How do you recognize people if not by their face?

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Reducto
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24 Apr 2010, 3:41 am

Once I found out about face blindness I started thinking about how I recognize people. I figured out I tend to remember peoples' mannerisms and voice more than anything else. I watch how people move, gesture, and watch for characteristic facial expressions. Voices are sometimes unique as well, and most people have phrases they say over and over again. If I don't recognize someone right away I can usually figure it out after we talk for a few minutes.

I also realized this may be why I am attracted to "quirky" people. People who have tattoos, strange mannerisms, strange voices, things like that. I wonder if it's because I have an easier time recognizing them, which makes me more comfortable.

How have you learned to recognize people?



Claradoon
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24 Apr 2010, 4:51 am

The voice, absolutely. Anything else is just a guess - their bright red hair, or maybe their bright red boots, that sort of thing.



sarek
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24 Apr 2010, 4:52 am

While my facial recognition is quite bad, its not so bad that I wont recognize immediate friends, colleagues and neighbours.

But with everyone else I am usually in trouble, recognizing them only if they have something distinctive.

Voices are a very important means of recognition for me. And if all else fails I resort to dirty tricks to figure out who they are from the context. I have become quite skilled at that game.


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LostAlien
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24 Apr 2010, 6:56 am

I do recognise faces somewhat but some things that can help me be sure are gait, hair, voice and scent (and sometimes clothing colours).



Woodpecker
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24 Apr 2010, 8:29 am

Hair colour helps a lot, so does the voice and the context which you see the person in.


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b9
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24 Apr 2010, 8:46 am

in the workplace i know who they are because they sit at the same desk they sat at last time i interacted with them.



bicentennialman
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24 Apr 2010, 9:43 am

It's all about context. If I'm used to seeing a person in a specific place at a specific time, I will have a much easier time recognizing them than I will if I meet them outside that context. There was a time recently when a woman said hello to me in the hallway, but I didn't have any idea who she was until we both went into the same classroom and she sat down two seats away from me! I had been in the same class with her all quarter, but I could only recognize her when she was at her normal seat in the classroom.

It can be easier to recognize a person if there is something distinctive about their appearance (height, hairstyle, clothing, etc.) or the way they talk or move. Sometimes I don't know why I am able to recognize a person; it happens automatically, the way that I imagine it must work for other people with recognizing faces. There are a few people that I have known for a long time, and I would probably be able to recognize them anywhere. Still, if I run into someone in an unexpected place (like seeing my professor at the mall), I will often feel unsure that my guess about who they are is right.



TheSpecialKid
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24 Apr 2010, 10:05 am

I see the face, I don't recognize the person. I hear the voice, or see them in a context, I recognize them immediately!



Apera
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24 Apr 2010, 12:25 pm

Voice, clothing, body type... I've gotten better at remembering faces bot I'm not quite there yet.


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pyzzazzyZyzzyva
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24 Apr 2010, 1:55 pm

I dont have a problem with face blindness, but i imagine that clothing, gait, skin/hair color, facial hair/ lack thereof, length of hair, or pimples would help me if i did have it.



Wintergreen_ink
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24 Apr 2010, 7:11 pm

I have face blindness.
Hair is the main feature I notice, but context is important. A lot of time I won't recognize someone even if I look straight at them if they're in a place I don't expect to see them. If I do recognize them I doubt whether or not they're who I think they are because they're in a weird place. Also little stuff like body type, clothes type, and mannerisms can help somewhat.



Zeek
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24 Apr 2010, 10:40 pm

Facial recognition I have quite well, if I know them I recognise them. Voice recognition I recognise any friends, however on the phone it's harder because it seems to distort the voice somewhat



French_Lola
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27 Apr 2010, 12:48 am

Most definitely the voice, and also the hair and body shape (tall, thin, etc.).
I have no trouble recognizing my family, friends, and about ten colleagues (except that one girl who changes her hair everyday, I can never recognize her).
With clients it's different. They have to come everyday for me to recognize them, and even so, it's because i'm at work and in that environment chances are the person who comes in is who i think they are.
Recently my husband & I were walking in the town center and i saw a man that looked like a customer of mine, but i wasn't sure. I tried to look carefully but you can't stare too much or the guy will think you're nuts or something :roll: So i said hello, just in case, but the man barely replied so that might have been somebody else.
My husband asked me "do you know him?",
"well, maybe" :lol:



devark
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27 Apr 2010, 5:34 pm

I have an excellent visual memory so its not a problem for me (body language however, is another story.)


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Ellaalle
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12 Jul 2010, 11:05 am

I tend to recognize people by their clothes, voice or where they are... that means that I will never recognize someone from work at the mall, or someone from school at the park until they talk to me.



KaiG
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12 Jul 2010, 2:52 pm

I remember people's faces no problem. It's remembering their names that I can't do.


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