The neurological disorder that prevents you from recognizing faces, how is this possible? What would it look like?
In: Biology
I have this, and I compensate, like most people with the condition, by using other clues to identify people. Tall lanky guy in blue jeans in my office building? Must be Tom. Redhead with baseball cap an a beard at the club? Must be John.
This makes for a jarring experience if I meet people where I don’t expect to meet them or if they change their usual attire or change hairstyle.
It’s not that I can’t *see* faces, it’s just that to me a face is a collection of details with no overarching meaning. Kind of how text would look to someone who can’t read: they can make out the individual letters in perfect detail, and see the order they appear in, but still be unable to tell if they’ve seen a piece of text before.
The condition is a continuum, and I am fortunate enough that I only have a mild form. The only negative impact it had on my life is that people sometimes think I’m aloof or rude when I don’t recognize them.
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