pareidolia: noun
par·ei·do·lia | \ ˌper-ˌī-ˈdō-lē-ə, -ˈdōl-yə\
: the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern The scientific explanation for some people is pareidolia, or the human ability to see shapes or make pictures out of randomness. Think of the Rorschach inkblot test.— Pamela Ferdinand —
Pareidolia means seeing something meaningful in something random–but I usually think of it as seeing a face in something that isn’t a face. I’m sure there are other patterns you could see that would be pareidolia.
One I often see is the belligerent octopus:
