Are you good at recognizing faces? Are you a super recognizer?

@lulu1220 (1006)
United States
June 18, 2009 8:46am CST
I have this ability that astonishes some and annoys others. If I have seen a face before (no matter how long ago) I will instantly remember it. Then I will remember from where. Now I am not talking about just seeing a face for a second. I have to spend some time looking at it. Here is an example - I will watch an episode of my favorite TV show. About 6 months later I will be watching another show and I will see a face and remember that he or she was a guest star on the other show. I usually remember this in about 2-5 seconds. Sometimes it takes longer but I will eventually remember where I saw the person's face. The person it annoys the most is my husband. He will say something like.."Isn't that so and so from that movie we just watched?" Sometimes I say yes but most of the time I will say no. Then he says I am wrong and will prove it. He gets on the IMDB and looks it up and it turned out I was right. He has yet to prove me wrong. It is also helpful when you play the DVD version of Trivial Pursuit. There are some questions that ask you to recognize a face of a famous person when they were young or the picture is distorted and slowly comes into view. I always get thos right and it is usually in about 2 to 3 seconds. There a story on MSNBC about a month ago about people that can do this and there was a term coined. A person who can do this is a super-recognizer. They defined this term as "an elite group of people that are exceptional at remembering faces."
4 responses
• Qatar
18 Jun 09
ya I got this feature in my personality and I'm good at it ,I can remember faces even if they pass me so quickly I make a natural guess , then it always true !! and I always wow my sisters when I got it right like where we saw that person !!
@lulu1220 (1006)
• United States
18 Jun 09
Nice to meet a fellow super-recognizer!
@rosedust82 (2066)
• Philippines
18 Jun 09
I guess I can say I'm average when it comes to recognizing faces. Most of the time, I forget! Haha! It's amazing how quick the human mind can be and it's really good to hear that you have this kind of err... I guess the best word would be talent. I think that kind of memory would help me a lot especially with my work.
@lulu1220 (1006)
• United States
18 Jun 09
It is a talent when I can use it playing a game! I heard about this man or woman that went to a salon a while back and remembered being handled by an assistant to the hair stylist about a year ago. He told the man he remembered him and that he did a good job. The employee was very flattered.
@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
18 Jun 09
Most of the time, I am the one who gets recognized. Happened to me just the other day while out with my family. This woman stopped me and said, 'I know you' Turns out we went to school together for a short time. I still have no idea who she is. I have recognized people from facebook.
• Netherlands
18 Jun 09
I couldnt really say that I am exceptional recognizer but after I met someone in a party or any event, I wouldnt forget his face anymore. Sometimes even the people that regularly ride the train or stay in a particular place, I can recognize them even if they are in another place already. I find it helpful because I am so terrible with names. Even my classmates in school whom I meet for 5 times already, I couldn't remember their names anymore. I dont want to think it's a sign of old age. Maybe some people are good at recognizing faces while others are good with memorizing names.