Prosopagnosia

For those who haven’t heard of it, it’s an inability to recognise faces, and I have it. (Some people call it face-blindness)

From what I understand, normal humans can look at a face, and recognise it as a whole, that’s granny’s face, that’s my boss’s face. They see it as a gestalt.

I don’t. None of us do.

Ok we might get to spot a few very close faces, but I have walked past my wife in the street and not recognised her, she had just had her hair done.

What most of us do is work off other clues, where do people sit in the office, how do they walk, do they have any unusual features.

So if you ever meet me for a second time, don’t expect me to recognise you. Just tell me who you are, and there’s no problem.

(Unless of course you are one of those people who just say, “Hi Malcolm, it’s John.”   John Who!)

If you want to know more about prosopagnosia, click here.