Preview: Face Blindness
August 1, 2012 8:00 AM
Imagine you couldn't recognize people's faces, and even your own family looked unfamiliar. Lesley Stahl reports on face blindness, a puzzling neurological disorder, on Sunday, August 5 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
Add a Comment
- It's getting so bad that when i watch Tv shows i can't recognize the people they all look a like , i've been trying to watch the new Dallas but can't see the difference between the two young men who the stories are based on. Even my soaps all the men look alike and i can't tell them apart from one person to another character. it's hard to follow any shows now.
- Reply to this comment
- I want to thank you for putting a name to this. I've had this problem since i was very young, i always blamed it on my bad eye sight. I always hated picking people up at the airport becuz u have to recognize people by faces. my grandparent, my cousin , father and other family members. Thank god i have my husband there with me to tell me who they are or pick them out in a crowd. I always just thought it was me, thank you, Susan
- Reply to this comment
- Thank you so much for your in-depth coverage of this condition. I have struggled with face blindness for years and have used coping behaviors such as smiling at everyone discussed on your program. This afternoon I attended a business function where I was placed at the greeting table. I was so thankful there were two other greeters to ask what the last names were so I could make a connection. Unfortunately, I could not recognize the faces of a large number of guests whom I had met several times in the past. Being in the sales and marketing world, this is a constant challenge. When I am with someone, I try intently to study their face, but somehow, when we part, the face dissolves, and if they were to walk around the block and pass by me, I would not recognize them. I hope your program helps people suffering from this condition realize that they are not alone.
- Reply to this comment
- See the work of Professor David Wilkinson, University of Kent U.K.
- Reply to this comment
- What a complete load of hooey! It is sad the lengths people will go to just to gain attention
- Reply to this comment
- I have a more moderate version of proscopagnosia than Oliver Sachs: I've never mistaken my face in the mirror for someone else, but I cannot seem to recognize anyone outside my close family and small circle of friends. I recognize few movie stars or public figures and this disease was most embarrassing in school - from junior high through university. I could not recognize more than one or two people in each class. I don't recognize my parent's cousins or their children at all. I recognize a distinctive voice or haircut more than a face. Too little is known about this condition and too many people have never heard of it. Thank goodness 60 Minutes is doing a segment on it. Maybe life will become easier, and less embarrassing when more people are aware that you aren't being rude, you just can't recognize them!
- Reply to this comment
- Definitely going find a TV to watch this on! It wasn't until around five years ago that I learned WHY I had so much trouble remembering people, or that it even had a NAME. This just might clear up some estrangements with my family. Thank you for putting this together! <3
- Reply to this comment
