While I’ve been in LA, I’ve noticed something interesting. 

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There’s been several instances where I think I see someone that I know, but in reality, they are just another stranger. I’ll look up at a coffee shop and standing in front of me will be an old friend from Philly, only to morph into a completely different person a second later. 

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It would be one thing if it happened once or twice, but it’s happened five or six times, and I’ve only been here for 24 hours so far.

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It made me realize how much our brains crave familiarity.

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Our brains are tuned to recognize faces; in fact, we are incredibly good at it (see Pareidolia). When in a new environment surrounded by strangers, our brains would rather mistakenly identify people than correctly assess that they are people we don’t know.

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I have to imagine that this is the brain's way of making us more comfortable in unfamiliar environments. By providing a sense of familiarity, it helps us feel like we belong or fit in, and may even help with approaching strangers and initiating social interaction. 

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In the wise words of Dorothy, there’s no place like home—because even when we are away from home, home is still with us.