About

Pattern Recognition Test refers to a series of abstract or simplistic images that reference famous memes and scenes from popular culture. The images, typically captioned "pattern recognition test," invite viewers to figure out which meme they might be referencing. The format saw particular virality on X / Twitter, with multiple examples of it going viral in the mid-2020s. The memes are similar to the Autism Test Pattern Recognition Parodies and Otaku Test meme.

Origin

Pattern recognition memes refer to abstract images that reference popular culture and well-known memes. Notable versions include certain examples of Loss (sometimes called Losslikes), Piper Perri Surrounded, Dash Spider and Devil Vortex Saws.

The exact origin of the Pattern Recognition Test meme is currently unknown. On June 6th, 2021, X^[1] user @hclawthorne posted the earliest discovered notable meme based on the format depicting an abstract drawing of the shrinking chart for the Steven Universe character Peridot (shown below). The post, captioned "Pattern recognition test," invited users to figure out what it was referencing, and received over 320 reposts and 2,800 likes in four years.

Spread

The format gradually gained popularity on X / Twitter through 2023 and 2024. On June 25th, 2023, X^[2] user @pouistired posted an abstract drawing referencing late streamer Technoblade with the caption. The post (shown below) gained over 780 reposts and 18,000 likes in two years.

On March 4th, 2024, X^[3] user @PossiblyDog609 posted an abstract meme referencing an infamous drawing by artist RCDart. The post (shown below) received over 5,500 reposts nad 53,000 likes in one year.

Multiple Pattern Recognition Tests went viral on X / Twitter in 2024 and 2025. For example, on January 6th, 2025, X^[4] user @brint posted a version referencing the Get So Hard I Pass Out post that gained over 1,600 reposts and 47,000 likes in two months (shown below).

Related Memes

A Good Character Design

A Good Character Design refers to a viral image on Twitter that depicts the silhouettes of animated characters and argues that the characters are recognizable from the silhouette alone and are therefore "good character design. In a later format, this was expanded to four characters, with the first three characters, usually, being Bling Bling Boy, Hatsune Miku and Peter Griffin, with the fourth character being the one that is commonly swapped out to create the meme.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References