IAmA Person living with Prosopagnosia, which basically means I am unable to recognise faces. AMA!

Do you recognize your own face? in the mirror? in old photos?

No, not at all. Mirrors are terrifying when home alone...

That sounds scary. If you look into a mirror, do you subconsciously know, that it is you stareing back? Or do you need a moment to process the information?

I have to actually think to realize "oh wait that's me!" but once i do it's fine.

Do you not get more used to it over time?

For example, walking near a mirror, you might expect to see a person you dont recognise. Or perhaps, because it happens so often (I assume), when you see a stranger in the mirror you think "OK who is this" rather calmly?

I do get used to it, but if i am lacking in sleep or other it is worse than usual.

Would putting a little note on the bottom of the mirror help?

Maybe it says "Just you, or It's you?"

He can write "this me" on his forehead lol

He should get a tattoo of a mirrored version of this. On his forehead.

Ingenious!!!

What do you experience when looking at a face? Can you focus on individual parts (mouth, eyes, nose) and draw them one at a time?

Can you tell apart the expressions of emoji?

What other complex shapes do you have trouble processing? Do certain fonts give you trouble? Is it hard to interpret maps?

It's really awkward to look at people in the eyes, i just really want to look away, but if i only look at one of their eyes(Because eyes are pretty), i can look someone "in the eyes".

Yes, i can tell emotions, if anything, i am above average at that.

Cars are impossible to recognize, i cannot tell the difference between a beetle and a Ferrari, and trust me, i have tried...

Is it possible to have a “mild” form of Prosopagnosia? Because I’ve always had a hard time remembering people and names, and I also noticed I’ve had a very hard time remembering peoples’ cars and cars in general (I’m always embarrassed because someone will say “I’m in the white Nissan” or something and I have no idea what to look for other than White.) I’ve often thought to myself “I wonder if my inability to remember people and recognize cars are related” because I was just about to ask you if you have trouble remembering cars, and apparently you do!

But I can tell the difference between a beetle and a regular car..

Yes, it is very possible. In fact, one in four people have very mild Face Blindness, so it is very likely that you have mild Prosopagnosia.

Are you still able to tell if someone is pretty or handsome?

Yes, i can still tell someone's Beauty.

Are you able to remember any of the characteristics that make someone pretty when you look away from them?

Yes, as long as my brain does not try to store the memory by person.

Did you develop alternative methods to recognize faces? Such as "the one with the big nose is Frank, the one with the mole on his jaw is Steve, the gap-toothed one is Carol, etc"

That is almost exactly what i do. i usually recognize people by their hair, which is not very good when they get their hair cut...

So how do you know your immediate family is who they say they are?

Does this mean you can pick up other identifying features better like someone's smell or voice?

I know my family and friends by their voice, body shape, gait, hair, favorite clothes, and many other things. i can recognize people by anything but natural facial recognition, so i can still usually tell who's who.

That is, until they get a haircut or something...

Edit: Spelling

Is it possible to have a more mild version of this condition? Both me and my mother really struggle with facial recognition, and primarily use the methods you mentioned. I regularly don't know who somebody is after they've had a haircut, and my mother usually needs to spend months getting to know somebody before she recognises them. If either of us see someone outside of where we expect to, or wearing different clothes etc it can be very confusing, although listening to people's voices usually helps.

it is very possible to have mild Prosopagnosia, you can be anywhere between not having it, and being me.

Who do you share that you have this condition with? Do you keep it to your closer social circle, or tell it to most new people you meet? Is it awkward to explain?

I usually only tell people that either need to know it, or that i trust. All of my close friends and family know, and constantly forget about it. it is awkward to explain sometimes, but i think some of the question when i first explain it to them are pretty funny, but understandable. "so are peoples faces like black dots?" is a common one.

Ahah, "black dots" is awesome. I guess it's quite hard for people who just see faces to wrap our heads around the concept, to imagine what it's like. I first read about it in a Oliver Sacks book, but if it had been online I would've thought it an elaborate hoax. Human brains are insane mysterious little boxes.

By the way, thanks for doing this, it's really interesting!

Your welcome! it's lots of fun for me, so i guess it's a fair trade!

Have you ever not recognized someone and suffered repercussions as a result?

More times than i can count.

seconding a story time! what were some of the repercussions?

One person thought i was trying to disown them!

oh goodness, that can’t have been too fun to explain away. what happened afterwards?

Eventually i did explain it to them, but not without a lot of struggle. They forgave me, which is lucky.

What do you think of the Mona Lisa? But seriously how does your condition bwork with paintings/photographs/cartoons

I can't recognize the faces of detailed paintings or photo's, but I am totally fine with cartoons, thankfully. Sometimes movie's are hard to watch if all of the actors are similar, or I will think that two of the actors are the same person, until they both appear in the same shot, and I question reality until i realize that they are different people.

At what age were you diagnosed? Have you had it all your life?

I was told that i might have it when i was very young, but because of me never having seen though another persons eyes, i didn't actually realize until I was a lot older.

I didn't realise it either until I was about about 8 or so. When I was younger, my friends would wave at me and call me by name but because they weren't in school I didn't recognise them, wouldn't reply and would get unsettled and confused as to how they knew who I was.

This is relatable on a spiritual level...

Are you familiar with the Zero Escape series of games and what are your feelings on their portrayal of the condition if so?

No, I should have a look at that once I stop getting swamped by questions. (keep them coming though, it's lots of fun!)

Can you please describe your experience watching this video?

Trippy... It looks a bit like a mess of gelatinous, colored goo, that is being sculpted in front of my eyes by invisible hands.

So, when you say you don’t recognize faces, is it the equivalent of an extreme short term memory where you might look at your mom’s face, figure out its your mom, see her face and think, “oh, that’s what mom looks like.” Then if she left and walked back in 60 Seconds later with a completely different shirt on and didn’t say anything it would be as if you had never seen her before?

Or, are faces a bit of a blur?

Or, something else?

I understand the words but not the actual way in which you experience the lack of recognition.

Looking at someones face is like looking at abstract art, i don't have built in ability to recognize it, but, if i see it enough, i will learn to know it's name eventually.

Do you recognize facial features as belonging to someone’s face?

Yes. Especially people with big noses.

You’ve said in another post that cars are impossible to recognize. So do you see a sports car and a van as the same object with wheels? Or do you see a difference but just can’t point it out?

I see a difference it's just very hard to point out.

Have you ever drawn what a face looks like to you? I'm so intrigued. Thanks for sharing!

i am awful at drawing, but even if i wasn't i probably would not be able to recall what a certain face looked like for long enough to draw it. faces look the same to me as any other person though, i just can't recognize them.

Is it only with humans? Or also with animals, like a dog, cat etc?

That's hard to answer, mainly because everyone is face blind to animals. Only dog's can use built in doggo recognition.

Does this leave you to susceptible to anything? For example, scams or risks.

I am highly susceptible to people "borrowing" pencil's, because i can never remember who i lent them to. Rip half of my stationary...

But other than that, just anything that involves remembering someone is risky, so i try my best to avoid that.

If someone cut their hair (a female who had long hair suddenly chopped off her lcoks to be shoulder length) walked in would you still recognize them?

Also same goes if a guy had straight hair but then came in the next day with a curly perm?

Not at all. Even if it was my own mother.

So at times do you not recognise your own face?

Yes, I actually constantly look into mirrors and think, "Wait, Who the hell is that?" before realizing that its me, and that i am not being robbed by a guy wearing the same clothes as me.

Do you have a favourite actor/actress?

Does Morgan Freeman count? I like his voice.

How long to forget a face? Like if you look at your dad and study his face, do a 180 and look again, would you have to start at square 1?

its not as much forgetting their face, as i won't even store the memory of looking at their face while i am looking at them. So pretty much instantly.

is Katy Perry on the right or left side?

Both.

Can you read facial expressions?

Yes, i can. This is because thankfully, the part of the brain the recognizes emotions is different from the part that recognizes faces.

Is it not present at various degrees? I think I have a case of it, where it is for example very hard for me to recognize someone where I don't expect to see them. Like you, it took many years before I realized there was something wrong although it was embarrassing over the years.

One in four people will have very mild Face blindness, or so i have heard. I unluckily have it very severely. By all means you could have mild Face Blindness, ask a professional for a diagnosis, it will probably help later on.

What is it like for you to watch television shows or movies? Does it affect the way you enjoy them?

It's very difficult to watch TV shows and movies, because i can never tell who's who if they have any kind of uniform, but cartoons and anime are a lot easier to watch and enjoy without only just realizing ten episodes in that Bob and Steve aren't the same person.

Was there ever a point where it affected you more than usual?

No not really, unless you mean certain situations...

What kind of certain situations are the worst?

Trying to find a certain person in a big crowd is hell. Especially when i get the wrong person. Edit: Crowd not crown

I’m sorry to hear that

Thank you for your concern.

How has or does this affect dating in any way? Or even just friendships? Do you find it difficult to make friends?

it is very hard to make friends when you can never remember their names, but i am a single virgin, who has never been on a date, so i don't know about dating. Yet.

So how do you decide how attractive a person is? by how fit body wise?

Same as any other person, sexiness is not related to peoples faces.

How do people react when you don't recognize them? Especially people that you see occasionally like waiters, or if you meet anclient or your boss in a public place. And can you recognize the faces on the dollar bills? Are you often surprised by someone waving at you?

it's hard to explain, but usually they are just confused, i always think that they are going to be offended, but they never are. when someone waves at me i have to pretend to know them until they mention their name, if they ever do, which is very awkward. Edit: Spelling

Do you ever see faces in everday objects? Like the things posted in https://www.reddit.com/r/Pareidolia

I can see faces in objects in the same way you can see a chair, or any other every day object. Like if you saw an arrow, and thought "that looks like a smiley face".

Are all faces different or does the brain borrow parts from other faces? You mentioned it being like abstract art, so is it always random or do you see Brad Pitt or parts of him for example in another person?

I have not really thought about that, but i don't think i do.

When someone approaches you and it is clear that they know you, what process do you take to work out who it is?

I pretend to know them until they mention their name, if they ever do... It makes for some awkward conversations, to say the least.

can you recognize your own face?

No. Mirrors are terrifying when home alone...

and it would be dangerous to share a photo of myself

Are you able to recognize photos of yourself tho?

No. Not at all. it makes for some interesting scenes involving mirrors...

When you feel your own face, such as the curvature of your mouth/nose/eyes, can you visualize it? Have you looked at yourself and felt your face to better grasp what you are looking at?
I think it would be interesting if you just tried to draw what you felt with one hand, slowly, on a paper. Just shapes. If that does not make you uncomfortable or anything.

I am awful at drawing, but i could probably draw faces the same as anybody else if I could remember them. I might try that one day!

I don't know if in too late to ask this, but what about cartoons? Can you recognize character faces? How about caricatures? Or animal faces? Thanks

Animal faces are the same with everybody, only dog's have in built doggo recognizers. caricatures are basically the same as normal faces. but cartoons and anime are great because my prosopagnosia does not affect that at all.

Does this disorder affect any other aspect besides recognizing faces? Because you said its in the part of the brain that recognizes complex shapes. so for example do you have problems with big legos models or something (i couldnt think of an better example xD but i hope you get what i mean).

Cars are impossible to recognize, and trust me, I've tried.

Do you struggle with geometry? Or can you tell a triangle from a square? Also, how are you able to decipher letters or the alphabet? Thanks for the AMA

Shapes and letters are very simple shapes, it might have been hard to learn them at first, but I love reading, and I am not particularly bad at it.

There are so many apps for blind people, there must be one for too right? Like you save someone's face on your phone, would be weird to stick your phone in everyone's face all the time tho?

I do not want to have to stick my phone in everyone's face. And there's the whole keeping it a secret part, too...

Do peoples faces ever appear in your dreams?

No, but i barely ever remember my dreams, so i wouldn't really know.

Have you watched an animated movie before?

Anime?

Hell yea!

How was it? Can you recognize each character from different scenes?

My Face blindness does not affect anime at all. which is why i like it!

Can you remember really unusual features? Like moles, broken noses, missing teeth or a massive beard?

Yes.

Dad, is that you?

Unlikely, I don't have any children that i know of.