entry
apophenia
/ˌæpəˈfiːniə/Perceiving patterns in unrelated things
From Greek apo (from) + Greek phainein (to show).
from German Apophänie , said to have been coined 1958 by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad
+1 more sourcefrom German Apophänie , said to have been coined 1958 by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad
+1 more sourcefrom German Apophänie , said to have been coined 1958 by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from German Apophänie , said to have been coined 1958 by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad
+1 more sourcefrom German Apophänie , said to have been coined 1958 by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad
+1 more sourcefrom German Apophänie , said to have been coined 1958 by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad
+1 more sourceIn 1958, the German psychiatrist Klaus Conrad needed a name for that eerie human habit of seeing patterns where none exist, and he reached for Greek. One piece means “away from,” the other means “to show,” which is deliciously ironic: the mind is forever “showing” us connections and then leading us away from what’s really there. You can hear the same old Greek machinery in words like epiphany, phenomenon, and even phantom — all those flickering things that appear, seem, or reveal themselves. By the time English picked up apophenia in 1961, it had become the perfect label for every conspiracy board, horoscope, and Pink Floyd-on-The-Wizard-of-Oz theory. It’s a word about the brain’s talent for turning static into a face in the clouds, and a trapdoor into meaning.
The Story
In 1958, the German psychiatrist Klaus Conrad needed a name for that eerie human habit of seeing patterns where none exist, and he reached for Greek. One piece means “away from,” the other means “to show,” which is deliciously ironic: the mind is forever “showing” us connections and then leading us away from what’s really there. You can hear the same old Greek machinery in words like epiphany, phenomenon, and even phantom — all those flickering things that appear, seem, or reveal themselves. By the time English picked up apophenia in 1961, it had become the perfect label for every conspiracy board, horoscope, and Pink Floyd-on-The-Wizard-of-Oz theory. It’s a word about the brain’s talent for turning static into a face in the clouds, and a trapdoor into meaning.
Kin & Kindred
From 'apo'·from, away from
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'phainein'·to show, make visible
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary