Rakshasa72
Phoenix
Joined: Sep 10, 2009
Age: 39
Posts: 592
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 Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 3:43 am Post subject: Anyone have a hard time recognizing people? |
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| So recently I've noticed that I have a hard time reconizing people. More specificly that people are starting to look the same to me. Part of this could be due to my eyesight getting worse but, I think that might just be magnifying a problem I've had all my life. I've never really been good at putting names to faces but, I usually could recognize my friends, relatives and, some celebrities/politicians. Is there a name for this problem? and is there a reason it might get worse later in life? |
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Verdandi
Miss Kitty Fantastico
Joined: Dec 08, 2010
Posts: 10181
Location: University of California Sunnydale (fictional location - Real location Olympia, WA)
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again_with_this
Phoenix
Joined: Jun 14, 2012
Age: 30
Posts: 780
Location: New Jersey, USA
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 4:34 am Post subject: |
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I wanted to respond to this.
About 10 years ago when I was in college, I worked at a gas station. There were people who'd I'd recognize instantly as "regulars." But then there were others who would come into the station and, as far as I could tell, I'd never seen before. Yet, they seemed to know who I was, and would say things like, "yeah, I'm in here all the time, how've you been? How's school going?"
It was funny, because while there were people I could recognize instantly, this second group of people seemed like total strangers. But they seemed to know me, so maybe I do suffer from face blindness.
That said, on a few occasions, I've run into people I haven't seen in years. Sometimes I forget their names, or how exactly I know them, but I remember their faces. They usually don't remember me, and seem surprised at how good my memory is that I'd recognize them after x amount of years. Unless, to them, I may just be a forgettable person. |
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KittyCommand0r
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Jan 20, 2012
Posts: 64
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:08 am Post subject: |
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| I have trouble, but I don't really know how bad. When I worked in retail, I would greet customers multiple times sometimes and ask if they needed help multiple times because I didn't recognize that I had talked to them a minute ago. That was always embarassing because some people get insulted by that lol...It takes me a few times or some serious interaction with them to recognize people who don't have any easily distinguishable features. Sometimes at school, I don't say hi back to people I know from classes because I don't recognize them. |
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dominique
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jun 15, 2012
Posts: 36
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:32 am Post subject: |
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| This happens to me all the time, even with people I know well. Unless there is something that really sticks out about a person (for instance, an unusual hairstyle or color) everyone looks the same to me. |
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Mummy_of_Peanut
Countess de Noir
Joined: Feb 21, 2011
Age: 40
Posts: 3474
Location: Bonnie Scotland
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:40 am Post subject: |
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I'm pretty sure my Mum has this. She gets annoyed at me for laughing, when she doesn't recognise certain people, e.g. my cousin who we bumped into, in a supermarket carpark. His Dad had just died, I was hugging him and he was crying. My Mum whispered, 'Who's that?' She doesn't even think it's weird when things like this happen. On that occasion she said, 'I didn't know him because of the stubble on his chin'.
My husband, who is probably BAP, definitely has it. He doesn't know many people out of context. I expect he'd only recognise 2 or 3 of our close neighbours, if he saw them elsewhere. He can't even seem to describe people properly. He told me that T had asked for me and I know 2 Ts, so I asked him to describe her (one has long blonde hair and the other has short dark hair). After his description, I was none the wiser. He doesn't think he's unusual either.
I don't have this at all, I'm quite the opposite in fact. Sometimes it's just a minor detail I remember about the person. I met a woman a few days ago and immediately knew I remembered her gumline. I hadn't seen her in 30 years. She had changed a lot but the gumline was the same. 
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"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiatic about." Charles Kingsley |
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MyFutureSelfnMe
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 27, 2010
Posts: 1288
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:48 am Post subject: |
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| Yes |
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Juliana
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: May 17, 2012
Posts: 43
Location: San Diego, CA
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:49 am Post subject: |
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| Yes, I have this to some degree. I do fine recognizing people within a context. For example, if I see the same cashier at the grocery store when I go shopping, I will recognize them. But, if I meet that same cashier somewhere else, like at the bank, I will have no idea who they are. I will know that they look familiar, but I won't be able to figure out where I know them from or what their name is. |
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Mummy_of_Peanut
Countess de Noir
Joined: Feb 21, 2011
Age: 40
Posts: 3474
Location: Bonnie Scotland
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:59 am Post subject: |
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Another difference between my husband and I is how we store our memories about people. If he sees someone he thinks he knows, but isn't sure where from or what their name might be, that's the end of it for him. But, with me, I can look at the person or listen to their voice and something about them will trigger certain memories (like where we were when we saw them last, what was said, how I felt about it). The memories might not be clear, but they are there and accessible. It might take me some time, I might even go through the alphabet, trying to get a letter in their name (not necessarily their initials), but I will get there. He doesn't seem to have access to such a memory bank, but he's smart and good at remembering other stuff.
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"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiatic about." Charles Kingsley |
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bnky
Velociraptor
Joined: Nov 20, 2011
Posts: 479
Location: Kent, England
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 7:57 am Post subject: |
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I find it's intensity to be stress related -in my case  . The more stressed I am when I first saw them, the less likely I am to recognise a person.
I'm completely useless at a police line-up  
BUT if I've drawn or painted someone I never forget their face. |
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bnky
Velociraptor
Joined: Nov 20, 2011
Posts: 479
Location: Kent, England
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:00 am Post subject: |
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However,if the person has a scar, freckles, mole or other distinguishing marks I'll remember those details in huge detail for identification  |
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Wandering_Stranger
Phoenix
Joined: Apr 07, 2012
Posts: 1137
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:21 am Post subject: |
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| Yes. It is so embarrassing. |
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Heidi80
Phoenix
Joined: Dec 05, 2011
Age: 33
Posts: 507
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:24 am Post subject: |
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| I usually recognize people at places where it's logical to meet them (for instance, my university friends at university, my asperger friends in the aspie group etc) but I have trouble recognizing people in settings where I don't expect to see them (for instance, university friends in a store etc) |
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Wobbuffet
Sea Gull
Joined: May 19, 2010
Age: 26
Posts: 232
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:32 am Post subject: |
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This happens to me a lot at work. People will say hi to me in the corridor, but I don't know who they are. It's made a few awkward times where I've not acknowledged someone because I think I don't know them, but then they've got upset because I ignored them.
The worst is when people try to have a conversation with me in the lift. I don't know if I should know what/who they're telling me about, or if it's a stranger making small talk. |
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CyborgUprising
Sgt. Sarcasm
Joined: Jun 17, 2012
Posts: 2897
Location: auf der Fahrt durch Niemandsland
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 9:19 am Post subject: |
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| I have to be able to see something that is highly unique (a birthmark, tattoo, mole, piercing, etc.) in order to distinguish one individual from another. I recognized former President George W. Bush by his "elf ears," my friend by his naturally white hair. Sometimes the distinct qualities of a person's voice is sufficient in identifying the individual. |
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