"Super-Recognizers"

[lashley101]

For those of you who might not know what a "super-recognizer" is, it is someone who has an uncanny ability to remember faces. To be more specific, being a super-recognizer entails more than simply remembering faces you interact with everyday. Super-recognizers can remember a face they haven't seen since 15 years or more ago.

It wasn't until about 4 or 5 years ago that I realized I had this ability/gift. I would instantly recognize a face I hadn't seen since I was a little girl (i.e. seeing parent's of kids I went to grade school with, hardly had any interaction with, but still knew exactly who they are). Even when people have aged since the last I have seen them--say 10+ years ago--I still recognize their faces. In the supermarket, at the mall, on the street, at a bus stop, etc.

I can remember faces from movies of B list actors and actresses that I had only seen once in a movie years and years ago. And of course, I recognize easily faces I pass on the street once and keep recognizing their faces in a crowd when I see them going to work every day. I can remember waiters and waitresses who served me at restaurants that I had only eaten at once and where years had passed.

I'm wondering if any other members have this ability and if so, I'd love to hear about your stories and experiences with this gift. Have you been able to actually use it in a professional way?

Thanks,
Lauren.

 

[onceuponatime.bm]

I read your post and mentioned it to my mom and she looked at me like I was crazy and said, "That is so you." I thought everyone could do it! It becomes a little overwhelming in the small(ish) town that I live in because I worked as a server. At the time it worked really well because I would remember peoples faces that I had served before and they liked being recognized. Then when I saw them at Wal-Mart or the gas station I felt confident saying hi because I recognized them. We moved away, then moved back about 10 years later and it would irk me because I knew people's faces but seeing them out of context was confusing for me. Not everyone set off an "alarm", so to speak, but its like you said with seeing B list actors once in the background of a movie--sometimes it nags at me until I can place them and I can't let it go.

Working where I do now, at a financial institution, it helps tremendously with building member relationships because again, I'm remembering their faces inside and outside of the branch and I have taught myself to remember little details to recall their name or something significant about them. I generally link a mnemonic trigger with something about their physical appearance so I can think of their name faster. For example, one of our members has a dog named Max that he brings with him and his name is Mickey (This one is too easy but it was the first one I had stick, so it's my favorite). So when I see his face I say "Mickey and Max" to myself three times. Every single time. Once we were at Pet Smart and they were there and it just tickled Mickey that I said "Hi Max!" It also helped when someone came in to get a loan, but they were using someone else's information. Something didn't feel right and I knew I had seen them somewhere else--I still don't know where I'd seen them but they were not who they said they were and if I hadn't recognized them I would not have looked into verifying their identity more than we usually do and would have lost a lot of money.

I don't know if those examples help you in your profession, but now that I'm more aware of what it is I'm going to push myself to use it more often!