How many times have you heard someone say “Sorry I’m bad at names”? It is a common phrase that people don’t think much about. In some cases they genuinely could just have a bad memory when it comes to recalling people, and in some cases they could be face blind.
The term face blind is baffling. Does it mean one is blind to faces? Yes! Face blindness also known as Prosopagnosia is a disorder where one can not recognize people’s faces. It often affects people from birth and could affect a person throughout their life.
People with face blindness can see just fine. The only issue is they just can’t recognize faces. They see color well and can differentiate patterns. They have no problems memory, understanding what they see and they have normal intelligence. Yet this condition can affect a person’s daily life.
The term “blind” is associated with this disorder but they are technically aren’t actually blind. They know when they see a face. They can see the eyes, mouth, lips and other features well like anyone else. But they do not know who the face belongs to.
A study suggested that one in 50 people may have a degree of face blindness but may people do not even know it exists. These people often grow up thinking there just “bad with faces/names”. One can only imagine that having such a disorder could derail your social life. People with face blindness often do not like to socialize as it may make them feel like they are always amongst strangers.
It seems like every day a new disorder/disease comes up and there are names for everything from fears/phobias to habits. How does one draw a line between genuinely having a bad memory and being face blind? We don’t know. But it makes for some interesting food for thought.