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. 2014 Sep 15;206(6):695–706. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201405027

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© 2014 Mast et al.

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Figure 3. — Common pitfalls in systems cell biology include pareidolia and experimenter bias. (a) Two satellite photos of an elevated area of land in the Cydonia region of Mars. The image on the left gives the illusion of a face due to the perspective of the image and its relatively low resolution. This illusion is missing from the higher-resolution image on the right. Images captured by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (b) Results from an SGA experiment before (left) and after (right) statistical normalization of the data reflect the pareidolia phenomenon. (c) Rorschach blot 01 is the first in a series of ink blots used in psychological tests that evaluate a subject’s interpretation of ambiguous images for clues about their personality and mental state. Image generated by Hermann Rorschach. (d) A network diagram based on the yeast regulome (Payne and Garrels, 1997) is subject to a similar bias when a familiar node of interest is focused upon.