Do you notice the people you see regularly and can you tell them apart?
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Anonymous
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I am good at remembering faces and details about people, and thus am really good at recognizing people I see regularly. So for instance I feel like I know, on sight, all the people who pick their kids up at the same time as me at aftercare. I also recognize all the families who have kids in the same non-school classes as me, people who have the same walking commute to school or work, people who frequent the same coffee shop or grocery stores as me at the same time, as well as the people who work in those places. Even when I don't know people and don't know their names, I'll know "hey there is the lady with the long blonde hair who who often wears the burgundy coat and has blue birkenstocks she wears in the summer." Or "there's the woman who always looks annoyed at pickup, unless the lady with that big plaid scarf is around, and then she is always happy to see scarf lady."
Do other people notice things like this? Sometimes I feel crazy because I recognize pretty much everyone in my life and I think other people are maybe not this observant? I've had situations where I've run into a person from one sphere in another place, and said something like "oh hi, our kids are in the same aftercare class, they always come out at the same time -- do you work in this neighborhood also?" and people will look at me like I am stalking them. But I'm not, I obtain this information pretty passively and I don't know a way to not notice these things. Am I actually an outlier? Is it weird to reveal I recognize people or have noticed them before? I'm talking about people I will have seen dozens and dozens of times, not someone I saw once or twice. Sometimes it's people I've seen around for years, yet if I say anything to them, they will look at me blankly and it's clear they have no idea who I am. |
Anonymous
| Not weird to me. I used to notice haircuts on people who usually rode the metro at the same time I did. However, lots of people are not that observant. There are people I’ve met repeatedly and every time it’s like the first time they’ve met me. |
Anonymous
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I remember my sister telling me how she looked out her office window at a little house across the street for several years. She saw a young man and woman move in and be so happy together, then she saw they had a baby. She saw the baby grow into a young kid, and then she saw that only the woman was there with the kid, with the man coming by only occasionally. She felt like she knew this little family’s whole life story.
And then one day, my sister ran into this woman at a nearby store. My sister said, “Hi! How are…” before she caught herself. The woman looked at her quizzically. My sister darted away. |
Anonymous
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people will "claim" they have no idea who you are and what you are talking about if you bring it up as you said in your post. burgundy coat, blue birkenstocks from summer? lol. don't think you are an outlier tho.
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Anonymous
| Op, I find your post interesting. What I can do is recognize people who I haven't seen in decades, recently someone from 30 years ago. |
Anonymous
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Kind of - I'm not great at noticing people of races other than mine. I would absolutely refuse to identify someone in a lineup accused of anything because "they all look the same" and I wouldn't want to risk being responsible for sending the wrong person to prison.
But people my race? Yes, I notice. |
Anonymous
| Yes, I recognize familiar strangers. My spouse does not, so we aren't all so observant. |
Anonymous
| You are probably a “super-recognizer.” I am and notice all this stuff, recognize that we have the same waiter as the last time we went to this restaurant three years ago, etc. |
Anonymous
| Yes. I recognize everyone. |
Anonymous
| Theres a lady who rides my bus. She wears her hair with the same bangs, in the same clip, the same skirt, and the same boots daily. She brings the same green bag, though sometimes it is purple. She always waits to pull the cord until after the bus announces her stop, even though she is the first stop on the route. Sometimes she yells at the bus driver to slow down becsuse she is getting car sick. She is an interesting character. My husband and I call her "green bag lady". |
Anonymous
I would never say I recognize specific clothing items like that but would just say "hi I recognize you from pick up last year, how is your daughter liking 4th grade" or something like that. But either people are claiming not to recognize me when they do, or they really don't recognize me, because most of the time people will say they don't know me. They might say it in a friendly way, and they might then be friendly to me (I've made friends this way so I don't think I'm being creepy) but I'd say 9 times out of 10 when I recognize someone like this, they will say they don't recognize me back. Maybe I'm more nondescript than others? No idea. It's strange it's so lopsided to me. - OP |
Anonymous
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I have face blindness. I don't recognize anyone without the context I know them from.
I have failed to recognize my sister when I saw her in a context I was expecting her. |
Anonymous
| You are probably above average at recognizing people. I am probably a little below average and am apparently pretty recognizable (at least twice, people who know my spouse but not me have come up to me on the street based solely on having seen me in my spouse's FB posts....this is not a humblebrag; I am distinctive but not attractive) so I would likely greet you somewhat blankly. But once you explained how you know me, I would be glad to talk! I think sometimes people are embarrassed not to recognize you or just startled. Don't take it personally. |
Anonymous
| I notice details like that but for things like aftercare pickup I generally try to introduce myself to the people I overlap with regularly. |
Anonymous
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Oh yes, I recognize all the faces. BUT I CAN NEVER REMEMBER NAMES!
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