14 DAY TRIAL // If it's true what they say that there are aliens on the Red Planet, it would appear that their cutlery is far more advanced than ours. Hence the floating spoon spotted by armchair space explorers in a photo beamed back to Earth by NASA's Curiosity rover.
Apparently, it was just a few days ago, on August 30, that the robotic Mars explorer encountered the levitating kitchen utensil. Sadly, there was no sign of an alien restaurant from which the spoon might have made a daring escape anywhere in sight.
As per usual, folks over at NASA deny that there is an alien civilization complete with flying cutlery on the Red Planet. Rather, they say that this levitating spoon photographed by the Curiosity rover on Mars is a clear case of pareidolia.
This is a psychological phenomenon that comes down to seeing faces or familiar objects where there isn't anything to see. Contrary to what some might think, such perception hiccups are nothing to worry about. Au contraire, they are perfectly normal.
Pareidolia also explains seeing Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Elvis or some other public figure in toast, cheese or a bruise. Specialists say it all happens because our brain is hard-wired to search for and recognize patterns. Sometimes, it tries so hard it misfires.
“It's common for people to see non-existent features because human brains are uniquely wired to recognize faces, so that even when there's only a slight suggestion of facial features the brain automatically interprets it as a face,” explains researcher Kang Lee of the University of Toronto.
There is no spoon. This weird Mars feature is likely a ventifact—a rock shaped by wind. Info: http://t.co/pF9UOlj7ct pic.twitter.com/p1CSNGCDuJ
— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) September 2, 2015