My boyfriend has face blindness, and this concept of seeing faces upside down really helped me understand it a bit better. This is such a great series.

@chiropterapants

Жыл бұрын

My wife does as well, she has even mis-recognized me and we've been married 25 years.

@Skoopyghost

5 ай бұрын

Face blindness explains me well. I remember the way you speak/sound and move. I am awful with faces.

This explains our neighbor, she never remembers who we are when walking in the neighborhood or at the store. However, when we are home next door to her home, she recognizes us. Our homes are the connector.

Oh that's so sad when he said people think he's not a good person cuz it's so clear that he is. Heartbreaking. These people clearly need to educate those in their sphere and tons of compassionate understanding without making too big of a deal

Paul is my friend and I am so proud of him for who he is and how brave he is to share this with us. James, you are a master filmmaker/communicator, you have brought Paul's story to us with empathy, compassion and love.

I have not been diagnosed with prosopagnosia, but I am fairly I have it, at least to some extent. Coming home from college one year, my mother was supposed to meet at the gate (this was back when you could do that). When I got off the plane and walked into the airport, some strange, smiling woman starting walking toward me. I wondered who this unknown, possibly crazy lady was but after a few seconds of confusion I figured it must be my mother with a new haircut because that would explain why she was cheerfully approaching me and why I didn't see my mother anywhere. Another time, an old friend I hadn't seen for a couple of years was supposed to pick me up in his car at a certain street corner. I was waiting there for a little while when a car stopped just a few feet from me. No one came out of the car right away, so I opened the door and looked in. To my embarrassment, I saw two strangers there. I quickly closed the door and walked away. Moments later the car door opened up and a baffled looking face looked out and said "Ralph, where are you going?" 🥴 To me this is occasionally annoying and/or embarrassing, but many things in life are. I can live with it.

What a kind and charming man.

I once walked past my teen-aged daughter on a downtown Ann Arbor sidewalk. After letting me walk past, she said, "D-a-a-d!" and I recognized her instantly. She had just gotten a new haircut of a considerably different style. I was 45, and just realized from that exactly how different I was from most people. Surely all people should be able to recognize someone they lived with and saw every day! This event triggered me to recognize and read an article about Face Blindness (which I learned to call prosopagnosia). I had always wondered how other people seemed to be able to pick friends out from a crowd when I found it to be so difficult. Finding that I was not alone helped me to work on the ways I usually recognized people (hair, context, voice) and slightly improve my ability in that area.

I'm stunned by how effective the upside down face demonstration was. I just binge watched The Last Dance over the past two days, spent literally hours staring at Michael Jordan's face, and was totally mystified by his upside down visage (and everyone else's)

WOW... this illustration, the writing, the whole presentation is so well done! and its for free! thank you

I have prosopagnosia, but didn't know until my early 20's. Social situations are still kinda difficult and embarassing at times, but I don't get mad at myself anymore. My close friends and brother know of my condition, and most will kindly help me know who is who. I hope videos like this will help more people understand prosopagnosia. For the ones who have it, be kind to yourself, you're doing your best! And for the ones who don't, to know that we don't do this on purpose. We are not rude or anything like that.

Thank you for making this series, James. It's really an exercise in compassion and empathy. Not going to lie, that last shot with Paul smiling at the camera made me well up

@Frenchblue8

Жыл бұрын

Same here, my heart went out to this lovely man and his search for meeting this incredibly misunderstood challenge throughout his life.

I’m not diagnosed, but I have a lot of the characteristics-hats, hoods, sunglasses, haircuts will all render people I know all but unrecognizable to me. My teenage daughter was in a lecture I was giving and answered a question I put to the class; I knew she was there, but didn’t actually realize it was her until after she’d finished her answer, I’d acknowledged it, and I’d moved on in the talk. Another student in a class I’d been teaching for three months came in with a beanie/toboggan on, and I thought that a stranger had just wandered into the wrong classroom. A friend of mine that I’d known for ten years and whom I actually worked with waved at me as I crossed the street in front of our school, and I had no idea who he was: he was wearing sunglasses, and that was the only difference in his normal appearance. It’s hard to follow the plots of some movies and TV shows because the characters look so similar, especially if the setting/story has to do with modern armies, lawyers, or businessmen-it’s just a bunch of neatly groomed youngish men in fatigues or suits; they may as well be clones. I do a lot better with SF or fantasy shows, as there’s often quite distinctive clothing or, better yet, prosthetic makeup to really differentiate the characters. I’ve taken to telling students right up front, on the first day of class, that I’m terrible with faces, and not to expect me to be able to pick them out of a crowd. If they see me, please, just come up and say, “Hey Doc, I’m in your 10am class-how’s it going?” or whatever, but please don’t expect me to make first contact! I literally can’t do it at least 75% of the time, but I DO want to greet you and talk with you.

This sums it up very nicely. I have been in some situations where I didn't recognize my own daughter, boss or family members. Recognizing children or women is more difficult because I don't want to stare for too long and be "that strange man" in case it's someone I don't actually know. I live in a smaller town so I generally smile and acknowledge everyone I meet in case I do know them. Wintertime is more difficult as winter clothing obfuscates most features on which I rely to recognize people. People aging or changing weight also throws me off if I haven't seen someone in years.

I have this! I’m a teacher. It’s a wild ride 😂

@Tia-Marie

Жыл бұрын

All kids look to same to me too

This is so well done. I can’t imagine how tough this would be. Paul seems like an amazing and genuine person. It’s sad that this issue has made it harder for him in some ways to connect with people because they think that he is rude or something. I also am blown away this is as common as 1 in 50 people.

@nightwolfnordberg9476

7 ай бұрын

It makes it really hard to make friend children whit it often have a hard time make friend and is often become a unwilling introvert

I'm faceblind. It's very painful when people get mad at me for not recognizing their face. I'm going to bookmark this video to help me better explain myself to people I care about. I was once 6 feet from Stan Lee, didnt recognize him until I found out he was at the same event I was (Comic Con San Diego before 2009). I like seeing friends, I just cant recognize them from face alone. I've had nightmares about lost friendships just because they changed the 'secondary traits' about them, and they thought I was purposefully ignoring them. Bullies tease me when I havent recognized them, I left a community I loved for over 3 years with that tease of my faceblindness being a last straw for me. I struggle to recognize people in a crowd, even my own relatives. I look for people I know, based on their hair or what they are wearing that day. Change of clothes, and I struggle to recognize them until they speak or move in familiar ways. I wish more people understood this about me instead of getting offended at my lack or slow recognition of who they are.

@casacerezarentalsdelorenzo5937

Жыл бұрын

I understand and that is so very sad. As I mentioned above, I don’t have a severe case. But I meet a lot of people because I’m a performer and so many times I’ve been horrified at what I believe their perception of me is. The guy who screamed at me and told me to go F myself at a party left me so shook I had to leave.

@llkg9

7 ай бұрын

Interesting that you mention Comic Con... I used to be a huge Marvel fan, and I'm convinced it's because I can recognize the characters based on their distinctive superhero suits. I can get lost in other movies because I can't tell who's who.

@frigginsane

7 ай бұрын

@@llkg9 "I can get lost in other movies because I can't tell who's who." Indeed. I sometimes have to ask a friend who is who, sometimes, when some actors look so similar. Cary Elwes and Jim Carrey, are two very famous people I cant tell apart, for example. When tv/movies have a fictional trading-places story, I can truly believe the characters traded places. The face change doesnt throw me off.

@Paul-vh6ul

2 ай бұрын

@@frigginsane A practical solution for someone who has prosopagnosia is to 'watch more movies', study and learn to recognize the Big Name actors. Before watching the movie, I look at the cast and refresh my memory. As the characters are introduced, I try to recognize the actor and match the actor to the character that they're playing. As the movie progresses, I pay attention to how the actor is playing the character, and sometimes with the best actors, I lose awareness of the actor's artifice and just see the character. Yes, this requires a lot of effort, but I'm compensated by a keen appreciation of the actor's craft.

I rely on voice ID. I never realized I suffered from it until my early 40's. My team thought it was funny I couldn't find them in the cafeteria at work. They thought it was my glasses/vision.

I always feel like everyone is like a drawing where nothing is connected that the eyes are just floating there and ppl look like 👁👄👁 I recognize ppl by context and the way their body moves, fashion sense, and their voice

I have prosopagnosia. It's nice to watch a video that reflects my life experience and to read in the comments about other people's similar experiences. I also appreciate the many kind and empathetic comments made by people who're more or less able to recognize faces. If you ever feel slighted because someone seems to ignore you, please say something like, 'I think that maybe you don't recognize me, we met ____, we talked about ____.' Most of the time the aloof person will respond, 'Oh. I'm so sorry. I sometimes have trouble recognizing people.' I generally don't want to dwell on my face blindness. I'll be feeling a little embarrassed and apologetic that I did not recognize you. I'll want to move on and use our conversation to repair the damage, to emphasize that you are actually important to me. To right the wrong of ignoring you. And I'll want to interact with you so as to pick up the little clues that will help me recognize you next time. You see, I really don't want to fail to acknowledge you ever again. Besides observable traits, I'll want to learn more details about your life. I'm genuinely interested! And besides, next time I may overhear something that you say in conversation with someone else, and I'll use that snippet, combined with the sound of your voice, the way you stand, and so on, to recognize who you are. Yes. It's complicated, but necessary and worth it. I do actually act aloof/quiet/detached because I don't like to 'fake it' and act gregarious with people that I don't recognize. I know that gregariousness comes off as shallow and superficial in a person that does not know me. I'm not a politician, a salesman or con man, or someone who wants to convert you. And I don't want you to think that I am. If I do sorta kinda recognize you... I may sometimes 'fake it', try to draw you out and get more clues, and hopefully something will 'click'. If you're willing to talk, and we do know each other, I will probably recognize you, it might just take a minute or two. I know this seems strange to people who recognize other people easily and quickly without being aware of their seemingly (to me) somewhat magical highly evolved ability to quickly recognize people with hardly any conscious effort. The recognition tricks that I use are likewise largely habitual and unconscious, they're less reliable and conclusive, and they're often not instantaneous. Please bring it to my attention should I fail to recognize you. We will both feel better once we clear up the misunderstanding. And like the man in the video, I really do value the mutual human connection that we might share. I agree that 'life is all about connecting with other people'.

@eledatowle8767

5 ай бұрын

That is really well said!

Brilliant, inspiring and illuminating! Love this series @NYT

This is truly amazing, I was moved by it. Thank you for the hard work. 😊😊

I would be thrilled if we could get more videos in these series! They are so well done!

What a beautiful video - Paul seems like a really wonderful, kind soul. Would also love to see more in this series!

This is beautiful. Connecting with people is what we are here for! Paul you are a genius

this was so beautifully put together that it made me smile so big

I am really glad I found this video because I know people don’t believe me when I don’t recognize them as much as I try to hide it. They think I’m a jerk . I’ve had people come up to me and say you don’t recognize me do you? or you don’t even know who I am do you? One guy became so irate he screamed at me at a party, called me a jerk and told me to go F myself it’s terrifying when you’re in a huge group of people when you know you’re supposed to know many of them and you can’t recognize them and you know they think you’re just a snob. It’s cost me so much anxiety and I don’t even have a severe case of it but it’s enough to put me in some very embarrassing situation, because I know people don’t believe me. I have two siblings that have the same problem and a nephew.

@bluecannibaleyes

Жыл бұрын

As someone born with face blindness, I never really understand why people would think I’m a jerk for not recognizing them. Like, if it’s something that everyone else can just do automatically without thinking, then that would mean my lack of recognition is certainly not from lack of attention or caring (since other people could be totally not paying attention at all and still recognize faces…), so why do people always jump to assuming that it is? There’s also a distinct look that comes over someone’s face when they genuinely recognize someone, so wouldn’t they be easily able to tell that I’m not just snubbing them, but genuinely have no spark of recognition? It’s really kind of baffling. I have no idea what it’s like to have the super power of facial recognition, so it’s hard for me to understand what’s it’s like to be on the other side.

I teared up during this. I have the complete opposite problem. I’ll see someone’s face and a bell goes off in my head telling me I’ve seen them before. Even if it was someone I noticed on the subway one night and then saw again. It’s kind of like a super power but it’s also consuming. I’ll see a face and my bell goes off but my memory can’t place where I’d seen them from. When I can’t place them it consumes my thoughts for days and weeks. One time I passed a guy on the street and BOOM, my brain said you’ve seen this guy around a lot. I know I didn’t know him on a personal level but I had interacted with him many times. His face wouldn’t leave my head. Almost 2 months later I finally figured it out. He was the guy who served sandwiches at the deli by my old job years before.

Another awesome production. Great work, everyone.

I can relate to this. I have a problem with photophobia, and when people are standing with a sun or a light behind them, I cannot see their faces off and look at their hairstyle, but mostly listen to the voice to recognize people. It can be really embarrassing when I don’t acknowledge someone that I’ve known for years.

Beautifully done.

Paul is such a kind soul.

There's something about Tom Hanks' face. I was clueless about the other upside-down faces, but his I recognized straight away.

I have this too! I didn’t know it I just thought people all look so similar and that everyone else must have a super power in identifying and remembering others.

Thanks for sharing.

What a great series

It is amazing how limited growth in one part of body leads to so much more growth in other areas. In this case, creating all these mental shortcuts to recognise people and using those mental shortcuts day in and day out. He would be almost like a ninja when it comes to using these amazing mental shortcuts he has developed living a life with face blindness. Imagine using these abilities in different walks of life, say when learning a new language / instrument, or understanding body language of people to judge their characteristic traits, etc.

Don't be sad, Paul, I like you, no need to feel bad 🤗

This is so sweet.

Amazing story and person

To compensate for not being able maintain recognition of others, Paul has actually developed techniques that allow him to study people's movement and voice tones, to an extent that probably surpasses the average person. So by knowing less, he actually knows more.

I have partial prosopagnosia and that is challenging. I rely a lot on hair style and context. I don't generally notice people much at all so I've walked past friends, family, famous people and not seen them and if I've been with others they're shocked I don't see them. But I do notice other things in intricate detail. I'm autistic and prosopagnosia has a much higher occurrence among autistic people, but non-autistic people can have it too. How I first realised my perception is atypical is from seeing sketch artists work with people to draw crime suspects. I couldn't quite believe it was a real thing as I can't imagine how anyone could possibly do it. I just don't see people like that, I actually find faces very strange, it's more I get an impression of someone's inner self/energy/vibe or however you want to describe it. Honestly I prefer it that way, it's just that society leans a lot on facial recognition as the norm and there's an expectation everyone has that skill. Often people react badly and take it personally if you don't know who they are and it can be very disorienting and disconnecting in group situations. I think more people got a bit of a taste of what it's like with the mask-wearing in the pandemic.

The incident with "Rose's cousin" rang true. I remember thinking, "He's a really tall punk, got bright red Mohawk, and he's using a walking stick cos he limps -- just like Ken -- but he's wearing glasses and I've never seen Ken in glasses so I wonder if it's him?" Of course it was bloody Ken! But that's what goes through your head when you can't recognise faces! Thanks for the great video 🙂

5:12 'A gait's like a fingerprint'. So true. As someone with poor eyesight, this is SO true. Even from a far, when their face is just a blob.

We need to hear someone like this talk sense in America.

When you take the hair off them it makes it hard to recognise them 😂 also when you make it black and white no pun intended 🤣🤣🤣

I commend you for this series! Giving a glimpse into how other people perceive the world helps us understand them. Giving those best practices helps them and us interact better. I was curious, though it's not that great a question, can Paul distinguish gender or race?

@xyz-bd7qe

Жыл бұрын

I have face blindness. As the video says, it is a spectrum and each of us has a different experience. I personally can perceive gendered or racialized traits, but sometimes I'm not AS perceptive of them as other people. I try to think of it as a way to get to know people on their own terms without having as many of my own preconceived notions.

Wow this is well done.

more more more!! pls!

Yeah, thanks for turning them upside down. It's a lot like that. I use context, body shape, hair color, other physical features to help me identify people. Mine is very mild and it takes a little while. For example, if I just met you and we haven't spent a lot of time together, I won't recognize you once you're out of context. I also spot people easily once I learn that I can expect to see certain people in certain environments. This is the same when I look at my own face too which sucks but I had to get use to it. It's different and it just seems unfamiliar but you learn to get use to it. It got worst over time from an injury or it could be because of covid. Once I'm able to successfully pair the face with the name correctly, I am more successful at identifying people that I am familiar with. It's odd because there was period when I didn't spend a lot of time looking at mirrors and I forget... ya know? I recognize myself obviously because I am the individual that animates this body but felt mechanical in a way especially when I wasn't getting enough sleep. I also wonder if it could be a bilateral issue with the left and right hemisphere, for example, could one hemisphere recognize a face over the other and be able to provide that support but not entirely? This condition doesn't change and I believe it was since childhood. In my mid-20s I also had a difficult time recognizing myself because my voice and my jaw structure changed when I got older, which was something I had to take mental note of until I got use to it.

I'm like this! I wonder if it's because I'm autistic. It's sooooo awkward. I never say hi to people because I'm unsure of if we've met before or not. I also get people confused if they have the same hair color or something. My sister is worse than I am--last week she confused Jim Carrey with Tom Hanks!

Gate is like a fingerprint! I always say that I use body language to recognize who someone is!

Paul must think Instagram selfies are insane

We all need to be more compassionate.

I had no idea such condition existed 😮

I find when i have to talk about others, I completely forget names, even of people I really know. I like kinda recognize their name, then i ask if their the one who did that one thing, or if their the person who has a snake as a pet, I remember people by their actions 🤷‍♀️

This has happened to me multiple times, and people have never forgiven me for it.

I don't have face blindness. If I'm shown several pictures of someone I know and some other people I could pick the right one immediately. However, I can't picture faces in my mind. So if you ask me if my mom's nose is pointed or my dad's forehead is big, I just can't answer without looking at a photo.

I didn't recognize a girl who I was friend with in primary school I thought she was out of the town and didn't think a lot about it till one day I saw class picture then I understood we studied together but she was just in different class

good news for them is that now we could very easily make technological aids, like hearing aids, but for faces, using ai facial recognition incorporated into glasses. sure, right now they'd be clunky, but that's solvable pretty quickly.

Did anyone else still recognize the faces upside down?

Some of us don’t see very well, and I can no longer see some of the words that give explanations.

can you redo this video with no dance music??

I think I have this I can't remember faces but I can remember the sound of voice like the pitch it is so bad within 2 days I forgot my own face had to do double take and touch my face just to make sure it was me is this bad form of this or not

@robertordf

28 күн бұрын

I dont like to look at mirror because everytime I dont recognize me. The only thing good is that everytime I see my wife I discover how beautifull is her face.

Prosopagnosia? Reminds me of a lawyer in Tibet and some rooms to escape from.

Brad pitt reckons he has this ,?

Make me think of the surrealistisc painter Magritte. He was talented and precis, butt crap at faces...😶‍🌫️

Hi . I'm Iranian girl.🧑‍🎤🌹 village life is very and relax and nice. Thanks for you .❤️👸🤗

Upside down Tom Hanks = J. K. Simmons.

God is here 😊😇🙏.

I have it to my wife don't believe me everytime I cheat I say oh I thought it was u babe (yea we love each other)

@0:55 That would be 1 in 52.

Take care of your brain 🤕

1 to 50 people. I don’t think so

Artificial Intelligence, will definitely recognize the Face... Book. And democracy is Also A mandatory element in Life For Humanity.

what a f... are u talking about .. 🙃 🤔 😵

Autism is lame now. I choose this one to be my next disease. So unique and special. Can't wait. Definitely good for people who need a lot of attention.

TRUMP FOR PRISON MAKE AMERICA SMART AGAIN

Paul sounds like he smokes a lot of pot.

When you are doing a video about disabilities, you need to remember that people with that disability will be drawn to your video. Watch your tone. Be inclusive. Don't make a video about "check out these freaks," talk about how people with this disorder can learn to cope. This video is rude and othering.

Repent your sins. Jesus is coming soon and Jesus wants to save you, but you need to accept him. Turn to Jesus!