Do You See What I See?

            Remember the first time you saw a Rorschach Test?  It may have been in a book or movie, on a TV show, or in a classroom when someone was giving an oral report on psychology.  If you were like me, you thought, “That’s a blot of ink.”  But then, you were told that you had to see a picture in there, like finding shapes in the clouds.  Aha!  Well, you certainly couldn’t admit that it was merely spilled ink, now.  That would mean something.

Nevermind that you peeled crayons in kindergarten, and ironed them in a folded sheet of paper to make butterflies. And that this bears exactly the same level of scientific intention. You set that aside and agree to play along.  And you think, Wait-- this could become a parlor game, like charades!  This one is obviously the head of a happy cartoon cat, wearing a hat. I think he's a tabby.

And here are two dancers from a fantastic Thai production showing warriors wearing pointy helmets and waving swords, leaping towards each other in a chest bump:

And this one is obviously a hound dog's face, right after you've noticed that he's chewed up your shoes.  He's staring at you, hoping against hope, that you won't get mad at him.  See his round eyes and drooping ears?

            And then the ink blots went away, or at least faded from the intense popularity they once enjoyed.

            Now we have icons.  Whaaat?  Yes, computer icons have replaced ink blots for me.  I have discovered that common symbols on the internet, and on smart phones, do not look anything like their designers intended.  At least to me.

            For years I wondered why Go Daddy chose a goat for their mascot.  

            Yes, now I know it’s a guy with vertical hair.  But it still reminds me of a goat.  And some of these are clearly green dragonflies, right?

             I suppose if you have fantastic vision you can see two tools criss-crossing.  But when it's tiny and gray on my computer, I still see a dragonfly.

             This one is a bird's eye view of Madonna, wearing her pointy bra and fairy wings:

            This is the symbol for a Firewire connection, so I'm told:

            But to me, it looks like a map for organized shoppers.  There's a round store in the middle, and then it shows you where there are available parking spots, and which ones are already taken.

            Here’s a good one.  A box, with an arrow pointing up.  On my phone the box is an actual square. 

            Now, this could mean a rocket is taking off out of Wyoming, a fairly square-shaped state.  Or it could mean something is levitating and escaping its box (Warning: Package Contents May Evaporate?), or  it could be telling you to remove paper from your printer, to prevent overloading it. But I'm probably over thinking this.  It's probably nothing more than a pat on the back, like those “Go Straight Forward” street signs with an arrow pointing up. 
            I thought I was alone in this problem of seeing symbols in symbols, but then I asked St. Bob what this icon meant on his Samsung phone:

 and he said he wasn't sure, but apparently jails were advertising red bikini bottoms.
 

            I can't promise you a Get Out of Jail Free card, nor a bikini bottom, but I can help with your Christmas shopping.  Order my wonderful, new book for someone you love, for Christmas.  It's a collection of wishes for every age.  Yes, it includes LDS wishes, but if you're not a Mormon you will still love the sentiments and inspiration you'll find inside.  Promise.