Coffee With Pareidolia
If you were having coffee with me, I would welcome you into my tangle of words, feel at home, put your feet up… compliments of the season.
If you were having coffee with me, I would ask if you are familiar with the word pareidolia?
Pareidolia is the human tendency to perceive familiar images or patterns, especially faces in random or ambiguous stimuli.
The word pareidolia comes from Greek:
para (παρά) – “beside”, “beyond”, or “instead of”
eidolon (εἴδωλον) – “image”, “form”, “appearance”
So the literal meaning becomes something like:
“A false or alternative image”
or
“Seeing an image beside what is actually there.”
Our brains have a special area called the fusiform face area (FFA) in the temporal lobe dedicated to facial recognition, which activates when we see faces, real or perceived. This explains why some people can see faces in unlikely places, like on coffee stains, tree bark and food splatter and they are usually very expressive, smiling, frowning, and staring at you from the pan.
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that according to research, kids experience more pareidolia than adults due to their brains still forming pattern and object categories. Even newborns show a preference for face‑like patterns, suggesting this ability is innate, rather than learned.
Humans evolved to recognise patterns instantly, because it was essential for survival, spotting a predator, and identifying threats in the dark. It’s best to mistake a rock for a lion, than to see a lion as a rock.
If you are having coffee with me, I would tell you that as we grow older pareidolia becomes less intense, less frequent, and less spontaneous as our imaginations become encumbered with logic and reason… while a child will see dragons and unicorns in every cloud, an adult just sees the possibility of rain…
Creative individuals will definitely see more pareidolia due to their flexible thinking styles, although interestingly, they likely to be more distractible, because their brains are constantly scanning for patterns and connections. How wild is your imagination? I not only see things in places, but the description usually comes with a detailed commentary that’s almost a story on its own.
Pareidolia is also used in psychological evaluation tools for example the Rorschach or inkblot test to assess character and thought patterns. A jovial person is likely to see figures with joyful expressions, while a melancholic person would perceive dark and broody imagery…
And on that note, does the statue overlooking the Minister of Finance before presenting the national budget, seem as if its pained by the contents of the briefcase?… as would I, after briefly perusing the budget and found nothing but taxes and yet more taxes. VAT went up from 15 to 15.5% and there will be a new 15% withholding tax on payments for digital platforms such streaming services, ride hailing apps, online adverts and satellite internet…
Some speculate this might increase the price of Starlink services, but yet to see how that plays out as Starlink already includes a regulatory fee…
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that the Minister of Finance presented the 2026 Budget themed “Enhancing Drivers of Economic Growth and Transformation Towards Vision 2030” signaling the start of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) for 2026-2030, focused on transforming Zimbabwe into an upper-middle-income economy by 2030, but so far it only points to things getting more expensive in 2026.
Though the budget proposes a tax cut on the Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT) which is a tax levied on electronic financial transactions, the 0,5% reduction is only when transacting electronically with the local currency the ZIG, but every other electronic transaction carries a 2% tax not including bankin g charges.
Very few people prefer dealing with the local currency despite the government’s insistence that it is well received and they will progress with plans of making it the sole currency… believe it or not there was a time people would have preferred goats as a payment method
If you a having coffee with me, I would tell you that speaking of goats, business man Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe were handed lengthy prison terms of 22 years and 17 for defrauding the Presidential Goat Scheme.
Mpofu had eight years conditionally suspended – three years on condition of good behaviour and four years, if he pays restitution, leaving him with 15 years effective. Chimombe got 5 years suspended, leaving him with a 12-year sentence.
The duo used falsified company documents to secure a government contract under the Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme worth US$87,757,168. After receiving US$7,712,797.10 Mpofu and Chimombe delivered only 4,208 goats, valued at US$331,445.25. The High Court condemned the breach of public trust, and the manipulation of a programme meant to uplift vulnerable communities.
Will harsh sentences serve to deter tender fraud, corruption and abuse of public funds? Some speculate that Mpofu and Chimombe are more of scapegoats to the goat fraud, serving as a side show distraction from other pressing issues.
Whats been happening in your neck of the woods?
~B
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