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@ffm
I don't think there's anything special about the faces that are chosen other than that they're famous. I think what's happening is that the rapid presentation of lots of faces adapts (i.e., desensitises) you to the common features of all the faces i.e., the standard 2-eyes-above-a-nose-above-a-mouth configuration, and makes you very sensitive to how those faces differ from that basic configuration. The result is that you see the faces as grotesque caricatures. There may also be something specific about peripheral vision which drives the effect, but I can't think what it is right now.