Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion recognizing people and faces

It has been suspected of being linked to Asperger's, but AIUI in fact that idea has been quite carefully investigated and found to be false.

For me it's definitely not that I don't look at people. In fact there's an interesting online test for prosopagnosia (also tied in to research) which will let you see how you do in a test situation so you can be sure you pay attention. Try the Online Cambridge Online Face Memory Test from here:
http://www.faceblind.org/facetests/index.php

Apparently, I do have the "doesn't pay attention" problem.

I just redid this - in fact, I think they've changed it considerably since I last did it. I got 46/72 or 64%, putting me just below threshold. Which is interesting, as it means I must (on this test) have considerable "blindsight" - I thought I was doing much more straight guessing than that indicates.

Guess I don't have prosopagnosia. But I learned a new vocabulary word!


That was fun. Thanks ColinsMum!

Val

One of the women in our homeschooling community has prosopagnosia. It definitely isn't the same as when you don't pay attention to people. She has to work really hard to recognise people using little cues and trick based on their hair and clothing style etc. I'm so glad she explained the condition so that I can be sensitive and make sure I say hello directly and if she looks puzzled I can tell her who I am. I can only imagine how overwhelming large groups must be!

Yes - I'm even tempted to say "of course". To follow the plot of such a thing you have to be able to recognise the same character in a new context even though they may be wearing different clothes, in different lighting etc. - directors assume you can do this, and it's exactly what we can't do. Even subtitles don't help (although distinctive voices, walks etc. often do).

Hmmm, I've known for a long time that I have a problem recognizing faces. I read about being 'face blind' a few years ago and learned it's an identified trait. I took the test linked above and got 60%.
I'm pretty good about hearing differences in voices, so it's not too much of a problem. Or I can sometimes recognize their walk or mannerisms. That leads to staring at people as they approach, and sometimes they're just walking by so they give me a sideways glance.
It's a pain to watch a movie unless there are few actors and are very different. I don't bother learning actors names because I won't recognize them in other films.

very interesting, I definitely don't think DS is truly face-blind...I do think he just doesn't pay attention sometimes. He ran into his T-ball coach from last year a week ago at a school event which is completely out of place for him to see her, and he walked up to her and said "I think I am going to play baseball this year" So sometimes he does pay attention I guess.

That's a cool test. I got a 90% on it. I was doing great at first and then after a while I knew I was getting some wrong as they all start to run together. In real life I am pretty good with names and faces.

I just came across this article about face blindness.

Oliver Sacks has the problem and has written a book about it and other visual problems.

Val

Interesting! Thanks for pointing that out. Now I know one thing I'm getting for Solstice ;-)