Patterns in toast: How algorithms make machine learning work

The human mind constantly seeks patterns in the raw data which comes in from the senses. Most of the times, those patterns add up to useful information which guides our behaviour. In other instances, the patterns might be there, but the interpretation of them can lead us astray. When Jesus appears in a piece of toast, for example, a false positive has been produced which relies to an extent on the framework within which the disciple interprets the image. The faithful see Jesus and ascribe meaning to the apparition.