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| Never forgetting a face | Never forgetting a face |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Many of us struggle sometimes to put a name to a face, but what if you could recognise someone many years after seeing them for a moment? | Many of us struggle sometimes to put a name to a face, but what if you could recognise someone many years after seeing them for a moment? |
| You know the woman crossing the street. But where from? | You know the woman crossing the street. But where from? |
| Ah, she was one of the volunteers staffing the polling station where you voted several years before. You probably saw her for a couple of minutes. Several years ago. | Ah, she was one of the volunteers staffing the polling station where you voted several years before. You probably saw her for a couple of minutes. Several years ago. |
| Sound like the kind of face you would place immediately? | Sound like the kind of face you would place immediately? |
| FIND OUT MORE Super Recognisers is on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 25 January from 2100-2130 GMTOr you can listen again href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00q3fbv">here | |
| It is for Jennifer. She is a "super recogniser", someone with a significantly above average ability to place a face. | It is for Jennifer. She is a "super recogniser", someone with a significantly above average ability to place a face. |
| In fact, she can almost never forget a face. She first noticed something might be unusual on holiday with her family when she spotted a very minor actor on a plane. Her family were disbelieving but she was proved right. | In fact, she can almost never forget a face. She first noticed something might be unusual on holiday with her family when she spotted a very minor actor on a plane. Her family were disbelieving but she was proved right. |
| But it really hit home at college that she was different from those around her. | But it really hit home at college that she was different from those around her. |
| "I'd meet so many people in the first few weeks and I'd remember everyone no matter how brief the encounter. I'd then meet them at a party and they wouldn't remember me. I'd think: 'That person is SO fake, I can't believe they're pretending they don't remember me when we met for 30 seconds in the cafeteria three weeks ago.'" | "I'd meet so many people in the first few weeks and I'd remember everyone no matter how brief the encounter. I'd then meet them at a party and they wouldn't remember me. I'd think: 'That person is SO fake, I can't believe they're pretending they don't remember me when we met for 30 seconds in the cafeteria three weeks ago.'" |
| Chance meeting | Chance meeting |
| It doesn't matter if years have lapsed since seeing them. | It doesn't matter if years have lapsed since seeing them. |
| She describes seeing someone she saw a few times as child, on the subway, now over 20 years older with greying hair and dreadlocks and knowing exactly who she was. | She describes seeing someone she saw a few times as child, on the subway, now over 20 years older with greying hair and dreadlocks and knowing exactly who she was. |
| "People can get older but their faces look the same to me," says Jennifer. "They don't look different to me whether they're children or adults. I don't know why my mind is able to make the leap." | "People can get older but their faces look the same to me," says Jennifer. "They don't look different to me whether they're children or adults. I don't know why my mind is able to make the leap." |
| It sounds like a neat party trick, or perhaps something useful in business, but it may mean more than that to scientists. | It sounds like a neat party trick, or perhaps something useful in business, but it may mean more than that to scientists. |
| Super recognisers can even spot blurred faces | Super recognisers can even spot blurred faces |
| Jennifer's ability may help scientists who are investigating people in the opposite position, those who suffer from the condition prosopagnosia, popularly known as face blindness. | Jennifer's ability may help scientists who are investigating people in the opposite position, those who suffer from the condition prosopagnosia, popularly known as face blindness. |
| Claire, a 49-year-old mother of four, has the condition. | Claire, a 49-year-old mother of four, has the condition. |
| She contracted viral encephalitis in May 2004 and as well as severe memory loss she has struggled to recognise faces. | She contracted viral encephalitis in May 2004 and as well as severe memory loss she has struggled to recognise faces. |
| "I was discharged home to a family I couldn't recognise, I had to believe they were my family. I had to believe Ed was my husband and tell myself he was the man I loved and that the children were my children." | "I was discharged home to a family I couldn't recognise, I had to believe they were my family. I had to believe Ed was my husband and tell myself he was the man I loved and that the children were my children." |
| Claire continues to have problems with faces. She still can't pick out which are her children if they're with their friends. But she describes a recent triumph - picking out her husband Ed in a crowd. Yet she still has to use different strategies to recognise friends and family by. | Claire continues to have problems with faces. She still can't pick out which are her children if they're with their friends. But she describes a recent triumph - picking out her husband Ed in a crowd. Yet she still has to use different strategies to recognise friends and family by. |
| Even her own reflection can catch her out if it takes her by surprise. | Even her own reflection can catch her out if it takes her by surprise. |
| Challenging condition | Challenging condition |
| Learning to live with the condition and work around it takes effort, and life remains difficult for Claire. | Learning to live with the condition and work around it takes effort, and life remains difficult for Claire. |
| "It's not easy trying to re-find myself in what feels like someone else's life and the more sociable I'm becoming, the more challenging the prosopagnosia is. We take all the knowledge and information you get from someone's face for granted. | "It's not easy trying to re-find myself in what feels like someone else's life and the more sociable I'm becoming, the more challenging the prosopagnosia is. We take all the knowledge and information you get from someone's face for granted. |
| PROSOPAGNOSIA Can be caused by brain injury or illnessBut many have another variety from birthBrain scan research being done on those with condition Take the test at faceblind.org | PROSOPAGNOSIA Can be caused by brain injury or illnessBut many have another variety from birthBrain scan research being done on those with condition Take the test at faceblind.org |
| "You don't think about it how you'd feel if all that information was whipped off you. I wouldn't wish it on anybody' | "You don't think about it how you'd feel if all that information was whipped off you. I wouldn't wish it on anybody' |
| It may not be the case that there are only three groups of face recognisers, those with prosopagnosia, those who are "normal" and then the super recognisers. | It may not be the case that there are only three groups of face recognisers, those with prosopagnosia, those who are "normal" and then the super recognisers. |
| Instead, there may be a spectrum of face recognition, says Brad Duchaine, of the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience and University College London's prosopagnosia research centre. | Instead, there may be a spectrum of face recognition, says Brad Duchaine, of the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience and University College London's prosopagnosia research centre. |
| People like Claire have acquired prosopagnosia from damage to the brain. But there is another kind often less severe is called "developmental" prosopagnosia where someone has had the condition all their life. | People like Claire have acquired prosopagnosia from damage to the brain. But there is another kind often less severe is called "developmental" prosopagnosia where someone has had the condition all their life. |
| And the condition is surprisingly common. As many as one in 50 people will be prosopagnosic but often they won't know. | And the condition is surprisingly common. As many as one in 50 people will be prosopagnosic but often they won't know. |
| And at the other end of the spectrum scientists are beginning to study super recognisers, often establishing contact because of publicity about prosopagnosia. | And at the other end of the spectrum scientists are beginning to study super recognisers, often establishing contact because of publicity about prosopagnosia. |
| They are just starting to understand the brains of the super recognisers by scanning their neural networks and working out what might be structurally or functionally different about their grey matter. | They are just starting to understand the brains of the super recognisers by scanning their neural networks and working out what might be structurally or functionally different about their grey matter. |
| On standard tests of facial recognition, the super recognisers usually get full marks, but even if the faces are severely blurred they still get near to full marks, says recognition expert Prof Richard Russell, of Gettysburg College. | On standard tests of facial recognition, the super recognisers usually get full marks, but even if the faces are severely blurred they still get near to full marks, says recognition expert Prof Richard Russell, of Gettysburg College. |
| Chance encounters are remembered for years | Chance encounters are remembered for years |
| "One of the most exciting implications of this work is that while we assume we all see the same things, this work suggests that at least in terms of looking at faces we don't see the same things. | "One of the most exciting implications of this work is that while we assume we all see the same things, this work suggests that at least in terms of looking at faces we don't see the same things. |
| "Super recognisers are looking at the world in a different way than other people and it could be that this isn't limited to looking at faces but other aspects of seeing the world. And we think it's going to be a very helpful tool in helping understanding of how the mind and the brain work." | "Super recognisers are looking at the world in a different way than other people and it could be that this isn't limited to looking at faces but other aspects of seeing the world. And we think it's going to be a very helpful tool in helping understanding of how the mind and the brain work." |
| While not suffering difficulties, like those with prosopagnosia, the super recognisers sometimes still choose to modify their behaviour. | While not suffering difficulties, like those with prosopagnosia, the super recognisers sometimes still choose to modify their behaviour. |
| Jennifer admits lying when asked whether she has met people before. Some would find it unsettling that someone remembers their face and name after a momentary encounter many years before. | Jennifer admits lying when asked whether she has met people before. Some would find it unsettling that someone remembers their face and name after a momentary encounter many years before. |
| Just walking around in the city can produce a tissue of recognition. | Just walking around in the city can produce a tissue of recognition. |
| "It's not necessarily every single person who's walking by me in a rush of people on the street but if I notice someone then I will remember them | "It's not necessarily every single person who's walking by me in a rush of people on the street but if I notice someone then I will remember them |
| "I really don't have to have an important interaction with people." | "I really don't have to have an important interaction with people." |
| Significantly, even if the faces have changed considerably they are still recognisable | Significantly, even if the faces have changed considerably they are still recognisable |
| "People can get older - for some reason their faces still look the same to me. My mind is able to make the leap." | "People can get older - for some reason their faces still look the same to me. My mind is able to make the leap." |
| And certain sectors of society should try to avoid the super recognisers. | And certain sectors of society should try to avoid the super recognisers. |
| "I do always tell people that I think I would be the perfect witness for a crime," Jennifer says. | "I do always tell people that I think I would be the perfect witness for a crime," Jennifer says. |
| Send us your comments using the form below. | Send us your comments using the form below. |
| The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions | The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions |