I Knew It!

Hey, did anyone see the story on the news the other day about Face Blindness? I've been joking for years that my inability to recognize people out of context was really a neurological problem. Turns out I was right!

There's an actual medical condition called prosopagnosia, in which people are literally unable to recognize others' faces. People who have the most severe form don't even recognize their loved ones. They rely on voices, hair color, mannerisms... but shown the faces of their own children, they won't know who those kids are!

The condition can be caused by brain injury, or a person can be born with it. It also tends to run in families, although not everyone will be affected equally.

Want to know more? Here's a link to the Prosopagnosia Research Centers, based at Harvard and at University College London. The "Research" page has links to TV news stories and newspaper articles about Face Blindness.

p.s. Here's a cool self-test for recognition memory, including facial recognition. I scored above average on verbal and object recognition, but slightly below average on faces (although nowhere near prosopagnosia level). See? I knew there was something medical going on!