The same race bias column by Cecil got me to wondering.
I know two older white guys who I work with who I can’t tell apart.
I used to know two afro American guys who I couldn’t tell apart.
I have a pretty high level of prosopagnosia, and if someone goes home and changes clothes, I don’r remember them at all. I’ve met girls and asked them on dates, and then didn’t recognize them when they showed up. But I have a normal ability to recognize faces of people I see on tv, like ball players or talking heads.
I’m good at recognizing faces–I know I’ve seen that face before; I know that person. But placing them? Not always so easy.
A couple of years ago, I was on a bus tour of Ireland/Northern Ireland and we stopped at a castle on the west coast. There was an Australian woman there, on another tour stopping at the same castle, and every time I saw her while we were wandering the castle halls and ruins, it drove me crazy. She seemed so familiar; I was certain I’d seen her before–but where? I’d never been to that part of Ireland before. I’d never been to Australia. Where could we possibly have met?
It only came to me just before we got back on our respective buses: We had chatted for half an hour or so at the Dublin airport a week earlier while waiting for someone from the tour company to come and pick us up. We thought we would be on the same tour, but a driver came for her and her husband first, then a different guy showed up for me a little while later. Except for that one castle, our paths did not intersect again.
She actually remembered me better than I did her, but didn’t realize I couldn’t place her until I said “The airport!”
I’m terrible with faces. Unless I know someone really well, or their face is very distinctive, I have a hard time recognizing people I’ve met briefly, or even a few times. Black, white, Asian, whatever; it doesn’t matter. I’m bad with names, too.
This isn’t just a problem with real people. When I watch TV shows I often have to ask my husband who a character is, particularly with a show like Game of Thrones that have a lot of them.
That’s the thing: can you really ever be sure?
That guy flying around the corner doing 55 in a 25 in your non-through-street neighborhood. Sure, he looked a like Mark Wahlberg. Well, except that:
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There is honestly no logical reason for the real Mark Wahlberg to be anywhere near here.
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Mark Wahlberg isn’t a Total Asshole who drives 55 in a 25, rounding blind corners while trying to strike some phony “tough guy” pose like a dick… 2 blocks from a school on a school day.
So, no, that can’t be Mark Wahlberg, no matter what he looks like. Its the same with that asshole who reeked to high heaven who spat at my car at a traffic light last year: Nope, you’re not Brad Pitt.
I have to believe that most celebs don’t score an 11+ on the “1-10 Asshole Scale”.
I think I really learned that lesson once when I was at a concert at The Stone Pony and a guy next to me looked EXACTLY like Jackson Browne.
Me: “Pardon me, are you Jackson Browne? Because I’ve Always loved your music, I think your brilliant, and I’ve always wanted to shake your hand and thank you for all the hard work you’ve put …”
Him: “Dude… I’m not Jackson Browne…”
Me: “Oh. Sorry…”
So, unless I’m 100% sure, better safe than sorry.
I recognize faces almost entirely by the area around the eyes. Put on a domino mask, and I won’t know who you are.
One weekend, I saw a friend on Saturday, then again on Sunday – and didn’t even notice he’d shaved off his beard.
I’m good at recognizing faces (and when I was a bartender) what they drank. But I am absolutely terrible with names. Just awful. When meeting someone I always have to say that it will take like 30 times before I remember their name.
I’m very good at recognizing faces sometimes even people I only met in my childhood after I see them again years later, I’m terrible with names though.
I’m excellent at recognizing faces of people, even if I haven’t seen them in years. And I can still remember names of kids I went to grade school with, over 60 years ago. On the other hand, I once didn’t recognize my own cousin in the supermarket.
But if I’m watching a movie, I can’t distinguish between the two 20-something blondes, or tell you what other movie a particular actor has been in. In fact most of today’s actors are pretty much interchangeable to me.
For the most part, if I talk to you somewhere for say 5 minutes I could pick you out on a crowded NYC street 6 months later. Know you or interact with you several times over a couple days and I could do the same several years later. Names are another story – I can’t remember the names of a few closer relatives let alone casual friends. But faces I rarely forget.
And race doesn’t matter to me; I worked with a lady from China for a day (warehouse situation where our total contact was maybe 10-20 minutes) and a year later I spotted her in the crowd at an Asian Heritage event; before she spotted or recognized me. I did the whole thing “we worked together one day at —” and then the light-bulb went off. The only place it fails me is kids under say 3 and to me all babies look alike. But from that point on my brain can lock it down.
I’m pretty bad. When I was watching Sense and Sensibility a few months ago, I just could not track all the daughters. And their suitors for that matter.