Crossposted to asperger

[conuly]

I've got a question...
Is it possible to be face-visually-impaired instead of just faceblind? I often don't recognize people for a little while, but once I do, I recognize THEM, not just things about them. Some people I'm never able to remember, true, but others I can't forget, no matter what.

Examples:

Way back in high school, I had a few classes with the same people, sometimes one period after another. For a few of those people, it took me the better part of a term to realize that I was seeing them twice, instead of that they were two different people. However, I recognized them within each class, and used at least one of them as a way to make sure I wasn't in the wrong room, by recognizing her face in my spanish class (but not in the following gym class).

Thursday, I ran into my brother-in-law and baby niece in the city. Didn't recognize them until I almost commented "My niece has that exact same pooh-bear hat!". That's when her hat, his jacket, and their features combined in my mind and I recognized both of them. Once I recognized them, it was them I saw, but I didn't recognize them until I put the facts together. This sort of thing happens often enough that I've started wondering about it.

Also, not sure if it's related, but somebody in my Latin class has a twin. I've met his twin, they apparently look quite alike, but it wasn't until after Michael mentioned "my twin" that I realized they were even related. Apparently, I'm the only one, everyone else gets them confused. *shrugs* I'm clearly not faceblind, but I think something may be going on. Or maybe I'm being silly.

Comments

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

It's like... partial prosopagnosia. Tricky little thing it seems. I wish I could share some insight, but you know I can't. I'll just make sure that when/if I visit this summer I'll make sure to tell you what colour shirt I'll be wearing. :)

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I'm afraid I don't have any useful insights, 'cos I have a general lack of knowledge about things like that. I think it interested me particularly because I myself am awful at recognising faces and have come to the conclusion, since arriving at university, that I identify people by their hairstyle. This helps explain why I find girls harder to remember the names of than guys. There are a couple of girls who are were in TV and theatre with me and although I can just about tell them apart in person, in my memory I struggle to remember who was who. Like, I won't be able to remember who I'd worked with. They both have shoulder length blond hair. Or if I could identify them (like I could say I did a work placement with Vicki and am now in a theatre group with Rachel) I couldn't picture them. Same is the case with these two guys who both have scruffy longish hair. They don't look alike in their faces, but I couldn't sit here right now and tell you which was which.

Isn't the human brain strange. And fascinating.

Re:

[rachelkachel]

I think I do it by hair, too - somehow I'm not good with features. I don't remember names well, either, so it was a little embarrassing to realize that the girl I've been sitting next to in health all semester (I thought I knew her from somewhere) is one of the girls I'm planning to room with next year. Jennifer organized it all, Kelly is the one I sit next to, and I still don't know who Boo is, if I'm even hearing the name right. She's in architecture, though, I know that... I probably sat with her during CS...

[georgiapeachy.livejournal.com]

Yeah I have sort of the same thing, Aspergers related perhaps. Last year there was a girl in both my English and Math classes and it took me about a month to figure out she wasn't two separate girls because she was really smart in math and she acted like an idiot in English. One day she was wearing a very distinctive hat and I suddenly realized it, I always thought "they" looked alike, but I had never put two and two together. Also a male friend of mine has a twin and I knew them both for about a year before I realized they were identical, now that I know I see it very well. Other times I won't recognize people until I hear their voice, but I don't think i'm faceblind because I recognize good friends and family that i'm around a lot quite well. I know i'm not stupid as my IQ/Test scores/classes are good, but I am sure an idiot in this respect.

[rayinte.livejournal.com]

Guh. That must be tough, I haven't heard of that before.

I can usually recognize faces, but I can almost never put names with faces, unless both are unusual, or I have some sort of additional mnenomic, or repeated exposure pounds the association into my head. Customers who'd come into the store weekly... I always had to ask their name, every week.

I could name ... uh ... two people from my senior year of high school. It was hell when the teacher made me pass out papers in English. :/

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

It's like... partial prosopagnosia. Tricky little thing it seems. I wish I could share some insight, but you know I can't. I'll just make sure that when/if I visit this summer I'll make sure to tell you what colour shirt I'll be wearing. :)

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I'm afraid I don't have any useful insights, 'cos I have a general lack of knowledge about things like that. I think it interested me particularly because I myself am awful at recognising faces and have come to the conclusion, since arriving at university, that I identify people by their hairstyle. This helps explain why I find girls harder to remember the names of than guys. There are a couple of girls who are were in TV and theatre with me and although I can just about tell them apart in person, in my memory I struggle to remember who was who. Like, I won't be able to remember who I'd worked with. They both have shoulder length blond hair. Or if I could identify them (like I could say I did a work placement with Vicki and am now in a theatre group with Rachel) I couldn't picture them. Same is the case with these two guys who both have scruffy longish hair. They don't look alike in their faces, but I couldn't sit here right now and tell you which was which.

Isn't the human brain strange. And fascinating.

Re:

[rachelkachel]

I think I do it by hair, too - somehow I'm not good with features. I don't remember names well, either, so it was a little embarrassing to realize that the girl I've been sitting next to in health all semester (I thought I knew her from somewhere) is one of the girls I'm planning to room with next year. Jennifer organized it all, Kelly is the one I sit next to, and I still don't know who Boo is, if I'm even hearing the name right. She's in architecture, though, I know that... I probably sat with her during CS...

[georgiapeachy.livejournal.com]

Yeah I have sort of the same thing, Aspergers related perhaps. Last year there was a girl in both my English and Math classes and it took me about a month to figure out she wasn't two separate girls because she was really smart in math and she acted like an idiot in English. One day she was wearing a very distinctive hat and I suddenly realized it, I always thought "they" looked alike, but I had never put two and two together. Also a male friend of mine has a twin and I knew them both for about a year before I realized they were identical, now that I know I see it very well. Other times I won't recognize people until I hear their voice, but I don't think i'm faceblind because I recognize good friends and family that i'm around a lot quite well. I know i'm not stupid as my IQ/Test scores/classes are good, but I am sure an idiot in this respect.

[rayinte.livejournal.com]

Guh. That must be tough, I haven't heard of that before.

I can usually recognize faces, but I can almost never put names with faces, unless both are unusual, or I have some sort of additional mnenomic, or repeated exposure pounds the association into my head. Customers who'd come into the store weekly... I always had to ask their name, every week.

I could name ... uh ... two people from my senior year of high school. It was hell when the teacher made me pass out papers in English. :/

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

I know I'm responding to a really old post, but I get this to a degree. I was thinking about this at work today.

If someone asks me to look for something, I will look at them and the look for the thing. If they move even ONE AISLE OVER I can't find them. I don't ecognize them even though I've spoken to them not 5 minutes before. It's really unnerving :P

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

I know I'm responding to a really old post, but I get this to a degree. I was thinking about this at work today.

If someone asks me to look for something, I will look at them and the look for the thing. If they move even ONE AISLE OVER I can't find them. I don't ecognize them even though I've spoken to them not 5 minutes before. It's really unnerving :P