Patterns
A patch of
Purple blooms
Over yellow, green, blue. I
Pause, convinced
Heaven planted
Every seed.
Nothing grows
In error.
And still I search.
apophenia
(ap-uh-FEE-nee-uh)
Part of Speech: noun
Definition:
- The tendency to perceive meaningful patterns or connections between unrelated or random things.
- The human inclination to interpret chance events as purposeful or significant.
Where Did This Word Come From?
Apophenia is a surprisingly modern word. It first appeared in 1958, when German psychiatrist Klaus Conrad needed a name for our habit of finding meaningful patterns in unrelated things.
He turned to Greek. Apo- means away from or separate from. Phainein means to appear or to become visible.
The result is a word for seeing meaning where there may be only coincidence.
The Word in the Wild
- His apophenia turned a series of ordinary coincidences into an elaborate conspiracy.
- The article cautioned readers against mistaking apophenia for intuition.
- She recognized her own apophenia after insisting the same number kept appearing for a reason.
Related Words
- Pareidolia – Seeing recognizable images in random shapes.
- Symbolism – Using one thing to represent another.
- Coincidence – An unexpected meeting of events.
- Pattern – A repeated arrangement or sequence.