Visitation

Lampshade Jesus, Feb 24, 2012.

Jesus appeared in my family room the other night. If you don't believe me, then just take a close look at this photo, snapped by my daughter's boyfriend. (Thanks, Justin!) Pay attention to the lampshade in the foreground.  Notice the lower part of Jesus' face? See the dark outline of his neatly trimmed beard and mustache? Of course you do!

You see Jesus because your mind is hard-wired to recognize patterns, especially faces. Studies have shown that one-hour-old infants will follow pretty much anything that looks vaguely like face, so long as it has two eyes on top of a nose. A simple circle with two dots aligned horizontally over one dot in the center (a smiley face without the smile) will do to catch a newborn's attention.

What does all this have to do with superstition? Only that we continually seek patterns -- not just perceptually, but cognitively as well. We can't help it. Whether it's Jesus in a lampshade, camels in clouds, or  lucky sweaters before a test, our brains make connections to interpret our experiences.

Unfortunately, Lampshade Jesus vanishes whenever you change the lighting in my family room or change your angle of vision -- not like, say, the grilled-cheese sandwich bearing an image of the Virgin Mary "found" by a Florida Woman in 1994. Ten years later, the online casino GoldenPalace.com bought it for $28,000.