Inanimate objects attack me. Doors, tables, chairs, toilet seats, vacuum cleaners, keys, wallets, tools, cars, and computers - to name just a few of my enemies - have it out for me. They sneak up on ...

Human beings are champions at spotting patterns, especially faces, in inanimate objects—think of the famous “face on Mars,” which is essentially a trick of light and shadow, in images taken by the ...