A system and method for identifying objects of interest in image data is provided. The present invention utilizes principles of Iterative Transformational Divergence in which objects in images, when subjected to special transformations, will exhibit radically different responses based on the physical, chemical, or numerical properties of the object or its representation (such as images), combined with machine learning capabilities. Using the system and methods of the present invention, certain objects that appear indistinguishable from other objects to the eye or computer recognition systems, or are otherwise almost identical, generate radically different and statistically significant differences in the image describers (metrics) that can be easily measured.