Face Blindness

Face blindness has been on my mind this week. I have the neurological disorder officially called “prosopagnosia.” the internet is made for someone like me who has trouble either recognizing faces, or recognizing landmarks that should be familiar, or following a movie with a large cast of characters.

Prosopagnosia can be caused by brain trauma but also by heredity. Growing up, my father often didn’t recognize me. When he got old and his face changed significantly, I only recognized him by his distinctive voice.

There are two centers in the U.S. that do research on face blindness. One is at Harvard University, and the other is at Dartmouth College. I tried to volunteer to be a study subject for Harvard, but they had enough guinea pigs and didn’t want me. I’ve now tried to contact Dartmouth to see if they could use me as a subject. I’m still waiting to hear.

Does anyone out there have any experience with face blindness in their social circle?