Plasma Pareidolia: A Unified Quantitative Framework for Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP)

We propose a falsifiable hypothesis synthesizing plasma electrodynamics, radar control theory, and cognitive neuroscience to explain a broad class of historical and contemporary Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). These events represent instances where rare, high-energy electromagnetic phenomena—whether naturally occurring or artificially induced—are misperceived by human predictive processing systems. We formalize this plasma-perception coupling as a causal framework with constrained physical inputs and unbounded perceptual outputs, enabling standardized case evaluation, falsifiable predictions, and systematic backtesting across diverse historical and environmental contexts. The hypothesis is developed and tested via a quantitative reconstruction of the well-instrumented 2004 USS Nimitz incident, which provides convergent radar, infrared, and eyewitness data. Physically, we show that the anomalous object encountered is consistent with a radar-induced atmospheric plasma structure arising from phased-array interference under favorable environmental conditions, and that its reported "impossible" kinematics emerge from field-governed plasma reconfiguration coupled to Newtonian-assuming radar tracking feedback. Cognitively, we demonstrate that such encounters function as macro-scale Violation of Expectation events—the luminous, non-inertial stimulus systematically violates core physical priors, forcing the perceptual system into high-level template matching shaped by cultural context. The framework is extended to terrestrial phenomena, unifying radar-induced plasmoids with natural geophysical plasmas and providing a unified explanatory structure for both modern UAP reports and pre-industrial folklore.This work forms part of a broader research program examining how rendering, constraint, and convergence emerge in uncertain physical, cognitive, and social systems. Research Program Invitation - https://grodriguez6.github.io/amo-collab