From Anne Strieber
I have been interested in the article on face blindness (25 November 2006, p 34) and the letters commenting on it (23 December 2006, p 27). David Fine’s description of recognising “types” (such as a red-bearded man) but not individuals has been my experience ever since an aneurysm burst in my brain a little over two years ago.
I now joke that I remember faces the way other people remember names: through a verbal association with their attributes (Jack Black has black hair). When I first came out of hospital, I could no longer read a non-digital watch either, but that ability has since returned. My neurologist tells me that each of these functions – facial recognition and telling time – takes place in a specific part of the brain, which has been identified by PET scan. In fact, infants only develop the ability to recognise faces as their brains develop and start out identifying their mothers by their smell.
Kate Hopkinson asks whether other people have “voice blindness”: I have always had that problem. I can’t bear it when people don’t announce who they are on the phone but only say “hello,” expecting you to recognise their voice.
Santa Monica, California, US
