Let’s say you meet up with someone that you knew 30 years ago in high school. What do you think are the chances you would still recognize that person?
I’m just curious because I looked up some people I knew back in high school on Facebook and I frankly if I didnt know there name, I doubt I would recognize any of them. People just change so much in 30 years.
I saw one guy who I knew last as a 10 year old, at least 30 years earlier and in a completely different City. I was driving past but I recognised him instantly. This was perhaps because he looked a lot like his uncles from 30 years ago? Though this implies I have a good face memory I have an absolutely lousy name memory on all time scales.
Virtually none. I’m not good at face recognition.
I run into old classmates from time to time. They may have gained or lost weight or gone gray or bald, but I generally recognize them.
Pretty good for me. I’m really very good at recognizing people even after a long time. To make up for that I forget names almost instantly, though. 
Based off of Facebook photos, about 1 in 10. Mostly I’d recognize the women who have gone to a lot of trouble and effort to keep themselves in shape. Most of the guys are now balding, featureless overweight men rather than the teenagers I remember.
Perusing my senior year book from time to time, it also amazes me how few of my graduating class I actually knew–I was in Band and Stage Crew, so I spent most of my after-school time hanging out with people from other grades. There were two or three people in the band in my grade, and one guy in stage crew.
I ran into a girl I knew at a teenager. 35 years had passed, and I didn’t recognize her, but when my back was to her, I instantly recognized her voice!
Maybe a couple. I really didn’t hang out with the kids in my school and only had a couple close friends so most of the 450+ in my class would be a mystery. A couple years back we were getting some work done on the house. We called Sears for a quote and they sent a guy out. As he was looking at the garage (where the work needed done) he saw my old Harley and asked if I had graduated from X. I said yes and he was “I remember you! We had a bunch of classes together our Junior year”. For me it was a total blank; I had to look him up in the yearbook after he left. What can I say? I’m a guy of my generation. Cars and motorcycles I remember; faces and names are another thing.
40 years+ removed from high school, I’d say about 10%. I’m Facebook friends with several, and by recent photos some look quite recognizable and some are aged quite a bit and I wouldn’t know if they walked up to me. Of course, I look the exact same as I did then.
I went to my 40th reunion, not having ever attended one prior to that. I easily recognized a goodly percentage of the people there. Sadly, I was apparently quite forgettable. 
My first girlfriend was working as bartender and I sat right there and talked to her for 10 minutes before I realized it was her and only then because she kind of steered the conversation that way. :smack: Of course she was 15 the last time I’d seen her and she was 40 with three kids when we met again, but she wasn’t that far off from her youthful self. Still I’m kind of happy to know that she fondly recalled the backseat of my 69 Camaro. 
I am horrible with names but somewhat gifted at physical recognition, more often than not it is a movement or walk that I recognise instead of a face. People I met only once or twice at 6 or 7 years old I recognised almost 60 years later.
I have been hanging out in the city I grew up in lately and am surprised at how often this happens. I didn't do all that well at the high school reunion aside from the ones I knew in high school. It has to be someone that for one reason or another got my attention.I’ll let you know on Monday. Going to 25 year b-school reunion.
I am anticipating at least one person approaching me and having one of those “hey [WordMan], I just want to say Thanks/Fuck You/I’m sorry…” and I will be thinking “okay, who IS this person?!”
My class is having the 30-year reunion next year.
At the 25-year reunion, I remembered most of the faces, and most of the names, but frequently could not match the name to the face.
There were quite a few people whom I remembered, but who did not remember me. :mad:
And a distressing number of people who remembered me, but whom I did not remember. :eek:
Yeah, but what year was the car?
People from high school? Sure, no problem. By 14 or 15 a person generally looks the way they’re going to look.
There is just no fucking chance. I can’t even recognize people I met yesterday. I’ve gone out on second dates and told the guy he’s going to have to find me. He’s always puzzled like, “Um, you don’t know what I look like?” I’ll figure it out eventually - I can recognize my friends and family, but in general faces are not my thing. I’ll remember everything you said, though, so don’t try any bullshit like I won’t remember.
So yeah, couldn’t recognize an old friend from 30 years ago. Doesn’t help that most of my friends were under 10 years old 30 years ago. 
I am pretty good at remembering faces but I suck at remembering names. If I’m lucky someone will walk by and unintentionally bail me out, otherwise the conversation ends and I walk away still not knowing their name. :smack:
Good on:
voices, walk / movement
Middlin on:
long ago faces in that I recognize them from somewhere but no clue as to where or name
Already been to the 50th, about 98% I could name, those I could not, I still could not when they explained who, when, name, etc… Total blank.
Kind of embarrassing for me unless they do not remember me at all either.
Unfortunately I am very recognizable & always have been. Being different is not always a good thing…
I recently saw a current photo of my best friend from high school, Class of 1963. I hadn’t seen him in over 50 years. After staring at the photo, I still recognized his eyes. There’s a kindness in them that I guess is permanent.
Several years ago I was walking down 34th Street in Manhattan. A woman was walking in front of me, and I instantly knew who it was, without seeing her face. She was a coworker from about 25 years earlier. I just recognized her figure and the way it moved.