Updated 2 years ago
You look up at the Moon, above. You can sort of see a face right? And you are (probably) sober. But you quickly realize after a second or two, no.
The Signal Theory postulates that, normally, when you see chaotic things like white noise on a TV, clouds, wood paneling, concrete, or the surface of the Moon, or even hear garbled speech, you may momentarily attempt to find a pattern, maybe even sort of sense one, but your brain will very quickly give up. This is called pareidolia.
Psychedelics temporarily inhibit your brain from giving up finding patterns.
So while tripping and you look at the Moon, not only do you see a face, but it might smile, and start talking to you, maybe even pulling the stars into a little dance in a cosmic chorus.
Humans are pattern recognizing machines, and psychedelics ramp that up a lot.
And there you have it. Entities explained.
Now go back to bed.
James Kent over at Tripzine.com made a wonderful infographic encapsulating the science behind this.
Download PDF of Kent’s book
This whole thing reminds me of Ozymandias in the Watchmen:
