Comments on: Lost in Face Space: My latest Discover column

By: COREY

COREY — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 08:32:52 +0000

OMG that test is bullshit. I got 44%.

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 05:09:12 +0000

Wow. Me too. Just took the test and got a 45%.

By: David B. Benson

David B. Benson — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:05:43 +0000

I remeber faces so well that the children of former students, now college students themselves are readily placed as a child of an alum.

But names now…

Fortunately I can remember where my wallet is and that in my wallet is some i.d…. Just kidding, but I do have to stuggle to drag out any names other than my own.

By: Richard Prins

Richard Prins — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:21:55 +0000

A Google Talk from 2007 on the subject: Is That My Brother? Perceptual and Neurobiological Factors in Face Blindness

By: khan

khan — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:08:28 +0000

I’m in the same company. Find it difficult to remember faces beyond a few close in time (also deficient at reading facial expression).
So glad I’m retired.

By: Carl Zimmer

Carl Zimmer — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:05:02 +0000

Well, now you know. Puts in you good company with Oliver Sacks!

By: Bbq Dude

Bbq Dude — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:23:43 +0000

I read the sentence “We can commit a face to memory with a single viewing, and even if we see that face only once its memory can stay fresh for years. “, and thought, “What a load of bull, people can’t remember faces for more than a few seconds after they’ve seen them”. By the time I got to the fourth paragraph, I thought, “Goodness, I think I might have this prosopagnosia”. Sure enough, I fail the test at http://prosopagnosiaresearch.org/clinical-tests with flying colours, getting a grade no better than if I had randomly guessed.

Fascinating article, and holy smokes if it doesn’t change my day…

By: johnk

johnk — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 23:11:02 +0000

The multidimensionality of face-space may help to explain why we can’t describe a face a way that someone can recognize it.

Recognizing many different faces seems to have high value to our species. But why? My guess is that Congressman Lance is calling for an expedited review of the health care law by the U.S. Supreme Court. recognition is the principal basis for individual recognition. (Lots of mammals use scent for this purpose.) Creating complex social structures depends on recognizing many individuals and remembering histories of our interactions with each.

By: Carl Zimmer

Carl Zimmer — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:55:03 +0000

I’d better drop that into the post to lure some other people in…

By: Wilson

Wilson — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:51:50 +0000

I’ve just started the article and I had to stop reading to come here and tell you that that is one of the best opening sentences I’ve ever read. I hope you grinned to yourself when you finished it.