What's this face called again?
I’m always amazed at how my friend can remember a face for a long time even though she has only seen that person once, and briefly. It’s the complete opposite for me as I have to meet a person for at least 2-3 times before their face is registered properly in my brain. Sometimes, I even need 24 hours to pass before the features of a person’s face starts to form in my foggy head. It’s like developing a photograph the old-fashioned way - the figures slowly materialise like ghosts and finally settle as a clear and distinct image. For a while, I have decided that this inability of mine is just a lack of attentiveness and some bad genes that nature failed to filter off but recently, I came to know of this disorder called Prosopagnosia.
Prosopagnosia, also called face blindness, is an impairment in the recognition of faces. I don’t have Prosopagnosia, of course but I find it really intriguing and it’s fascinating to read what the people who suffer from the disorder have to say. It varies from person to person, but most of them can’t recognise even themselves, their best friends and family unless they hear their voice or ‘feel’ their demeanor. Many times, they are regarded as rude when they don’t respond to greetings because they can’t even tell who in the world is saying hi! All faces look the same to them and they have to find other distinctive features to remember by, such as a bob haircut or maybe - I don’t know - bad breath?
This is what people with Prosopagnosia probably see - all the same
Jokes aside, Prosopagnosia definitely has a great impact on their life and one very positive account I have read is that this individual chose to be friendly to everyone and she had come to create intimate friendships without all the superficial stuff like looks. It’s really up to someone to decide how life works for them even if it throws rocks at their feet. It’s inspiring to know that there are many who will always find a silver lining in every cloud.
I have painfully come to notice that I suck so much at this thing called face recognition, ‘cos the other day, my IPL consultant suddenly called out to me, “hey! You have cut your hair short”. I gave a friendly reply but honestly, all I was thinking was: who the hell was she again? Also, my friends and I happened to bump into another friend yesterday and needless to say, my brain reacted nicely with a: heeeyy, that person looks awfully familiar!
Oh man.
What stumped me most is the realisation that I will never be of help to the police as a witness. A few weeks ago, I almost said goodbye to the world permanently at the traffic junction because you know, dangerous drivers should be left hanging as laundry instead of being on the road. It was red light and the car whizzed past 3 feet ahead of me and everyone watched in astonishment. I definitely locked eyes with the driver but for the life of me, I could not, not a tiny weeny bit, remember his face. NOT AT ALL. Let me repeat: how is it plausible that my brain sucks so much at this? I could only say my prayers in thankful gratitude that I had walked slowly on that day.
Prosopagnosia, also called face blindness, is an impairment in the recognition of faces. I don’t have Prosopagnosia, of course but I find it really intriguing and it’s fascinating to read what the people who suffer from the disorder have to say. It varies from person to person, but most of them can’t recognise even themselves, their best friends and family unless they hear their voice or ‘feel’ their demeanor. Many times, they are regarded as rude when they don’t respond to greetings because they can’t even tell who in the world is saying hi! All faces look the same to them and they have to find other distinctive features to remember by, such as a bob haircut or maybe - I don’t know - bad breath?
This is what people with Prosopagnosia probably see - all the same
Jokes aside, Prosopagnosia definitely has a great impact on their life and one very positive account I have read is that this individual chose to be friendly to everyone and she had come to create intimate friendships without all the superficial stuff like looks. It’s really up to someone to decide how life works for them even if it throws rocks at their feet. It’s inspiring to know that there are many who will always find a silver lining in every cloud.
I have painfully come to notice that I suck so much at this thing called face recognition, ‘cos the other day, my IPL consultant suddenly called out to me, “hey! You have cut your hair short”. I gave a friendly reply but honestly, all I was thinking was: who the hell was she again? Also, my friends and I happened to bump into another friend yesterday and needless to say, my brain reacted nicely with a: heeeyy, that person looks awfully familiar!
Oh man.
What stumped me most is the realisation that I will never be of help to the police as a witness. A few weeks ago, I almost said goodbye to the world permanently at the traffic junction because you know, dangerous drivers should be left hanging as laundry instead of being on the road. It was red light and the car whizzed past 3 feet ahead of me and everyone watched in astonishment. I definitely locked eyes with the driver but for the life of me, I could not, not a tiny weeny bit, remember his face. NOT AT ALL. Let me repeat: how is it plausible that my brain sucks so much at this? I could only say my prayers in thankful gratitude that I had walked slowly on that day.