apophenia

thumb|right|200px|Cropped version of the original batch-processed image (#035A72) of the "Face on Mars" Apophenia () is the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things.

The term ( from the ) was coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in his 1958 publication on the beginning stages of schizophrenia. He defined it as "unmotivated seeing of connections [accompanied by] a specific feeling of abnormal meaningfulness". He described the early stages of delusional thought as self-referential over-interpretations of actual sensory perceptions, as opposed to hallucinations.