems somewhat backwards but it also feels quite in-keeping for this newsletter don’t you think?
So let’s recap…
Apophenia refers to the way humans are so naturally inclined to see patterns in things that they often perceive connections that don’t really exist. I don’t think this is a ‘LOL aren’t brains flawed??’ moment, it’s more your brain being TOO GOOD at what it’s meant to do.
The ability to detect where patterns are likely to exist is something people use to function constantly without necessarily being aware of it. You can thank filling-in phenomena for the fact you don’t even notice that each of your eyes has a ‘physiological blind spot’. That’s right, your brain literally invented content-aware fill.
How do we know when it’s not real?
Optical illusions are usually examples of apophenia. They generally arise from one’s brain expecting things to behave a certain way based on an established understanding of how things normally work - we use existing knowledge as a shortcut to interpret visual input. We also rely a lot on visual cues - like in the examples above which evoke the idea of an edge that isn’t really there, or lead you to interpret nearby shapes as part of a whole. Often you can tell immediately that your brain is being ‘tricked’, or its otherwise easily determined with a small amount of investigation.
But illusions like this aren’t the only common example of how a natural and useful ability to recognise patterns can get a little bit over-enthusiastic. The problem of course with identifying something as an instance of apophenia is that you have to acknowledge that the perceived connection doesn’t really exist. Superstition, religion and belief in the supernatural could all be considered examples of apophenia. Are these instances of perceiving connections that aren’t truly there, or are they ‘real’ phenomena? Thinking about this too much makes my head hurt.
Personally, I’m generally very adept at reasoning things out, and an expert in taking the Occam’s razor approach to uncertainty. Yet I also refuse to accept that there isn’t more to reality than we are fully aware of. I do think it’s possible to explore and think about these things without needing to fully prove or disprove anything. What’s fun about being 100% skeptic? Sounds boring to me.
Signs and Symbols
Last week in my Interactive Fiction post I ended with a link to my first ever Twine story, Signs and Symbols. If you had a go at clicking through it you’ll likely have encountered the epilogue, where I briefly explain some of the thoughts that went into putting the story together.
I also mention there that the title might be a direct reference to the short story Signs and Symbols by Vladimir Nabokov. (Get it? The connection might or might not be real? Someone please tell me I’m clever)
I recommend you read it if you haven’t before - I came across it whilst researching apophenia and I think it’s an interesting (if somewhat ‘of it’s time’) exploration of the concept. My favourite thing was finding numerous critical interpretations of the text that draw all this meaning and assumed conclusions from the story that Nabokov supposedly implies through the way it’s written. It had me practically screaming at my computer screen “THE SIGNS MEAN NOTHING” (Simpsons Radioactive Man voice).
I think the entire point is to really draw attention to how little it takes for one’s mind to start looking for hints and clues to something deeper. There’s so much extraneous information given throughout the story that it’s almost overwhelming trying to mentally sift through it all to find which bits really mean something (spoiler alert - it’s none of them). So in that way it perfectly captures the experience it’s making reference to.
At least, that’s my opinion. As I say, I’ve seen interpretations that don’t take it that way at all. Maybe there is no ‘correct’ interpretation. I’d love to know what you think. (NB it’s v easy to find a copy of the text if you google it)
Side note: as I write this I’m listening to Spotify on shuffle and it has just offered up this beautiful track featuring the words of Alan Watts. I don’t know about you but that feels like a sign to me.
…through excessive thinking, they have lost touch with reality. That’s to say, we confuse signs […] with the real world.
Thank you all for reading once again, it’s such fun to share these thoughts with you.
If you’re interested in learning more about me as an artist I’ve recently started a ridiculous made-up artist challenge over on instagram - you can join in too if you want, details here.
In other personal news: I literally got noticed by The Chinese Room and Toejam & Earl and it was wild and honestly I think I might just have dreamt the entire of last week.
Luv y’all xxx
I find it hard to accept that some things are linked whereas others are not. It feels to me like one of the laws of physics: you can't have one apple falling off a tree and then say gravity only affects certain apples. Let's dismiss the 'a' and embrace the pophenia!