Having trouble with a jigsaw puzzle? Finding some of the pieces a bit confusing? Strangely, this could be a good sign. The human brain, it seems, is wired to detect patterns. In prehistoric times, this helped us to survive, by enabling us to spot both prey and predator. It’s what helps us to recognize both people and places. And it’s why we can look at the moon and connect all those lunar craters up to make a face: the man in the moon.

Unfortunately, it also means we sometimes see faces when they aren’t really there. This tendency is called pareidolia.

Jigsaw pareidolia is a problem we puzzlers often encounter. It happened to me this morning. I picked up this piece and was convinced it was a face. A long face with arched eyebrows, a thin nose, a weak chin and a long neck; rather a haughty expression, I thought. Here’s a photo of the piece next to my sketch of it.

This time I was lucky. I quickly discovered what the ‘face’ really was. It was part of this picture of Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf, from James Christensen’s ‘Fairytales’ puzzle.

Sometimes, though, you can’t figure out such a piece quite so fast. It’s like telling someone not to think of the colour blue; once they have heard the word ‘blue’, they can do nothing but think of it. With jigsaw pieces, once you’re convinced something is a face, it can lead you astray for ages.

To save you from turning your head (gosh, aren’t we thoughtful) here’s that picture of the wolf rotated. I’ve put a circle round the bit I originally thought was a face. Just shows what a paw judge I was, doesn’t it?