Worms, bunnies and Abe Vigoda

Space.com | War of the Words: Scientist Attacks Alien Claims
Astronomer Philip Plait is tired of radio personality Richard Hoagland's claims. He's had enough of Hoagland's assertions that NASA is covering up evidence of extraterrestrial life, that the infamous Face on Mars was built by sentient aliens and, of late, that otherworldly machine parts are embedded in the red planet's dirt.

And then there's the mile-long translucent Martian worm.

... Plait has two words for the latest claims of alien objects on Mars. The first is "garbage." The second and more scientific word is "pareidolia." This is the same phenomenon that makes us see animals or other familiar objects in clouds.

"It's pretty common," Plait said of pareidolia. "Just a few months ago, a water spot on my shower curtain took on the uncanny form of the face of Vladimir Lenin." Plait took a picture of the liquid Lenin and uses it illustrate his contention that, though objects on the surface of Mars can sometimes take on interesting shapes, they are just a bunch of rocks.

You have to follow the Lenin link to find out where Abe Vigoda is.

I'm sure at some point in human evolution it was a lifesaving skill, being able to find patterns in (seemingly?) random shapes. Occasionally it still proves useful. But like any human activity, it can be taken to extremes, and once we convince ourselves we've seen something Significant, no amount of proof can convince us otherwise.