Current Events > I have fairly bad facial blindness. School pickup is a real trip, lol.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I bought my daughter a very distinctive backpack to make it easier, but depending on how she's carrying it when school lets out, she'll walk past me without me noticing.

I find that whole thing very fascinating. Are you able to distinguish if someone has an attractive face?

can you recognize your own face in pics and stuff? I didn't know this was a condition

NeoShadowhen posted...

I find that whole thing very fascinating. Are you able to distinguish if someone has an attractive face?

I can definitely tell if someone has an attractive face, but I would find it very difficult to recognise them if I saw them again.

I have a number of anecdotes where I've failed to recognise my nearest and dearest. It's sort of embarrassing when it happens with people I'm not really close friends, because they think I'm blanking them and just being an arsehole.

MedeaLysistrata posted...

can you recognize your own face in pics and stuff? I didn't know this was a condition

I can recognise my own face now, but if you showed me pictures of myself as a kid, I'd have trouble (and have had trouble in the past).

Curious to hear more about this, if you dont mind sharing.

lww99 posted...

Curious to hear more about this, if you dont mind sharing.

Sure. What do you want to know, specifically?

Like, I can give you one of those anecdotes that got repeated in my presence ad nauseam growing up.

When I was in Year 3, I was at a private school. uniform cap, short trousers, tie, the whole shebang. It was in the morning, before the 9 AM bell went. We had an actual ding-dong bell someone would ring, that was kinda cool. Anyway, I was heading out of the front doors of the school after I'd dropped my bag off to go find big ants or something (I don't know, I was a weird kid and there were some remarkably big ants for an inner suburban school). A gentleman in a suit says "hello, [The Creep] to me, as he passes.

I don't recognise him, and just give my usual "hello, sir," back.

It was my dad. He'd come in to pay my school fees. My parents were always scraping things together to send me there, so he'd had to bring in the cheque personally.

He never let me forget that to the day he died.

I have problems with names sometimes and tend to forget who characters in movies are. This is a whole different level.

Serious_Cat posted...

I have problems with names sometimes and tend to forget who characters in movies are. This is a whole different level.

I have a problem with names as well, but it's more that I can remember the names, but I can't remember/recognise the faces they're attached to.

I can remember the names of people I was in first year university with nineteen years ago, but I wouldn't recognise a current work colleague out of context.

That's something I should mention. Context helps. If I'm at work, it's easier, because I know to expect certain people to be around.

Otherwise, I just kinda memorise a whole lot of descriptives that help me recognise people.

prosopagnosia?
just like Ace from 999.

Are you able to follow tv series and movies or does that represent a problem for keeping track of the plot and characters (going to assume yes to the latter)?

Ricemills posted...

prosopagnosia?
just like Ace from 999.

Yeah, prosopagnosia.

My mum has it as well, sort of, and I've a sneaking suspicion my daughter does too. Is it supposed to be genetic?

No idea who Ace or 999 is.

The_Creep_2020 posted...

she'll walk past me without me noticing.

Does she suffer from the same affliction?

kirbyy posted...

Are you able to follow tv series and movies or does that represent a problem for keeping track of the plot and characters (going to assume yes to the latter)?

It can be hard occasionally with movies, particularly if they're indie movies I don't recognise anyone from. For TV shows after a few episodes there are enough contextual cues I can get it.

If the film or show has actors I can pin down in my head from prior experience, it's a lot easier.

For some reason, celebrities in shows and films are easier. Particularly if they're talking, I can recognise their voice pretty easily. I'm always annoying my wife when we're watching something animated and I'm like "ooh, that's Werner Herzog!" or "OMG that's Robert Paulsen!"

I don't have full prosopagnosia, I can still recognise people, but context is very, very important for me. Apparently TV and film is "contextual" enough.

Parties must be confusing as shit. Do you find yourself lost in crowds if you go out with people (like a concert or something)? Do you recognize famous people? Like, if Obama is on the screen, do you not know who it is?

Facial blindness is so crazy to me. Never been really able to wrap my head around it.

Edit : You answered some questions as I was posting

R1masher posted...

Does she suffer from the same affliction?

Maybe, I don't know. She has the same weird memory for general knowledge and shit that happened eleventybillion years ago that I have, that I inherited from my mum (who also has trouble with faces), so I wouldn't be surprised.

JlM posted...

Parties must be confusing as shit. Do you find yourself lost in crowds if you go out with people (like a concert or something)? Do you recognize famous people? Like, if Obama is on the screen, do you not know who it is?

Facial blindness is so crazy to me. Never been really able to wrap my head around it.

Edit : You answer some questions as I was posting

Whenever I go out with my wife and kids, I memorise what they're wearing. I've had a few "whoops" encounters in the past.

Screens and TV with celebrities and famous people are different to a certain extent. Celebrities don't ping the "person" bit of my recognition, they ping the brand part.

The_Creep_2020 posted...

Maybe, I don't know. She has the same weird memory for general knowledge and shit that happened eleventybillion years ago that I have, that I inherited from my mum (who also has trouble with faces), so I wouldn't be surprised.

I wouldnt be surprised either if shes walking right by you

I've been curious if prosopagnosia also affects cartoon/anime faces.

Ricemills posted...

I've been curious if prosopagnosia also affects cartoon/anime faces.

I have no problems recognising Darkwing Duck.

The_Creep_2020 posted...

Sure. What do you want to know, specifically?

Like, I can give you one of those anecdotes that got repeated in my presence ad nauseam growing up.

When I was in Year 3, I was at a private school. uniform cap, short trousers, tie, the whole shebang. It was in the morning, before the 9 AM bell went. We had an actual ding-dong bell someone would ring, that was kinda cool. Anyway, I was heading out of the front doors of the school after I'd dropped my bag off to go find big ants or something (I don't know, I was a weird kid and there were some remarkably big ants for an inner suburban school). A gentleman in a suit says "hello, [The Creep] to me, as he passes.

I don't recognise him, and just give my usual "hello, sir," back.

It was my dad. He'd come in to pay my school fees. My parents were always scraping things together to send me there, so he'd had to bring in the cheque personally.

He never let me forget that to the day he died.

Like, he would just often recount the story or he would rub it in your face?

What age did you/your parents realize thats what was happening?

Other than the backpack thing with your kid, have you adapted other ways to identify people (I.e. being able to recognize voices quickly or having photographic memory of their clothes, etc.)?

GeraldDarko posted...

Like, he would just often recount the story or he would rub it in your face?

Nah, my dad was an arsehole, but he wasn't that kind of arsehole. It was a cringeworthy moment for me, but he didn't get that. He thought it was a funny anecdote. There were many "funny" anecdotes. He was a raconteur by nature, unfortunately he didn't have much empathy for the people who were in his stories.

AvlButtslam posted...

What age did you/your parents realize thats what was happening?

Other than the backpack thing with your kid, have you adapted other ways to identify people (I.e. being able to recognize voices quickly or having photographic memory of their clothes, etc.)?

My mum has the same sort of thing (we've walked past each other multiple times when I've met up with her), so it wasn't a surprise.

I don't know, but I'm really good at identifying voice actors? I'd like to say that I have a photographic memory of what people are wearing when I see them, but unfortunately not. I do have an almost unlimited supply of useless general knowledge, so I got that goin for me, which is nice.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Picture is strangely easier than in person, but it depends on who the picture is of, I suppose.