Anyone have difficulty recognizing people?

[yankeesfan]

I don't think my eyesight is very poor, but when I walk by people I oftentimes don't recognize who they are until after they say hi, and it takes a few seconds after they pass for me to remember who they are. We aren't walking around a corner either. It could be an open field and I've only him/her in my eyesight for twenty seconds.

It's definitely a problem. People think I am rude by not responding quick enough, but I just can't for the life of me recognize some people. I've had it brought up to me before.

 

[zokudu]

IS it an issue of placing a name or of remembering that you do indeed know someone?

 

[HAL9000]

Hmm I've not had this problem my Mum and Dad have had issues of not seeing people propperly (eye sight issues), how old are you?

 

[yankeesfan]

I'm 21. The issue is recognizing that the person in front of me is someone I knowe. The more that I think about it, I think it is probably eyesight related. I generally don't have any trouble associating faces with names when it comes to television, internet, etc.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Are these people asian?

 

[HAL9000]

I'm 21. The issue is recognizing that the person in front of me is someone I knowe. The more that I think about it, I think it is probably eyesight related. I generally don't have any trouble associating faces with names when it comes to television, internet, etc.

Hmm is it that it takes you a moment to focus on their faces, or their faces seem distorted or blurred or is it that when you see their faces in that first instant you don't know who they are?

 

[yankeesfan]

Hmm is it that it takes you a moment to focus on their faces, or their faces seem distorted or blurred or is it that when you see their faces in that first instant you don't know who they are?

When I see their faces in that first instant, I don't know who they are.

 

[zokudu]

Have you spoken to your doctor? This doesn't sound like a eyesight issue but rather a memory one.

 

[Cogman]

It is a common issue that everyone has. If you see someone in a situation you aren't expecting to see them in (EG, bumping into a school professor at a grocery store) there is a good chance you won't initially recognize them. It has to do with the fact that humans naturally group and box things.

People are just seeing you first, doing the "Oh wait, who is that again" process, and then approaching you after they realize who you are. If they think it is rude that you don't instantly know who they are, they are jackasses and not worth your time.

Funny story, I ran into my cousin at the college I go to. I am very familiar with her and have known her my whole life, yet when she approached and started talking to me, I couldn't recall her name. It was as simple as "I didn't expect you here."

 

[HAL9000]

When I see their faces in that first instant, I don't know who they are.

In that case my guess wouldn't be eye sight problems. Do some research into this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_perception

 

[TecHNooB]

I'm pretty good with faces, its names I don't remember. But that doesn't mean I don't recognize them immediately.. just don't put names and faces together instantly.

 

[zokudu]

It is a common issue that everyone has. If you see someone in a situation you aren't expecting to see them in (EG, bumping into a school professor at a grocery store) there is a good chance you won't initially recognize them. It has to do with the fact that humans naturally group and box things.

While this may be true if the OP is having social problems stemming from this issue it seems like it will be more prevalent than in an average person and therefore an actual medical problem.

 

[yankeesfan]

While this may be true if the OP is having social problems stemming from this issue it seems like it will be more prevalent than in an average person and therefore an actual medical problem.

Eh. I don't think they are serious social problems. Cogman may have hit the problem on the head. If you combine undiagnosed eyesight problems with his explanation, I think I'm all right.

 

[ivan2]

all white ppl look the same, so are blacks and hispanic chicks.

 

[rudeguy]

I'm terrible with it. I think it has to do with my short term memory being junk but I have no idea if that's right.

If its someone I work with or might see again, I'll do the trick where you associate something noticeable with their name. Like the FedEx commercial but usually filthy...

 

[yhelothar]

I don't have any of the issues cogman speaks of. In fact, my facial recognition goes off so quick that I only need to have a hint of the person before I recognize them. Often I'll even see them from the side, towards the rear, and a bell would ring in my head on who that is when I'm not even thinking about it or trying to direct my attention to it, and usually my gut feeling on who it is ends up being right.

yankeesfan... when you can't recognize them right away, does a bell at least go off in your head saying that oh.. this is someone I know.. or before you recognize them, they're a total stranger?

If it's the latter, I'd really lean towards neckarb's post on facial recognition.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

I have no difficult in memorizing the faces. I often memorize their number associated, such as how old they are, their day of birthday in a month, etc. I guess it is the numbers that help me out a lot.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Names. I forget them, always.

Hell, when I went to college, I was hanging out with friends when I realized I had forgotten everyone's names. Same happened with teachers half way through the school year and with other friends that I had hung out with for 6 years.

I feel dumb alot when I keep forgetting people's names.

 

[Pliablemoose]

yankeesfan, mention it to your doctor on your next visit, just to be sure...

I'm not saying it's lupus or a brain tumor or anything, but you'd be amazed at what they can pick up in just a couple of minutes if they look for a neurological deficit, he may want to give you an MRI...

 

[Bibble]

OP it sounds like you might have facial recognition issues. My friend's girlfriend has the same problem. She will see people who she has met many times before as clear as day and she will not know who they are. She's very self-conscious when people wave at her because she really has no idea who they are. After a few seconds of thinking about it she will recognize them. I'm not sure if there is anything that can be done about it as it has been described to me as just some weird minor condition that has to be lived with.

 

[Taejin]

I don't think my eyesight is very poor, but when I walk by people I oftentimes don't recognize who they are until after they say hi, and it takes a few seconds after they pass for me to remember who they are. We aren't walking around a corner either. It could be an open field and I've only him/her in my eyesight for twenty seconds.

It's definitely a problem. People think I am rude by not responding quick enough, but I just can't for the life of me recognize some people. I've had it brought up to me before.

if you're having trouble with facial recognition it might just be a problem with your brain. I know for sure there's an area of the brain that deals exclusively with facial recognition, and in rare cases there are people who can't recognize ANYONE by face.

edit: Look I don't read posts before posting! who fucking cares

 

[SlitheryDee]

I have the same problem. I think the issue with me is that I hardly ever really give a shit who anyone is. Their names slip my memory nanoseconds after they utter it and their faces are committed to memory as little more than blurry ovals. I spend most of most conversations trying to get away and therefore don't remember what was said. To contrast this I've observed many many people spending great deals of energy working out exactly who other people are and what their relation is to other people they know. I just don't have any interest in doing that, and therefor I will often be at a loss for a while when meeting people who obviously know who I am, but whose identity I cannot immediately recall.

 

[JimmiG]

I have no problem recognizing people.. but pairing a person/face with a name can be difficult sometimes. I can remember many things about the person, like when I last met them, and random bits they has told me, but his/her name slips my mind.

This obviously doesn't happen with people I know well... But as an example, there are people in my class that I barely talk to, whose names I have trouble remembering. Fortunately you don't often need to call people by their name - it's enough to just say - Hey, how are you doing? How did the exam go? - and they'll think you remember everything about them, including name

 

[pontifex]

i can remember faces pretty easily but not names, especially if I only met the person briefly.

hell, i have problems remembering names of people i worked with for 4 years after I've not worked with them for awhile.

 

[911paramedic]

Yes.

Names are tough too. In fact, the first thing I would do when I got a patient was to write their name on my glove.