Super Recognition

Have you always freaked people out by your memory? Do you see people in the street today that you met 6 years ago at a bus stop, and You still remember them, but they don't remember you?? When you watch movies or tv, even commercials and are always pointing them out? (I do this one, especially, drives my mom nuts sometimes!) lol

Technically it is known as a Super Power, YES THEY DO EXIST!! Not everyone has this ability, and those who don't can't understand HOW some people do it. 

In fact, in some countries, people with this ability are known to go into law enforcement to help spot big criminals in crowds.  I wouldn't be able to go that far, myself, but I DO love my ability, and use it all the time, whether I mean to or not! When I was a kid, I can remember my mom driving down the street, and as we would pass people,  then she would ask me name three articles of clothing that man or woman was wearing, or what color hair and shoes did they have. I never knew why, but it definitely heightened this ability even more. And my Dad used to play music in the car, or at home, and test me on WHO was singing, what band they are in on just the first few Verses, It was a pretty fun time, to say the least.  My dad and mom BOTH  have some of these same abilities, but my mom doesn't seem to recognize her ability just yet sometimes. 
(See what I did there? ;-) )

Here is a quote from one of the pages Linked Below

Although I don't think its creepy, I think it's just we are more observant.

Well, YOU JUST MIGHT BE A SUPER RECOGNIZER TOO!! 

Take the Test through The University of Greenwich 
at the bottom of Notable Link

 

 

My first remembered experience of my super-recognition ability, outside of TV, I remember going into 7th grade (brand new school, a BIG school, in a new city, and seeing a guy who wasn't in any of my classes WHATSOEVER. This guy I remembered from my either PreSchool and 1st-grade CLASS in a completely different city. I remembered his name was Josh, and I won't reveal his last name, but he had the name of a Shakespearean character)

Anyway, I didn't want to go up to this guy at all, Never thought he would ever remember me, so I never asked... never talked to him, but I KNEW it was him.... then the yearbook came out... it was DEFINITELY him, I had told my friend this guys name when I first noticed him, and when they saw the yearbook and His name was the name I mention, they were FLOORED. How can someone recognize someone after SO MANY years, from CHILD to young adult, people change, right? I still did it.

Another thing. in my experience, is that I tend to drive some people insane with this ability, my mom sometimes being one of them. I also have a habit of making this exited exasperated intake of breath, a loud gasp, upon realization of who someone is. I'd be watching some show with my mom, Or she would be fast-forwarding through commercials and next thing she knows I'm making this sound... she freaks and is like:

"WHAT? what happened??"

I would respond with something like "OMG, they were in a commercial for Paint about 12 years ago, they were a teenager, I KNOW that was them!" or whatever commercial or show it was. But with the excitement in that first realization, my mom would think something really bad happened, or that I was hurt. That was the part that would drive her nuts! and I would do it for EVERY other person I saw in almost ALL shows, commercials, Movies, didn't matter, Anything I watch, I'm recognizing SOMEONE lol

One specifically I remember I saw a woman in an episode of Cold Case, One where someone was thought to have committed suicide at a high school, but it was murder... Detention was the episode title... Anyway, I gasp, my mom is like "WHAT? WHAT??!?"  And I respond with SHE'S in a Baskin Robbins commercial (I think from a few years before, but it could have aired around the same time though)

 I refer to the commercial as "I'll get the Cake" where a couple goes into the kitchen during a birthday party, and the husband says excitedly "I'll get the cake, you get the forks" (or spoons, but I think it was forks, because it was a commercial for ice cream cake..... ) and the wife does a turn and a swoop making him think she is taking the forks, and then grabs the cake and takes off with it and smirks like she is thinking, "Gotcha!' I doubt ANYONE remembers that one but me if anyone out there remembers that one, let me know!... well anyway,

I found the woman in the commercial, and the episode thanks to my fave website IMDB

Her name is Tracie Thoms

I cannot find the commercial sadly, maybe someday I will

Or if you don't believe me, look for yourself for that commercial, then go to Tracie's IMDB and tell me that's not the woman! :-) I will bet ANYONE $1,000,000 that THAT is her. (and I don't have that kind of money right now) That is how sure I am

ANYHOW, My list goes on and on, from recognizing actors from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival on Americas Funniest People back when that was still on (not positive but I think his name was James Burroughs or something like that

(he did a bird, pigeon impression I believe or peacock? I know it was several impressions but definitely a bird) (to the guy from OSF back in the late 90s, early 2000s on AFP, was that you?)

To seeing Actors pass through where I worked. One moment, in particular, was especially amusing, An actor from The Festival (OSF actor for 12 seasons, up until recently, amazing actor BTW~!) Funny thing is he knew my mom and sister from working with them in a few things and having taught my sister a class, and knowing them for years, but not knowing me... I said "Hey, John, How are things at the festival?', and he looked at me funny and said things were going well.

And my superpower doesn't just involve faces, it can be People, Places or even THINGS...

My sister was in a short film for The ABCs of Death M is for Madness aka Necrotic by XRATS productions

 (A VERY talented Crew who makes all KINDS of short films and videos)

If you haven't seen this, it is GREAT but not for the WEAK STOMACHED, believe me...

But if you don't mind a bit of gore, and cutting of flesh (you'll see)

WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK!  If you have  a VERY week stomach for gore and and pain, STOP watching after 1:12 hehe

Anyway... My sister was in this film, and then, LATER ON, I see a commercial for 5-Hour Energy that she did... and OBVIOUSLY, I am going to recognize my own Family, but take a look at her HAIR......from both. 

( By the way, not to be Bias or anything, but isn't she awesomely talented? Ok I am Very biased, lol)

THEY USED THE SAME WIG! Did they not? I asked on the post about it, and One of the guys of XRATS CONFIRMED that it was, in fact, THE SAME WIG... I am now recognizing HAIR, Inanimate OBJECTS! lol

 Anyway, Until Recently, I thought that I was the only one who was doing this, I couldn't understand why the people  thought I was so strange being so exact on who people are, no matter how much they have aged, what side of their face I am looking at, Or even same FILMING locations! 

I was very excited to stumble upon these sites about super recognition, telling me I kind of had a superpower.

These were my test results at one of the testing sites I found through this article.

You scored 13 out of 14.   

If you scored above 10 you may be a super recognizer, but you would need to do more tests to find this out. This test on its own is not diagnostic of super-recognition face recognition ability. 

At the University of Greenwich, we normally ask participants, particularly police officers, to take a series of different tests under very different conditions to build up a true picture of face recognition ability...

We are always looking for volunteers willing to take part in our research programme in order to help us develop new tests and to understand more about why some people are better than others at face recognition.

There is another site on which I tried to take the test, but for some reason the test was flawed, in the programming or something... it was BASICALLY the same exact test shown above, same pictures, and I answered the same answers, but it kept telling me I got 0 out of 14 I KNEW they were right, the other test had a couple of the same ones. I did the same test 4 times with the SAME answers over and over, not changing it once and I got a 0 answer, then I took the test you see above and got 13 out of 14... Yeah That First test is messed up, and It won't let me comment on the page, so I guess they will never know my results!

Then there is the other side of the spectrum.
Face Blindness, otherwise known as Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia, also called face blindness, is an impairment in the recognition of faces. It is often accompanied by other types of recognition impairments (place recognition, car recognition, a facial expression of emotion, etc.) though sometimes it appears to be restricted to facial identity. Not surprisingly, prosopagnosia can create serious social problems. Prosopagnosics often have difficulty recognizing family members, close friends, and even themselves. They often use alternative routes to recognition, but these routes are not as effective as recognition via the face.

Sorry, Kirsten, He just might not remember you, Don't feel bad, TONS of us do!!

Here are a couple more articles that go into the superpower, as well as the opposite side of the spectrum, face blindness or Prosopagnosia (I guess 2% of the population has this, including Brad Pitt, so if you meet him a couple times, don't be offended if he doesn't remember, he isn't being rude or snobbish, he just doesn't have that knack of recognition!)

Notable Links

  Here are several pages you can read about Super Recognizers and what it is all about.  Do you think YOU could be a Super Recognizer TOO? Take the Test and find out!

The Science of Us

Are You A Super Recognizer 

by Melissa Dahl

Business Insider

Test If You Are A Super Recognizer

by Erin Brodwin 

The New Yorker

The Detectives Who Never Forget A Face

by Patrick Radden Keefe 

Total Recall: Scotland Yard Constable Never Forgets A Face

Science Blogs: Cognitive Daily

Super Recognizers: People With An Amazing Ability To Recognize Faces

by Dave Munger 

SF GATE: 'Super-recognizers' never forget a face
by Roni Caryn Rabin New York Times

 How Good Is Your Face Perception
Laura Freburg

 

And Last but not least,

 All of these pages may direct you to this page
Where you Take the Test!!!

 University of Greenwich  

TEST

Could You Be A Super Recognizer? 

If you would like to see more of Mig Windows

If you would like to see more of XRATS videos


And since I mention Oregon Shakespeare Festival, of COURSE, I am sending you to THAT official website as well! There are a LOT of amazing actors, as well as Fantastic production and SUPER Friendly Box Office Staff~!
And IF YOU GO to see some plays, Don't forget to check out The Green Show Before The Show!