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Morning Open Thread. Is aposematism just a case of pareidolia? [1]

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Date: 2023-01-21

The sun is smiling! Betcha didn't know the sun could smile. Well, you do now. It's a happy happy sun, laughing, living, and loving. Heh. I must be seeing things.

This diary inspired by our own beloved Cawfeemug, herewith and ergo:

An image by cawfeemug was here, but now it’s gone cuz I guess permissions something something something

… It was clouds that had a pointy-hat witch look to them

earthsky.org: Seeing things in everyday objects Maybe you’ve seen the proverbial bunny in the clouds on a warm summer day, or the face of a clown in a mud splatter on the side of your car? Seeing familiar objects or patterns in otherwise random or unrelated objects or patterns is called pareidolia. It’s a form of apophenia, which is a more general term for the human tendency to seek patterns in random information. Everyone experiences it from time to time. Seeing the famous man in the moon or the canals on Mars are classic examples from astronomy. The ability to experience pareidolia is more developed in some people and less in others.

Shorter: pareidolia is simply seeing things that aren’t there. And all these people agree:

Morning Open Thread is a daily, copyrighted post from a host of editors and guest writers. We support our community, invite and share ideas, and encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue in an open forum. This is a post where you can come to share what’s on your mind and stay for the expansion. The diarist is on California time and gets to take a nap when he needs to, or may just wander off and show up again later. So you know, it's a feature, not a bug. Grab your supportive indulgence(s) of choice and join us, please. And if you’re brand new to Morning Open Thread, then Hail and Well Met, new Friend.

I’ve never been good at making out the images of things like rabbits and dragons in clouds, but that’s just me, I suppose. However, I can scarcely see the little girl in the bonnet in this photo; all I see is the very incongruous bearded man in between the young adults:

Pareidolia can be a lot of fun, but aposematism can save your life. Er, according to all the experts, that is. I’m just not sure I entirely buy it.

I do not deny that “warning colors” have served us humans well in our own survival and evolution, but I’ve just always wondered: if aposematism is such an evolutionary advantage, why doesn’t every dangerous plant or animal have it? Why would you ever think to avoid this?

Poison Oak. It causes a very nasty rash, and in some cases has caused death in humans.

Oh, but wait. I could be totally wrong about poison oak being dangerous.

I won’t show spider pictures, but I can think of two very plainly colored/marked spiders that are very dangerous to humans, the Funnel Web Spider and the Brazilian Wandering Spider. You can click on the links if you wish.

So, when it comes to “warning colors”, are we just seeing things? Deadly Nightshade sure looks palatable to me:

These are NOT blueberries!

And if anything says “DON’T EAT ME”, it’s gotta be this:

Horned Melon. Maybe not scrumptious, but certainly edible.

Why would you be afraid to pick this up? But you should be:

Textile Cone Snail

How come this thing doesn’t come with “warning colors”?

[bolding mine, in 2nd paragraph below]

Conus textile, the textile cone or the cloth of gold cone[3] is a venomous species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones. Textile cone snails live mostly in the Indian Ocean, along the eastern coast of Africa and around Australia.[4] Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all. Based on a report in 2004, about 30 human deaths have been attributed to cone snails.[5] In 2021, a teen nearly died after picking up a live textile cone.[6] --wikipedia

And talk about BLAND but DEADLY:

Box jellyfish (class Cubozoa) are cnidarian invertebrates distinguished by their box-like (i.e. cube-shaped) body.[2] Some species of box jellyfish produce potent venom delivered by contact with their tentacles. Stings from some species, including Chironex fleckeri, Carukia barnesi, Malo kingi, and a few others, are extremely painful and often fatal to humans.[3] --wikipedia

So, o.k., I yield to the experts. Aposematism is not just seeing danger where it doesn’t exist, or rather it is seeing danger where it does exist but we only see the thing as dangerous because we’re biased to the particular markings/coloration it has, like wasps being dangerous because they’re red and yellow, like fire. But pareidolia remains fun.

This old chair is obviously tired, and it looks like in more ways than one.

Ooh, ooh. One of my very own:

Sure looks like one great big ol’ schnozola on this tree, don’t it?

I do hope this guy followed those chili peppers for lunch with some ice cream!

Did I say fire was dangerous? Heh heh, apparently not so much if your derriere happens to be the source.

This one’s just kinda creepy, yah?

I don’t see anything in this one, do you?

“I shall not...attempt... to define [pornography]. But I know it when I see it...” --Potter Stewart, associate justice of the Supreme Court

Maybe trippiest of ‘em all, turns out garden fairies are real:

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Helio C. Vital of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, wrote: “A friend of mine, Professor Eliane Teixeira Mársico, who is a veterinarian and a food engineer, was taking photos of her yard when she saw a hummingbird. She noticed a remarkable example of pareidolia (seeing things). The image greatly resembles a little winged male figure (a male fairy, as mystics could say) floating over her home garden.” Thank you, Eliane and Helio! Image by Eliane Teixeira Mársico.

Been seeing anything cool yourself lately?

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/21/2147487/-Morning-Open-Thread-Is-aposematism-just-a-case-of-pareidolia

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